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As the winter snow melted, Konoha exuded a vibrant and lively atmosphere. The passing winter symbolized the flow of time, and Konoha officially bid farewell to the old year.
The spring warmth and blooming flowers in Konoha brought a sense of peace, and the economy of the Five Great Shinobi Villages' leading village was rapidly recovering.
Underground Laboratory.
"Teacher Orochimaru, it seems that the experimental subjects Root has been secretly providing recently include some of the village's own ninjas."
Orochimaru's research always required experimental subjects. Apart from the Uchiha Clan and the Hyuga Clan secretly targeting wandering ninjas outside the village, Root provided a small portion. However, he had recently noticed some clues.
Ninjas from Konoha seemed to be mysteriously disappearing on missions outside the village. Fortunately, the police department was under the Uchiha Clan, so this seemingly ordinary news immediately raised high alert when Uchiha Clan Night saw it.
In the original story, wasn't Orochimaru's crime using fellow villagers for human experiments? Although his analysis suggested Orochimaru's defection would be next year, his presence had already changed the world. Therefore, he used known future events as intelligence, not as a reliance.
"Hehe, village ninjas, interesting."
When Orochimaru heard this news, he let out a raspy laugh. "It seems the rats hiding in the shadows can no longer hold back, and even my teacher has chosen to turn a blind eye."
After mumbling to himself, Orochimaru turned to his student with a meaningful smile. "So, Night, in this situation, are you going to take over your teacher's legacy, or be even more daring?"
Uchiha Clan Night naturally understood the implications. He shook his head and laughed, saying, "Since Teacher has chosen to leave, I cannot let these people down. But perhaps you have forgotten, Teacher, the Root leader's obsession with the Hokage position. Some people don't need me to deal with them; others will naturally take action."
The two spoke in mysterious terms, but it was clear that Orochimaru had chosen to leave the moment the Third Hokage implicitly approved it. He just wanted to see how far his teacher would go.
Human nature is such that even when the truth is known, there is still a last glimmer of hope, and only after experiencing it firsthand will one let go completely.
"It seems the village will be getting lively soon."
Orochimaru's raspy laughter echoed in the laboratory, while Uchiha Clan Night smiled. Although time was pressing, he needed to act. After all, inheriting his teacher's legacy as a student was both reasonable and justified.
Capturing fellow village ninjas and conducting experiments—how many heads did Orochimaru have? Moreover, before his defection, he was part of Root. Why use his own authority to capture ninjas and get himself into trouble? This was inherently illogical.
...
Forest of Death.
Under the oppressive and terrifying atmosphere, several black shadows flickered. When their faces were revealed, they were Root ninjas wearing masks.
"These are this month's experimental subjects."
Each Root ninja carried a young ninja, all in a state of unconsciousness.
Three ninjas came to receive them, all wearing cloaks and masks, fully concealing themselves. The leader stepped forward, calmly counted the number, and checked the condition of the experimental subjects, then nodded lightly.
"Confirmed, no traps. They are all chakra users, around ten years old."
The cold voice echoed in the damp, dark air. The Root ninjas, having completed their mission, used the Body Flicker Technique to vanish into the forest.
After the Root ninjas left, the three confirmed there were no issues. The leader slowly removed his cloak and mask, revealing his face—it was Uchiha Clan Night.
Uchiha Clan Night's face showed a mocking and playful smile as he looked at the ten unconscious children. He laughed sarcastically, "What do you think? You've always wanted to know the village's dark side, haven't you? Did you see it this time?"
The other two also removed their cloaks, revealing their faces—Uchiha Clan Shisui and Kakashi Hatake. Kakashi, seeing this for the first time, had an extremely grim expression, his visible right eye filled with gloom.
Shisui, who had seen more over the past two years, had a stronger tolerance than Kakashi, but he still struggled to control his anger.
"Big Brother Night, why! Why use the village's children! They are all Konoha's children!"
