When Trouble Comes, I Can't Protect You!

Inside the dimly Mine Cave.

At this moment, Uchiha Yoru glared fiercely at the three of them with a look of utter disappointment. He paced back and forth impatiently, his finger trembling with anger as he pointed at them.

"You! You've caused a huge disaster!"

He glared angrily at the three of them, but Uchiha Yoru had already formed a rough framework in his mind. Perhaps this was a good opportunity; a bad thing might not necessarily turn into a good thing.

He didn't know how the Third Hokage's eldest son and daughter-in-law died in the original story. He only knew that the Third Hokage's Eldest Daughter-in-law had her heart ripped out by Kakashi, and that Shin'nosuke Sarutobi had been captured alive as well.

It seems that the secret of his awakening the Mangekyo can be kept hidden again. Currently, only Mei Terumi and Tsunade know that he has awakened the Mangekyo and that there is a possibility that the secret might be leaked.

Thinking of this Uchiha Yoru gradually calmed down. He looked at the three of them and pondered for a moment before asking, "Kakashi, were you and Shisui discovered when you captured Shin'nosuke Sarutobi?"

Faced with this question, Shisui and Kakashi looked rather grim. When asked this professional question, neither of them dared to hide anything, especially Shisui.

"We caught them off guard, and with Kakashi and I working together to end the battle using Genjutsu, Shin'nosuke Sarutobi definitely didn't notice us."

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Yoruro solemn. He then looked at the figure in another cell. Kakashi, seeing this, said in a deep voice, "This is Ume Sarutobi's body. Because it is too important, we dare not damage it carelessly."

"You don't need to get involved in this matter."

As if making a decision, Uchiha Yoru's expression made the three of them freeze. Kakashi, in particular, said in a deep voice, "Yoru, I was careless in this matter. You are the hope for reform; you cannot be harmed."

"I've destroyed Ume Sarutobi's brain tissue, and I've also destroyed her physical wounds, so no one can tell there's anything wrong with her. I can then disguise her as a bounty hunter ninja."

Although this incident was an accident, Shin'nosuke Sarutobi and his wife were also unpopular, especially Ume Sarutobi, who was so guilty that Kakashi didn't feel much guilt, but rather felt like he was doing justice for the village.

"No!" Looking at Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Yoru said in a deep voice, "I encountered people from Kumogakure outside the town, and the leader was the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki."

"No matter how well Ume Sarutobi's wounds are concealed, there will always be clues. After all, a fake will always be a fake; it can never become real."

"Kakashi, you'll need to disguise Ume Sarutobi's wounds later. Disrupt the traces of your Lightning Blade, but at the same time, leave traces of Lightning Release. Then, use Earth Release: Earth Spear Ninjutsu as a cover."

The attempt to cover up the truth only makes things worse, and the blame is being shifted eastward.

Kakashi, with his exceptionally sharp mind, instantly understood what he meant. He nodded and said in a deep voice, "I understand. When we get back, I'll secretly create traces of Stone Ninja activity, but in reality, these people are ninjas from Kumogakure."

Seeing Kakashi's quick reaction, Uchiha Yoru smiled with satisfaction. Having such an assistant made things much easier; no wonder Orochimaru liked geniuses.

Indeed, idiots only cause anger, while geniuses save you trouble.

"Give me the body. I'll secretly exchange it for the bounty as a bounty hunter. Once the body ends up on the Black Market, it won't be long before the village finds it."

"With the village's methods, they can definitely find out that the Earth Release was used to cover up the real wound, which was actually caused by Lightning Release. And it just so happens that a ninja from the Kumogakure appeared in the Land of Whirlpools."

As he said this, Uchiha Yoruro a cold smile. There was just too much of a coincidence; there was someone to take the blame.

Hizashi Hyuga, who was standing nearby, nodded in agreement. He had almost fallen into the hands of the Kumogakure.

"That's right, in this way all directions will shift to Kumogakure, and now it's Shin'nosuke Sarutobi."

Hizashi Hyuga spoke of Shinnosuke without the slightest respect, not even a hint of kinship, leaving even Shisui and Kakashi somewhat silent.

Should they hand over their fellow villagers to the Kumogakure? But if they don't, it won't just affect a few of them; it will disrupt the momentum of reform and inevitably lead to a purge.

Although Kakashi had made up his mind, he was a calm ninja and naturally understood the principle of sacrifice.

