The Heavenly Hand Power Mangekyō Had Been Ruined

On the last day of early autumn in Konoha's fifty-second year.

Several Konoha Ninja arrived at Konoha's gates.

They were in a sorry state, supporting a ninja in a Konoha Jonin vest whose eyes streamed bloody tears.

If not for Shisui's protection along the way, those genin would already have died.

Most disgustingly, they had passed through two Konoha Border Outposts without finding any trace of Konoha Ninja.

Nor had they encountered any other Konoha Ninja on their way back to Konoha.

Instead, the "Kumogakure Ninja" relentlessly attacked them.

Fortunately, they finally made it back to Konoha.

They were promptly sent to Konoha Hospital for treatment.

Meanwhile, at the Hokage Office.

Uchiha Fugaku questioned Sarutobi Hiruzen with great displeasure.

"Third Hokage! Why was the Uchiha Clan not notified of something as important as Shisui returning to the village?"

The Uchiha Clan had hoped that Shisui would lead them to greater strength, but Uchiha Shisui's eyes were now practically ruined in the hospital.

His vision had become impossibly blurry.

In other words, almost none of his ocular power remained.

What kind of Mangekyō Sharingan was that?

After hearing Shisui's account, the first person Fugaku thought of was Danzo, followed by the Third Hokage.

Because the Third Hokage had not informed the Uchiha Clan of something as important as Shisui returning to the village.

Moreover, those "Kumogakure Ninja" had continued pursuing and killing them even after entering the Land of Fire. This was undoubtedly Danzo's doing, though Fugaku had no evidence.

If the Third Hokage had informed the Uchiha Clan that Shisui was returning, they would have absolutely gone out of the village to welcome him.

But Shisui had returned without a sound, and they had known nothing about it.

By the time they received news of Shisui's return, he was already in the hospital, and his eyes were practically ruined.

"Uchiha Fugaku! Are you questioning the Hokage?" Shimura Danzō was deeply displeased with Fugaku's attitude.

"Advisor Danzo! Why did Shisui say that Kumogakure Ninja followed them all the way into the Land of Fire, while our border outposts were completely empty?"

"Are you questioning me?"

"Yes!"

"I do not know. I received no intelligence that Kumogakure Ninja had invaded the Land of Fire. And Konoha's outposts all reported that everything was normal. There was no such situation as the one you described."

Fugaku was so furious he was about to go full Gundam.

"Enough, Fugaku. Calm down first. This matter shows that Konoha has been infiltrated by Kumogakure Ninja. I will have the Anbu investigate it.

Furthermore, because the Land of Fire is so vast, I need some ninjas from the Military Police Force to assist my Anbu in searching the interior of the Land of Fire."

Hearing this, Fugaku understood that the Third Hokage wanted to smooth things over.

Have the Anbu investigate?

When had the Anbu ever produced results from an investigation?

Have the Military Police Force assist?

What was the point? At critical moments, hadn't the Third Hokage always cast aside the Military Police Force?

(When Orochimaru defected, the Third Hokage promised to let the Military Police Force assist. But once he discovered it was Orochimaru, the Third Hokage sealed off the Death Forest and cast Fugaku aside. If Fugaku had not forced his way in, who knew whether those Uchiha Clan members captured by "Orochimaru" would have died at Orochimaru's hands.)

"There is no need, Third Hokage. My Military Police Force is short-handed and must guard against spies and infiltrators within Konoha." Uchiha Fugaku shot Danzo a vicious glare. "Third Hokage, please keep an eye on the advisor. Fugaku takes his leave."

After Uchiha Fugaku left, Shimura Danzō looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Hiruzen, I need more personnel."

"Oh? How many?"

"Thirty."

"Were the losses that severe?"

"Three Jonin were lost."

"Very well."

Danzo looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen. "Also, you need to deal with Yoshida among those genin afterward."

"Shouldn't that be your responsibility?"

"He is currently at Konoha Hospital."

The veins on Danzo's forehead throbbed. "You want me to make a move at Konoha Hospital?"

"That is not impossible."

"You really are..."

"Do not throw your affairs at me to handle. Also, clean up every loose end."

"I do not need your reminder."

Danzo left the Hokage Office.

After taking a few puffs of his pipe, Sarutobi Hiruzen also headed toward Konoha Hospital with his hands behind his back.

He needed to visit Konoha's heroes.

Uchiha Clan Residence, Naka Shrine.

Several Uchiha elders sat in a circle with Fugaku.

"Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan has already been ruined. Fugaku, is there any solution? We cannot simply lose an elite ninja like this!"

"Yes!"

After a moment of silence, Fugaku took out a small glass vial.

"This contains the Three Tomoe Sharingan of a Jonin from our clan. We can transplant them into Shisui for now. As for Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan, there is currently no way to restore its ocular power."

"Damn it! Danzo must have been the one who attacked Shisui!" An elder was furious.

"Clan Head Fugaku, we need to retaliate against Danzo. Otherwise, he is going too far."

"No. Danzo does not care about the Shimura Clan at all, and he has no descendants. Retaliating against Danzo is practically impossible."

Another elder was somewhat dejected as well.

Uchiha Fugaku fell silent for a while before speaking again.

"We have no way to restore Mangekyō ocular power. So, we will temporarily remove Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan. Once we find a method to replenish its ocular power, we will transplant Shisui's eyes back."

"Agreed."

"Agreed."

Kushina also learned that Uchiha Shisui's eyes had been ruined.

She often visited Naruto at the Uchiha Clan Residence, so she naturally heard some intelligence.

Anju was not surprised at all.

The Third Hokage would definitely target Shisui. This outcome was already fairly good, considering Shisui had kept his life.

Kushina's Sealing Space.

Kushina asked Anju curiously, "By the way, Anju, why did you suggest that Shisui return to the village before?"

Kushina recalled that Anju had previously told her to suggest that Shisui return to Konoha.

"Nothing much. I just wanted this inheritor of the Will of Fire, Shisui, to understand what a shitty thing the Will of Fire really is."

As soon as Anju said that, he noticed Minato glaring at him from the side.

"I was not talking about you, Minato. Stop staring at me."

Kushina did not like that Will of Fire nonsense either.

"Anju, how did you know Shisui could return to the village alive?"

"I did not."

"Huh?" Kushina looked at Anju on the sofa beside her in surprise.

"Whether Shisui lived or died would benefit you."

"Why?"

"If Shisui lived, the Uchiha would become more united, and you would gain a powerful ally."

"If Shisui died, the Uchiha would still need you as a supporter."

"Even with things as they are now, you have not lost anything."

"But if Uchiha Shisui had remained on the front lines, the greater his achievements became, the less highly the Uchiha would value you."

"What a pity about Shisui's Mangekyō. It was clearly such a powerful technique."

"You should not envy him, either. If his Mangekyō could still be used, that would not be a good thing for you."

"Why?"

"Because his Mangekyō technique is called Heavenly Hand Power, a powerful genjutsu capable of changing a ninja's will."

"Uh."

Kushina was startled by Anju's words as well.

Heavenly Hand Power was somewhat terrifying.