Naruto: Faint Smile - CH 74

[Arata Takeshi - POV.]

We had been on the road for several days now, escorting the Fire Daimyo from one commercial post to the next. It was tedious work, as expected, but at least the Daimyo was an interesting character, making the job easier than I had expected. He had this almost child-like excitement about everything, from the merchandise he was inspecting to the people he was dealing with. In a way, it was refreshing to see someone in his position with such a light-hearted attitude, but it also made our job a little harder. He had a tendency to wander off, and the mission required us to keep a close eye on him at all times.

"How beautiful!" The Daimyo would call out almost every other minute, waving us over to show us something new. "Look at this! Isn't this marvelous?"

Every time, we would nod, smile, and indulge him for a moment before quietly resuming our positions. Itachi was his usual stoic self, remaining composed and professional throughout, while Shisui kept up his usual lighthearted banter with the Daimyo, which much to our sensei’s dismay, made the Daimyo very happy. As for me, I just went with the flow. It wasn’t the worst mission we could’ve been given, and at least it was peaceful.

As much as I wanted action, I didn’t want to have it when the Daimyo was under our care. For obvious reasons.

The stops in the Daimyo’s route had been… almost routine like—meeting with merchants, inspecting goods, exchanging pleasantries, rinse and repeat. Each post was practically the same, and the pattern lulled everyone into a false sense of security. Mr. Yamato and Mukai remained on high alert as always. Shuri, on the other hand, tried her best to keep things relaxed, chatting with the merchants and keeping the mood light.

I, of course, was the one of the ones keeping an eye on the bigger picture, using my sensing abilities to scan the surrounding area as we moved from post to post, making sure no enemy shinobi came within our perimeter. So far, I would only pick up the chakra of the merchants, guards, and the occasional traveler passing through the area. Nothing out of the ordinary.

And just like that, the days went by. And in the blink of an eye, we were in our ten day on the road.

Today, like most days so far, we had just arrived at another post, a bustling trade hub where merchants and travelers from all over the country gathered, our schedule? More of the same. The Daimyo had a few business meetings in a few hours, and was currently in the middle of inspecting a particularly large shipment of silk he was particularly fancy of, chatting animatedly with the merchant, everything was normal… or at least it was, until, a sudden switch in the atmosphere hit me, creeping up my spine.

A chakra so familiar, it made my skin crawl. My body tensed immediately, and the world around me seemed to slow down as I focused on that presence.

I took a moment to gather myself, thinking: It couldn’t be.

"Takeshi?" Itachi asked, being the first one to notice my change in expression.

"He’s here," I hissed out as I felt it again, much stronger this time, a dark, twisted energy that I hadn’t felt since that night. The night the Nine Tails attacked Konoha. My heart raced, and I scanned the area with every ounce of focus I had.

There was doubt about it. This chakra, this… dark feeling belonged to the man who had released the Nine Tails… The man responsible for Minato’s and Lady Kushina’s death… that bastard, was here.

"Who?" Itachi asked, his eyes scanning the area for any signs of a possible enemy.

"The one responsible for the nine tails attack," I replied, keeping my senses locked on the man’s chakra signature. He wasn’t close, yet, but distance mattered very little to that man, despite my inexperience at the time, I could remember very well… how his chakra moved through the village, and how fast he would travel distances, popping in and out of my senses, each time in a different location.

This was bad. Very bad.

I wasn’t ready to face this threat yet, if he had been able to go face to face with Minato… I doubted I could do much as I was right now against him. And even if I considered the strength of the group as a whole, counting our numerical advantage, I knew such things wouldn’t matter much if our opponent was on Kage-level.

Direct confrontation was a bad idea. And so was stalling.

Considering his timing, his target had to be the Daimyo. The question now was… how to stop him from getting the Daimyo?

"Team leader," I said, looking at Mukai. "There’s an enemy shinobi close."

"According to Takeshi, is the same one that unleashed the nine tails all those years ago," Itachi added.

I nodded. "Their chakra feel the same…" I would never forget that… twisted feeling I felt, that uncanny sensation, no matter how much time passed.

