Days had passed since Operation Uprooting.
While claiming that everything had forever changed would be a lie, it was true that things were different.
Once eager to hurry the change of Jinchuuriki, the Hokage Faction unanimously elected to abandon those plans before they were even implemented.
The reason was simple, they believed Mito was currently too volatile and that taking an action that could be seen as deliberately targeting her might seem retaliatory and thus set her off.
Another plan that was nipped in the bud were the official Wood Release Experiments that had been slated for the coming days.
It was inevitable.
Once the unofficial Wood Release Experiments, the purpose and legitimacy of the whole operation was put into question.
Not only that, the portion of the Senju clan supporting and even pushing for such experiments had completely reversed their position.
This came about due to two main reasons.
One, a lot of the support for the Wood Release Experiments within the Senju came from worship of Hashirama and his legend.
With the village desecrating his corpse in experiments unsanctioned by the Senju, the clan no longer wanted to cooperate in this matter.
Two, more pragmatically, records acquired from the facility where the illegal Wood Release Experiments were undertaken, showed the deadliness and lack of results from this vein of thought, something which discouraged formerly enthusiastic supporters.
On the side of the Uchiha, though far less significant, the subtle actions being taken to suppress the clan politically and economically were stopped.
At this stage in the timeline, the suppression was not yet that significant but it did not go unnoticed by any means.
Neither did the fact that it stopped.
It was agreed that the matters of Root would remain top secret, all records would be sealed and the involved Root Operatives simply are incapable of leaking information.
It was for the stability of the village but Shiki slightly disagreed.
He would take the instability in exchange for breaking the trust between the clans and the village leadership.
Even if they were not targets of the worst stuff directly, they would always wonder if their turn would eventually come.
Unfortunately, the words "For Konoha's sake" still had too much effect on Mito for the boy's liking.
Regardless, the fact that Uzumaki Mito, her granddaughter Senju Tsunade and clan head Uchiha Fukutsu had visited the Hokage together remained.
And since Root's disbandment and re-integration into the Anbu came right after, every clan with a measure of influence knew something was up.
While clan members belonging to Root would never speak, those belonging to the regular Anbu certainly leaked intelligence to their own clans, something tacitly permitted to an extent.
These individuals did not know the details of Root's activities but the consequences, the folding of Root back into the Anbu, that would reach the ears of every important clan and they would, of course, draw their own conclusions.
All that aside however, the biggest immediate consequences of the assault on Root, were the confiscated "goods".
Although the term "goods" is quite unsuitable, Onikuma Maiko, if properly rehabilitated, would become a major source of combat power for Shiki.
In the future, she would very likely join the ranks of subordinates that follow Shiki and him alone, which the boy determined Beni to be the only current one.
Speaking of Benihime, all the intel she covered in her raid gave Shiki an immense tactical advantage which he was planning on fully taking advantage of in the future.
But the groups to benefit the most immediately, were no doubt the Uchiha and the Senju clans.
*
"For what it's worth, I think you should do it but in the end, the choice is yours." Naori remembered Fukutsu's words.
"You already know my opinion." Setsuna had coldly declared before walking off.
'My hesitation is probably incomprehensible to him . . .' The Uchiha kunoichi thought to herself.
Before her, laid the body of her son, Uchiha Kagami, the planned burial service being slightly delayed as Naori struggled to make a decision.
Simply put, she internally debated on whether to transplant her son's eyes or not.
He had awakened the Mangekyo, just as she had, it stood to reason that Naori would awaken the legendary Eternal Mangekyo if she chose to go through with the procedure.
There was no logical reason holding her back beyond pure sentimentality.
Naori was always a voice of peace and harmony within her clan.
She not only witnessed and ended the infighting due to Izanagi, she had been the most ardent advocate to have it and Izanami be outlawed within the clan and simply not taught to any but the most trusted and level headed members.
Beyond that, the barbaric practice of taking a fellow Uchiha's eyes was also something she abhorred.
With Kagami having long been dead, her resistance towards taking his eyes for herself was lesser but it was still there.
It felt like a betrayal of her ideals, even if logic told her otherwise.
'The Eternal Mangekyo . . . and return of the sight I sacrificed to Izanami . . .' Naori's thoughts endlessly swirled inside her head.
"If I look at it from the clan's perspective, taking this power is the right option . . ." She muttered to herself.
"If I look at it from the perspective of my family, I'm taking on my fallen son's ideals of protecting the clan and village as well as our descendants through his eyes . . ." The Uchiha kunoichi continued to mutter.
She sighed before self-deprecatingly scoffing.
"At the end of the day. I'm just being held back from the right choice by my worthless pride." Naori thought out loud.
"How very Uchiha of me." She chuckled while shaking her head.
Her thoughts finally became clear, there was only one right decision to make.
*
On the Senju side, things were not nearly as complex.
"I have a way to safely integrate my husband's cells into your body. What is your decision Toka?"
When Mito approached the Senju kunoichi with those words, after her shock wore off in a few seconds, she had not hesitated even a little.
And Uzumaki Mito admired such decisiveness.
The reasons for the redhead's confident statement were fourfold:
First, Toka was of pure Senju lineage and while alone, that meant nothing, with other attenuating factors, it became significant;
Second, she had consumed a Sanguine Pill, increasing her vitality, physical might and chakra, all which would help her withstand the power of Hashirama's cells better;
Third, there were seals in the Blood Spiral Sealing Arts for this type of thing. Even if they were imperfect and carried side effects on normal use, with all the other factors contributing, this could be mitigated or even outright eliminated;
And finally, fourth, the discovery of a rather interesting creature, its plant-like characteristics and special makeup showing a mysterious compatibility no . . . synergy, with Hashirama's cells.
As for what this creature was, it was plenty obvious.
A White Zetsu.
In fact, Mito had caught multiple of them.
Not within Konoha though.
They seemed to specifically avoid her as she could see through their special concealment jutsu.
The Uzumaki matriarch simply caught them off guard as they did not at all expect a special clone of her to be in Uzushio, leading to their capture in its vicinity.
She had yet to show them to Shiki however, so the boy remained ignorant of their capture . . . for now.
+++++
Hey, Author here!
To promote the novel I will be releasing BONUS CHAPTERS on SUNDAYS based on the previous week's power stone count.
100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
500 Power Stones = 2 Bonus Chapters
1000 Power Stones = 3 Bonus Chapters
Every earned BONUS CHAPTER on Webnovel will also be posted on Scribble.
Just a reminder that you can read up to a FULL MONTH ahead of this site on pa-treon.
I'm trying to become a full time Author now and I'm not going to be starting any new novels just so I can make sure this one is properly completed.
Find those sweet advanced chapters on pa-treon.com/lusoba without the -