Got It

Chapter 33: Success

In a room.

The Third Hokage and Danzō sat facing each other.

Danzō spoke first.

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

At this moment, the Third Hokage had shed his Hokage robe and looked like an ordinary old man.

"What are you planning, Danzō? That child wasn't involved in the Uchiha-village conflict. Don't lay a hand on him."

Danzō spoke dismissively.

"He wasn't involved, but he's too much of a genius, Hiruzen. What if, what if such a genius comes to resent the village because of the Uchiha incident? It won't be good when he grows up."

The Third Hokage frowned slightly, clearly worried about the Uchiha and Konoha matters. However, he still spoke firmly.

"The Uchiha and village issues haven't been settled yet. I believe the conflict between the Uchiha and the village can end peacefully. I also believe that child won't come to resent Konoha because of it."

Danzō let out a cold laugh.

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

"You're right, we need some means to restrict him, but these means cannot be excessive. And I absolutely refuse to agree to you harming a child."

The Third Hokage's stance was resolute. This was a matter between the Uchiha and Konoha; a child should not be dragged into it.

Danzō stared intently at the Third Hokage. His opinions often differed from Hiruzen's. He believed Hiruzen was too soft-hearted, which wouldn't benefit Konoha. To make Konoha stronger, it needed him.

Standing up, Danzō left without a word.

The Third Hokage also stood up, watching Danzō's retreating back, and warned him.

"Danzō, I told you, no touching that child."

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

"Hmph, I will."

In many matters, Danzō would outwardly agree to the Third Hokage's wishes, as he was, after all, the Hokage.

But...

Arriving at Root, Danzō summoned a subordinate and said expressionlessly.

"Hiruzen forbids me from acting against Uchiha Kagato. Under these circumstances, it's impossible to bring Uchiha Kagato into Root. Besides, he already refused me. You go. Find an opportunity to make Uchiha Kagato die in an accident. Remember, it must be an accident. I don't want to hear that Root was responsible. This unstable factor needs to be eliminated."

"Yes!"

A resolute and ruthless reply.

Evening.

Kagato was practicing alone in the training grounds.

Snake-Unicorn-Monkey-Boar-Horse-Tiger.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique."

A fireball shot into the sky, quickly dissipating.

Kagato looked at his hands with joy. 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 reality, this speed was already on par with most Chunin and Jonin. Anything beyond this was the domain of true geniuses.

"Now, let's try this next."

Tiger-Dog-Rat.

The next second, Kagato, who had been standing still, suddenly became two people.

This wasn't a Shadow Clone Jutsu; it was Shisui's unique Body Flicker Technique.

After practicing for almost a year, Kagato had only just managed to create one "clone." He was still far from his goal of creating seven or eight clones.

"Well, it's not bad."

This was indeed true. Being able to create a "clone" meant he had grasped Shisui's Body Flicker Technique. From now on, he just needed to keep refining it. For anyone else, they might never be able to create even one such "clone."

Next was taijutsu. Kagato's taijutsu was mediocre. He was much stronger than an ordinary person, but compared to true geniuses, he wasn't outstanding. In terms of chakra nature transformation, he had already learned Fire and Lightning Release. As for Earth Release, it would take some more time.

At night, Shisui had just finished his day's mission and was preparing to go to the training grounds to teach Kagato.

However, a Root ninja suddenly appeared before Shisui.

"Uchiha Shisui, Lord Danzō requests your presence."

Shisui narrowed his eyes slightly. Why would Danzō be looking for him at this time? Currently, Shisui was publicly on a secret mission outside the village, assigned by the Third Hokage to facilitate his actions. While it wasn't surprising that Danzō knew Shisui was still in the village, his seeking Shisui out was rather perplexing.

No matter what, Shisui was on a secret mission outside the village under the Third Hokage's orders. Yet, Danzō sought him out during such a time. Either something major was happening, or he had ulterior motives.

"Alright, let's go."

Shisui agreed. Regardless, Danzō was a Konoha higher-up, and Shisui had to heed his summons.

What Shisui didn't know was that shortly after he left, two more Root members appeared.

"Shisui the Body Flicker has been sent away by Lord Danzō. You go ahead and make your move. I'll keep watch around here and notify you if anyone shows up."

"Okay, let's go."

Since Danzō wanted it to look like an accidental death, their actions couldn't be exposed. Thus, besides the one making the move, a lookout was also needed.

The training ground was completely dark, yet Shisui still hadn't arrived.

Kagami frowned slightly.

"Is Brother Shisui busy today too? It seems the situation is getting more serious."

Occasional situations like Shisui not arriving on time to teach him did happen. After all, the current situation between the Uchiha and Konoha was very tense, and Shisui had more and more things to deal with, sometimes being unable to control his own circumstances.

Therefore, Kagami only frowned slightly at Shisui's absence and didn't pay it too much mind. He prepared to train alone for a while before heading home.

Taking out a kunai, Kagami began his training. Originally, kunai training was already minimal in Kagami's training plan, but now, Kagami was training with kunai with unusual intensity.

At the same time, because he was slightly lowering his head, no one saw that Kagami's eyes had already evolved into a one-tomoe Sharingan.

A familiar killing intent!

Killing intent, to put it bluntly, was a premonition of danger.

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

Kagami wasn't some rookie kid. Having experienced life and death, he understood perfectly what this meant. Although he didn't know who was targeting him, he had to be prepared first.

The purpose of training with kunai was also here. On the surface, Kagami was training with kunai, but in reality, it was just to conserve chakra.

He rapidly threw shuriken with his hands, and at the same time, Kagami secretly formed a hand seal.

Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Alright, let's see who's trying to make a move on me.

In the darkness.

"It seems he hasn't noticed anything is wrong."

"Uchiha Shisui occasionally doesn't come to teach him, so he's probably used to it. You find an opportunity and make your move. We don't have much time. After you succeed, you'll have to dispose of the body too."

"Understood. You go keep watch around here."

"Of course."

Several minutes later, a gleam of light suddenly appeared from the darkness. Before Kagami could react, it pierced directly through his chest.

"Got him!"