Sasuke

Although it felt like something was missing during the days Sakura Haruno was away, life had to go on.

Just like in Konoha in the early morning, even without Sakura Haruno going for her morning run, Sasuke and Hinata still get up on time for their morning exercise; occasionally, the two masters of Dōjutsu will bump into each other, exchange a casual greeting, run a few laps together, or even have a couple of sparring matches.

Recently, both of them, who work in the Anbu, have been extremely busy.

After Sakura Haruno's outburst at the meeting, Danzo was completely overthrown, Root was taken over by Tsunade. The Anbu then began the massive task of identifying Root ninjas. Under the heavy pressure of the mission, Sasuke and Hinata were almost always busy and overwhelmed, wishing they could make their home in the Anbu building and work overtime until dawn.

Meanwhile, the culprit behind all this, the Anbu Ninja Sakura Haruno, had already gone to the other side of the world Shikkotsu Forest, to freely cultivate her Senjutsu, completely oblivious to the enormous workload she had created for her colleagues.

--Especially Sasuke and Kakashi.

These two Konoha Ninja, the only two to possess the Sharingan, played an extremely important role in this screening mission: because apart from the Yamanaka Clan's mental Secret Technique, the Sharingan's Genjutsu was the best means of interrogating Root ninjas.

Almost every Root ninja had been Danzo to restrictions and brainwashed by Danzo, making them tight-lipped about Root affairs. They were as stubborn and unyielding as rocks in a latrine, and ordinary interrogation methods were ineffective in getting them to talk. Overly harsh methods were also unsuitable, as not every Root ninja was as heinous as Danzo; some were even heroes who had eliminated threats to Konoha. If it weren't for the power of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, getting these people to speak would have required considerable effort.

--Conversely, Sasuke also witnessed many of the heinous things Root had done.

Sometimes you can even hear them talking about the Uchiha.

"Danzo distrusted the Uchiha Clan from the very beginning, especially after the Nine-Tails Incident. Our Root has been secretly monitoring the Uchiha..."

"The Uchiha has a rebellious streak; it's been like this ever since Madara Uchiha Konoha..."

"Even if Uchiha Itachi didn't make a move, the Uchiha Clan would still be wiped out by Root..."

The powerful Sharingan Genjutsu could make even the most stubborn Root ninjas reveal their true feelings. In the mouths of these ninjas, the Uchiha Clan seemed to have become a family organization even uglier and more evil than Root. When Sasuke first heard such words, he was so angry that he trembled and almost punched the person being interrogated.

But after hearing it so many times, he became numb and exhausted, both physically and mentally.

They even began to doubt themselves.

"The Uchiha Clan..."

What exactly is it?

Family, parents, brothers, village... many concepts that were once clear became blurred in Sasuke's mind.

The more I think, the more confused I feel, and the more mentally exhausted I become.

"Sasuke! What are you thinking about?"

Kakashi's appearance shattered Sasuke's illusions.

The white-haired youth suddenly patted Sasuke on the shoulder, jolting the latter back to reality from his fruitless contemplation.

He was sitting in the mess hall inside the Anbu, unconsciously stirring the tomato soup in his food box with a spoon. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that the tomato soup and bonito rice balls had long since gone cold.

Sasuke sighed, put down his spoon, and despite the plate containing all his favorite foods, he felt utterly tasteless and had no appetite. He simply pushed the plate away.

"I wasn't thinking about anything..." The boy rubbed his temples, his voice betraying his exhaustion.

Kakashi looked at Sasuke, who seemed lost in thought, and hesitated to speak.

"What's wrong, Kakashi-sensei?"

The boy picked up his plate and walked towards where the leftover food was dumped.

"Is it that Sai questioned last time? He's younger and hasn't been brainwashed as much, so he shouldn't cause any problems..."

He asked as he poured out his untouched lunch.

"No, it has nothing to do with him, Sasuke."

Kakashi looked at Sasuke's dark circles under his eyes, hesitated for a moment, and then sighed, "There's an important mission I need you to carry out..."

"Another mission?" Sasuke said calmly. "Alright, I understand."