Shisui asked in a voice filled with indignation and anger. Kakashi, however, silently approached and carefully examined the faces of the ten children, imprinting them deeply in his mind. He also had a doubt—were they really the village's children?
"Kakashi, when you were stealing intelligence, I guessed you were sent by the Anbu, hehe. Now, have you seen it? This is an order from the higher-ups. As for Root and the Anbu, you'll have to investigate that yourself. But you don't think the Hokage hasn't noticed Root's actions over the past few months, do you?"
Clearly, Uchiha Clan Night was hinting at something. Did the Hokage truly know nothing about Root's methods?
Faced with this question, Kakashi fell silent. After a long moment, he looked up at Uchiha Clan Night and rasped, "Since you know, why do you..."
"Why? Kakashi, your question is too ridiculous. I can't reveal the confidential mission Teacher Orochimaru received, but it definitely requires human experimentation. Do you think these people were kidnapped by Teacher Orochimaru himself, or by his subordinates?"
Uchiha Clan Night looked at Kakashi with a mocking expression, pointing at the children. "Kakashi, do you know how much manpower and resources it takes to find experimental subjects outside? Not to mention the elite ninjas from the Uchiha Clan and the Hyuga Clan sent to find suitable wandering ninjas, and the large amount of funds needed to purchase them from other countries. But Root? They lack funds, so this is the answer you want, the intelligence you seek."
Kakashi was indeed shocked by what he saw. He had never imagined the village could be so dark, that Root would use its own children for human experiments.
"So, what do you plan to do with these children?"
Kakashi fell silent. He loved Konoha and understood the darkness of politics. Under this conflicting mindset, he wanted to save these children, but this was a decision made by the higher-ups. What could he do?
Seeing Kakashi's lifeless eye, Uchiha Clan Night sneered, "Everyone says Teacher Orochimaru is cold-blooded, but they don't realize that some people, with their surface-level kindness, can cause countless tragedies with just a nod."
Sighing deeply, Uchiha Clan Night continued, "Shisui, take these children and keep an eye on them. Once Teacher Orochimaru's experiments are successful, release these children."
Kakashi's lifeless eye suddenly lit up, the heavy burden in his heart lifting. He looked at the children with a pained expression and rasped, "What can I do to help?"
Clearly, his classmate Uchiha Clan Night had brought him here to show him what they were doing. He saw it, but he was also confused.
"Kakashi, you and Shisui are responsible for watching over these children. Don't let them cause trouble, or it will be exposed, and I won't be able to protect them!" Uchiha Clan Night's mood was clearly low, his voice raspy.
It seemed these children were already listed as missing. If they appeared in Konoha again, Root would be the first to act.
As a former Anbu and now part of Root, Kakashi understood Root's nature. If these children reappeared in the village, there would be two possible outcomes.
One was to eliminate them, making them disappear from the world. Of course, he didn't think Root would do that, as it would be too wasteful. The second possibility was to recruit these children into Root and train them into emotionless machines.
Such ninjas were common in Root, with new blood joining every year.
Just as Kakashi and Shisui were about to take the children, a faint sound echoed in their ears. Instantly, the three of them chose combat mode.
The Kusanagi Sword was drawn, and Uchiha Clan Night and Kakashi transformed into black shadows, rushing toward a distant tree stump. Shisui drew his short blade with three tomoe, staring intently at the surroundings to protect the children behind him.
Thud, thud.
Kakashi quickly threw several shurikens. He revealed his other eye and shouted, unleashing the seal. A Mangekyou Sharingan spun wildly, staring at the back of the tree stump.
In an instant! When a green figure appeared, Kakashi's pupils contracted in shock and he urgently shouted, "Night! Stop!"
Zzzz.
