Gurgle gurgle gurgle… Pfft!
Chinatsu, who had nearly fallen asleep in the steaming hot spring bath, suddenly sat upright. Her wet black hair clung to her cheeks as she narrowed her eyes and blankly scanned the surroundings. For a second, she wondered where she was. The next second, she wondered what she had been doing. Then her expression abruptly changed.
"Crap, I soaked for too long!"
Chinatsu hurriedly stood up from the bath. Ever since successfully awakening the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan by fusing her Mangekyō with Shisui Uchiha's eyes stolen from Shimura Danzō and Itachi's transplanted Mangekyō, her body had been in an exhausted yet strangely refreshed state. The enhanced ocular power and restored vision had made her relax far more than expected.
She quickly dried herself off, tied up her damp hair, casually threw on a loose yukata, and rushed from the bathhouse toward the living room.
Nearly two hours had already passed.
Originally, Chinatsu thought the living room would have descended into utter chaos without her supervising it personally. After all, the people gathered there included Kakashi Hatake, two former Root elites loyal to Danzō, and two official members of the Akatsuki.
But unexpectedly, the atmosphere was harmonious.
"Young Lady! You're finally out!"
Hidan was the first to notice Chinatsu. He immediately jumped up from the sofa with a loud thump, almost knocking over the tea table in his excitement.
His enthusiastic expression was practically glowing.
Seeing this scene, Chinatsu seriously began doubting whether she had overdone it when using Kotoamatsukami on him. Although Hidan had never exactly been a good person even in the original manga, compared to the lunatic fanatic who worshipped Jashin and enjoyed dismembering people during the Akatsuki era, the current Hidan was already much more restrained.
At least now he wasn't trying to sacrifice anyone in her living room.
Chinatsu slowly turned her head and looked toward Kakashi, who was seated calmly on another sofa.
Kakashi's arms were folded across his chest. His exposed Sharingan eye stared at her quietly. Unlike earlier, his expression was no longer filled with confusion and vigilance, but rather complete understanding.
For almost two hours, Kakashi had silently pieced together information from the conversations between the others while analyzing the current situation.
And now, he felt he had finally grasped the "truth."
Everything suddenly made sense.
Kakashi slowly raised one finger and looked at Chinatsu with a profound gaze.
"Chinatsu… can I ask you something?"
"A question? Sure, ask away."
Chinatsu casually walked toward the main sofa and sat down. Hidan immediately moved aside obediently and stood behind her like a loyal subordinate.
"Shimura Danzō… is he dead?"
"Yes, he's dead. Honestly, he's probably been buried long enough for weeds to start growing over his grave by now."
Chinatsu answered extremely casually, as if discussing the weather rather than the death of one of Konoha's elders.
At this point, there was no longer any need to conceal Danzō's death.
The man himself had already disappeared completely. The remaining Root members either defected, were neutralized, or had already been quietly dealt with by Aburame Torune and Yamanaka Fū.
The current Danzō had no successors left.
There wouldn't be any ridiculous situation where "the younger one dies and the older one comes looking for revenge," or "the older one dies and the younger one appears afterward." The entire Root organization had essentially collapsed after losing its core.
After hearing Chinatsu's answer, Kakashi revealed an expression of sudden enlightenment.
"I knew it…"
His thoughts finally connected perfectly.
Everything made sense now.
Why Root members had appeared near the Uchiha compound.
Why Akatsuki members were here.
Why even people like Aburame Torune and Yamanaka Fū seemed loyal to Chinatsu.
Why Danzō had vanished without a trace during the Chūnin Exams period.
Kakashi silently pushed all the clues together in his mind and formed a terrifying conclusion:
Chinatsu had been planning everything from the very beginning.
Seeing Kakashi's increasingly strange expression, Chinatsu blinked blankly.
…Why does it feel like he misunderstood something again?
But explaining everything sounded troublesome, and since Kakashi clearly wasn't hostile anymore, Chinatsu decided not to bother clarifying it.
She lightly coughed and looked toward Aburame Torune, Yamanaka Fū, Hidan, and Kakuzu.
"I'm sure all of you have things to report, so let's do this one at a time. Torune, Fū, you two go first."
The two former Root elites immediately nodded seriously.
"First, we successfully secured all of Danzō-sama's remaining assets," Yamanaka Fū reported calmly.
