While Taiichi was off "vacationing" in Roran, Tsunade back in Konoha was in a mood foul enough to make her want to murder someone.
She stared at the thirty-two pairs of wide, painfully earnest eyes in front of her and seriously considered whether it would be worth the paperwork to just walk out and never come back. Teaching Taiichi had been easy—sometimes even fun. The kid picked up everything on the first try and then asked questions that actually made her think. These ordinary academy brats, though? They needed every single concept repeated three times, and even then half of them still looked like they were trying to solve a puzzle in a foreign language.
"Goddamn old man," she muttered under her breath while keeping her face neutral. "Konoha's crawling with shinobi. Why the hell did he have to send that brat on a mission? If he was that short on people, he could've sent me."
She kept smiling at the students like nothing was wrong, but inside she was already drawing little stick figures of the Third Hokage and stabbing them with imaginary kunai. She missed the days when Taiichi had covered her classes. Those had been peaceful. Now she was stuck back in the classroom like some glorified babysitter, and she had no idea how long this "mission" of his was even going to last.
---
Taiichi, of course, had expected this reaction. The second he'd accepted the assignment, he'd known Tsunade would be pissed. That was why he hadn't left a shadow clone behind in the village. She would've found it and made its life hell.
Still, he couldn't help feeling a little disappointed that he wasn't there to see the look on her face.
By the time his team reached the outskirts of Roran, though, his mind was on other things. The closer they got, the stranger the air felt.
"Can you feel that, Kakashi?" Taiichi asked quietly.
Kakashi and Rin both concentrated. After a moment Kakashi nodded, his visible eye narrowing. "There's a faint chakra signature in the air. And it feels… good? Warm, almost."
"It's more than just chakra," Taiichi said, closing his eyes and drawing in a slow breath. A faint, satisfied look crossed his face. "It's natural energy. The concentration here is high. Really high. Almost like it's waiting to be used."
The sensation only grew stronger the nearer they came to the city. Roran sat in the middle of the desert like a strange, gleaming oasis. Tall, pointed towers rose from the sand, their surfaces covered in metal pipes and strange panels that caught the light. It looked prosperous in a way that didn't match its remote location.
They slipped over the low outer wall under cover of dusk, moving like ghosts. The streets inside were clean. The buildings had an odd, almost alien style, but everything looked orderly. People moved about their evening routines—heading home, chatting quietly outside small shops. They looked calm. Content. Like nothing in the world was wrong.
"Looks normal enough," Rin whispered.
Kakashi's gaze swept the street. "Most of them seem fine. But some of them move… stiffly. Like they're thinking too hard about every step."
Taiichi didn't answer right away. His eyes had taken on a faint, eerie glow that only the other two could see—his Soul Vision active. What he saw made his stomach turn.
The buildings weren't just buildings. Thick pipes ran through the walls and under the streets, carrying glowing blue chakra. From those pipes, thin threads of chakra stretched out like spider silk, connecting to certain "people" on the street. The threads pierced into the backs of their necks or along their spines.
And the people those threads touched?
They had no souls.
They were puppets. Perfectly crafted, moving, breathing puppets wearing human skin.
Taiichi's jaw tightened. "Rin. Kakashi. Look again. Focus your chakra into your eyes and really look at the connections."
Both of them did. Rin's face went white. Kakashi's visible eye widened.
"Those aren't people," Kakashi said, voice low and rough. "They're puppets. Someone replaced living people with puppets."
"More than that," Taiichi said. His voice was cold. "At least one in ten people walking around out there right now isn't alive. They're being controlled from somewhere inside the city. The pipes are feeding them energy and sending orders. This isn't just a few replacements. This is a full takeover."
Rin looked like she might be sick. "The missing men… they were taken and replaced. That's why no one noticed right away. The city still looks alive."
"Exactly," Taiichi said. "And the only way something this big stays hidden is if someone high up is helping cover it. We need to find the queen. Now."
They moved through the city like shadows, heading for the tallest tower. When they reached the queen's chambers, they slipped inside without a sound.
Queen Seramu was already awake. She sat up fast, a jeweled dagger in her hand, eyes wide with fear. The moment she saw the Konoha forehead protectors on Kakashi and Rin, the dagger slipped from her fingers.
"You came," she whispered. Her voice cracked. "Thank the gods… you actually came."
Rin stepped forward carefully, keeping her voice soft. "Your Majesty, we're shinobi from Konoha. I'm Nohara Rin. This is Hatake Kakashi, and our captain, Matsushita Taiichi. We're here to help."
Seramu's composure broke. She pressed a hand to her mouth, eyes filling with tears. "They're taking my people. Young men, strong men—vanishing in the night. I sent An Lushan to investigate, but nothing changes. And me… I've been getting weaker every day. Headaches. Exhaustion. I can barely keep food down. I think someone's poisoning me. I don't know who to trust anymore. Even in my own palace."
Rin's expression grew grave. She moved to the queen's side. "May I examine you?"
Seramu nodded weakly.
A soft green glow lit Rin's hands as she worked. After several long minutes, she pulled back, face pale.
"She's right. There's a slow-acting poison in her system. It's been building for weeks. If it keeps going, it'll shut her organs down."
Seramu closed her eyes, a single tear slipping free. "I knew it."
Taiichi's voice was calm but firm. "Rin, treat her. Kakashi, stay here and guard them both. I'm going to take a closer look at this city."
He didn't wait for an answer. His body flickered and vanished.
By the time the sun rose, Queen Seramu looked exhausted but undeniably better. Color had returned to her cheeks, and the constant weakness that had plagued her for weeks was finally easing. Rin's treatment had worked.
Even so, the queen couldn't afford to rest. Too much depended on her keeping up appearances. She forced herself upright, dressed in her royal robes, and prepared to receive the daily reports from her officials.
When the doors opened and An Lushan stepped inside, smiling his usual warm, loyal smile, Seramu met his gaze without flinching.
She knew the truth now.
And she was done pretending she didn't.