"Senior, Lord Hokage instructed me to deliver these research materials on the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan. I also brought three Three-Tomoe Sharingan."
Inside the concealed Experimental Base, an Anbu Ninja from Konoha addressed another Anbu Ninja stationed there.
"So the old man sent them..."
The Anbu Ninja stationed at the base took the research documents, along with the three Sharingan suspended in test tube nutrient solution.
He studied the three Three-Tomoe Sharingan, each radiating an eerie presence.
A strange look flickered in Sarutobi Shinosuke's eyes. Puzzled, he asked, "Where did the old man get these Sharingan?"
The Anbu Ninja from the village thought it over. The man before him was Lord Hokage's eldest son, a senior member of the Anbu, and one of Lord Hokage's trusted aides.
Sharing a little of that information with him should be fine.
He answered quietly, "From Shimura Danzō of Root."
"Danzo, huh..." Understanding dawned on Sarutobi Shinosuke. "I thought so. The old man's full of contradictions. He's interested in plenty of things, but he's always felt that a Hokage shouldn't do those things. I doubt he'd go as far as stealing the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan."
"The only person in the village who'd do something like this is probably that Darkness of Konoha, the Root Leader, Shimura Danzō."
Sarutobi Shinosuke shook his head and continued without restraint, "Still... he's partly just the old man's proxy for dirty work. The old man tacitly lets him handle all the dirty jobs he won't do himself."
The Anbu Ninja from the village did not dare say anything.
"Tell him this-we'll do our best to thoroughly understand these Sharingan research materials."
"Yes, Senior."
The Anbu Ninja from the village left the secret base. Looking back at the utterly ordinary stretch of dense forest behind him, he reached out and lightly touched the air. Ripples appeared in it.
"What sophisticated genjutsu. Just what you'd expect from Lord Hokage's eldest son."
He shook his head, dismissed his stray thoughts, and was about to head back to Konoha...
When he suddenly heard a very unexpected meow.
"Meow~"
The Anbu Ninja frowned and immediately looked toward the sound.
What a fat cat!
That was his first thought.
The next instant!
A sharp whistle of something cutting through the air came from one side. Startled, the Anbu Ninja abruptly ducked. Three shuriken skimmed past his face, one slicing through his mask's strap and exposing his youthful features.
"An enemy?!"
The instant he hurriedly drew his ninja sword, a pair of scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan filled his vision.
"Uchiha..."
The Anbu Ninja's pupils contracted. Almost instinctively, he tried to avert his gaze to avoid meeting the Sharingan.
Shhk!!!
The searing pain in his chest made the Anbu Ninja look down in a daze. His ninja sword had never left its sheath. The sound of a blade being drawn had come from his opponent.
And now a ninja sword had pierced straight through his heart.
Genjutsu!
[Ding! You successfully killed a "red name" villain! Your chakra has increased slightly! Congratulations, you obtained: "Konoha-Style Swordsmanship" Experience Book ×10!]
"The fourth." Uchiha Chisen pulled out his ninja sword and said quietly, "Rookie, you've squandered four chances in a row. Your Shuriken Throwing Technique needs to go back to the drawing board."
"I... I'm sorry, Senior..." Izumi stepped out from behind him.
Wracked with guilt, she also stared fearfully at the Anbu Ninja who had crumpled to the ground.
This was the fourth Anbu Chisen had killed tonight.
The first three had been Anbu Ninja standing guard outside.
Watching blood bubble and gush from the Anbu Ninja's chest, seeing the lifeless young face of someone only a few years older than herself, Izumi felt lost. "Senior... are they really all evil?"
"Yes."
Uchiha Chisen flicked the blood off his ninja sword and stared at the "dense forest" ahead. Before his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, even the most sophisticated genjutsu seemed like a clumsy display before a master.
Izumi did not know where she found the courage to ask him this question. "Senior... how do you judge the evil in others...?"
Uchiha Chisen replied, "A heart as clear as a mirror."
Izumi froze.
Uchiha Chisen walked straight toward a large tree ahead. Half his body actually sank into it, and his voice reached Izumi's ears. "I have a special ability. My eyes can see through the 'evil' in every living being in the world. The foundation on which this ability distinguishes good from evil is my mirror-clear heart and actions. It judges wrongdoing based on my values and morals."
Izumi's beautiful eyes widened. Could this... be the power of the Sharingan?
"Rookie. Suppose a ninja had no choice but to take up arms and go to war to protect their family, even killing many people. Do you think my eyes would consider that ninja evil?"
By the time Uchiha Chisen posed the question, his body had disappeared entirely into the Dense Forest Illusion.
Izumi hurried after him, pressed her lips together, and answered quietly, "Senior, I don't think so."
"Indeed, they wouldn't."
Uchiha Chisen said evenly, "Its criteria are the standards I used to judge good and evil before awakening this ability. An ability should be shaped by the person, not the person by the ability. Otherwise, [justice] becomes evil in sheep's clothing."
The instant Uchiha Chisen finished speaking, the scenery before him changed completely.
A secret base of considerable size appeared before him.
The air was thick with the odors of various strange drugs.
There seemed to be a faint trace of blood mixed in as well.
"Who are you?!" A sudden startled cry came from ahead of Uchiha Chisen.
There...
A Konoha Ninja stared at them in shock. In particular, the sight of Uchiha Chisen's scarlet Sharingan stunned him so badly that he stopped breathing for several seconds.
[Inuzuka Maki-researcher at the Anbu Secret Research Base. Participated in seventeen human experiments over the years. Formerly one of Orochimaru's many assistants. Directly or indirectly killed eleven war orphans. Evil rating: red name!]
"I remember you."
Uchiha Chisen's quiet voice was like that of a grim reaper emerging from the underworld. He advanced step by step and said, "A few years ago, when the Third Hokage raided the Human Experiment Research Lab belonging to Orochimaru of the Sannin, I was there. What a coincidence. I saw you then."
"It seems the Third Hokage didn't keep his promise to me to have all of you secretly executed. Instead, he sheltered you and kept you here to squeeze some use out of the trash."
"...It's you? That Lava Release ninja?!" Inuzuka Maki's distant memories suddenly exploded in his mind like a cannon shell.
His eyes widened.
His face filled with terror.
Before you continue