Chapter 118 The Wrong Chain

Ren and Kurenai walked together down the street leading away from the academy’s eastern wall. Most of the nearby shops had already closed, leaving the road quiet except for their footsteps and the occasional light burning behind an upstairs window.

Kurenai kept her arm hooked through his as they walked, leaning lightly against his side whenever their steps brought them closer. At the intersection where their routes split, she slowed and remained beside him for another moment.

“What does ‘wrong chain’ usually mean for someone like Itachi?” she asked.

Ren only knew the broad rules because Itachi had always been careful about classified details. “Someone tried to give him an order they didn’t have the authority to give. Hiruzen can assign him work, and Shisui can direct him inside an authorized mission. Being important isn’t enough.”

Kurenai considered that for a moment. “So somebody made an unofficial request sound official.”

Ren looked at her. “Sounds familiar?”

“After the last two days?” Kurenai gave a dry little laugh. “Very.”

Kurenai caught the front of his jacket and pulled him into a quick kiss right there at the intersection before letting him go.

“Try not to break any more security systems tonight,” Kurenai told him.

“Every system I broke became better afterward,” Ren pointed out.

Kurenai gave him a flat look. “That’s exactly the argument I’m putting in the report against letting you override guards.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she added, turning down the street toward her own apartment.

Ren watched her go for a second before turning toward the Uchiha compound.

The compound had settled down for the night, though a few lamps still burned along the main street. An older Uchiha was locking the front door of a tea shop while a late patrol passed Ren with a brief nod. Farther ahead, two younger clansmen were walking back toward the residential sector with dust from late training still clinging to their clothes.

Itachi was waiting at the main family house.

Mikoto was still awake when Ren entered, putting away the last few things from the kitchen. She looked over as he came through the doorway and asked, “Have you eaten?”

“I was working,” Ren replied, which was not remotely an answer to the question.

Mikoto came closer and reached up to straighten his collar. Her hand paused there for a moment as she took in his crooked collar and the relaxed expression on his face.

“Long security meeting?” she asked.

Ren kept his face straight. “Very thorough.”

Mikoto’s eyes narrowed.

Before she could pursue it, Itachi stepped into the hallway from the adjacent study.

“Brother,” Itachi said.

The tone was enough to wipe the amusement from Ren’s face.

Mikoto looked from Itachi to Ren, then toward the study. “Tea’s on the table.”

She left the brothers to it.

Ren sat across from him. “What happened?”

Itachi folded his hands loosely in front of him before answering. “Someone approached me after my debrief this afternoon. Inside the restricted section.”

Ren’s expression sharpened. “Someone who belonged there?”

“Or knew how to get there,” Itachi said. “He spoke as if he was passing along part of my assignment.”

The supposed supplemental request concerned an “internal threat assessment.” Itachi repeated the questions from memory. “Whether clan patrol arrangements had changed recently. Which senior Uchiha attended late meetings. Whether Shisui had been visiting Father more often.”

None of the questions sounded particularly sensitive by themselves.

“He spoke as though I should already know the request was part of my assignment,” Itachi added.

Ren leaned forward. “Did he use Hiruzen’s name? Shisui’s? Give you anything written?”

Itachi shook his head. “When I asked for authorization, he called it an informal request. I asked which commander approved it, and he stopped giving clear answers.”

Ren leaned back again. “So he wanted you to treat the absence of an order like an order.”

“Yes.”

Before Itachi could continue, footsteps sounded lightly in the hallway. A moment later, Mikoto slid the door open.

Shisui was standing behind her with the familiar expression of a man who knew he had arrived too late to avoid Mikoto’s commentary.

“Apparently none of Fugaku’s sons know what nighttime means,” Mikoto said as she set a third cup on the table.

“Sorry, Aunt Mikoto,” Shisui said with an easy smile.

Mikoto gave him a dry look. “You always apologize. It changes nothing.”

She left the room, sliding the door shut behind her.

Shisui sat beside Itachi and wrapped one hand around the cup Mikoto had brought him. “I checked before coming here.”

“Nothing came through my command, and nothing came from the Hokage’s listed orders.” Shisui looked at Ren. “Whoever spoke to him wanted the authority of ANBU without leaving an ANBU order behind.”

Ren went quiet long enough for Itachi to notice. “Something happened?”

“At the academy.” Ren told them about the scout Kurenai had caught, the fake Records Office inquiry, and the supplier who had answered similar questions because they sounded harmless.

Shisui’s expression tightened. “When did that start?”

“The questions started weeks ago. Direct observation came later.”

Shisui leaned back. “Could be unrelated.”