Kakashi felt even more ashamed at the bland answer. He hesitated for a moment, then advised, "If you're too tired, it's better to stop. I can find someone else. Don't push yourself to the limit!"

"It's alright, I can manage." Sasuke forced a smile, declining Kakashi's offer.

He followed Kakashi away—strangely, their destination wasn't the Anbu's interrogation room, but rather an operating room at Konoha Hospital.

Hotaru Hyuga, the Anbu Captain, Hinata, Haku, and several unnamed medical-nin had been waiting there for a long time.

"Operating room?" Sasuke frowned slightly, wondering why this mission was being conducted in an operating room, when he caught sight of someone lying on the floor out of the corner of his eye.

An old man whose entire body was restricted by powerful sealing and restriction, unable to move at all.

"Shimura Danzō..."

Sasuke coldly uttered those words.

Sasuke already disliked this person. After learning many things over this period of time, his hatred for him only intensified.

"That's right... This mission is to perform surgery on Shimura Danzō and remove the extra parts from his body." Kakashi patted him on the shoulder and said calmly.

"Unnecessary things?"

Sasuke taken aback.

"Let's end this small talk," Hotaru Hyuga walked over, interrupting their conversation, and said seriously, "I am Hotaru Hyuga, the team leader for this mission. Let me introduce everyone's tasks for this surgery—"

"Bai and her medical team are in charge of all aspects of the surgery."

"We will activate the protective barrier during the surgery. Danzo may make a move then. Kakashi Hatake and Sasuke Uchiha, you two are responsible for keeping an eye on Danzo and stopping any of his actions. Report any problems to me immediately!"

"I'll be monitoring your Chakra circulation. If anything unusual happens, I'll immediately intervene with surgery. If I can't handle it, I'll warn Hinata."

"Hinata, you stand outside the operating room, close the door, and don't come in. You just need to monitor my Chakra circulation. If I sound an alarm or detect any abnormalities in my Chakra circulation, immediately turn around and leave. Don't worry about us; report directly to Lady Tsunade! No one is allowed to Gate of Opening the Gate of Opening unless my Chakra circulation is normal and I open it myself!"

"Do you understand?"

Hotaru Hyuga was exceptionally cautious in assigning tasks.

They were so cautious as to overreact.

Sasuke and Hinata exchanged a glance, both somewhat puzzled by Hotaru Hyuga. But since she had given the order, they had no choice but to comply.

At this moment, Danzo, who was lying on the floor bound like a dumpling, suddenly sneered, almost startling everyone who thought he was unconscious.

"Is that Hotaru Hyuga?" The old man's voice was hoarseer than usual, rough like sandpaper scraping against a tabletop.

Hotaru Hyuga pursed her lips, staring coldly at Danzo without answering.

Danzo, unperturbed by her silence, struggled to sit up and continued, "And there's Kakashi Hatake, Sasuke Uchiha, Yuki Haku... and that other kid is Hinata Hyuga, right? I recognize you!"

"Heh heh, Hotaru Hyuga, you've really gone to great lengths to deal with an old man like me who's utterly defeated!" Danzo's lips curled into a cold smile beneath his eyepatch. "I know what you're worried about... Unfortunately, you're wrong. I don't have that thing!"

"Besides, aren't you worried about upsetting Sasuke Uchiha by bringing him into this mission?" the old man continued, seemingly oblivious to his own concerns. "Don't blame me for not warning you, no one from the Uchiha is trustworthy!"

"Shut up, you old man!"

Hotaru Hyuga Danzo a cold shout.

She walked over, leaned close to the old man's ear, and said softly, almost in a whisper, "You think it's too late to pretend to be a good person now? Let me tell you the truth, you won't have another chance to make a comeback..."

"Just wait to die, you old bastard!"

Danzo as firm as a rock, his exposed eye coldly fixed on the woman. He said, "You'll regret not heeding my advice!"

The woman rolled her Byakugan and sneered.

She didn't care what Danzo; she delivered a Gentle Fist directly to his chest, knocking him unconscious with a single blow.

"Everyone in position, mission begin!"

[Returned from my hometown, took a bus. Only one update today.]