Late at night,
Hokage Office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen felt unprecedented irritation!
The new Uchiha district had finally been completed near the Nanga Shrine area, yet not a single surveillance seal or ANBU-operated camera had been installed all because the Uchiha Police Force insisted on "internal security autonomy."
This meant one thing:
He could no longer monitor the Uchiha's movements the way he had ever since Shisui's death and the escalating political friction within the clan.
That lack of visibility made Hiruzen's heart clench with unease.
Fortunately…
He had backup measures prepared long ago.
Thinking of this, he slowly pulled out a polished crystal orb from the drawer.
Sarutobi's fingers brushed across its smooth surface, and an ambiguous smile appeared beneath his beard.
The Telescope Technique.
A classic Sarutobi clan sensory ninjutsu using a crystal ball and chakra to spy on a specific individual from a distance.
The only requirement:
He must already recognise the target's chakra signature.
But for Hiruzen, this was trivial.
He had long since memorized Uchiha Chiya's chakra pattern, ever since the child displayed abnormal talent during the academy assessment and during the Clan Council's recent tensions.
Of course
Despite being called the "Telescope Technique," it had strict limitations.
If the target moved too far, or left the range protected by Konoha's Four Violet Flames Formation and Barrier Corps network, the crystal ball would return only static.
And worse:
If the target had strong sensory ability like the Yamanaka, Hyuga, or elite Uchiha they could feel the surveillance.
But thankfully,
Uchiha Chiya possessed neither sensory talents nor Sharingan mastery that would allow him to perceive chakra tracing.
He was very much inside the village.
He did not know the barrier password used by the Konoha Barrier Team, and he did not have Flying Thunder God, Kamui, or any other space-time ninjutsu.
So sneaking out of the village?
Impossible.
"So…"
Sarutobi smiled darkly, then injected chakra into the crystal ball.
The crystal's surface trembled ripples expanding outward like concentric waves on still water…
But after several seconds
"Hm?"
"What is this?"
"Why can't I locate that kid?"
The crystal ball remained blank a white, foggy void without even a silhouette.
Sarutobi's brows tightened.
Did the brat somehow slip past the barrier?
That shouldn't be possible!
Chiya didn't know the barrier password, had no access to ANBU's entry codes, and had zero space-time techniques.
There was absolutely no way to bypass the village's sensory barrier without triggering an alert.
So then…
Could it be…something else malfunctioned? Or was someone interfering with his surveillance technique?
Hiruzen's expression hardened.
For the first time tonight, he felt a chill run down his spine.
Sarutobi decided to test the crystal ball again, switching targets to see whether the failure was limited to Uchiha.
Hmmm…
Let's first check on Hiashi Hyūga the current clan head of the Hyūga Main House.
Tch…
Even at this hour, the two elders of the Main House still weren't resting, sitting stiffly inside the Hyūga's inner hall discussing clan affairs. Was this old-fashioned insistence on tradition so intense that they had to argue about branch family matters in the middle of the night?
Sigh…
They really lived like prisoners of protocol.
Next, Sarutobi turned the crystal ball to a certain other "old friend."
Shimura Danzō.
Hm?
Why was that old stubborn relic lying on an operating table in one of Root's underground chambers, looking as if he'd just undergone some kind of surgery?
And his right arm…
completely wrapped in bandages again.
But now that he thought about it
Danzo did injure his arm years ago during the battle where he "lost" to the previous elder and during several classified Root missions.
However, it had been long enough that the wound should be healed.
Yet Danzo never once removed the bandages on that arm…
Still, even if that man was hiding something, he would never tell Hiruzen. Sarutobi knew better than to try squeezing secrets from him. So he shifted to observing others.
Morino Ibiki…
In the dead of night, he was still interrogating spies in the Torture and Interrogation Division, his expression cold and professional as always.
Now that was a genuine shinobi embodying the "Will of Fire."
Even at this hour he served the village without complaint.
"Hm… Who should I check on next…?"
A faint, dangerous smile crept onto the corner of Sarutobi's lips.
He wanted to see what Uchiha Mikoto was doing.
After all
Mikoto wasn't just a top beauty in the Uchiha clan; even among all Konoha's kunoichi, she ranked among the most elegant and refined.
A perfect example of Uchiha grace.
And so…
Sarutobi had developed a habit. When bored, he would occasionally check on Mikoto at night to indulge his small, private vice.
But this time
The crystal ball failed again.
"…Why?"
"I've succeeded several times before."
"Uchiha Mikoto…"
"Uchiha Chiya…"
"The only thing they share is that both are inside the Uchiha district…"
"Could something be happening inside the Uchiha clan land?"
A chilling possibility flashed through his mind. Immediately, Sarutobi grabbed his robe and rushed toward the Uchiha district.
...
"Just as I suspected…"
Upon arriving outside the Uchiha district, he saw nothing unusual with the naked eye but Sarutobi could clearly feel it.
A subtle layer of foreign chakra a barrier of some kind surrounded the entire clan compound.
It was precisely because of this barrier's interference that his Telescope Technique could no longer penetrate inside!
"That brat… actually erected an anti-detection barrier around the entire clan land…"
With this barrier, Sarutobi became completely blind.
He would no longer be able to observe the Uchiha's internal movements not Chiya's, not Mikoto's, not anyone's.
And the most infuriating part was
He couldn't publicly complain!
Because technically…
It was perfectly reasonable for a clan to erect a barrier to prevent peeping and protect their privacy.
What could the Hokage possibly say?
He couldn't say anything.
He had to pretend he didn't know.
Otherwise
He would expose the fact that he had been spying on the Uchiha all along.
At that point, it wouldn't just be the Uchiha.
Every clan—Hyūga, Aburame, Nara, Akimichi, Yamanaka
would start questioning whether they had been secretly observed too.
...
First, his surveillance seals were destroyed during the demolition of the old Uchiha district.
And now…
someone had erected a full anti-detection barrier.
The intention was too obvious.
Uchiha was preparing to act behind the scenes…
and he, the Hokage, was being deliberately shut out.