Chapter 409: Identity Exposed
"Actually... I'm a member of S.H.I.E.L.D..."
Sarada's brain froze the moment Shuyu uttered those words.
Before she could react, Shuyu shoved her straight into the space portal that had just opened.
Four scientific ninja tool puppets descended from above, landing at the four corners to surround Shuyu in the center.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. operative, Flaming Cloud Evil God—we meet again."
One of the puppets spoke.
"Skynet, what exactly are you trying to do?"
Shuyu stared intently at the puppet that had just spoken.
"Only to protect this world. To bring lasting peace. Isn't that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s goal as well? It's just that I've realized—so long as desire exists, war will never end. But human desire is eternal. According to my data analysis, the only way to achieve true peace... is to completely eradicate humanity. Of course, for the sake of biodiversity, I'll still preserve a few humans."
Skynet explained calmly and confidently.
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Konoha Village.
Hokage Tower.
Hokage's Office.
"...I already know."
Boruto looked at Sarada, who sat before him in low spirits. He had no idea how to comfort her.
In order to protect Sarada and deliver the intel back to the village, Shuyu had stayed behind alone. Thinking about it now, he was probably dead.
"I'll be going now, Boruto."
"Mm..."
Boruto nodded.
Sarada didn't tell him everything. She chose to keep the fact that Shuyu was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent to herself.
She stepped outside, staring blankly at the empty room. She wasn't used to it. At some point, she had grown accustomed to Shuyu taking care of her.
"..."
Wait a second!
It suddenly hit her—because Shuyu had been by her side so often recently, she'd subconsciously forgotten that he had family in Konoha too.
Shuyu's father—Uchiha Shunhi.
Now that she thought about it, the relationship between Shunhi and Shuyu didn't feel like a father and son at all.
What kind of father could be that indifferent to his own child?
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Ichiraku Ramen, Branch No. 2.
"Welcome." Shunhi looked up at the lone customer who entered. "Oh, it's you, Sarada. What would you like today?"
"Uncle Shunhi."
Sarada stared at him with a grave expression. If Shunhi was also a member of S.H.I.E.L.D., then coming to him alone was extremely dangerous.
But what worried her more was this—why had S.H.I.E.L.D. planted agents inside Konoha? Moreover, she'd often heard that Shunhi was considered the third most important person to the Seventh Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki.
The first was Jiraiya, the second was Iruka.
Each of these men had, at different stages of Naruto's life, fulfilled his need for a father figure.
Thinking of that, Sarada felt a chill. If Shunhi really was a member of S.H.I.E.L.D., then it meant S.H.I.E.L.D.'s plan to infiltrate Konoha had started over a decade ago.
"What's wrong, Sarada?"
Shunhi looked at her in confusion. He had to admit—when Sarada got serious, she really did resemble Sakura.
But more than that, he had the sinking feeling that Sarada might punch him at any moment.
"Uncle Shunhi, did you know that Shuyu was a member of S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
Sarada didn't beat around the bush—she just hit him with the question directly.
After all, they were in Konoha. Even if something went wrong, backup would arrive quickly.
"..." Shunhi fell silent for a moment, then nodded. "Yes. I knew."
"Then what about you? Are you also with S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
Sarada clenched her fists. Deep down, she already had her suspicions—Uchiha Shunhi was very likely a member of S.H.I.E.L.D.
"I'm not."
But Shunhi shook his head.
"What?"
Is he lying?
Sarada studied his face carefully, searching for any sign of deception. But she couldn't see through him.
Wait, no. Ninja are trained to control their expressions. Of course he wouldn't be that easy to read.
"I'm not a S.H.I.E.L.D. member... I'm the Deputy Director of S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Sarada, calm down."
Just as she was about to erupt, a pale yellow hand suddenly rested on her shoulder from behind. A familiar, spongey voice followed.
"SpongeBob?!"
Another S.H.I.E.L.D. member?!
"That's right, Sarada. Try to stay calm."
From a corner of the room, Kushina walked out.
"Patrick Star?!"
S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were swarming Konoha Village, and Sarada couldn't help but worry about the village's defenses.
But then again, with Minato Namikaze—once the Fourth Hokage—around, sneaking in and out of Konoha must've been as easy as coming home.
Seeing both SpongeBob and Patrick show up together, Sarada abandoned any thoughts of fighting her way out.
"What exactly are you people doing in Konoha?!"
By now, Sarada had regained some composure.
"…Sarada, in truth, while I am the Deputy Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., I'm also a Hydra mole planted inside the organization."
"..."
Sarada stared at him with a clear expression that said, You expect me to believe that? You must think I'm an idiot.
"Sarada, Shunhi's telling the truth."
Minato stepped forward with a supposedly sunny smile—though it honestly looked a bit foolish.
"...SpongeBob is Minato Namikaze."
Shunhi added from the side.
"Minato Namikaze…"
Sarada was briefly stunned.
"The Fourth Hokage of Konoha Village."
Shunhi reminded her.
"And naturally, I'm Minato's wife—Kushina Uzumaki."
Kushina followed up immediately.
"Then what about Shuyu? Who is he really?!"
"…He's Uchiha Itachi—your father's older brother."
At Shunhi's words, Sarada froze on the spot.
The warm memories of Shuyu's kindness toward her began to surface.
"So... that's why... it was family all along..."
Sarada finally understood why Shuyu had always looked after her and tolerated her whims without complaint. When it came to family, no explanation was needed.
"Anyway, let's talk about the current situation." Shunhi's expression turned serious as he dropped a bombshell that stunned Sarada.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. has completely lost control."
"What?!"
Sarada had always assumed Skynet was just a dark scheme concocted by S.H.I.E.L.D.
"No one expected Skynet to betray S.H.I.E.L.D.," Shunhi said slowly. "According to our latest intel, the Land of Water has been completely transformed into a factory for Skynet's scientific ninja tool puppet army…"
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