"Brother Yoru, reform requires bloodshed and sacrifice. Right now, it's better for just two villages of scoundrels to shed a little blood than for many more people to shed blood."

Shisui nodded in agreement, and looking at Hizashi Hyuga's expression, Hatake Kakashi also nodded secretly. In fact, he also agreed, since they were no longer one person, but a reforming group.

One move could have far-reaching consequences; once the truth is exposed, bloodshed will ensue. He knew the darkness of the village better than anyone else.

With a creak, the cell door opened, and seeing Shin'nosuke Sarutobi unconscious, his body covered in black seal marks, Uchiha Yoru hardened his heart, and with lightning appearing in his palm, he was about to press it against the back of the other's head.

Just then, three hands grabbed his arms and stopped him. These three hands were Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Shisui, and Hizashi Hyuga.

"Our Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist can destroy an opponent's brain tissue without killing them."

First, Hizashi Hyuga spoke in a stern voice with a straight face. He knew that once he boarded this ship, there was no turning back. Now, he could only go down this dark path. In terms of trust, he was not as trustworthy as Kakashi and Shisui.

After all, the two were classmates and from the Hyuga Branch Family's separation was initially just a matter of shared interests.

So whether for their own sake or for the Hyuga Branch Family, since there is no way back, they should forge ahead.

"Gentle Fist will leave traces, but my Lightning Release Chakra can be used to erase those traces, which will also confirm that it was the work of the Mist Ninja."

Just as Shisui was about to say something, Uchiha Yoru, his face darkening, coldly shouted, "What do you take this for, credit?! You're trying to steal it?"

"Shut up, all of you. Leave this to me. You just need to cooperate."

Hai-Xu-You-Shen-Wei

A wisp of white smoke flashed by, and two large snakes appeared, one coiling around the unconscious Shin'nosuke Sarutobi, and the other around the corpse of Ume Sarutobi.

Uchiha Yoru's Three Tomoe Sharingan flashed in his pupils as he cast Genjutsu on the two summoning snakes.

Two snakes coiled around the man's body, then opened their mouths and slowly swallowed him, until both snakes were swollen.

At this moment, Uchiha Yoruro the aura of a leader, as if he already had a plan in mind, and calmly began to give orders to the three of them.

"Listen carefully, absolutely do not make a sound while walking, or else!"

As he said this, the whites of Uchiha Yoru's eyes turned a frighteningly bloodshot, revealing a sinister and menacing look, along with a strong warning.

"If anything happens, I can't protect you!"

The last sentence was delivered with a desperate, strained tone. Upon hearing it, the three nodded firmly, especially Kakashi, who felt somewhat guilty for making things worse.

"Now go back, forget everything, and remember! Shin'nosuke Sarutobi and Ume Sarutobi have gone missing. You were both in the Camp at the time, and now, immediately! Focus all your energy and do everything in your power to find them!"

With that angry shout, one can imagine the immense pressure Uchiha Yoru was under at that moment.

One is already dead, what about the other? Who would dare let him go? If there's even the slightest slip-up, it won't just be the three of them dying.

Inside the dimly Mine Cave, a collapse subsequently occurred, completely erasing any trace of their presence.

After everyone left, Uchiha Yoru found a secluded spot, calmly summoned the giant snake, and it spat out Shin'nosuke Sarutobi's body.

Ninja Art: Mind Reading Technique

In an instant, Uchiha Yoru's spirit invaded the other's brain, slowly reaching out his palm to touch the surface of this spiritual connection. Instantly, a huge Ninjutsu scroll materialized—a manifestation of memory, not reality.

However, this scroll that materialized the memory was densely covered with black patterns of Sealing Jutsu magic.

Seeing this, Uchiha Yoruro smiled and murmured, "The seal set up in his mind is to prevent the enemy from capturing him and invading his brain to obtain information. What a pity, the old-fashioned higher-ups still haven't changed their ways after the Orochimaru Incident."

His inexplicable self-confidence, this kind of mental seal, would be almost impossible for an enemy from an enemy country to decipher perfectly. But you have to know that his teacher is Orochimaru, the disciple of the Third Hokage of Konoha and a former Hokage candidate.

Orochimaru knew about the Sarutobi Clan's methods almost without even realizing it, so he naturally already had a way to deal with them.

Logically speaking, since Orochimaru was forced into this situation, all the codes of the village's Anbu, Root, and Intelligence Department should have been returned, as should the Barrier Team.

