In the Land of Whirlpools, inside a secluded mine behind the Leaf Village camp.
The dim mine was filled with an unpleasant smell, which the ninjas quickly identified.
A mix of blood, sweat, alcohol, and waste created a pungent and unpleasant aroma.
"Captain Kakashi, where are we?"
Leading them into this unfamiliar cave were Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Shisui, and Shiranui Genma couldn't help but look serious.
Kurenai Yuhi, Uzuki Yugao, Mitarashi Anko, Shiranui Genma, Raidō Namiashi, Iwashi Tatami, along with Might Guy and a seven-year-old Uchiha Itachi who had just arrived at the front lines, were all brought into this unfamiliar mine tunnel.
Walking in front, Kakashi Hatake showed an indifferent look in his eyes, glanced back at everyone behind him, and simply said, "This is a frontline prison, for holding and interrogating enemies."
Genma thought of something instantly and his face became somewhat uneasy, while Might Guy, who was also in the operation, looked serious for once.
"I trust Kakashi, and I believe that anyone who betrays the Will of Fire won't end well."
Compared to Might Guy, Genma became silent, and everyone else, as ninjas, naturally didn't need to be told that they sensed something was off by looking at the three's eyes.
As undercover agents sent by the Third Hokage, Kurenai and Yugao were clearly anxious. They looked at the blood stains on the ground as they walked by. Though their faces remained unchanged, they were filled with complex emotions, even agony!
Kurenai thought, 'Have you discovered my identity?' She felt a bit of sadness but more relief as if she no longer had to bear the guilt.
Yugao kept a calm face, but her heart was in turmoil. 'Lord Yoru, don't you want to see me anymore?' She scoffed at herself, 'I'm just a spy, not qualified to talk about past emotions.'
Only Anko looked angry and muttered, "Anyone who wants to harm Yoru should die."
Anko believed that the enemies here were enemies of Uchiha Yoru, the current highest commander here.
"Itachi, sometimes the enemy may not come from other countries, but from your own people."
Walking at the end, Uchiha Shisui lowered his voice as if educating Uchiha Itachi. But when Kurenai and Yugao heard this, they felt as if they were exposed, and both showed a relieved smile.
The mature Uchiha Itachi seemed to have realized something and nodded seriously, "I understand what you're saying, brother Shisui."
Orochimaru's failure was caused by their own people, not a scheme by enemy ninjas, but rather a trap set by their own.
The slow footsteps seemed to pound on everyone's hearts. Suddenly, the footsteps stopped. Walking at the front, Kakashi Hatake stopped and looked back at everyone, "We're here."
As the sound of footsteps abruptly ceased, the hearts of Kurenai Yuhi and Uzuki Yugao clenched even tighter. At the last moment, they stared at the wooden prison door, filled with palpitations, fearing that the figure appearing upon its opening would be someone they didn't know how to face.
Creak~
The heavy door opened. When no one appeared inside the spacious prison cell as they had imagined, Kurenai Yuhi and Uzuki Yugao sighed in relief but also felt a tinge of disappointment. Did he not even want to see them one last time?
Had they hurt him so much that he'd lost all hope?
"Kakashi, you're here."
Inside the dry cell sat a Leaf Village ninja with his chakra sealed, sitting cross-legged on a pile of straw. Seeing the visitor, he showed eyes of relief and even smiled. However, upon seeing so many people, his face immediately turned into a bitter smile.
"Well, someone like me, a sinner, living this long is thanks to Lord Yoru's mercy."
When everyone entered and saw the figure, Kurenai Yuhi, Uzuki Yugao, and Mitarashi Anko, among others who were uninformed, showed expressions of astonishment. They did recognize this special elite ninja; after all, anyone with such a title was considered a high-level combatant.
Everyone stood in a daze, lined up. When Kurenai Yuhi and Uzuki Yugao realized that their own secrets weren't exposed, they sighed in relief but felt more guilty.
The man before them had already been reported dead, but here he was. Given the circumstances, they could conclude that he was either a traitor or under suspicion.
