Chiya did not react at all.
'A mere Hokage advisor, and he wants to give orders to our Uchiha?'
'Even if you were the Hokage himself, you would have to step aside and watch!'
The kunai wrapped in explosive tags in Chiya's hand were thrown precisely into the crowd of enemies.
Explosions rang out one after another.
Danzo stood in place, watching Chiya lead the Uchiha in striking without any restraint.
His fingernails dug into his palms. His body trembled slightly.
Even without being able to feel what Danzo was feeling inside, it was plain to see just from his face.
There was no telling how vile the words he was cursing in his heart were.
Very soon, the battle was over.
Chiya led the Uchiha group and withdrew to a concealed location to rest briefly.
Danzo appeared before them. His gaze carried a trace of cold accusation.
"Chiya, why did you not move sooner? Were you watching while we struggled?"
Chiya smiled slightly, his tone calm.
"Lord Danzo, we did not do it on purpose. Acting without confirming the identities of both sides first would have only caused more casualties. It was when I saw Lord Danzo personally enter the fight that I was able to confirm the identities of both sides and moved decisively to assist you. Without that, how could Lord Danzo and your Root still have so many elites alive right now?"
Danzo paused.
'This Chiya truly lives up to being an evil Uchiha. He really has such a sharp tongue.'
'If you had not interfered, my Root would have finished it faster. The casualties would not have been this heavy. And now, after increasing my losses, you want me to thank you?'
Danzo's gaze tightened slightly. He understood the meaning behind Chiya's words.
Even though Chiya's answer was as nauseating to him as swallowing fly droppings, he could not deny that what Chiya said was not wrong.
Even if this were brought before Hiruzen, this version of events would hold up.
Hiruzen would smooth things over and let it go without a conclusion.
He knew Hiruzen far too well.
Danzo quietly marked a point against the Uchiha in his heart.
He did not press further, and turned to gather his Root ninja.
In an instant, the Uchiha and Root ninja separated into two distinct groups, clearly divided.
Danzo watched Chiya send the Uchiha who had rested enough to clean up the battlefield.
He spoke with a smile that did not reach his eyes.
"Hmph. You Uchiha really know how to steal credit."
Chiya smiled lightly.
"Lord Danzo, you jest. All of this is proof of the Iwa-nin killed by our Uchiha. The Fire Style is so obvious. It was naturally our Uchiha who made those kills. Besides, we did not come here to steal credit. This time we came primarily to investigate something. We did not expect to run into Lord Danzo here. What a coincidence. I just wonder whether Lord Danzo has any connection to that matter."
Danzo's expression shifted slightly.
'That matter?'
'Could it be the matter of the missing children?'
Chiya saw Danzo go silent and laughed coldly inside.
"Lord Danzo, you are a Hokage advisor. Surely you cannot be unaware of why we have come here?"
Chiya paused, then continued.
"Our mission this time is to investigate the disappearance of children. We just received information and followed the trail here. We did not expect to encounter Lord Danzo. I hope you can give us an explanation."
Hearing this, Danzo felt a jolt in his chest.
He did not know why Chiya would suspect him, but he could not afford to admit it.
That experiment had already been ordered stopped by Hiruzen himself.
Now not only had he not stopped it, but he had also used children as test subjects.
If this matter were ever exposed, the power in his hands would surely be taken away.
Danzo's face filled with fury. He snapped at Chiya.
"Hmph. You Uchiha, do not make false accusations. I am not like you, the type who likes to scheme behind people's backs."
Chiya let out a laugh.
'Scheming behind people's backs?'
'Is that not exactly what you do?'
'Danzo, are you introducing yourself right now?'
Danzo looked at Chiya. The killing intent in his eyes was barely being kept hidden.
"We only hope that the truth of this matter comes to light. If you truly have nothing to hide, Lord Danzo, why get worked up?"
"Did I get worked up?"
Danzo was so infuriated by Chiya's words that his face turned iron-gray, his teeth grinding together.
The sound squeezing through his clenched teeth was, at that moment, almost comical.
Chiya looked at Danzo, who resembled a rabid dog about to lose control, and stopped paying him any more attention.
He turned and spoke to one of the Uchiha.
"Go. Draft a letter. Say that during our investigation, we witnessed Lord Danzo engaged with Iwagakure ninja."
That Uchiha nodded and immediately got to work.
Danzo watched Chiya's action and raised an eyebrow.
"Chiya, you Uchiha are going too far."
"Lord Danzo, we are only acting according to our mission. What is written is only what we personally witnessed. I hope you will understand."
Danzo steadied himself and looked at Chiya with cold, dark eyes.
"Hmph. You Uchiha really know how to scheme."
Chiya did not even glance at Danzo.
'Nothing more than a dog barking.'
Chiya knew well inside that this Danzo was no ordinary threat. And there was the secret Chiya had come across unintentionally before. Beneath those bandages of his was a Sharingan.
That Sharingan was surely no simple matter.
Fighting a battle without a sure footing was not Chiya's way.
There was still plenty of time. They would play slowly, bit by bit.
Danzo would eventually lose his patience and use that eye of his.
"Time is about up. How does the count look?"
Chiya walked over to the Uchiha who was tallying the numbers and asked.
"The specific Iwa-nin casualties have been counted, but the distribution..."
Chiya nodded and took the tally report handed to him.
He scanned the Iwagakure ninja who had died on the scene.
The numbers were roughly as expected. A few had even been left for Root's side.
Chiya was quite satisfied.
The gains this time were substantial.
The Iwagakure ninja had been wiped out, Root's influence had been dealt a blow, and most importantly, Danzo had been made thoroughly miserable.
Danzo had been forced to fulfill his own duty, fulfilling the mission of protecting the village.
And Root's contribution had been directly overshadowed.
The "battle merit" gained, the majority of it had been taken by the Uchiha clan. The peaches had been picked.
A win.
A total win.
The Uchiha clan had firmly taken the MVP!
"Since there are no issues, let our Hokage advisor here have a look as well!"
After saying this, Chiya had someone write out another copy.
It was handed over to Danzo.
Danzo looked at the casualty report in his hands. The majority of the credit belonged to the Uchiha.
His fingers tightened.
He raised his head and looked at Chiya, who was watching him with a smile. His eyes were ice cold.
"Well written."
Chiya was somewhat surprised.
'This Danzo steadied himself so quickly. Just a moment ago he was nearly at his breaking point.'
'Unexpected.'
Chiya felt a small twinge of regret inside.
He had wanted to see Danzo blow up in a rage just now.
It seemed that was not going to happen after all.
"Lord Danzo, if there is nothing else, we will be taking our leave!"
Chiya, seeing there was no more entertainment to be had, did not linger any further.
He said his piece and gave the order directly for the Uchiha clan to depart.
This was not a request for permission.
It was a notification.
Watching the figures of the Uchiha disappear into the forest, Danzo finally threw the report in his hands violently to the ground. The veins on his forehead bulged. His gaze was filled with venom.
"Uchiha. I, Danzo, will never coexist with you!"