Silver arcs of lightning flashed in the damp, dark Forest of Death. Uchiha Clan Night, holding the Kusanagi Sword, feigned shock. Kakashi used a kunai to block his sword, and although he stopped in the end, a small section still pierced the other's shoulder. The Chidori Stream's electric arcs stimulated the body, and although the other was paralyzed, he showed no resistance, instead staring at them in disbelief.
"Kakashi! Night! You two! You!"
The figure was Maito Gai, wearing a green spandex suit. He had secretly followed Kakashi and Uchiha Clan Night the previous day, and today, his worldview was shattered, his understanding upended.
"Gai!"
Kakashi rasped a single word, while Uchiha Clan Night's face was terrifyingly grim. He tightly gripped the Kusanagi Sword but reluctantly pulled it out, still staring intently at Maito Gai and Kakashi.
"Kakashi! You didn't even notice you had a tail! Do you know the consequences?"
Gai glared at Kakashi, clearly having followed him. Uchiha Clan Night's face was dark and angry, but it felt different to the two of them.
What he was doing couldn't be exposed, and now it had been discovered by his classmate Maito Gai. What should he do?
Eliminate him? Clearly, Uchiha Clan Night's grim, terrifying expression was filled with torment and anger.
Under the oppressive atmosphere, Uchiha Clan Night's face was filled with barely suppressed rage, staring intently at Maito Gai, his Mangekyou Sharingan spinning rapidly.
"Gai! Today's events, you saw nothing! Don't say anything! For the village! I don't want to harm a comrade."
His raspy voice carried a hint of exhaustion, and Kakashi was filled with self-reproach, not having noticed someone following him.
Gai's shocked expression had yet to fade. He had been worried about Kakashi and wanted to check what he had been up to, but he never expected to discover such a secret.
With a crisp sound, the Kusanagi Sword was sheathed, and Uchiha Clan Night, his face dark, glanced at the two before leaving with the Body Flicker Technique.
"Kakashi, I..." Gai looked at Kakashi with a complex expression, unsure what to say. He had been worried about Kakashi, but instead, he had uncovered such a secret.
Kakashi sighed, slowly lowering his forehead protector to cover his Sharingan and resealing it.
"Gai, as you have seen, this is a top-secret research mission for the village. Pretend you saw nothing."
If Kakashi were to kill Gai, it was impossible. But he was filled with self-reproach.
However, neither Kakashi nor Gai noticed the satisfied smile on Uchiha Clan Night's face as he left. His actions had been deliberately exposed to lure Gai.
Sometimes, even the closest friend might not be the best person to hear it. What better way than to let someone see it with their own eyes and make their own judgment?
It was all real, so he had no fear of investigation.
Some say a lie requires countless lies to cover it up, but the information he revealed was true. If they investigated, the truth would be revealed behind the mysterious lies, so he didn't need lies to cover anything.
Investigate! He had no fear.
He had already started his plan. As the Third Hokage said when he took office, the new generation had yet to grow up, and there was almost a gap. He now aimed to win over the new generation. Even if they didn't directly align with him, they would at least show goodwill.
Maito Gai, although he couldn't yet open the Eight Gates, would achieve great things in the future. He wanted such a person as a friend, not an enemy.
"Big Brother Night?"
Seeing Uchiha Clan Night return, Shisui's expression was serious, as if asking a question. Uchiha Clan Night's expression was extremely grim, and he couldn't help but say in a low voice, "Shisui, change the meeting location with Root every time."
"Yes!" Although he didn't know what had happened, seeing his brother's grim expression, Shisui knew the person who had followed them must have been a familiar face. Otherwise, his brother's usual calm demeanor wouldn't have been so affected.
Seeing Shisui's solemn expression, Uchiha Clan Night's face, dark and somber, looked up at the sunlight filtered through the towering trees in the Forest of Death.
It was almost time. Soon, these branches would no longer block the sunlight, and some things would need to be brought to light.
Thank you to all the brothers for your support. Rest assured, I will update 8,000 words daily after the book goes live.
(End of Chapter)