Raidō Namiashi and Iwashi Tatami stared at the person in the cell and began to quietly inquire with their captain, Shiranui Genma.
Clearly, they were also surprised by the individual here.
The special elite ninja of the Leaf Village, Ukake, now sat cleanly cross-legged on a pile of straw. Clearly inscribed on his forehead were sealing symbols, indicating his chakra had been sealed.
His neat and tidy clothes suggested that he had not been tortured, but his eyes were filled with weariness, evidently crushed by guilt. He even exuded an aura of late-life decline.
"This letter was sent from your wife in the village; your death report has not yet been issued."
Kakashi casually handed over a crumpled letter from his pocket. Upon seeing the letter, Ukake's lifeless eyes instantly lit up with hope. Trembling, he took the letter and shed tears of sadness and regret.
Drip, drip.
Tears continuously slid down his cheeks. As he opened the letter with shaking hands, he saw the somewhat ugly handwriting and even some typos. His wife didn't know many characters; many she learned from him. The handwriting wasn't elegant.
As he read the childlike, scribbled writing, Ukake burst into a genuine smile for the first time since this ordeal. His wife was doing well, and his child had grown and even passed the ninja school exam, proving the child had inherited his ninja genes.
The letter first briefly mentioned that his wife was doing well, and then it was all about how hard the child was working to pass the exams, ranking in the top twenty among civilians and likely to enter an elite class.
The letter was overflowing with happiness for their child.
At the end, there was a photo of his wife and child, smiling sincerely after passing the ninja school exam. It felt as though only he was missing from the picture.
"Heh, how wonderful."
Carefully storing the letter back in its envelope, this scene was observed by Mitarashi Anko, who couldn't help but frown and snort, "Did you not think of your family when you became a traitor!"
The straightforward Anki didn't hold back, a scene that's obviously very heartwarming. But if you don't do this, how can you get to this point? This is simply what she thought.
However, upon hearing these words, Ukake, who had tears welling up in his eyes, became enraged, glaring at everyone with his reddening eyes.
"I know you. You're Orochimaru-sama's disciple, Mitarashi Anko, and you, Kurenai Yuhi, your father is an elite shinobi, Genma Team part of the special squad that once guarded the Fourth Hokage... and so on."
Ukake looked at each person and spoke. Finally, seeing the contempt in Mitarashi Anko's eyes, as if incited, he tightly clutched the letter to his chest and started venting.
"You, as a disciple of Lord Orochimaru, are treated this way. If not for the intervention of Lord Yoru, do you think you'd be any better off than me?"
"And you all! I'm just an ordinary person, you think I want to betray you?"
At this moment, Ukake's eyes were bloodshot, he vented frantically, "I have no one behind me! No one helped me when I was most desperate! My wife! My children! They are innocent, what can I do! Tell me!"
Seeing Ukake suddenly enraged, everyone was taken aback. However, Mitarashi Anko is no gentle kitty; she's a wild little cat, completely bristled.
Mitarashi Anko glared back uncompromisingly, "Shinobi rules stipulate what to do when your teammates and family are threatened by enemies. Haven't you learned that?"
They are shinobi! Being a shinobi is cruel; they had already learned all sorts of shinobi rules in their shinobi school.
Facing Mitarashi Anko's accusations, Ukake's eyes remained blood-red, glaring at everyone, as if being hit where it hurts.
At this moment, Kakashi Hatake solemnly said, "The one threatening his family is someone from the village!"
One sentence suddenly stirred up waves, and everyone was stunned, then showing an incredulous look. Even Might Guy fell silent; as one of the people who personally captured the other party, he naturally knew some of the inside story.
The youngest, Uchiha Itachi, calmly said, "Someone from the village, do they have so much power that not even a special Jonin could resist?"
Everyone looked at each other, no one expected this situation. Even Mitarashi Anko was stunned after hearing it; her straightforward personality doesn't mean she's naive, and her face turned extremely ugly as if she thought of something.
