Chapter 68: Uproar
Not long after the New Year, a rumor swept through the ninja world.
Kumogakure tried to use the Heavenly Transfer Technique to snatch Konoha's core technical personnel during the New Year conference but was countered and forced to send them back. An entire envoy group and several jonin were squandered in the process.
It sounded absurd, the sort of convoluted caper no sane force would attempt. Yet because the Cloud was involved, it felt strangely plausible. Reports from multiple embassy staff and eyewitnesses who saw the distinctive light trails of the Heavenly Transfer Technique at the Cloud's venue seemed to confirm that they had indeed pulled such a stunt on New Year's Day.
Intelligence officers working overtime across the nations cursed under their breath. Couldn't they pick a better time and do real work instead of this nonsense? Konoha has reverse summoning, so of course they can recall their people. Why cling to the Heavenly Transfer Technique like it is untouchable? Do they think no one else can counter it?
The Cloud issued its response, insisting they had cordially invited Hatake Kakashi and Aizen Sosuke to visit, that talks were held, and that the guests were then sent off in friendship. They even added a flourish of sincerity, saying permanent residency could be arranged if needed.
On paper, it sounded fine. In tone, even better.
Of course everyone knew what really happened. They used their prized technique to kidnap guests and got them bounced back. Embarrassing, to say the least. But the Cloud's skin was thick, and when they were shameless, what could anyone say? You could only grit your teeth and let it pass.
Alongside this came new intelligence on Aizen from within the Cloud. Many embassy personnel swore that a terrifying clash had erupted on the Cloud's transfer platform, and that the Third Raikage, badly damaged and unable to pursue, could only watch Aizen depart.
After sifting the reports, other villages concluded that the Cloud had likely eaten a heavy blow from Aizen's chakra technique. As for rumors that the Raikage was grievously injured or felled in an instant, most dismissed them as fantasy. If Aizen truly had that kind of power, he would already sit in the Hokage's chair. A ninja hero does not linger in the background if he can topple a Kage with a single strike.
What level of monster drops a Raikage with one blow? The strongest spear and shield in the ninja world together. Even the God of Shinobi, resurrected, would not claim he could do it outright. With power like that, Aizen could tour the great villages, declare himself heir to Senju Hashirama, and demand surrender. Aizen looks barely in his twenties; if he wanted to rule the world, he would have done it already.
Why wait while everyone plays at politics?
Even so, the intelligence bureaus adjusted their files. Aizen remained officially rated somewhere between chunin and jonin, but his special techniques received their own tags. No one knew what arcane method he used against the Raikage, but one fact stood out: the Cloud made no attempt at retaliation. For them, that silence was highly irregular.
In the past, when the Cloud took a loss, they stormed in and annihilated entire families. Now they issued friendly invitations to Aizen, avoiding the matter entirely. From that alone, many drew their own conclusions.
As for the Cloud's brain cramp in using the Heavenly Transfer Technique to drag away guests, no one was shocked. Tricks like that fueled their rapid rise in those remote mountains. If anything, they ended up exposing more of Konoha's practice than they learned.
Compared to the Cloud's flustered chaos, Konoha had the air of a great power. After a mild reprimand, a few Cloud border outposts were erased without fuss. The envoys and jonin who overstepped were found dead, and the official line stated they had taken their own lives out of fear of punishment. Replacements were accepted with a polite smile.
Konoha's replies were measured and even handed. The Cloud's responses, in contrast, leaned toward threats and bluster. Konoha answered by pitching a few reverse summoning coordinates at the Cloud, eliminating small squads that probed too closely, and coolly stating that if they wanted a fight, they could come.
The Mist had signed a defensive treaty, not an offensive one, and the incident was lopsided from the start. After some heated words, the uproar ebbed.
Everyone tacitly agreed to a phase of quiet assessment.
It was as if a signal had been shared in advance, or as if every leader had reached the same conclusion: this was not the time to fight.
"Of course we cannot go to war now. The New Year just passed. Production and public sentiment have not been fully mobilized. The ninja world's technological uptick has only begun. Each side believes its path is correct, and now they need time."
"At this point, the battlefield is research. Sabotage the other side's prototypes, map their advantages and develop counters, attack their cultural habits to seize moral ground. All of this is preparation for war."
"But preparation does not mean war can start at any moment. The period of preparation is paradoxically the least likely time to fight and the most fragile. Armies are still adapting to new equipment and doctrine. Under attack they might trade space for time, but chakra makes that play unreliable."
"The answer is simple. This world is not ready for war. It is posturing."
…
Were you really not shaken by what you did?
Kneeling by the low desk, Kakashi studied the research notes Aizen had set before him, then glanced up at the man, relaxed in the writing room, calmly brushing ink across a fresh page. The complaint stayed locked behind his mask.
There was never any issue with their return to the village. As Aizen had said, anti membrane technology was recorded in Konoha's strategic reserves. It simply carried a risk of misplacement and required specific conditions.
With the Cloud incident, the reviews were wrapped up quickly, buoyed by the pair's reputations. But Kakashi knew the truth. They had not merely escaped with a trick of teleportation. They had stood before a crowd of Cloud ninja, brushed aside the vaunted Third Raikage, and returned as though from a stroll.
And now Kakashi understood Aizen a little better. Compared to the joy he took in exploring chakra theory, the storms outside were trivialities, not worth a second thought.
Villages, the Will of Fire, ideals and creeds—those banners felt faded in the surge of rapid technological advance. Kakashi recognized the shape of it.
Aizen had once said that technology adapts to ethics and morality, but when technology advances beyond those frameworks, the old codes cannot explain it. Time must redraw the lines. The redraw itself is part of the research.
The world is a precise yet chaotic instrument, one gear after another, and absurdities mixed between. For a researcher, the purest joy lies in dismantling the most complex device in existence, guessing the purpose of each component, then recombining them to build something new.
Now that Kakashi had made peace with his father's death, he could feel the quiet thrill of development work.
But Aizen was not just a developer. He weighed more than blueprints and circuits. Since their return, many of his projects had opened to Kakashi's eyes.
Some names and entries still left Kakashi stunned. Especially the notes on Uchiha Kagami. Dozens of extractions and re extractions. Had Kagami offended Aizen that badly to deserve such unending scrutiny?
Aizen ignored the faintly troubled look on Kakashi's face, pushed his glasses up, and checked the date.
"Oh, yes. By the timing, Kagami's case should be yielding results soon."
"What results?"
"Cellular memory."
Aizen's smile was mild as he set down his brush.
"There is a saying that when you enter another's body, you inherit their memories and emotions. Romantic, yes, but not impossible."
"The power of cells becomes chakra, and chakra is the essence of life here. If I erase only the memories in his mind, leaving chakra untouched, could he one day recall everything through chakra alone?"
"And stretching further: if memory laden chakra is stripped and released into heaven and earth, does that memory vanish, or does it persist as an obsession, amplifying certain desires and nudging change across the ninja world?"
"…Your research is twisted."
How badly did Uchiha Kagami offend you?
Watching Aizen's quiet anticipation, Kakashi could not help the blunt verdict.
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