A/N: Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!


Chapter 36: Horrifying News


That night, after the boys' game was done, Shien hurried back to her room and penned a reply under lamplight. She hid the note inside the left-hand pocket of her robe, hung to the side of the floor-length mirror on the wall, and fell asleep.

When the morning came, she went about her duties with a feeling like she had to hurry. She got to the boys' door a full two minutes early, causing them to be ahead of schedule at the end of the morning by a full ten minutes (much to the king's surprised pleasure as she reported for breakfast).

Once Sasuke was ushered away for lessons and Naruto told her to follow him to the large banquet hall in the east wing, she bumped into the gray-haired gentleman guard again.

She slipped him the note, thanking him for the pleasant surprise the night before. His only reply was a smile and a ruffling of her hair, mindful of her high ponytail.

Once that was done, she hurried off to her duties, hopeful that the news within wouldn't be too much of a shock to her mother or Noh.


Later that evening, Noh stood under a tree, anxiously awaiting Kakashi's arrival.

She bit her lip, nervous. "What's wrong with me? It's just Kakashi. Could it be that I'm still... untrusting of him?"

"It's been years since I've seen him," she mused to herself with a light chuckle. "He really has grown since we were teenagers. I remember having the biggest crush on him when we were children. Before Obi..."

"Could it be..."

She was interrupted by one of their men appearing from behind a tree, pulling out a letter from his coat.

"Message from the palace, Cypress-sama," he said, bowing quickly and thrusting the letter into her hands.

He was gone as quickly as he appeared, and before she had the chance to thank him. She rose her eyebrows at the note and quickly unfolded it, skimming through it.

Her eyes widened at the news. "What...?"

"Cypress,

Kami-sama be with you, and greetings. During my twenty-nine days in the palace I've managed to learn some truly disturbing news. I pray that I don't shock you too much with my findings, but this is what I've managed to garner:

The man behind the man, that is to say, the puppetmaster pulling the strings of the King, is none other than Madara Uchiha. Supposedly, he's still alive and living right here in the castle underneath our noses. As for why he's been pushing the king to kill you, I don't have an answer yet. I pray that I'm not discovered before I can relay it to you; it feels more and more that the king is growing suspicious of foul play in the palace. If I don't make it back before the invasion, my only request is that you bury me beside my deceased Kaede's grave.

Whatever the case, I wish you luck. Please say hello to Iris for me, and let the lady, Dahlia, know that my heart grows fonder for her companionship every day I'm away.

With love and earnest prayers, Violet"

She let out a shaky breath, resting her head against the tree.

"So he's still kicking," she breathed aloud, squeezing her eyes shut. "Dammit... I suppose he found the secret to immortality, then...? Did he manage to find honorable Tobirama's Edo Tensei technique after all?"

"Rin?" Kakashi's voice made her eyes open, and she let out a sob when he came to her.

"Kakashi, I fear we're doomed," she greeted him with a desperate hug, the letter still clutched in her fingers.

"Why? What's happened?" He asked, alarmed. "Did the king's spies find you? Is- is Violet okay? I don't believe I left her in danger-"

"She's okay for now, but- just, read this!" She let go of him and thrust the letter into his hands.

He was quiet while he read through it, and it made the fears gnawing at her grow by the second.

When he got to Madara's name, he paused, his visible eye widening a fraction. "So it is true."

"You knew of this?" She gasped.

"I only thought it was a rumor among the guards," he replied, handing the note back. "But I guess I was wrong."

"Tell me everything you know," she demanded, shaky.

"First, you need to calm down and breathe." He ordered, sitting her down on the grass. "What I'm going to tell you is going to upset you, and I need you calm for it."

She nodded, obeying by taking deep gulps of air. When at last her breathing was back to normal, she nodded, silently telling him to begin.

"Okay, where do I start..." He hummed. "I guess it was right after... after Obito died... I was stationed in the castle for a time, because the king was worried of an assassination attempt by the rebels. We were still grieving the loss, and I guess I was just hoping that Obito's death was a diversion."

"Well," he continued, "The very first day that I came to the castle, I saw someone that, looking back on it, I probably wasn't ever meant to see. I saw a hooded figure, no skin showing. When I called out to them, they turned around, and all I could see was this... bright orange, swirly mask under their long black bangs. The thing that stuck out most about the mask was that it reminded me of Naruto, for whatever odd reason."

"And?" Rin implored, eyes wide. "What else did you see?"

He hesitated for a moment, but finally sighed. "Well, I tried to see into the mask's eyehole, but all I could see was this one red, glowing eye."

A sharp gasp ripped through her lips and she stuttered, "Y- you don't mean-"

"The hooded figure I saw was definitely Madara," he agreed, Obito's eye throbbing at the revelation. "And what I saw was the Uchiha eye. I saw the Sharingan."

A fresh sob escaped her lips, and she fell into his chest, the shock and horror ripping at her heart.

Were they too late? Were the wishes of a thought-to-be-long-dead murderer finally growing closer to fruition?

Somewhere in the back of Rin's mind, she heard the sorrowful voice of Obito - his last words before he left to die - "I'm sorry, Rin. But this is something we must do..."


A/N: And the last horse crosses the finish line! And happy birthday to Sakura!

Also: I know I probably should've addressed it earlier, but I've grown tired of seeing it everywhere: Stay safe, everyone. Stay at home, do whatever you have to do to stop the spread of COVID-19. I myself have been under a self-administered quarantine for the past week and a half. Do whatever you can to flatten the curve and stay healthy. Alrighty, PSA over! I promise, that's the only time you'll hear me talk about it (unless I get it, of course. Don't wanna jinx myself)!

Please tell me what you thought! See you next week!