The night air inside Arata's room was unnaturally still.
Moonlight spilled through the window, painting pale lines across the floor.
And standing within those lines was a man Arata had never invited.
"Looking for me?" Arata said calmly, sitting up on his bed. His voice carried no surprise—only mild annoyance.
"Breaking into someone's house in the middle of the night isn't exactly polite."
The man didn't move.
He wore the standard dark Root uniform, his face partially concealed, his presence muted to an eerie degree.
Yamanaka Fū.
Even without recognizing the face, Arata could tell what he was.
The chakra felt wrong—too clean, too suppressed, like a blade kept in a sheath.
"…You noticed me immediately," Fū said flatly. "Interesting."
Arata swung his legs off the bed and stood.
"You're not ANBU," he said. "ANBU don't smell like this."
Fū's eyes flickered with faint surprise.
"You know about ANBU?" he asked. "Honmoto Tōichi taught you well."
Arata didn't answer.
Instead, he asked the real question.
"Who sent you?"
Fū was silent for a moment, then spoke in an even tone.
"Come with me. Someone wants to see you."
Arata frowned slightly.
"If the Third Hokage wanted me, someone would knock," he said.
"This isn't his style."
He took a step forward, meeting Fū's gaze directly.
"So… Danzō?"
The name hung in the air.
Fū didn't deny it.
"That's not something you should say so casually," Fū replied.
Arata sighed.
"I was hoping I could avoid this for a while longer."
He looked past Fū, toward the window.
"Let me guess. 'A place where I'll be better understood.' 'A chance to protect the village.' Something along those lines?"
Fū's expression didn't change.
"You're very perceptive for a child."
"That's not a compliment," Arata said. "It just means you're predictable."
For the first time, Fū's killing intent leaked—thin, sharp, testing.
"Careful," Fū warned. "You don't yet understand who you're dealing with."
Arata met that killing intent head-on.
And crushed it.
The pressure vanished instantly, as if swallowed by a void.
Fū's pupils shrank.
In that instant, he understood something terrifying.
This boy wasn't afraid.
Not of Root.
Not of Danzō.
Not even of him.
"I'm not coming with you," Arata said calmly.
"But if Danzō wants to talk… tell him to come himself."
Silence.
Then—
Fū moved.
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