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[Uchiha Obito - POV.]

Killing the Fire Daimyo… would bring the Hidden Leaf to ruins, destroying everything Minato and everyone else had ever dreamed of protecting, destroying their so-called legacy. Destroying their lie. His death would send shockwaves throughout the Fire Country. The chaos that would follow would create the perfect conditions for bringing their house of cards down, something the village sorely needed.

Fools.

From where I was, I could feel the chakra signatures of every shinobi in that group. Just as my contact had said, the entourage consisted of six visible Shinobi, three out of the twelve guardian, hidden close enough to protect their master, and an Anbu squad, tailing them a mile away.

In the group, there were the young Uchiha prodigies, Itachi and Shisui, both of which had grown stronger than I expected. Their reputations preceded them, if I played my cards right, I would be able to make use of them in the future. Then, there was the boy—Arata Takeshi. The one who had been able to sense me during the Nine Tails incident.

I could kill the Daimyo… right now.

But not yet.

There was no need to rush. I would wait. I had all the time in the world. Once they left the safety of the commercial hub and returned to the open road, that was when I would strike. When they were vulnerable, and exposed.

“You’re playing a dangerous game,” came the soft, gurgling voice of Zetsu, materializing beside me. His voice was a low, dark chuckle as his black half melded with the shadows. “But you always did enjoy the thrill of it, didn’t you?”

I ignored his taunts, my eyes fixated on the location of the Daimyo’s entourage. There was no need to respond to Zetsu’s provocations. He thrived on annoying me, feeding off my tension. I hated him, just as much as I hated Madara, but they were both a means to an end.

“Patience,” I whispered, my voice barely audible beneath the mask. “The right moment will present itself soon enough.”

Zetsu chuckled darkly, but there was an edge to it, something almost... mocking. “Patience, hmm? You’ve forgotten something, haven’t you?”

I frowned beneath my mask, irritation flaring at his cryptic tone. “Forgotten? What are you talking about?”

Zetsu’s black half leaned in closer, his voice dripping with amusement. “Arata Takeshi,” he said, savoring the name like a bitter piece of candy. “Despite knowing he’s within the group, you seem to have forgotten, that he was the one who detected you years ago, during your little visits to Konoha. The one whose senses are... unusually sharp, even for a sensor.”

I stiffened, my eyes narrowing as Zetsu’s words sank in. I was… miles away from them, there was no way he could have detected me. The only reason I could sense chakra this far away was because I had Hashirama cells implanted within me.

“Impossible,” I muttered, more to myself than to Zetsu. “There’s no way a mere boy could—”

Zetsu’s chuckle interrupted my thoughts, the sound sending a chill down my spine. “You underestimate him,” he said, his voice a soft, dangerous whisper. “That’s your first mistake. He’s already aware of your presence. He’s known for a while now.”

I felt a surge of anger at Zetsu’s words. Had I really been so careless? No, it wasn’t carelessness, there weren’t many sensors capable of sensing this far away. So, if Zetsu was right—and he usually was—then Takeshi had been aware of me from the moment I arrived. That damn brat.

My eyes narrowed as I turned my gaze back to the general location of my targets. If he had really sensed me, he was hiding it well, his chakra was calm and steady, nothing was out of the ordinary. But now that I knew what to look for, I could see it, the subtle almost imperceptible tension in the pulse of his chakra, the way his senses were focused, scanning the surroundings with a precision far beyond his years. He knew. He knew I was here.

That damned brat.

Zetsu was right. I had underestimated him. But that wouldn’t happen again.

“He’s a problem,” I muttered, my voice laced with frustration. “One I’ll have to deal with.”

Zetsu’s black half grinned, his white counterpart remaining silent as always. “Indeed,” he purred. “But don’t worry. He’s still just a boy. And boys are... easy to break.”

I clenched my fists, my mind racing as I considered my options. Killing the Daimyo was still the priority, but now... now I had another target in mind. Takeshi Arata. If I could eliminate him, it would make my life easier down the line.