Chapter 44 - Danzo's Operation
Itachi pulled Sasuke closer, staring into his dark pupils.
The next second, Sasuke's eyes turned red, and a single tomoe slowly rotated within the circular black pattern.
"Sass — don't tell Father about this yet."
Itachi thought it through quickly. If word got out that Sasuke had awakened his Sharingan at age six, the Uchiha extremists might make their move tonight.
And everything he and Shisui had been working toward would fall apart.
Sasuke didn't fully understand why — but this was his beloved brother.
How could he ever do anything to hurt him?
The scarlet faded. Black and white returned.
Sasuke nodded.
"Okay. But... why?"
Itachi looked at the setting sun in the distance and patted Sasuke's spiky hair.
"Because of... the current situation~"
"Just trust your brother. I will definitely protect you."
Hmm. Sasuke's hair still feels exactly the same. Prickly and soft at the same time.
Sasuke puffed out his cheeks. Honestly, Nii-san had been using words he couldn't understand to dodge his questions a lot lately.
"Then you have to train with me tomorrow. I want to learn the Phoenix Fire Shuriken technique!"
Itachi considered for a moment, then nodded.
It had been a while since he'd trained properly with Sasuke. He'd been neglecting that.
"Okay. No problem."
"Really?! It's a promise!"
"It's a promise."
The road, bathed in the light of the setting sun, was filled with Sasuke's bright laughter and Itachi's quiet chuckle.
The Roots of the Leaf.
Danzo's office, deep within the shadows.
"Lord Danzo, Shisui has arrived."
A Root agent knelt on one knee and spoke respectfully to Danzo, who sat waiting in his chair.
"Good. Bring him in."
Danzo narrowed his eyes and waved the agent away.
Less than a minute later, Shisui — dressed in his battle gear — walked into the office.
"Lord Danzo."
Danzo's voice softened as he looked at Shisui standing with his head lowered.
"Come now, get up. We're all part of Konoha — no need for that."
A red light flickered briefly in Shisui's eyes, then vanished.
"Yes, Lord Danzo. About the situation within my clan..."
As Shisui stood, the Root agent beside him quietly brought over a stool.
"Hmm. Actually, I think you could try approaching it like this — and then like this — and then this."
Danzo answered Shisui's questions thoughtfully, offering his own perspective.
They talked like this for about five minutes before Danzo shifted the conversation.
"Shisui — I heard you've awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan."
"Don't worry about how I know. The Hokage mentioned it to me — I only brought it up because I wanted to offer some thoughts on resolving the Uchiha... situation."
Shisui looked at Danzo's bandage-wrapped face and smiled slightly.
"Lord Danzo — I'd like to ask you something, if I may. Did you orchestrate the incidents targeting the Uchiha's police force?"
His tone remained gentle. But the respect from a moment ago was gone.
The next second, black patterns bloomed in his pupils and began to rotate.
Kotoamatsukami.
Do they really think we're that foolish?
The Uchiha clan has been causing so many problems — and during my investigation, I found traces of Root everywhere.
Don't underestimate the Uchiha's genjutsu.
If I can alter Danzo's will, the clan might finally have a chance at peace.
"No, I didn't—"
Just as Danzo began to speak, his eyes went blank.
And in the next instant, a blade flashed — and pierced Shisui's body.
Kotoamatsukami was taxing. Shisui hadn't reacted in time, and the Root agent beside him had driven a blade straight into him.
How?
Shisui couldn't understand. He had altered Danzo's will. How had this happened?
"Clap. Clap. Clap."
Applause echoed through the room as dozens of elite Root operatives sealed off every exit.
Danzo's voice came from somewhere in the shadows.
"Shisui... oh, Shisui. What can I even say about you?"
"Just as naive as Kagami."
Did you really think you found all those clues on your own?
"No, no, no. Every single one of those clues was bait — bait I laid out specifically for you."
Heh heh heh.
Danzo, the shadow that lurked beneath Konoha a student of the Second Hokage himself. Did anyone really think he wasn't intimately familiar with the Uchiha's methods?
How ironic. These Uchiha always believed their eye techniques and genjutsu were unmatched — and never stopped to use their brains.
What a waste. If Shisui had played along a little longer, I might have kept him around for a few more days... but that's wishful thinking now.
Once I take his eyes, I'll visit Sarutobi while he sleeps, pin him down, and use Kotoamatsukami on him directly.
With Sarutobi under my control — who else could possibly be Hokage?
Hehehe.
---
"...Not good."
Shisui kicked the Root agent away and wrenched the blade from his own body.
He channeled chakra to slow the bleeding, then scanned the room, calculating his options.
"Stop struggling.
Kotoamatsukami can't be used again so soon, can it?"
And even if it could — do you think the next version of me would still be the real me?
"Give up. Even if you escape, the Hokage won't believe you."
"You'll be arrested on charges of attempting to manipulate Konoha's leadership."
Danzo pressed his words like weapons —
because he knew that breaking the mind was more effective than breaking the body, especially against someone like Shisui of the Body Flicker.
But were the hearts of the Uchiha so easily broken?
Especially an Uchiha who had awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan and who loved both his clan and his village with everything he had.
Shisui's Mangekyou spun rapidly.
In the next moment, a green skeletal form began to condense around him.
Dozens of kunai flew toward him and were swatted away by the enormous skeletal hand in an instant.
Susanoo — Initial Form.
Based on his subordinates' reports, Danzo recognized the name immediately.
A name that had once defined an era. A power that transcended the ordinary ninja.
Susanoo.
Tobirama had written about it once.
"Each Mangekyou Sharingan harbors a unique ocular technique. And when both Mangekyou of the same bloodline are awakened together, a third power emerges — Susanoo."
Danzo's expression tightened. He hadn't expected Shisui to activate Susanoo after already using Kotoamatsukami.
But this is my territory.*m
I refuse to let this duck fly out of my hands now.
"Surround him. He's already injured he won't last long."
And indeed, Shisui could feel the enormous drain on his eye power.
For an ordinary Mangekyou, that power was finite.
Only the Eternal Mangekyou could replenish it freely.
But I can't stop now.
Itachi is still waiting for me.
Shisui's lips curved into a quiet smile.
His Susanoo expanded a green skull materialized before the eyes of every Root operative in the room.
Susanoo — Stage Two.
The green skull deflected the incoming ninjutsu with both hands, sacrificing parts of its own form to carve an escape route through the chaos.
Move. I have to reach the Third Hokage.
Shisui didn't believe Danzo's words. If the Hokage had wanted to arrest him, it would have happened long ago — not with a vacation to a hot spring town.
But first — I have to get out of here alive.
As Root operatives surged in from his flanks, Shisui used Susanoo's defense and his own speed to weave through them.
But the knife wound on his body was beginning to turn purple.
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End of Chapter...