The night after Yamato Arata transmigrated into the body of Obito Uchiha and left the scene, Danzo searched high and low for Orochimaru to no avail. Upon receiving an urgent report, he rushed back to the Hidden Leaf Village. The sight that greeted him was devastating—Root headquarters nearly obliterated, and Yamazaki's headless body lay cold on the floor. Despite his usual calm demeanor, Danzo was visibly shaken.
"What the hell happened here?!" he roared, leaning heavily on his cane.
"Danzo-sama, it went like this..." A Root agent knelt nearby and quickly relayed the events.
As he listened, Danzo's expression darkened. He lowered his head in thought, his fingers tightening on the head of his cane.
Whoever had done this had bypassed Konoha's barrier unnoticed, infiltrated the underground Root base, and possessed a body impervious to both physical attacks and ninjutsu. On top of that, they had mastered a level of space-time ninjutsu even greater than the Second and Fourth Hokage. And the ominous chakra... that overwhelming energy cloaking the figure could only mean one thing: Susanoo.
There was only one suspect Danzo could think of—Uchiha Madara.
But no... that couldn't be. Madara had lived during the Warring States period. No matter what life-extending methods he might've used, he shouldn't still be alive today. Then the only explanation was that it wasn't Madara himself, but someone who had inherited his will. This person could use Wood Release and possessed cells from the First Hokage.
A perfect fusion of Uchiha and Senju—someone seeking the power of both bloodlines. The ultimate goal must be the Nine-Tails.
And now, Orochimaru had conveniently disappeared. No... this couldn't be a coincidence.
"Report this to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire immediately!" Danzo ordered.
"Danzo-sama, this happened inside our base. If it goes public, it'll damage our reputation. Shouldn't we keep it quiet?" the subordinate asked, clearly confused.
Danzo chuckled coldly. "Reputation is nothing. If anything, this incident highlights the weakness and incompetence of the current administration. The Fourth Hokage's leadership is shaky at best. A well-timed crisis like this will only work in my favor..."
"But the Fourth Hokage was personally recommended by the Third. He's a hero of the Third Great Ninja War. You can't just remove him that easily."
"I don't need to remove him," Danzo said calmly. "But this will tip the scales in my favor. For instance... placing the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki under Root supervision will seem like a necessary move."
"Danzo-sama is wise!" his subordinates echoed.
Danzo's eyes glinted with ambition. Kushina Uzumaki's chakra is exceptional—even among her clan. She can fully suppress the Nine-Tails, which is why she was chosen as the second Jinchuriki after Mito. But now she's pregnant, and as her delivery approaches, the seal will weaken.
A perfect opportunity to strike. Once I gain control of the Nine-Tails, I'll frame the Uchiha for Kushina's death. That will destabilize Minato's administration and wipe out the Uchiha in one stroke—removing the biggest internal threat to the village.
In the end, Hiruzen's era will fade, and the true Hokage—Danzo Shimura—will rise.
Meanwhile, in the forest outside the Hidden Leaf Village, Obito sprinted across the treetops, his black cloak fluttering behind him. He hadn't used Kamui to return directly to his base. Instead, he was busy marking space-time coordinates throughout the area using his Mangekyō Sharingan.
In the original timeline, Obito was able to jump between locations across the entire ninja world with ease—because he had once traveled through nearly all of it, marking each key site for later use.
"Obito, since you've come all the way to Konoha, why not collect the Nine-Tails too?" Zetsu asked. "Don't you want to become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki?"
"One step at a time," Obito replied. "You can't get fat from one meal. And right now, Konoha's strength is not to be underestimated. The Yellow Flash is in his prime. The Third Hokage is still at his peak. The Sannin, countless elite jonin... it won't be easy."
"Well, that's true. We still have half a year before the Jinchuriki gives birth. Once the seal loosens, we can move," Zetsu said casually.
Obito didn't respond. The truth was, he didn't want to attack a pregnant woman.
In the original timeline, Obito had launched an assault during Kushina's labor, tearing the Nine-Tails from her and causing her death. That moment had stained his legacy forever—one of the darkest things he'd ever done.
He refused to repeat that mistake.
He would capture the Nine-Tails out in the open—not in the shadows, not from a helpless woman in childbirth. If Kushina still died after being separated from the Nine-Tails... that would be fate, not his doing.
It was a line he refused to cross again.
Obito glanced around. "That should be enough markers. Time to head back—"
Suddenly, movement caught his eye.
Not far away, a tall boy was teaching a younger one how to throw shuriken. They stood before a target set into a boulder.
The younger boy, focused and serious, was none other than a five-year-old Itachi Uchiha.
And the one teaching him? Uchiha Shisui, just eight years old—but with fully awakened, triple-tomoe Sharingan shining in the moonlight. His youthful face didn't match the maturity in his eyes.
Obito's eyes narrowed in admiration.
Shisui—the legendary "Shunshin no Shisui," Konoha's greatest genjutsu prodigy. While Itachi shocked the world by awakening the Sharingan at age eight, Shisui had awakened his at seven—and within a year, mastered it to the three-tomoe stage.
An absolute monster.
Dang! Dang!
Itachi's shuriken whizzed through the air, striking the target ten meters away with deadly precision.
"Itachi, let me teach you how to hit a blind spot," Shisui said with a grin.
"A blind spot? But that would mean making the shuriken curve in midair. That's not possible!" Itachi said, amazed.
"Watch this."
Shisui overlapped two shuriken, angled them just slightly, and threw them in tandem...
Clink! Clink! The weapons collided mid-air, ricocheted, and landed perfectly on a bullseye hidden behind the boulder.
"Wow! That's amazing! You're incredible, Shisui! I want to be just like you!"
"With your talent, you'll get there soon. When I was your age, I wasn't even—hmm?" Shisui suddenly paused. His Sharingan flickered, scanning the treetops.
A sudden gust of wind rustled the leaves above.
"What is it, Shisui-nii?" Itachi asked.
"Nothing... must've been my imagination," Shisui murmured, staring up at the branches.
In the shadows, Zetsu observed quietly. "Tsk, tsk... what incredible perception. No wonder Lin—Obito—chose him."
"Of course," White Zetsu grinned. "That boy's eyes are special."
Shisui, I will wait for your eyes, Obito thought silently. Your Kotoamatsukami... only your power is worthy of merging with mine—to create the strongest Mangekyō Sharingan the world has ever seen.
A strange gleam passed through Obito's eye beneath his mask.
Whoosh! With a swirl of Kamui, his form vanished into the night.