The next day, sunlight bathed Takigakure once again.
The villagers awoke feeling unusually refreshed, as if they had enjoyed the most stable sleep of their lives.
The lower-ranking ninja yawned and stretched, most of them entirely unaware of the darkness that had transpired under the moonlight.
Only a few elders and top-tier officials knew the truth—and even then, their understanding was fragnted. Many only rembered being caught in a massive Genjutsu before falling into a deep slumber. Investigations were launched, but they yielded nothing but whispers.
The official narrative was quickly established: the village's spies had staged a coordinated uprising, and Leader Shibuki had died a hero's death defending the village.
The massive Genjutsu was attributed to the invaders, used as a cover to steal the village's ultimate weapon: the Seven-Tails.
A grand funeral for the fallen leader was scheduled for the following day. But first, the village needed a new head. The elders debated and argued fiercely behind closed doors.
It was during these deliberations that the female elder in charge of Toko Shrine discovered the bronze vessel was gone.
The realization that the Seven-Tails was truly lost hit the council like a physical weight—but surprisingly, it was followed by a strange sense of relief.
The Tailed Beast had always been a burden they couldn't truly control, a "tasteless" treasure that invited nothing but war. With it gone, the crushing pressure that had lood over the village for decades seed to evaporate.
"What do we do now?" asked the eldest mber, Shisui.
"Shibuki's grandson is a strong candidate," Elder Toyama suggested. "He has inherited Shibuki's will and shows excellent talent for his age."
"But his father was..."
"That has nothing to do with the boy," Toyama countered. "If anything, he likely inherited his father's genius. His future strength won't be below ours."
After a brief consensus, a boy not yet fourteen was nad the new Leader according to the bloodline succession. In reality, he was a puppet, hand-picked by the four elders: Rippu, Toyama, Shisui, and the shrine maiden Ziying.
Three days passed in a blur of black robes and white flowers. Dozens of cenotaphs—empty graves for those whose bodies were never found—were buried. As the new leader took his seat, the village tried to move on.
Shisui resud his "daily life." In the mornings, he tended to the flowers in his courtyard. He had taken over Old Man Shi's neighboring house, leveling the ground to expand his garden into a functional plot of farmland.
Midway through the morning, Chunin Morita strolled by and leaned against the fence. "Takigawa-kun, I'm telling you, the truth isn't what the elders are saying."
Shisui looked up, feigning mild interest. "Oh?"
"Several villagers say their spouses vanished into thin air that night. They can't believe they were all spies.
People are saying the village angered the gods—that ghosts took them. I saw a crowd at Toko Shrine this morning praying for rcy."
Shisui maintained a face of blank confusion. "Is that so? I slept so soundly that night, I didn't hear a thing. But my friend, Old Man Shi... he really is gone."
"Sigh, he was a good man," Morita lanted. "If the gods really did take him, I hope they let him find peace in the Pure Land."
Morita paused, looking at the newly plowed earth where the old man's house used to be. Why didn't you wish for the gods to bring him back instead of wishing him into the afterlife? Is it because you've already claid his land? He kept the thought to himself.
"Anyway," Morita cleared his throat, "I almost forgot. Your teammates are back. They brought a rchant with them who wants to discuss a trade partnership with the village. They're being debriefed now."
"Is the barrier open again?" Shisui asked.
Morita shook his head. "Not yet. But Naoto brought back so wild news: Konoha's Sakumo Hatake went solo into enemy territory and cut down several high-level puppeteers.
Two of them were the son and daughter-in-law of Lady Chiyo. The Sand is livid. Chiyo is personally leading a hunt for him, openly defying the new Third Kazekage's orders."
"War," Shisui sighed. "I wonder when it will ever end. Life for us ninja is just going to get harder."
"I have to get back to patrol," Morita said, waving. "Once today is over, your squad will likely be added to the rotation. I'll buy you a drink when we have ti."
"I'll look forward to it," Shisui replied with a smile.
In the second level of the basent, the real Shisui stood over the captive Natsuhi. He produced a pair of untested insects—his "experintal subjects." He placed one on her cheek.
The milky-white bug followed her breathing, crawling up her nostril and making its way toward her brain.
"Ah...!" Natsuhi gasped, her eyes fluttering open as she felt the intrusion. "Takigawa-kun? What... what happened to you? Why are you doing this? I didn't an to... I just didn't expect..."
Shisui watched her with chilling detachnt. "What you 'ant' has nothing to do with why you're here. And the fact that you still haven't realized I'm not the real Takigawa Sho proves your 'love' for him was shallow at best."
"No, that's not true! How could Sho die like that?"
"In this world? Easily. People die 'without reason' every day." Shisui placed a finger to his lips. "Shh. You're too loud. I need you to be quiet now."
He whispered a low cadence, a rhythmic hum that acted as both a mantra and a trigger. Inside her skull, the white insect settled into her cerebrospinal fluid.
Shisui then placed the second insect into another captive ninja. When he brought the two test subjects together, the reaction was instantaneous.
The two insects were biologically synchronized. As the man and woman drew closer, the bugs stimulated their neural pathways, flooding their systems with endorphins and dopamine.
This artificial contact birthed a sudden, overwhelming sense of pleasure and mutual affection.
When Shisui pulled them apart, the insects stopped moving. The loss of the dopamine hit caused them to crash into profound loneliness.
Their brains, desperate for that "high" again, began to hallucinate mories of "sweetness" and "love," beautifying their brief contact into a fated romance.
In just three days, Natsuhi had "fallen in love" again—this ti with a total stranger.
Shisui watched the two captives in their cage, weeping and embracing as they whispered vows of eternal devotion. The corners of his mouth quirked upward.
"Look at that," he murmured. "That is your 'true love.' So cheap... so utterly worthless."
He wondered then—were the concepts of friendship, bonds, and "heart-to-heart" connections just as easily synthesized? Or was he simply becoming the monster he had once feared?---\\
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