"Sarutobi Shinnosuke has finally left the village," Uchiha Ryu whispered excitedly as he watched from the shadows.
He had spent the entire previous day and most of today tracking Sarutobi Shinnosuke. Finally, Shinnosuke left the village to undertake a mission. If Sarutobi Shinnosuke hadn't left today, Uchiha Ryu would have been forced to act within Konoha itself, which would have meant certain death. Uchiha Ryu wasn't ready to die—he lacked that kind of resolve.
He couldn't cure the poison he had been inflicted with. As for seeking help from Sarutobi Hiruzen, that was out of the question. He wasn't foolish—after being betrayed by Sarutobi Hiruzen once, he knew better than to trust him again. Hiruzen's betrayal had only fueled Uchiha Ryu's hatred, and killing Hiruzen's son, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, was the perfect revenge.
As Shinnosuke and Uchiha Ryu left the village, one of Uchiha Shin's informants, who had been keeping an eye on Uchiha Ryu, immediately reported the development to Kisaragi.
"Kisaragi-sama, Sarutobi Shinnosuke has left Konoha Village, and Uchiha Ryu is following him. Shall I pursue them?" Shin asked.
"Leave it be," Kisaragi replied calmly.
There were very few people capable of curing the poison affecting Uchiha Ryu, and Kisaragi could only think of two—Tsunade or Lady Chiyo. Tsunade would never help, and Chiyo, being an advisor from Sunagakure, would certainly never assist a Konoha ninja. Uchiha Ryu had no choice but to complete his mission and return to Kisaragi for the antidote.
"If he does manage to kill Sarutobi Shinnosuke, I'll reward him generously," Kisaragi said with a cold smile.
He instructed Uchiha Shin to continue with his duties, confident that Uchiha Ryu would succeed. After all, Sarutobi Shinnosuke was merely a Jōnin, while Uchiha Ryu was an Elite Jōnin. The difference in strength between the two was significant. In most cases, five Jōnin working together wouldn't stand a chance against an Elite Jōnin.
Outside Konoha, Uchiha Ryu continued to trail Sarutobi Shinnosuke, but he didn't make a move just yet. They were still too close to the village. If he failed to kill Shinnosuke instantly, reinforcements from Konoha would arrive quickly.
"Once we're further away from the village, you're as good as dead," Uchiha Ryu muttered, glaring at Shinnosuke.
Uchiha Ryu's strength had been earned through countless battles. In comparison, Sarutobi Shinnosuke had achieved the rank of Jōnin without much combat experience, which left him at a significant disadvantage.
As Shinnosuke traveled through the dense forests of the Land of Fire, leaping from tree to tree with ease, a nagging feeling gnawed at him. He felt like he was being watched.
"Strange, why does it feel like someone's following me?" Shinnosuke wondered. His instincts as a Jōnin were sharp, and Uchiha Ryu's killing intent was impossible to ignore.
But then, Shinnosuke shook his head. "No enemy ninja would dare come this close to Konoha. It must just be my imagination," he rationalized, a fatal mistake that would cost him his life.
Once they were far enough from Konoha, Uchiha Ryu finally struck. Moving through the shadows, he used his shuriken technique, attaching transparent silk threads to the weapons to control their movements with precision.
By the time Sarutobi Shinnosuke sensed the danger, it was too late. A shuriken grazed his arm, and another embedded itself in his stomach.
"Who's there?" Shinnosuke shouted, shocked by the sudden attack. He hadn't expected to be ambushed on what should have been a routine mission in the Land of Fire.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!" Uchiha Ryu unleashed a fiery dragon at Shinnosuke.
Despite the pain, Shinnosuke quickly performed hand signs and used the Body Replacement Technique. But he was a second too late. The flames scorched his body, leaving him covered in burns.
He had barely avoided a direct hit from the full Dragon Flame, which would have killed him instantly. Still, he was gravely injured.
"It's someone from the Uchiha clan," Shinnosuke realized, recognizing the Dragon Flame Technique as one commonly used by Uchiha ninjas.
"It must be someone from the Uchiha clan," he repeated, his voice laced with fear. "Did Kisaragi send you to kill me?"
Uchiha Ryu's eyes gleamed coldly as he stared at his prey, his killing intent unrestrained. "The dead don't need to ask so many questions."
In a blur of movement, Uchiha Ryu closed the distance and struck Shinnosuke several times, sending him flying. Shinnosuke crashed to the ground, coughing up blood as the severity of his injuries took hold.
Lying there, Sarutobi Shinnosuke regretted ever leaving the village. Why did he take on this mission? Why not stay in Konoha, where it was safe? Let people gossip all they wanted—it wasn't worth dying for.
He had taken this mission to prove himself. People whispered behind his back, claiming he had only become a Jōnin through his father's influence. So, he had taken on an S-rank mission to prove them wrong. If he completed it, no one would be able to claim he had used the "back door" to gain his rank.
But now, as he lay on the ground, dying, he wished he had never left the safety of Konoha. If he had stayed, he might have survived. Now, it was too late.
"Your father dared to betray me. I can't kill him, but I can certainly kill his son," Uchiha Ryu said coldly as he raised his blade.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke's eyes widened in panic, but it was too late. Uchiha Ryu brought the blade down, severing Shinnosuke's head in one clean strike.
In the original story, the circumstances of Sarutobi Shinnosuke's death were unclear, but in this version, he was slain by Uchiha Ryu.
With Shinnosuke dead, there would be no future for Sarutobi Konohamaru. How could there be, when his father was dead before he could be born?
Uchiha Ryu lifted Shinnosuke's head and set the rest of his body ablaze with a fire technique, reducing it to ashes. After cleaning up all traces of the battle, he quickly left the area and returned to Konoha.