“Could be,” Ren agreed. “But whoever approached Itachi used the same weakness. Make the question boring enough and official enough, and most people answer before asking who authorized it.”

Itachi looked down at the table for a moment. “The man expected me to do the same.”

“Exactly.” Ren turned his attention back to his brother. “What did you say to him?”

“I asked for authorization,” Itachi said.

“And when he couldn’t provide it?”

“I told him to speak to my commander.”

Some of the tension left Ren’s shoulders. “Good.”

Itachi looked at him, waiting. “That’s all?”

Ren shrugged. “You already did the correct thing. Do you want a speech?”

Shisui laughed under his breath, and even Itachi’s mouth twitched before he returned to the real concern. “The request isn’t what bothers me. He knew where I’d be after the debrief.”

Ren’s smile faded. “Your routine?”

“Enough of it.”

Shisui set his cup down. “Which means the approach probably wasn’t improvised.”

Ren tapped one finger against the table. Whoever had made the approach knew enough about Itachi’s routine to choose the time and place.

The study door slid open again fifteen minutes later.

Fugaku stood in the doorway, having just returned from late clan business. His gaze moved across Ren, Itachi, and Shisui gathered around the table.

“What happened?” Fugaku asked, stepping inside.

Itachi glanced toward Shisui before answering his father. “Someone claiming unofficial village authority asked me for information about the clan today. I refused.”

Fugaku stepped farther into the room and crossed his arms. “What information?”

“Patrol changes. Senior members attending late meetings. Shisui’s visits here.”

Fugaku’s jaw tightened. “If someone inside the village is asking about our internal security, I expect you to tell me.”

Itachi met his father’s gaze. “If someone asks me for clan information without authority, I’ll refuse them. If someone asks me for classified village information because I’m your son, I’ll refuse that too.”

Silence settled across the table for several seconds. Fugaku studied his son before giving one short nod.

“Fine. The rule applies both ways.”

Itachi inclined his head. “Yes.”

Fugaku’s attention shifted toward Ren and found him smiling.

“And what are you smiling at?”

“Nothing,” Ren said. “I’m admiring your successful parenting.”

Fugaku’s eyes narrowed.

“Against all odds,” Ren added.

“Get out of my house,” Fugaku told him.

“It’s also my childhood home,” Ren pointed out.

Shisui lowered his eyes to his tea and wisely stayed out of it. Beside him, Itachi’s mouth twitched. Beside him, Itachi’s mouth twitched.

Shisui finished the last of his tea and looked toward Itachi. “Don’t change anything tomorrow. If he approaches you again, ask for authorization like you did today and bring it to me.”

“I’m not following him,” Itachi said.

“Good. I was about to tell you not to.”

Ren leaned back against the wall. “I’ll tell Pakura and Kurenai we’ve seen the same kind of unofficial questioning elsewhere. Nothing about ANBU.”

Fugaku gave a short nod. “I’ll speak to the patrol leaders. Anyone asking about clan routines gets referred upward instead of answered at the gate.”

Shisui set the empty cup on the table and stood, collecting his things while Itachi walked him toward the door.

After Shisui left and Fugaku retired for the night, Ren and Itachi were alone in the study.

“Does Izumi know you’re still awake?” Ren asked.

“She told me earlier not to skip dinner,” Itachi admitted.

Ren looked toward the untouched food Mikoto had left on a small tray near the corner. “You’re doing remarkably well at listening to women.”

Itachi gave him an unimpressed look.

Itachi opened his mouth to answer, but a light tap came from the outer window facing the garden.

Izumi was standing outside with a small wrapped bundle in both hands.

Itachi took one look at her and stood. “I forgot.”

“You did,” Izumi replied through the open screen.

Ren waved him toward the door. “Go before she decides ANBU interrogation methods apply to dinner.”

Itachi shook his head and went outside to meet her.

Ren stayed in the study while Itachi stepped out into the garden. Some of the stiffness left his shoulders when Izumi handed him the bundle and said something quiet that made him smile.

Ren left the study while Itachi and Izumi were still talking near the garden. As he crossed the hall, Kurenai’s freshly written rule came back to him.

No verbal access override. Even from the owner.

Ren snorted. Kurenai would probably enjoy hearing that Itachi had spent the same night demanding authorization from people who thought they didn’t need it.

Mikoto was extinguishing one of the remaining lamps when he reached the doorway. She looked toward the garden, then back at Ren.

“Finished?”

Ren glanced toward Itachi and Izumi. “For tonight.”

Mikoto raised an eyebrow but let him have the answer.

Ren smiled and stepped out into the night.