"Y–you… you…"
Uchiha Kagami pointed at Uchiha Nan, a chill running straight down his spine.
To think that someone could wear a mask for more than ten years—deceiving everyone in Konoha—and that this person was an Uchiha from his own clan…
It was terrifying beyond words.
Nan looked at Kagami with an odd expression. The way Kagami stammered made it seem as though something was stuck in his throat.
Like a broken record.
"Speak," Kagami snapped.
"How did you know about Lord Tobirama's death?"
Fury burned in his eyes.
First, he had inexplicably been saddled with the blame. Then he realized he'd been fooled for years by Nan's façade. The more he thought about it, the more he felt like a complete clown.
This rage—he couldn't swallow it.
"What are you, to interrogate me?" Nan sneered.
"Gold."
"You're nothing but Senju Tobirama's dog—"
"—and a dog that abandoned its master at that!"
Nan fired back mercilessly, showing not the slightest restraint.
Morality and righteousness meant nothing within the Uchiha. In the end, only fists mattered.
Back then, Nan's behavior had made him seem like an oddity within the clan. Plenty of blind fools had tried to test him—and all of them had been educated thoroughly.
Now that he was aiming for the Hokage's seat, the old act he'd maintained under Tobirama's rule was useless.
If he wanted to unite the Uchiha, he needed to strike hard—beat down all dissent with sheer force.
And you'll be the first.
Crack one punch, and a hundred follow-ups disappear. If you wanted to plant a flag, you picked the toughest target.
Kagami's expression stiffened, his face darkening. Nan—now that the mask was gone—was no different from the hawks within the clan.
No. He was even worse.
When had Kagami become Tobirama's dog?
He was a disciple.
The insult hit too hard. His body trembled with rage.
"I'm starting to suspect that Lord Tobirama's death has something to do with you!" Kagami roared.
Nan's long deception had revealed a terrifying level of cunning—he'd fooled Kagami, fooled Tobirama, fooled all of Konoha.
A piece of information as top-secret as the Hokage's death—and Nan had obtained it.
How could Kagami not suspect him?
"Slander!" Nan shouted back dramatically.
"You're slandering me!"
"I'm the captain of the Uchiha Police Force! I've bled for Konoha, earned merit on the battlefield!"
He nearly let out a ridiculous scream.
This kind of blame wasn't something you just slapped on someone's head.
If Nan really had the ability to orchestrate a plot big enough to kill Tobirama, he would've done it long ago—why wait until now?
Tobirama's death was nothing but fate and circumstance. With Flying Thunder God and countless forbidden techniques, if Tobirama had truly wanted to escape, no one in the shinobi world could've stopped him.
Damn it—Kagami looked so upright on the surface, yet he was full of dirty thoughts. Trying to dump this kind of black pot on him?
Unacceptable.
Nan decided to strike first.
"Take this!"
He formed hand seals. A ninja blade materialized in his grasp.
A brilliant blue arc of lightning burst forth, the blade slicing through the air with a thunderous roar.
"Swift Lightning Flash!"
Nan's eyes spun wildly—three tomoe rotating at high speed. This technique relied heavily on the Sharingan's dynamic vision.
Clang!
Lightning exploded alongside sparks. Kagami barely managed to block with a kunai. The ground beneath his feet cracked, and a dull pain slammed into his chest.
He quickly formed seals with one hand.
Body Flicker!
He had no intention of engaging Nan—a true blade master—in close combat. Too many had already died beneath Nan's sword.
"Not bad reflexes… gold," Nan muttered.
He'd expected to at least wound Kagami with that strike, but it didn't matter. He wasn't aiming for an instant kill anyway.
"You do have a problem!" Kagami shouted coldly.
After creating distance, killing intent surged in his gaze. To him, Nan's actions were nothing less than an attempt to silence him.
"Fire Style: Great Fire Dragon Technique!"
Blazing flames erupted, forming a massive fire dragon tens of meters long. It coiled through the air before charging straight at Nan.
Interesting.
Nan tightened his grip on the blade, a feral grin spreading across his face. Lightning crackled around his body, stimulating every cell.
With a sharp whoosh, he charged directly into the fire dragon.
A flash of steel.
The dragon was cleaved in two, its flames scattering and exploding into countless sparks that rained down from the sky.
"Die!"
In the blink of an eye, Nan appeared right in front of Kagami. Blade light flared as Kagami was forced back again and again.
Nan's speed was overwhelming. His swordsmanship was vicious and precise—every strike aimed straight for Kagami's vitals.
Kagami was miserable. His injuries from before hadn't even healed yet.
This can't continue.
As he barely fended off Nan's assault, Kagami secretly formed hand seals. Their Sharingan met—
"Ninja Art: Paralysis Bind!"
Nan's gaze suddenly dulled. The three tomoe in his Sharingan stopped spinning. The raised blade lowered, and he froze in place.
"Huff… huff…"
Seeing Nan stop, Kagami finally broke, gasping for breath. He started coughing violently—blood splattered from his lips.
The initial ambush had already inflicted internal injuries. He'd been forcing himself to hold on this entire time.
Nan's sword was terrifying. Kagami knew that if he'd lasted even a few breaths longer, he'd be dead.
Good… it worked.
But there was no time to rest. His genjutsu wouldn't hold Nan for long.
He needed to bind him immediately and hand him over to Lady Mito—only then could he clear his name.
Ignoring the blood he was coughing up, Kagami hurried toward Nan.
"Swallow Reversal."
A sudden strike.
Blade light erupted.
Kagami never saw it coming.
The slash tore across his chest. A horrifying wound split open, bone faintly visible—his intestines spilling out.
"You didn't seriously think I fell for your genjutsu, did you?" Nan's mocking voice echoed in his ears.
"I was just playing along. I've been guarding against that trick from the start."
Back in his previous life, fans had speculated that Kagami was related to Shisui—that his genjutsu far surpassed that of ordinary Uchiha.
Nan had never forgotten that.
"You… you…"
Kagami tried to speak—but his strength failed him. Darkness swallowed his vision, and he collapsed unconscious.
Nan stepped forward, looking down at him with satisfaction.
A clean result.
Gravely injured—but not dead.
Enough to keep Kagami from turning to Sarutobi Hiruzen and becoming a nuisance.
Killing him outright was out of the question. Slaughtering clan members casually? That was idiotic.
Nan still planned on becoming clan head.
Green light gathered in his hand. He used medical ninjutsu to stop the bleeding, applying a rough bandage to keep Kagami alive.
The rest could be handled by the clan's medics.
Nan straightened up, eyes burning.
The path upward was already unfolding before him.
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