Shunren Joins the Battle

Shunren joined the war

It is a fact that the Uchiha cannot order Shunren around at will.

Moreover, Shunren's identity within the Uchiha Clan is somewhat ambiguous. He is not a pure-blooded direct descendant of the Uchiha Clan; rather, he is an outsider who joined the Uchiha community and was granted the surname Uchiha after his strength was recognized.

Shunren originally had the opportunity to enter the core of the Uchiha, when Fugaku specifically named him to become the clan leader's guard, but he refused and chose the Konoha Military Police Force instead.

As a result, the relationship between Shunren and the Uchiha became somewhat diluted, transforming into a relationship of equal cooperation.

An old man suggested, "Isn't Shunren keen on cultivating advanced techniques? Why don't we cater to his interests?"

Fugaku thought for a moment and replied, "The old methods probably won't work... Shunren has already mastered most of our clan's swordsmanship, Genjutsu, Dōjutsu, and Body Flicker Technique. Although our clan also has many high-level Fire Style, Shurikenjutsu, and Barrier Ninjutsu, it seems that Shunren isn't interested in these types of Ninjutsu."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions became somewhat strange. When did the prestigious Uchiha Clan have to ask a mere brat for help? Of course, it was also unprecedented in Uchiha history for someone from an outer branch to have grown to this level. The Uchiha always revered strength; as long as your fists are big enough, even a brat can earn you respect.

However, just as the Uchiha and others were figuring out how to trick Shunren into joining the war, something unexpected happened.

"Report! Clan Chief, Uchiha Shunren requests an audience!"

Hokage Building.

"Heh~ See? I told you the Uchiha are a bunch of wolves with ulterior motives, and they've taken the bait!" Danzo's face revealed a rare, excited smile. "Excellent! This way, we can further weaken the Uchiha's power. Hiruzen, our plan, painstakingly crafted over decades, has finally made a breakthrough!"

The Third calmly lit his pipe, took a shallow puff, and said in a flat voice, "What plan? Danzo, I don't understand a word you're saying."

"You 'Kakuzu, Hiruzen." Danzo glanced at him, his smile brimming with malice. "There's no one else here, so stop pretending. The plan, of course, is to wipe out the Uchiha Clan!"

"Absurd! The Uchiha Clan are our comrades in Konoha!" the Third said with dissatisfaction.

"Yes! The claim that the Uchiha Clan are Konoha's allies is indeed absurd," Danzo said with a smile.

"..." The Third's face twitched, and he gave Danzo a deep look before saying, "Don't act rashly. The war isn't over yet. Besides, although this has caused some losses for the Uchiha, as the saying goes, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. It's not advisable for Konoha to antagonize the Uchiha right now."

"Hmph~ I know that without you telling me." Danzo frowned, seemingly thinking of something troublesome. "It will take at least another ten years to completely eliminate them."

"Like boiling a frog slowly, there's no rush. That's also the Second Hokage's policy." The Third sighed, his expression shifting slightly, and said with a touch of wistfulness, "Today I went to see that guy's descendants."

Danzo's expression changed, and he instinctively said, "Hiruzen! You wouldn't want to...?"

"What are you thinking!" the Third suddenly shouted, his eyes wide. "He was our comrade-in-arms, a brother who shared life and death with us!"

You said it was in the past!

Danzo sneered inwardly, then couldn't help but cover his bandaged right eye, feigning a sigh, "Yes, the one known as 'The Mirror of Body Flicker Technique,' is gone just like that. It's said that his true skills have been learned by that Shunren... In order to counter the power of that movement technique..."

"We also need to cultivate a chess piece with equal agility!" "Don't call Shisui a chess piece!" the Third said discontentedly.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Danzo without hesitation, then continued, "I think that mere movement techniques aren't enough; we also need 'eyes.' Leave the task of cultivating those 'eyes' to me. I'll select a few children from Root and grow alongside them. When the time is right, I'll sacrifice them one by one, thus awakening their Mind-Reflecting Eyes and allowing them to evolve step by step. Perhaps we can even cultivate the Mangekyō Sharingan..."

Danzo's blatant and unbridled exposure of his extremely evil deeds caused the Third immense distress and a touch of shame.

"You bastard... you're a demon!"

"Yes, I am the heretic, and you are the sage of light!" Danzo's face showed a troubled expression, as if to say, "I've already said it, there are no outsiders here, who are you trying to fool?"

"Ahem~ Alright, let's leave this topic at that." A hint of embarrassment flashed across the Third's face. Who doesn't care about their reputation these days? He thought to himself, "I'll slowly clear my name a few years from now."

However, Danzo seemed to see through the latter's thoughts and couldn't help but sneer inwardly, "You're just like me, already completely corrupted, what's the point of trying to whitewash yourself!"

"Let's get back to the main topic. This is the list of the Uchiha Clan participating in the war." Danzo held up a report.

The Third wisely refrained from asking where the report came from.

Because that's a stupid question.

"Let me see it."

"Let me see yours too, so we can verify the information."

"..." The Third opened a drawer and took out a scroll.

The two sides exchanged information happily.

Danzo through the scroll and nodded in satisfaction. "They're basically the same. It seems we've both done a good job with our intelligence gathering."

"Five Jonin and twenty Chunin, that's not much combat power they've sent," the Third said calmly.

"The important thing is that Uchiha Shunren is among them!" Danzo's eyes flashed with a sharp light as he coldly said, "This is a golden opportunity! If we're going to confront the Raikage, then it's only natural that some accidents might happen and some people might be sacrificed, isn't it?"

"That guy joining the war is really unexpected. The Uchiha's strategic deception is quite effective, isn't it?" the Third said with a hint of doubt.

However, Danzo knew all about this. Orochimaru must have already spoken to him, right? Heh! Uchiha Shunren, how pleasant was your first meeting with the snake? You think you can grow up under my nose? Keep dreaming!