"Hane... you... are you really willing to help me?" Uchiha Nanami's voice carried a hint of excitement.
When people encounter immense difficulties, they naturally seek help from others. Nanami hadn't failed to consider asking Hane for assistance beforehand, but the matter made it hard for her to broach the subject, so she'd been agonizing over it.
She knew full well that if she went to rescue people from the Uchiha alone, the success rate would undoubtedly be low.
Even if Hane claimed he was offering personal help in a personal capacity, considering his position as the leader of the organization, how could public and private matters be so neatly separated?
Imagine if Hane were unfortunately captured by the Uchiha clan—would he have to insist that he was acting on his own, with no connection to the organization?
The Uchiha were renowned for their "wisdom," but they weren't gullible enough to believe such a claim. Would they really refrain from retaliating against the organization?
"Of course. I'm not the type to joke about something like this... After all, we're not going to war with the entire Uchiha clan, are we? So don't overcomplicate things."
It was just a matter of sneaking someone out—there might not even be a need to fight.
"Then I truly thank you. The current situation doesn't allow for polite formalities. With your infiltration and penetration abilities, I'll feel much more confident..."
"We're definitely not at war with the Uchiha. Though I shouldn't dampen our morale at a time like this, the truth is, forget the entire Uchiha clan—even the two of us together probably couldn't take on Madara."
Hane thought to himself, That's obvious. In my book, Uchiha Madara is basically equivalent to the entire Uchiha clan.
"No need to stand on ceremony. You're an important member of the organization, after all. Though I don't care about the Uchiha clan, what happens to you can't be completely detached from the organization."
On the matter of public versus private, their thinking aligned quite well.
"Luckily, the organization now has a certain level of combat capability. Considering the surrounding situation and the intensity of nearby threats, even if we leave the Land of Rivers for a short time, there shouldn't be any major issues."
The Hotaru organization already possessed some "self-sustainability." To put it bluntly, even if Hane went out and accidentally bit the dust, the organization could still continue operating for a while without collapsing like a house of cards the moment a key figure died.
Hane didn't care about the suffering Uchiha civilians, of course. There were always people in the world mired in dire straits—could he possibly extend a hand to every single one?
That was something even the "true Thousand Hands" couldn't achieve.
Whether in mindset or ability, Hane was no savior.
Even at a time like this, Hane had no desire for the full power of the Uchiha. Misfortune was contagious, after all—the Uchiha clan was beset by bad luck, and sticking too close to them might lead to suddenly dropping dead in your sleep one day, never to wake.
Hane's ability to get along normally with Uchiha Nanami stemmed largely from the fact that she was an atypical Uchiha—a normal human being. If Nanami were the sort of ninja who awakened their eyes at the drop of a hat and liked to scare people with tales of retinal detachment, the two of them definitely couldn't have coexisted so smoothly for so long.
Given Nanami's underwhelming development of her Mangekyō Sharingan, her direct combat prowess wasn't top-tier. Though those eyes held powerful functionality and support capabilities, she didn't use even those well... Still, within the Hotaru organization, she counted as a "high-level expert."
What was even more valuable was that Nanami had a considerable degree of recognition for the organization's founding ideals and development path—she was undoubtedly one of their own.
If the organization one day suffered a blow from some powerful enemy, the only one who could truly stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Hane in battle would be Nanami.
Talent with strength, potential, and loyalty—where else could you find that? Hane had no interest in meddling in Uchiha clan affairs, but he was even more worried about Nanami not coming back.
But could Uchiha Nanami simply ignore the Uchiha clan? She surely wasn't that heartless.
If Hane suddenly lost it and demanded, "What's more important, the organization or the Uchiha?" the best answer he could hope for was probably "The organization matters, but I have to go back to the Uchiha."
So, weighing the lesser of two evils, Hane decided to help Nanami and join her rescue operation.
Uchiha Nanami was kind, beautiful, eloquent, and strong—the Hotaru organization couldn't function without her.
"However, my infiltration abilities aren't foolproof. For the sake of necessary caution, before we start the operation, you'll need to tell me about the layout of the Uchiha clan's powerful and important sensory barriers."