Yugure and Ugetsu, on the other hand, wore gloomy expressions. Ukake looked at everyone's incredulous eyes and suddenly laughed mockingly.
"So, what now? Can't speak? Then tell me what you would do in this situation? Did the shinobi school ever teach you?"
"I risk my life on the front lines, yet someone in the village is threatening my wife and children! What would you do if you were in my shoes?"
Looking at everyone, before they could speak, Ukake suddenly laughed at himself and said, "Right, some of you would definitely say that under the Will of Fire, there is no room for compromise. Do you know what choice I made at that time?"
With everyone's eyes on him, he roared, "I didn't compromise! I gave up my wife and child. But what was the result? When the person behind the scenes surfaced and found me, I knew what kind of bullshit village this was! And this bullshit Will of Fire!"
"Come on, Might Guy, I know you. Your father was a hero of the Third War. Has his heroism been passed down in the village for the sake of stability? Haha, only us Jonin know a bit about the situation."
"And you, Kakashi, your father, White Fang, is he a hero or a disgrace? Your father chose his comrades over the mission and became a disgrace to Konoha. I chose the village over my family; am I a hero?"
Pointing at his nose, Ukake laughed sarcastically and then his face turned into a complex, self-mocking smile, "Haha, for the village, I'm just a fool. All of this is nonsense. When a Jonin from the Sarutobi clan found me, I knew that beneath the so-called Will of Fire are all ugly and disgusting people."
"It was a Jonin from the Sarutobi clan who made me leak information to the Mist ninjas. This is the family of the Third Hokage. Is this betrayal? Am I a traitor? Did I sell out the interests of the village? No, I was just following the teachings of the Ninja Academy and obeying orders. I faithfully carried out my mission to leak information to the Mist ninjas."
As Ukake's revelations unfolded, it slowly uncovered the village's dark and ugly face, leaving everyone shocked. Mitarashi Anko involuntarily took a few steps back, losing her initial air of superiority.
As a civilian most brainwashed by the propaganda, Uzuki Yugao shouted, "You're talking nonsense, you must be making things up. Even if it's true, someone must be hiding it from the Hokage."
Kurenai Yuhi was the most calm. The incident had a great impact on her. Although she knew the village had a dark side, she never thought it would be so dark.
Kurenai Yuhi lowered her voice and said cautiously, "There must be a reason why a Jonin from the Sarutobi clan asked you to leak information."
Facing everyone's doubts, Ukake, who had already resigned himself to fate after receiving the family letter, simply laughed with tears in his eyes, looking at everyone as if they were fools.
"What if this person is the eldest son of the Third Hokage? Right, you should know, the former head of the Anbu, the daughter-in-law of the Third Hokage. So impressive, isn't it?"
"Do you even need to ask why? Aren't you guys fools? After Orochimaru was expelled from the Land of Fire, the old members should have dispersed. But now Lord Yoru has come and not only rallied the people but most importantly, he's a threat! Lord Yoru led us to a great victory as soon as he arrived."
At this point, Ukake laughed sarcastically, "One is a strong ninja who's not even seventeen, and the other is almost thirty. When the village selects the Fifth Hokage, someone will say, 'Look at him, he can't even beat a seventeen-year-old and yet he's running for the position of Fifth Hokage.'"
"Isn't this a joke?" He questioned everyone, this Leaf ninja just let go, pointing at everyone, "What would you do if you were in my position?"
"Now, your families are being threatened, the daughter-in-law of the Third Hokage, the former head of the Anbu, is also threatening you. And they are asking you to leak the current location to the Mist ninjas, then seize the opportunity to expose the commander's position. The goal of a ninja is to complete the mission. Now tell me, what would you do?"
Ukake's powerless roar echoed in the prison, everyone's faces filled with disbelief, as if they could not believe that the village's ugly face was being exposed.
~~~
Patreon.com/Bleam
— 70 Advance Chapters!
Discord Server:
— https://discord.gg/JPwBJPcUzR
(I post Trial Chapters of FanFic I think I would post or not in Discord. We also have Minecraft Server for "Reborn with Steve Stand")