Chapter 15: The Grove
He narrowed his eyes.
He wouldn't believe Ryūma Aburame's word alone, but after thinking about it, what Ryūma Aburame said wasn't wrong.
He recalled an article he had read in his previous life: 'Naruto: He should have been defined as a complete villain, but he was barely whitewashed by a single sentence.'
In Kishimoto's setting, Danzo's whitewashing was: He is the Root that protects Konoha, protecting Konoha with forceful means in the shadows.
Simply put, Konoha Village always needed someone to do the dirty work, and that job fell to Danzo.
Whether Danzo was whitewashed or not, he indeed had selfish motives and countless terrible deeds.
For example, he coveted power, constantly yearned for the Hokage position, and sent people to assassinate the Third Hokage.
He shielded Orochimaru, and even after Orochimaru defected, he remained entangled with him, their connection never truly severed.
He colluded with Hanzou, forcing Yahiko to commit suicide, which led to Nagato's blackening, planting a huge hidden danger for Konoha and causing the Pain incident.
And his original plan to annihilate the Uchiha Clan tonight—these are all responsibilities he cannot shake off.
This is getting a bit off topic, but overall, the Root is merely a tool in Danzo's hands; the tool depends on who wields it.
After he became Hokage, he would also need someone to do the dirty work.
Fugaku praised, "You are a smart person, and you've done very well."
He thought for a moment and said, "How about this, I will spare your lives and let bygones be bygones."
Ryūma Aburame was overjoyed, "Thank you, sir! I will go back and disband the Root immediately, sending them all home…"
"No, the Root does not need to be disbanded," Fugaku's faint words came, and the overjoyed Ryūma Aburame froze in place.
"Don't overthink it," Fu Yue waved his hand and said, "I'm just letting you continue your old line of work."
Ryūma Aburame sighed inwardly, realizing it wouldn't be that easy after all.
"Seeing how familiar you are with the Root, I'll hand the Root over to you.
Remember, from now on, your Root will only obey my commands."
Ryūma Aburame resignedly replied, "Yes."
"Good, you may go back.
Keep a close eye on the Root and don't let any trouble arise."
Fugaku dismissed him.
Ryūma Aburame nodded.
He hesitated for two seconds and said, "Sir, there are actually some Root Ninja who were sent by Danzo to intercept Uchiha Clan members returning from outside the Village."
Fugaku narrowed his eyes, thinking that before the assembly began, the Uchiha Clan had recalled clan members on missions outside a week in advance, yet few had returned.
No wonder after the Uchiha Clan was annihilated, there were no bloodlines left outside; it turned out they had been intercepted and killed by Danzo's men.
The assembly was originally scheduled to begin tonight, giving clan members outside a week to rush back.
Those who haven't returned by now are likely in grave danger.
"Alright, I understand.
Then I'll leave this matter to you.
Go investigate, and whoever killed Uchiha Clan members, arrest them and execute them all."
Fugaku didn't feel angry about these unlucky Uchiha Clan members who were intercepted and killed, as he had only transmigrated less than half a day ago and had no strong feelings.
However, these two Uchiha Clan members next to him also heard about the interception.
If he didn't deal with it, wouldn't it affect his reputation if it spread to other clan members?
Therefore, he had to make a judgment on this matter in front of these two clan members.
Whoever killed an Uchiha would pay with their life—it was that simple.
"Yes."
Ryūma Aburame breathed a sigh of relief.
If it was just paying with their lives, it was already a very fair outcome.
After all, it didn't implicate other innocent people in the Root, although those who had to pay with their lives were also very innocent, merely following their superior's orders only to end up paying with their lives.
But Ryūma Aburame had no choice; they could only consider themselves unlucky.
Ryūma Aburame quickly left, disappearing from Uchiha Fugaku's line of sight, then transformed into an afterimage and vanished from the spot, soon appearing on a rooftop, hopping away into the distance.
Fugaku watched Ryūma Aburame's back disappear into the darkness before retracting his gaze.
Ryūma Aburame's defection was an unexpected pleasant surprise.
With this, the only remaining issue to deal with was Uchiha Obito.
As he thought this, he saw figures hopping across the rooftops, rushing over.
Leading them was Hyuga Hiashi, the Hyuga Clan Head.
Fugaku smiled faintly, "It's time to deal with the last bit of trouble."
…
The relocated Uchiha Clan Land was nominally within Konoha Village, but in reality, it was a considerable distance away.
To put it bluntly, they could almost be considered two neighboring Villages.
Between them lay a small forest.
The clear Gekko shone down, filtering through the leaves, casting dappled shadows.
A gust of wind blew, and the leaves rustled.
In the deserted small forest, a figure stood.
He had wild, flowing black hair, wore an orange-red single-eyed mask with black stripes, and a black robe over it, with a katana at his waist.
He stood silently among the trees, his entire being merging with the night.
If a passerby with a weak heart were to walk by at that moment, they would probably be scared to death by his attire.
Uchiha Obito waited patiently for Uchiha Itachi to return.
He had only just arrived, using the phasing ability of his Mangekyo Sharingan to transfer objects between real space and a different dimension.
He found a random spot and stealthily made his way in from the outskirts of Konoha Village.
He was also lucky; the direction he chose happened to be very close to the current Uchiha Clan Land.
He reached this small forest shortly after and had been waiting for Uchiha Itachi there ever since.
He arrived late and did not see the three red signal flares that appeared over Konoha Village in the afternoon.
Therefore, he had no idea what major events had occurred within Konoha Village.
Eight hundred meters from the small forest.
At the end of the street, directly facing the small forest.
The houses were temporarily requisitioned, and their owners were moved next door, watched by Ninja to prevent any commotion.
By the house window, Hyuga Hiashi's eyes were fierce, and veins bulged on both sides of his face near his eye sockets.
One of the Byakugan's abilities: using Chakra to multiply the eye's power, allowing it to see objects within a one-kilometer radius.
Ability two: seeing through objects.
Using the Byakugan allows one to see the target's meridians, Chakra points, bones, and Chakra flow.
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya could even distinguish whose Chakra it was with her Byakugan.
Although Hyuga Hiashi was the Hyuga Clan Head and the head of the main family, his Hyuga was not as powerful as Kaguya's; he couldn't distinguish whose Chakra it was merely with his Byakugan.
He could only see ominous Chakra flowing within the person in the forest, giving him a sense of dread.
A moment later, Hyuga Hiashi closed his Byakugan and turned to look at Uchiha Fugaku, whose expression was cold, finding that he was increasingly unable to read this person.
How did he know there was someone in this forest?
Moreover… that person's ominous Chakra gave him a feeling that was both very strange and yet familiar.
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