Even though Hane seemed optimistic, he would never be blindly arrogant. The Uchiha clan couldn't be taken lightly; thorough preparation was essential in advance.
"No problem."
Unexpectedly, for such a confidential Uchiha secret, Nanami agreed without a second thought.
"Uh... maybe think it over a bit more? Those barriers are crucial—they even concern the safety of the entire Uchiha clan."
"No problem. I trust you." Nanami repeated.
You trust me? I don't even trust myself. If he got the layout of the Uchiha clan's barriers, wouldn't infiltrating the Uchiha later be as easy as taking a stroll to the bathroom?
But Nanami did have a certain understanding of Hane by now; she knew he wouldn't waste energy on the Uchiha clan without reason. If it weren't for her, there'd be no intersection between them at all.
"Alright... then there's just one last key issue left."
"Key issue?"
Yeah, the key to the problem was finding the actual key problem.
"I need to think carefully: if my whereabouts get leaked by accident, what identity should I use to bluff my way through."
As for role-playing, Hane figured he couldn't keep fleecing the Sarutobi clan endlessly. Inside Uchiha territory, using a Sarutobi identity to stir things up might really spark a war between the two clans.
Nanami: "..."
She thought this issue was utterly trivial—why not just disguise as some mysterious black-clad figure? Why bother with a specific fake identity?
It just showed she really didn't get it. Mysterious origins could still be traced back, and to prevent that, Hane preferred to proactively reveal an identity... well, a "genuine" fake one.
"Got it—I just had a brilliant idea."
Hane was pondering who to frame when a particularly clever notion popped into his head.
"Stretch out your hand."
Nanami instinctively extended her right hand to cooperate with Hane. When their hands clasped together, she suddenly recalled the Hotaru organization's "traditional custom" and subconsciously braced for a hole to be poked in her palm. But just as she was steeling herself mentally, she felt a portion of her chakra being drawn away.
Then, to her utter shock, an unbelievable scene unfolded.
The Hane before Nanami's eyes slowly shrank by half a head. His body contours grew more slender, even cinching at the waist to accentuate the hips; his slightly pale skin took on a delicate, porcelain-like allure. Soon after, his face transformed into one identical to hers.
"Y-you... this... isn't this me?"
"It's you. This is a unique transformation technique that only I can use—it's one of my trump cards. Everyone who's seen it is dead... You'll have to keep my secret." Hane said with a smile.
The way he smiled was nothing like hers, so when that unfamiliar grin appeared on the face she knew best, Nanami felt a profound sense of dissonance.
She nodded instinctively, still reeling from the shock, because only now did she realize that Hane's chakra signature was indistinguishable from her own.
Chakra was like a shinobi's fingerprint—how could it be mimicked so perfectly? Nanami suspected that what Hane was using now wasn't any transformation technique at all.
"In any case, chakra is a wondrous thing. Though we shinobi mostly treat it as a form of energy, it's biological energy, containing nearly all the information about a shinobi's body and even spirit... Who knows, maybe someone could abandon their flesh and achieve immortality through chakra alone." Hane wrapped certain facts in an unfunny joke.
After disguising himself as Nanami, Hane felt a bit awkward too; certain discomforts made him act without thinking.
For instance, he instinctively lifted his left hand to support a certain heavy part.
Alright, it was pretty burdensome.
"Uh, sorry."
The unusual sensation snapped Hane back to reality. He lowered his left hand and released his grip on Nanami's right palm.
Nanami's face flushed red in an instant, her expression turning awkward.
After apologizing, Hane suddenly realized he'd spoken too hastily... Wait, it's my body—why am I apologizing?
To be blunt, in the brutal wartime environment, Hane's eyes often blurred the lines between male and female. In fact, his basic classification of shinobi boiled down to just two categories: "ones who can fight" and "ones who can't."
At that moment, Hane's mind was a tiny bit flustered, but outwardly, he remained as steady as ever.
Feeling that lingering silence could turn this into a scene from Your Name, he cleared his throat lightly and said:
"Ahem, this solves the identity problem. Two Nanamis infiltrating the Uchiha together—won't cause any trouble for other ninja clans."
"Good... um, I mean... good."
Hane: "..."
I know, you said it's good. You didn't say it's bad—so why the stutter?
