"Uchiha… Madara?"
Itachi furrowed his brow deeply. Every member of the Uchiha clan knew this name. He was the one who led the family to co-found the village with the Senju clan and the First Hokage. Of course, he was also the only and greatest rogue ninja ever produced by the Uchiha clan.
"You expect me to believe that? Uchiha Madara was killed by the First Hokage years ago," Itachi said.
"Whether you believe it or not doesn't matter to me." Behind his mask, Uchiha Obito smiled. "But as your senior, I'll step in to help when you need it."
After speaking, Obito's figure vanished into thin air.
"Space-time ninjutsu?" Itachi's face grew even more serious as he stared in the direction Obito disappeared, deep in thought.
After Obito left, Itachi couldn't bring himself to rest anymore. He turned and dashed toward the Sarutobi clan's compound.
In front of Hiruzen Sarutobi's residence, Itachi hurriedly arrived and said to the Sarutobi clan member guarding the door, "Please report—I have urgent matters to convey to the Third Hokage."
"Captain Itachi?" Seeing Itachi so anxious, the guard knew something big must have happened for him to seek out the Hokage so late, and quickly went to relay the message.
Soon, Hiruzen Sarutobi, still in his pajamas, rushed out. Seeing Itachi's expression, Hiruzen's heart skipped a beat. For Itachi to come this late—could the Uchiha be rebelling?
"Hokage-sama, sorry to disturb you so late." Itachi bowed.
"No need for formalities, Itachi. For you to come at this hour, did something happen?" Hiruzen asked after taking a deep breath.
Itachi glanced at the guards on either side.
"Come with me." Hiruzen understood, and felt somewhat relieved. It seemed Itachi's visit wasn't about a full-scale Uchiha rebellion.
"Tell me, what happened?" Hiruzen asked, leading Itachi into a secret room.
"Just now, I ran into someone—he also had Mangekyō Sharingan." Itachi took a deep breath. "And he claimed to be Uchiha Madara."
"What?" Hiruzen was utterly shocked.
"He used space-time ninjutsu. His body could turn intangible. My probing attacks had no effect," Itachi continued.
"He wore a strange mask, didn't he?" The Third Hokage's eyes narrowed.
"How do you know?" Itachi was surprised.
"Because I've seen him before." Hiruzen's expression grew heavy. Six years ago, during the Nine-Tails' attack on the village, the Fourth Hokage's enemy was this masked man you mention."
Itachi's eyes widened.
"What did he say to you?" Hiruzen asked seriously.
Itachi, not daring to hide anything, quickly recounted their conversation.
After hearing Itachi's report, Hiruzen rubbed his brow, headache growing. "Why would that guy appear now, of all times…"
"Hokage-sama, is that man really Uchiha Madara?" Itachi asked.
"Impossible," Hiruzen replied. "I was there behind the Second Hokage when Madara was buried. I saw it with my own eyes."
"Then who is he? Could his appearance be connected to the clan's situation?" Itachi wondered.
"I doubt it. The Uchiha clan shouldn't know about him. If there were three pairs of Mangekyō, they'd have rebelled by now." Hiruzen's eyes flickered, but he told Itachi, "Itachi, I'll discuss this with Jiraiya tomorrow. Please keep this between us. The village can't handle any more unrest."
"Yes!" Itachi nodded.
…
The next day, after learning about Itachi's encounter, Jiraiya's expression also turned grave.
The one responsible for his student's early death had reappeared at this critical moment. He couldn't help but worry. Especially since Naruto was currently with the Uchiha clan, Jiraiya was instantly on edge.
Meanwhile, all members of the Seiryu Loyalist faction connected to Uchiha Seiryu received formal invitations early that morning.
As Seiryu was planning the evening banquet, Inaho knocked on his office door.
"Deputy, Lord Jiraiya is here to see you," Inaho reported.
"Is that so?" Seiryu narrowed his eyes.