"Those include Root's hidden funds, forbidden ninjutsu scrolls, encrypted intelligence records, and several underground contacts connected to the black market."
Hearing this, Chinatsu immediately remembered the bounty she had seen on herself during her previous trip searching for Kakuzu and Hidan in the underground bounty exchange.
"So the bounty on my head really came from Danzō?"
"Yes," Aburame Torune answered directly. "Most likely he intended to test you first before attempting direct action."
"Tch. That old bastard really loved wasting money."
Chinatsu clicked her tongue unhappily.
Torune continued.
"In addition, Fū and I have already quietly returned to our respective clans."
"The Aburame clan and Yamanaka clan?" Chinatsu raised an eyebrow.
The two nodded.
"Recruiting core members would be impossible for now," Yamanaka Fū admitted honestly. "However, ordinary clan members and peripheral personnel may be persuaded over time."
This result greatly satisfied Chinatsu.
The intelligence network Danzō had accumulated over decades was extremely valuable. More importantly, the possibility of gradually pulling personnel from the Aburame and Yamanaka clans would significantly strengthen her future independent forces.
As for money…
Well.
Chinatsu honestly didn't care too much.
Compared to the enormous savings accumulated by the Uchiha clan during the Warring States Period and Konoha's early years, Danzō's hidden funds were practically pocket change.
Kakuzu, however, stared at Chinatsu in complete shock.
In his eyes, Chinatsu was practically radiating golden light.
This was the aura of a true wealthy monster.
A rich heir.
A nouveau riche.
And an absurd super-rich clan leader all combined together.
For Kakuzu, who valued money more than almost anything besides his own life, this aura was overwhelmingly dazzling.
Meanwhile, Chinatsu was already thinking ahead.
Her future goal had always been clear from the very beginning:
Leave Konoha.
Establish an independent Uchiha force.
Completely avoid repeating the original clan's tragic fate.
To achieve that, she needed two things most:
Money.
And talented subordinates.
Especially talent.
In fact, Chinatsu had already started preparing for this plan. A large pile of unfinished recruitment flyers still sat inside her room. She even planned to launch a massive "talent recruitment campaign" throughout Konoha after the Chūnin Exams ended.
Just imagining the future prosperity of the revived Uchiha clan almost made Chinatsu drool.
Fortunately, her remaining sense of dignity barely stopped her from embarrassing herself in front of everyone.
"Ahem."
Chinatsu quickly returned to a serious expression and crossed her arms.
"Now it's your turn."
Her gaze landed directly on Kakuzu and Hidan.
"You've been gone this long, and since you came personally, I assume the Akatsuki matter has progressed smoothly?"
The Akatsuki was one of the biggest issues Chinatsu had to deal with after eliminating Danzō.
Her current plan was simple:
Infiltrate first.
Deal with problems later.
Kakuzu and Hidan exchanged glances. Then Kakuzu slowly stepped forward.
"Boss, the mission is complete. Leader Pain agreed that you may come meet the organization at any time."
"Oh?"
Chinatsu immediately became interested.
"But," Kakuzu continued calmly, "new members still need to undergo that person's test."
"That person" was obviously Pain.
More specifically, Nagato operating through the Six Paths of Pain.
Nagato himself rarely appeared directly, and Yahiko's Deva Path usually handled recruitment and negotiations within Akatsuki.
As for the "test"…
Chinatsu wasn't worried at all.
Most Akatsuki members were recruited through combat anyway. Even Kakuzu himself had only joined after being defeated. Hidan was similarly subdued before being accepted.
The real problem wasn't Pain.
It was Itachi Uchiha.
If Itachi exposed her identity on the spot, things could become troublesome instantly.
Still, compared to that concern, Chinatsu was currently more curious about something else.
"How exactly did you convince Pain to suddenly agree to new recruits so quickly?"
Originally, Chinatsu thought infiltrating Akatsuki would take at least another six months.
Yet these two somehow completed it in an unbelievably short time.
Chinatsu's curiosity instantly surged.
Kakuzu was just about to explain when Hidan suddenly slapped a hand over Kakuzu's mouth and forcefully dragged him backward.
"I'll explain! I'll explain!"
Hidan excitedly pointed at himself.
"Young Lady, actually this entire operation was basically directed by me from start to finish!"
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