The silver lining was that, after this bit of comic relief, Nanami no longer had the mind to question why Hane could pull off such a flawless transformation technique.
Of course, Nanami wanted to return to the Uchiha clan as quickly as possible, but they couldn't just bolt outright—otherwise, this wouldn't be launching a rescue plan; it'd be eloping and abandoning everything.
Hane had to assess the security situation around the Land of Rivers, confirming that most hostile forces nearby were busy licking their wounds and lacked the capacity for large-scale invasions, before he could leave Kikyo Castle with peace of mind.
At the same time, he needed to explain things to the others in the organization. That part wasn't troublesome—just tell the truth: he and Nanami were heading out on a rescue mission.
After briefing them and temporarily delegating decision-making authority to Morinaga Kanzawa, Hayasaka Ryunosuke, Akimichi Kigetsu, and Fuma Goro, Hane was finally able to set off.
Since Uchiha Nanami was in a rush, she traveled without regard for cost. In less than two days after leaving Kikyo Castle, she arrived at the location of the Uchiha clan's village.
In theory, this should have counted as going home, yet she didn't choose to enter the village directly.
Nanami halted at a spot where she could visually confirm the Uchiha village. She stopped there, resting briefly to calm her emotions and recover some chakra, before resuming her actions.
She formed hand seals with both hands, using the Summoning Technique once more to call forth that "armadillo." After stuffing a sealed letter under the summoned beast's neck, she immediately ended the summoning.
Perhaps the sealed letter wasn't promptly discovered by the summoned beast's contractor, because after waiting an hour, someone finally slunk furtively toward Nanami's temporary hiding spot.
"Nanami, is that really you? Where are you?"
Upon nearing the area, the other party asked in a lowered voice.
How could Nanami stay so promptly informed of developments within the Uchiha clan? Because she'd buried a "mole" deep in the clan's core network of relationships... After all, she herself was part of that network.
Nanami didn't rush to respond. She observed the situation ahead, confirming the newcomer had no tail, before revealing herself.
"Shizuru, it's me. I'm back."
The thick-browed, big-eyed third Uchiha brother "betrayed" the Uchiha clan.
But since the object of his "betrayal" was Nanami, the reason for it was beyond reproach, and if exposed, the one judging him would only be Uchiha Madara— so even if he truly "betrayed" them, he'd surely be deemed innocent.
The world at large assumed Uchihas were born with only two expressions: icy glare or manic laughter. But that was a misconception, for at this moment, Uchiha Shizuru's smile came from the heart, beaming with exceptional brightness.
It was like a kindergarten big-kid spotting their mom right after school lets out.
If only his age were more appropriate—say, four or five, or even six, seven, or eight years younger—Uchiha Shizuru would have undoubtedly buried himself headfirst in Nanami's embrace.
Nanami reached out and ruffled Shizuru's hair, saying:
"This isn't the place to talk... Can you sneak me into the village quietly? I don't want those old fogeys to know I've returned."
"Of course, no problem." Uchiha Shizuru agreed immediately.
It was clear his feelings for Nanami ran deep—deep enough to border on blind faith.
Hane, who had been lurking in the shadows all along, couldn't help but curl his lip. Weren't Uchiha younglings and juveniles supposed to be the arrogant type? How come there were mama's boys among them?
Talk about eye-opening.
Uchiha Shizuru led Nanami into the Uchiha clan's village through a side entrance.
The side entrance naturally had guards, but...
"Remember, you saw nothing. Got it?" Uchiha Shizuru ordered the guard with a cold face.
The guard nodded vigorously. He recognized Nanami and, upon seeing her, seemed somewhat excited, which was why he let them pass so easily... But letting them pass was one thing; he didn't take Uchiha Shizuru's command to heart.
Joking aside—did the son of the clan head really think a battle-hardened shinobi would abandon his duty just because of that?
He planned to report Nanami's return to his superiors once the two were out of sight.
However...
When he turned back around, what he saw was a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan eyes.
"You saw nothing."
"...Yes."
Uchiha Madara's commands were far more chilling, and his orders were guaranteed one hundred percent execution...
Backed by the overwhelming genjutsu and control powers of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
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