Chapter 30: Deceitful Alliances

The silence of the briefing chamber was deceptive. Cold stone walls and ancient ANBU relics adorned the perimeter, lit dimly by chakra-sensitive sconces. Phantom stood at the edge of the room, arms crossed, as Shikamaru slid a scroll across the table.

It bore one name: Sai.

"You're not going to like this," Shikamaru said, exhaling slowly. "But if you want the truth behind what Danzo's building, we're going to need him."

Phantom's eyes narrowed. "He's Root."

"Was Root," Shikamaru corrected. "And he's already on the Hokage's leash. We pull him in now, or we waste days chasing ghosts through dead ends."

Phantom didn't answer immediately. His thoughts drifted back to Mirror, the pale girl who called herself his failsafe. She wasn't the only clone, and Danzo wasn't the only one playing god with timelines.

He needed information.

Even if it came from a viper.

"Set the meeting," Phantom finally muttered. "But I want him alone."

Training Grounds 23 – Nightfall

Sai stood in the middle of the field, expression unreadable as always. Moonlight gleamed off his scroll pouch, and his ink beasts—two birds—circled quietly above.

"I heard you've been asking about me," Sai said calmly.

Phantom stepped from the shadows, cloaked but maskless. "I want to know how many variants there are."

Sai's eyes flicked briefly to the trees. "You're going to have to be more specific."

"Don't play dumb. The clones. The Alpha Series. Mirror. They weren't just experiments—they were anchors."

Sai didn't answer right away.

Instead, he drew a small scroll and let it unfurl in his hand. The kanji shimmered with sealing chakra—heavy, old, and dangerous.

"I'll tell you what I know," he said quietly. "But if I do, you'll be marked."

"By who?"

Sai looked up, eyes flat. "By the others. The ones who survived the Oblivion Cycle. The ones who remember."

Phantom's pulse ticked. "You're saying there are more like me?"

"More than you think. Some lost their memories completely. Others kept fragments… hidden behind genjutsu seals and DNA locks. Danzo wasn't just running a side project—he was rebuilding a task force from a broken timeline."

He handed Phantom the scroll.

Phantom opened it.

Inside were names. Codename designations. Chakra frequency samples.

And at the bottom, one phrase burned like fire:

Project Reclamation: Phase Two – Activate Sector Delta

Beneath it: Target: Phantom (Asset-Null)

His breath caught.

Sai met his gaze. "Danzo planned for your defection. The moment you accessed your original protocols, he would label you unstable."

"And you're telling me this why?"

Sai didn't blink. "Because you're not the only one who wants to burn Root to the ground."

Elsewhere – The Uchiha Compound Ruins

Sasuke knelt in front of the stone shrine, brushing ash from a half-cracked seal carved into the foundation. The memory from the broken ANBU clone—her face, her voice—it haunted him.

He had believed he'd buried the past.

But now… it clawed its way back.

"Still playing with ghosts, Sasuke-kun?" a voice called.

He stood instantly.

Kabuto.

"Not here," Sasuke growled.

Kabuto stepped into view, arms raised in mock surrender. "I'm not here to fight. Not yet."

"What do you want?"

Kabuto's smile widened. "To offer you something Danzo never could: the truth."

He tossed a vial. Sasuke caught it midair.

The liquid inside shimmered with a faint glow—chakra-saturated, medical-grade. A memory serum.

"Drink that," Kabuto said. "And you'll see what happened the night the cycle rebooted. You'll see the truth about the last order given to your team."

Sasuke hesitated. "What's the catch?"

"You'll remember what he did, too. Phantom."

And with that, Kabuto vanished in a puff of smoke.

Sasuke stared down at the vial, torn between suspicion and hunger for the truth.

In the distance, thunder rumbled.

Hidden Tunnel beneath Sector 12

Phantom followed Sai through a narrow corridor, the torchlight flickering. The air was thick with damp chakra residue—like something old and broken had lived here.

At the end of the passage stood a single door.

Sai pressed his palm to a seal, and it hissed open.

Inside: a circular chamber lined with containment tanks.

Three were still operational. All three held shinobi—floating in stasis, their bodies healed, but their minds locked.

Sai gestured to the nearest pod.

"Subject 9 – Codename: Coil. Mastered the Yin-Yang ratio technique before the collapse. Was one of your original team."

"And the others?"

"Vortex and Scourge. You trained with them. Bled with them. They died in the original timeline. Danzo resurrected them with root-code chakra chains and partial soul fragments."

Phantom stepped closer.

One of the men in the tube opened his eyes.

Slowly.

And smiled.