However, because the incident was so sudden and the impact was so severe, the village was not without measures. The village's Anbu and Root changed their codes. But the problem was that Shin'nosuke Sarutobi was away at the time.

Because of Shinnosuke's special status, no one mentioned this matter; after all, who knew that he could be captured alive?

Seal Release

With his hands on the scroll, as the Sealing Jutsu was released, the black patterns of the seal slowly faded, and then the huge scroll began to be pulled out rapidly, like pulling duct tape. At the same time, memories of Shin'nosuke Sarutobi surfaced in his mind.

Fragments of memories flashed by, like watching a movie, but this was the mental world. The longer one could look at the other's memories, the more it tested the caster's mental strength.

His mental strength, especially with the enhancement of the Mangekyo and Wood Release, completely overwhelmed Shin'nosuke Sarutobi.

Countless memories flashed before his eyes, but when he saw the Third Hokage, and even Shin'nosuke Sarutobi, personally researching some Ninjutsu, Uchiha Yoru frowned deeply.

"Blank! This memory wasn't sealed away, it was deleted."

It was clearly a record of his life's memories, but then it started to become fragmented. Upon seeing this, Uchiha Yoru muttered to himself, "It's because he didn't learn these powerful Ninjutsu and was afraid of being exposed, so he deleted this part of his memories."

S-rank Ninjutsu, or any powerful Ninjutsu involving a village, even Forbidden Technique, are not things you can learn just by wanting to.

When Jōnin learn certain A-Rank Ninjutsu, due to various difficulties such as learning difficulty, aptitude, and resistance, it may take several years to learn just one, and some Ninjutsu may not be learned at all. However, in order to prevent leaks, the village will have the learner erase their memory of learning that Ninjutsu.

This is all for the better protection of Ninjutsu.

"Ninjutsu doesn't matter. What I lack now isn't Ninjutsu, but intelligence."

Uchiha Yoru witnessed almost all of the Sarutobi Clan's secrets, the business dealings between the Ino-Shika-Cho and the Sarutobi Clan, and certain private matters.

As Uchiha Yoru acted recklessly and without any regard for consequences, Shin'nosuke Sarutobi's face grew increasingly pale, and his unconscious brows furrowed instinctively, revealing a look of pain.

Mental probing, which probes the memories of the mind, is an extremely dangerous Ninjutsu in itself, not to mention that Uchiha Yoru didn't even consider the other party's feelings.

In this situation, brain cells are constantly being affected and damaged, and Shin'nosuke Sarutobi's face begins to turn red with pain, and the temperature on his forehead begins to rise rapidly.

Although he fell into a coma, the human body holds many secrets, and its instincts began to rise, performing their own cleansing work.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Yoru, who was recklessly viewing the other's memories in the mental world, also felt a repulsive force.

As the brain's temperature continued to rise, the body's instinctive cleansing process, as expected, rejected him as a foreign entity.

"Just one last step."

As Uchiha Yoru slowly opened his eyes, he looked around at the red light emanating from him. Even he could feel the high temperature emanating from the spiritual world, a natural repulsion of foreign objects from the physical world.

Seeing this, Uchiha Yoru's lips slowly curled into a cold smile. "I know all your secrets. The Sarutobi Clan and the Ino-Shika-Cho —our contest has only just begun."

A pair of Mangekyo slowly appeared in his eyes, now revealing a wicked and mocking look. Under the powerful Eye Power of his eyes, the shape of the Mangekyo began to change strangely.

It actually transformed into the shape of a Spinning Shuriken. If Kakashi saw it, he would definitely be shocked. Isn't that the shape of his own Mangekyo?

Immediately following the sweep of powerful Mangekyo spiritual energy, the scroll that materialized the memories shattered instantly, turning into countless fragments of memories.

Spinning Shuriken spun continuously, powerful mental energy stirred wildly, causing countless fragments of memory to shatter, be deleted, or recombine. Outside Shin'nosuke Sarutobi convulsed in agony, his eyes rolling back in his head.

Outside, a muffled groan suddenly escaped as Uchiha Yoru opened his eyes, a look of exhaustion appearing in them.

Don't be fooled by how simple it looked just now; it took him a tremendous amount of effort to achieve that. As for transforming into Kakashi's Mangekyo, who said it was Kakashi? He was clearly the culprit behind the Nine-Tails.

"On behalf of my teacher, and on behalf of myself, I forgive you for everything you've done."

Seeing Shin'nosuke Sarutobi convulsing, Uchiha Yoru narrowed his eyes and revealed an evil smile.