At the Root base, Danzō sat comfortably in his chair, listening to his subordinate's report.
"All human experimentation has been suspended as per your orders. Assassinations of opposition members have also ceased. Currently, a large number of idle shinobi have gathered within the base."
Hei knelt on one knee, not daring to look up at Danzō.
"Hmm. If they lack missions, send them all to monitor the Uchiha clan. They're a restless bunch anyway." Glancing at the two reports before him, Danzō casually assigned them to surveillance duty.
"Yes, but won't this cause..." Hei hesitated.
"No matter. Hiruzen won't be paying attention to that area for now." Danzō was unconcerned about Hei's hesitation—if anything, he was more displeased by the opposition: "Just execute my orders. I'll handle the rest."
"Yes!" Realizing he'd displeased Danzō, Hei dared not say another word and could only nod in agreement.
"Hmph, the Uchiha clan..." Though Danzō would have liked to eliminate them entirely, remembering his plans to support Feng Bai's rise to power, he dismissed the thought.
How could the future Hokage's father turn his blade against village comrades?
Of course, if they insisted on rebellion... he could always pin the blame on Hiruzen.
Looking at the genetic identification report from Root's laboratory, Danzō covered it with his hand.
Naturally suspicious, he hadn't relied solely on Orochimaru's word. Feng Bai's sample had been divided into multiple portions and sent to various Root laboratories. With confirmations from every facility, the last trace of doubt in Danzō's heart finally vanished.
Just as Danzō prepared to issue his next orders, a Root shinobi suddenly burst in, kneeling before him: "Danzō-sama, Feng Bai has gotten into conflict with members of the Uchiha clan!"
...
Obito racked his brain trying to figure out which acquaintance Feng Bai might be.
Otherwise, why would he suddenly appear, shouting about saving me?
"Hey, Kakashi! You scared me and now you're just abandoning me? Get out here and help!" Facing three boys all a head taller than himself, Feng Bai remembered why he'd charged out of the bushes.
"Sigh..." Called out by Feng Bai, Kakashi couldn't pretend nothing had happened. Scratching his head, he emerged from the bushes.
"Kakashi? Never heard of you. Hey, white-hair, are you here to save this idiot too?" Uchiha Yowan paid no attention to Kakashi's appearance, instead kicking Obito again in front of everyone.
Kakashi was speechless.
He'd simply been training here as usual, then noticed Feng Bai's rear end protruding from the bushes and grew curious about why he was hiding—only to get dragged into this troublesome situation.
"It's because you're always mingling with outsiders that you believe in that Will of Fire nonsense. Hmph, you two—I'm Uchiha Yowan. State your names." Signaling his two lackeys to release Obito, Yowan arrogantly raised his chin.
"..." x2
Feng Bai and Kakashi didn't want to engage.
Especially Kakashi—he had zero interest in dealing with obvious idiots.
"Thank you both..." Freed, Obito quickly ran to Feng Bai's side. Though he still couldn't remember who Feng Bai was, he politely expressed gratitude while defending his embarrassing performance: "Actually, I could have handled them myself without your intervention—if they hadn't ambushed me three-on-one—"
"Really? Then it's all yours!" Seeing Obito released and claiming he could take on all three, Feng Bai shamelessly prepared to abandon his teammate.
"Huh?" Shocked by Feng Bai's audacity, Obito's eyes widened: "Actually, I also..."
Before Obito could finish his stammering excuse, Uchiha Yowan impatiently charged forward, swinging his fist.
"Sigh." With a long exhale, Kakashi was forced to intervene. He bent down and struck Yowan's arm, redirecting the punch aimed at Obito's face.
"Not bad—you've got some skill! What are you two waiting for? Attack!" Surprised his move was countered, Yowan called for his lackeys to join the fight.
Completely trusting Kakashi's abilities, Feng Bai also swung his fists and charged in, figuring that with a powerhouse carrying the team, he could at least pad his combat record.
Infected by their fighting spirit, Obito's inner fire ignited as he grappled and bit his opponent.
Lacking any size advantage, Feng Bai fought without honor, targeting his opponent's lower regions. Soon he found an opportunity to grab his adversary's weak point.
As his grip tightened, the previously arrogant Uchiha began begging for mercy, face pale and breaking into cold sweat.
"Holy crap, this guy's tactics are so dirty!" Stunned by Feng Bai's fighting style, Obito lost focus and took another punch.
"That guy..." Kakashi, who had maintained composure throughout, dodged Yowan's attack and countered with a punch to his abdomen.
"Perfect opportunity!" Having finished his opponent, Feng Bai saw Yowan clutching his stomach. He launched a flying kick, precisely targeting Yowan's weak spot, making his already bent posture even more pronounced.
"I surrender! I surrender!" The Uchiha who'd been pulling Obito's hair released his grip and declared defeat.
Good lord, did I just hear something crack?!
"Hey, all of you—stop this instant!"
Before Feng Bai and the others could celebrate victory, several shinobi wearing forehead protectors and flak jackets appeared around them.
"This is trouble." Seeing the shuriken and fan emblems embroidered on their uniforms, Kakashi realized the situation had worsened.
The fight had actually attracted the Military Police Force.
"Hey, are you alright, Yowan?" The Military Police officer checking Yowan's condition grew grim-faced.
"Yowan? Yoshi? Are you guys okay?" Another officer examined the other two.
"Waaah, Uncle Yamei, Uchiha Obito conspired with outsiders to bully us!" Seeing the Military Police arrive, the only standing Uchiha, Yoshi, ran crying into the officer's embrace, immediately shifting blame entirely onto Obito.
"You bastard!" Face swollen like a pig's head, Obito was furious and tried to confront Yoshi, but was restrained by a third Military Police officer.
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