'Jiraiya, coming to see me now? Has my plan been exposed?'
Though suspicious, Seiryu kept his composure. "Let him in."
"Understood." Inaho left.
After Inaho left, Seiryu immediately created two shadow clones, sending them via summoning to Ryūchi Cave to gather sage chakra. He didn't know why Jiraiya was here, but if it was trouble, he had to be ready to take down Jiraiya quickly, not giving him the chance to summon the two toad sages for Sage Mode.
Prepared, Seiryu calmly set out tea and waited for Jiraiya.
Soon, Jiraiya hurried in.
"Lord Jiraiya, is there a mission the Police Force can help with?" Seiryu asked.
"Seiryu, where is Naruto?" Jiraiya asked anxiously.
"Naruto?" Seiryu relaxed slightly. Seems they hadn't discovered his plans. "Come now, Lord Jiraiya. At this hour, Naruto is at the Academy, where else?"
"Uh… right." Jiraiya realized Naruto should be in class.
"Did something happen to Naruto?" Seiryu asked.
Jiraiya, noting Seiryu's confused look, decided to probe: "Last night, the masked man who caused the Nine-Tails' incident seven years ago showed up in the village again."
"What?" Seiryu's brow furrowed. What was Obito doing in the village now? Seiryu had wanted to deal with him after settling the village affairs, but the guy jumped out early.
"That masked man had a Mangekyō Sharingan and claimed to be Uchiha Madara," Jiraiya said, watching Seiryu for any sign of guilt.
But Seiryu's face changed sharply, and he met Jiraiya's gaze head-on: "Lord Jiraiya, are you suspecting the Uchiha?"
"Seiryu, that's not what I meant. It's just too urgent…" Jiraiya realized his tone had been wrong and quickly softened.
"What exactly do you want from the Police Force?" Seiryu asked coldly.
"I want to take Naruto back with me and protect him personally for the next few days." Jiraiya gritted his teeth.
"Are you saying the Uchiha can't protect a seven-year-old, or that we'd stoop so low as to harm a child and unleash the Nine-Tails?" Seiryu pressed. Naruto was a huge problem now that Obito had appeared.
If Obito tried anything and released the Nine-Tails, it would destroy the village!
Honestly, Seiryu would love for Jiraiya to take Naruto away now. But since Kakashi had entrusted Naruto to the Uchiha, giving him up so easily would look bad—not only to Kakashi but to the Fourth Hokage's old guard.
"Seiryu, I'm not doubting you," Jiraiya explained. "I just want to take Naruto somewhere safe, given his importance and the enemy's record of controlling the Nine-Tails. I plan to send him to Mount Myōboku for a while."
Seeing Jiraiya back down, Seiryu relented: "I understand. But since Naruto was entrusted to us by Kakashi, shouldn't you ask for his opinion?"
"I will," Jiraiya nodded. In Seiryu's office, he summoned a message toad from Mount Myōboku, wrote a letter to explain, and sent it via the toad network to Kakashi on the border of the Land of Fire.
Soon, Kakashi's ninken Pakkun ran into the Police Force with a reply.
Jiraiya and Seiryu opened the letter together. Learning that the culprit behind the Nine-Tails' attack had reappeared, Kakashi agreed to Jiraiya's plan to send Naruto to Mount Myōboku for safety.
"See, Seiryu? Kakashi agrees," Jiraiya said, relieved.
"Understood. After Naruto finishes school today, you can take him," Seiryu said.
"Uh," Jiraiya, seeing Seiryu so reasonable, felt a bit apologetic. "Seiryu, I really wasn't doubting your clan, I was just worried…"
Jiraiya became more embarrassed as he explained, but Seiryu offered him an out: "Lord Jiraiya, I understand. In a way, you're like Naruto's grandfather—it's natural to be worried."
"Yes, exactly," Jiraiya nodded repeatedly. "Well, I won't disturb your work anymore, Deputy Seiryu."