Sunagakure.
Inside Chiyo's office in the central district—
"What? You're looking for a shinobi named Mukade?"
At the sound of her puzzled voice, Chiyo rose from her chair, the wrinkles on her aged face deepening with confusion.
"That's right."
Uchiha Ren nodded casually and said,
"Mukade's existence will interfere with Sunagakure's future development."
"So I intend to kill him now and cut off the problem at the root."
"I see…"
Chiyo frowned, but she didn't doubt him.
In a low voice, she said,
"Sunagakure has many shinobi. I'll have someone investigate him immediately and in secret."
Fair enough.
Chiyo had no reason to doubt anything Uchiha Ren said.
From beginning to end, her attitude remained respectful.
The reason was simple—
Sunagakure had already submitted to Konoha, and she herself had chosen to stand under the Fifth Hokage's protection.
So if Uchiha Ren said Mukade was a problem, then Mukade had to be found and handed over to him.
"Wait…"
At that moment, Ebizō, who had remained silent until now, seemed to remember something. He slowly raised a hand and added with a faint smile,
"If I remember correctly, Mukade is a jōnin in Sunagakure's ANBU. He specializes in puppet techniques."
"Really?"
Chiyo shot him a suspicious look, clearly not fully convinced.
"Big sister, I'm sure of it."
Ebizō shrugged helplessly and explained,
"I don't remember the names of every single Suna ANBU shinobi…"
"But Mukade left a strong impression on me."
"He only recently completed an A-rank mission."
At that point, Ebizō even sighed slightly.
"He's talented… but his personality is far too gloomy."
"I see."
Chiyo nodded and immediately gave the order.
"Bring him to the office."
Ebizō nodded at once.
Half an hour later—
"So you're the Suna shinobi… Mukade?"
Looking at the shinobi dressed in Sunagakure ANBU gear, Uchiha Ren folded his arms and spoke with an unreadable smile.
"…Yes."
Mukade nodded cautiously, hardly even daring to breathe.
He was completely bewildered.
Even now, he still hadn't fully processed what was happening.
The legendary Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Ren, had personally called for him by name.
That alone sent Mukade's emotions into turmoil.
He was uneasy.
Frightened.
Utterly tense.
After all—
the man before him was the Fifth Hokage of Konoha.
The only thing giving Mukade a sliver of relief was this:
his plan had not yet been carried out.
No one in the shinobi world should have known that he had secretly been investigating the Dragon Vein and was already planning to defect from Sunagakure.
"Good. Since you really are Mukade…"
Uchiha Ren's lips curled slightly.
"Then you can die now."
His voice was calm and cold.
"The Dragon Vein of Ancient Loran is not something you're qualified to touch."
"What did you just say?"
"You know about the Dragon Vein?"
"That's impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"How could you know I want the Dragon Vein?"
The moment he heard those words, Mukade's face twisted into a look of utter horror.
His eyes filled with disbelief.
There was no helping it.
He had never imagined that the secret he had hidden for so long would be exposed so casually by Uchiha Ren.
What made it even worse was this—
his plan had not even begun.
So how had the Fifth Hokage known?
The more he thought about it, the more terrified he became.
In an instant, panic swallowed him completely.
Perhaps from sheer fear, Mukade's body shook and he dropped to the floor.
With pleading eyes, he looked toward Chiyo and Ebizō, hoping they might say a few good words for him.
Unfortunately—
wishful thinking was one thing.
Reality was another.
Chiyo and Ebizō had already fully submitted to Konoha.
So when Mukade looked at them for help, both of them ignored him entirely, acting as though they intended to stand by and watch.
That alone pushed Mukade into complete despair.
"Mukade, stop pretending."
At that moment, Uchiha Ren spoke slowly,
"If I'm not mistaken, you've already been planning to defect from Sunagakure and head to Ancient Loran to search for the Dragon Vein, haven't you?"
Mukade, collapsed on the floor, froze completely.
He opened his mouth, still wanting to say something—
but no words came out.
Because what the Fifth Hokage had said was completely true.
And now that Chiyo and Ebizō had clearly sold him out, what was the point of saying anything more?
"Damn it…"
In the next moment, a vicious light flashed through Mukade's eyes.
He didn't care anymore how the Fifth Hokage had found out.
Right now, all that mattered was surviving.
Only by living would he still have hope.
Only by living would he still have a chance to seize the Dragon Vein.
And once he had the Dragon Vein—
the Fifth Hokage and Konoha alike would amount to nothing.
"Why bother?"
Seeing that look in his eyes, Uchiha Ren released a faint, seemingly unremarkable trace of pressure.
In the next instant—
before Mukade could even react, his heart shook violently.
His mind rang.
He coughed up a huge mouthful of blood.
"It's time for you to go."
Before Mukade could recover, that terrifying pressure suddenly intensified several times over.
At lightning speed, it crushed directly down on his soul.
"How is this possible…?"
That was Mukade's final thought.
Boom!
With a violent explosion, Mukade's body seemed to suffer an unbearable impact.
Blood flew everywhere.
His body was torn apart instantly.
He died instantly.
Perhaps even in death, Mukade never understood why his ambitions had failed before they had even begun—
or why he had been erased so casually by the Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Ren, before he could take a single real step.
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