Got Him

In a room.

The Third Hokage and Danzo sat facing each other.

Danzo spoke first.

"Hiruzen, what do you think of that Uchiha Kagato?"

The Third Hokage had taken off his Hokage robes and now looked like an ordinary old man.

"What are you planning, Danzo? That child hasn't gotten involved in the matter between the Uchiha and the village. Don't lay a hand on him."

Danzo spoke indifferently.

"He hasn't gotten involved, but he's far too talented, Hiruzen. What if—what if this genius develops a grudge against the village because of the Uchiha matter? Once he grows up, that would be no good at all."

The Third Hokage slightly furrowed his brows. Clearly, he was also worried about the situation between the Uchiha and Konoha, but he still spoke firmly.

"The matter between the Uchiha and the village hasn't been decided yet. I believe the conflict between them can end peacefully, and I also believe that child won't come to resent Konoha because of it."

Danzo let out a cold laugh.

"Hiruzen, belief is useless. We need to restrict him through practical means."

"You're right. We do need to use some means to restrict him, but those means can't go too far. And I absolutely won't agree to you laying a hand on a child."

The Third Hokage's attitude was resolute. This was a matter between the Uchiha and Konoha; it couldn't be allowed to implicate a child.

Danzo stared fixedly at the Third Hokage. His opinion often differed from Hiruzen's. He felt that Hiruzen was too softhearted, which did Konoha no good. If Konoha was to grow stronger, it still had to rely on him.

Danzo rose to his feet. Without saying a word, he turned and left.

The Third Hokage also stood and watched Danzo's back as he warned him.

"Danzo, I told you. Don't lay a hand on that child."

Danzo turned his head slightly and glanced at the Third Hokage.

"Hmph. I will."

On the surface, Danzo would still agree to many of the Third Hokage's requests. After all, he was the Hokage.

But—

After arriving at Root, Danzo summoned someone and spoke expressionlessly.

"Hiruzen won't allow me to act against Uchiha Kagato. Under these circumstances, bringing Uchiha Kagato into Root is impossible, especially since he rejected me before. Go. Find an opportunity to make Uchiha Kagato die in an accident. Remember, it must be an accidental death. I don't want to hear anyone say that Root did it. This unstable factor should be eliminated."

"Yes!"

The reply was firm and merciless.

Evening.

Kagato trained alone on the training ground.

Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique."

A ball of fire shot into the sky and quickly dissipated.

Kagato happily looked at his hands. He had finally done it!

"Four seals per second."

After nearly a year, Kagato's Hand Seal speed had finally improved from "three seals per second" to "four seals per second." In fact, this speed was already that of most Chunins and Jonins. Any faster, and he would be entering a realm that only certain geniuses could reach.

"Then let's try this next."

Tiger—Dog—Rat.

In the next moment, Kagato, who had been standing in place, suddenly became two people.

This wasn't Shadow Clone Jutsu. It was Shisui's unique Body Flicker Technique.

After studying it for nearly a year, Kagato could barely manage to produce one "clone."

He was still a long way from his goal of creating seven or eight clones.

"Well, this is already pretty good."

That was indeed true. Being able to create a "clone" meant he had already understood Shisui's Body Flicker Technique. From here on, he only needed to keep refining it.

For someone else, they might never be able to create even one such "clone" in their entire life.

Next was taijutsu. In terms of taijutsu, Kagato was fairly average. He was much stronger than ordinary people, but compared to true geniuses, he couldn't be considered outstanding. As for Nature Transformation, he had already mastered fire and lightning. Earth Nature Transformation, however, would still require some time.

That night, Shisui had just finished a day of missions and was preparing to go to the training ground to teach Kagato.

But a Root shinobi suddenly appeared before Shisui.

"Uchiha Shisui, Lord Danzo requests your presence."

Shisui narrowed his eyes slightly. Why was Danzo looking for him at this time?

At present, Shisui had ostensibly already left the village to carry out a secret mission assigned by the Third Hokage. This was what the Third Hokage had announced publicly to make it easier for Shisui to act. Although it wasn't strange that Danzo knew Shisui was still in the village, seeking him out was another matter.

No matter what, Shisui was carrying out a secret mission "outside the village" under the Third Hokage's orders. Yet Danzo was looking for him at a time like this. Either something major had happened, or he had another motive.

"All right. Let's go."

Shisui agreed in the end. No matter what, Danzo was one of Konoha's higher-ups, and Shisui certainly had to go when summoned.

What Shisui didn't know was that, not long after he left, two more Root shinobi appeared there.

"Body Flicker Shisui has been lured away by Lord Danzo. Go and act. I'll watch the surroundings and notify you if anyone comes."

"Mm. Let's go."

Since Danzo had said the death had to be accidental, they naturally couldn't expose themselves. Thus, besides the person carrying out the attack, they also needed someone to keep watch.

At the training ground, night had completely fallen, but Shisui still hadn't arrived.

Kagato frowned slightly.

"Does Shisui-nii have something to do today too? It looks like the situation is getting worse and worse."

It occasionally happened that Shisui didn't arrive on time to teach him. After all, the situation between the Uchiha and Konoha had grown extremely tense, and Shisui had more and more to deal with. Sometimes, he truly had no choice.

Thus, Kagato only frowned slightly at Shisui's absence and didn't take it too seriously. He planned to train alone for a while before heading home.

Pulling out a Kunai, Kagato began training. Originally, Kunai training had already become a minor part of his training plan, but now, Kagato began practicing with Kunai unusually seriously.

At the same time, because his head was slightly lowered, no one saw that his eyes had already become a one-tomoe Sharingan.

That familiar killing intent!

To put it plainly, killing intent was a sense of warning regarding danger.

Kagato had felt it when facing Obito, and just now, he had felt it again.

Kagato wasn't some inexperienced brat. Having experienced life-and-death battles, he understood exactly what this meant. Although he didn't know who was planning to attack him, he had to prepare first.

That was also the purpose of training with Kunai. On the surface, Kagato was practicing with Kunai, but in reality, he was only doing so to conserve Chakra.

He swiftly threw a shuriken while secretly forming a Hand Seal.

Shadow Clone Jutsu.

All right, let's see who's trying to attack me.

In the darkness.

"Looks like he hasn't noticed anything wrong."

"Body Flicker Shisui occasionally doesn't come to teach him, so he's probably used to it. Find an opportunity to act. We don't have much time. After you succeed, you'll still have to deal with the body."

"Got it. Keep an eye on the surroundings."

"Of course."

Several minutes later, a glimmer of light suddenly appeared from the darkness. Before Kagato could react, it pierced straight through his chest.

"Got him!"