"What? Kagami has gone rogue?"
Third Hokage stared at Danzo in shock.
Danzo narrowed his eyes slightly, then said resentfully,
"I heard he defected to a small organization called the Akatsuki. Hiruzen, I told you long ago that a genius like Uchiha Kagami might grow resentful toward the village because of the conflict between the Uchiha and the village. Look at him now—he defected outright. If you had agreed to eliminate his entire family back then, we would have one less enemy now!"
Third Hokage's expression shifted uncertainly. In the end, he sighed.
"What's done is done. There's no point talking about it now. Immediately list Uchiha Kagami as an A-rank Rogue Ninja."
"Of course. I'll send people to eliminate this Rogue Ninja at once."
Danzo rose and left, leaving Third Hokage alone on the sofa, sighing repeatedly.
Anbu headquarters.
Itachi held the wanted notice in his hand and remained silent.
Uchiha Kagami, A-rank Rogue Ninja.
So you chose this path?
That's probably for the best. The village may have been too cruel for you.
Take good care of yourself.
Itachi silently prayed for Kagami in his heart. Then he put down the wanted notice and resumed his Anbu mission.
Kakashi's home.
Two photographs lay on a table. In the first, a blond Jonin stood beaming as he pressed down on the heads of two boys. In front of them stood a brown-haired girl, posing with two peace signs.
This was a photograph of Minato's team.
In the second photograph, Saito Daisuke stood in the middle with a foolish grin, while Suzuki Genji smiled gently on the left. On the right, Kagami stared expressionlessly at the camera. Kakashi stood behind them, pressing one hand on Suzuki Genji and Kagami's shoulders, his eyes curved into crescents from smiling.
This was Kakashi's team.
Kakashi remained silent for a long time. Then he reached out and placed his hand on the image of Kagami's head, as if he wanted to ruffle his hair.
"Are you all right? Has your heart already lost all its light? The night Body Flicker Shisui died must have been terribly painful."
Half a month later, within the Land of Fire.
"Whoosh!"
A Kunai instantly pierced through a middle-aged man dressed in a kimono. Kagami spoke expressionlessly.
"How many missions has this been?"
"The eleventh, I think."
Tobi responded.
They had received a commission to kill the middle-aged man in the kimono. He seemed to be an important noble of the Land of Fire, but that had nothing to do with Kagami. Once they accepted a mission, they simply carried it out.
"Leader, what's the next mission?"
Kagami contacted Pain in his mind. With the ring, Kagami could contact Pain at any time and from anywhere. If he had enough time, he could even project himself into the Akatsuki's base.
"Wait!"
Tobi no longer wore his usual foolish expression. Kagami knew his identity, so Tobi could not be bothered to keep pretending whenever he was with Kagami.
"Someone's coming. They seem to be Konoha's Anbu."
Kagami understood at once.
"They're here for me?"
"Most likely. Do you need me to act?"
"How many of them are there?"
"More than ten."
"Hmph. They really think highly of me. Then I'll leave it to you to give me a hand."
Kagami and Tobi were within the Land of Fire. It was inevitable that Konoha would eventually detect them.
After receiving the report, Danzo immediately sent Root to eliminate Kagami. Root and the Anbu were not very different on the surface, so it was understandable that Tobi mistook Root for the Anbu.
At the same time, Kagami did not act recklessly. Whether they were Root or Anbu, some members were strong and some were weak. If the ones who came were all at the level of elite Jonin, Kagami would have to fight with everything he had and activate Mangekyo.
He had no desire to risk his life against a group of Root members.
"Swish, swish, swish!"
Root ninjas appeared around Kagami and Tobi, surrounding them both.
The scarlet eye beneath Tobi's mask turned cold.
"Split them evenly?"
Kagami's eyes also turned blood-red, becoming the Three Tomoe Sharingan.
"Sure."
"Swish!"
Kagami moved first. Before anyone could react, he twisted the neck of a Root member and snapped it.
"So fast!!!"
The other Root members were horrified. Just now, they had not sensed Kagami's movements at all!
Although Kagami had yet to officially enter Kage Level because he temporarily could not use Mangekyo, and could only reach Jonin strength with the Three Tomoe Sharingan, one aspect had to be calculated separately: Kagami's Body Flicker Technique!
In terms of speed alone, Kagami had absolutely reached Kage Level.
To Kagami, the Body Flicker Technique was just like Kamui was to Obito. Having it and not having it were two completely different concepts.
Without using the Body Flicker Technique, Kagami was only at Jonin level. But once he used it, he could be considered a "pseudo-Kage."
Taking on a group of Jonin was still no problem.
Immediately afterward, Kagami turned his head.
Sharingan Genjutsu!
Even the experts among Root would find it difficult to resist the Genjutsu of the Three Tomoe Sharingan.
Thus, after one Root member fell under Kagami's Genjutsu, he drew his sword without a word and stabbed a companion beside him to death.
Kagami had killed three Root members the moment he made his move.
On the other side, a Root member was hacked to death by Tobi in a state of extreme terror.
With Kamui, Tobi could handle more than just a group of Anbu. Even if Third Hokage himself came, there was nothing he could do to Tobi.
Soon, Kagami and Tobi ended the battle.
Kagami restrained the last survivor with Genjutsu, walked up to him, and spoke calmly.
"Go back and tell Danzo that Uchiha Kagami sends his regards. Remember, don't forget—the name is Uchiha Kagami!"
After speaking, Kagami dispelled the Genjutsu on the Root member. As soon as the man realized he could move, he vanished.
Root members generally committed suicide after being captured. However, Kagami had used Genjutsu, leaving the man no chance to kill himself. After Kagami let him go, there was no reason for him to do so anyway, so he withdrew without hesitation.
"The Akatsuki has no plans to move against Konoha anytime soon."
Tobi reminded Kagami.
"I know. I never planned to kill Danzo right now. This is only a meeting gift."
Kagami looked at the corpses of the Root ninjas scattered around them and spoke calmly.
"All right. Let's continue with the next mission."
The sole surviving Root member soon reported everything to Danzo.
After learning what had happened, Danzo did not fly into a rage. As mentioned before, Danzo's strength lay in his calmness and rationality. Facing Kagami's provocation, Danzo ignored it and instead noticed another aspect.
"More than ten Root members couldn't even deal with him? Forget it. Suspend all action against Uchiha Kagami. His strength is growing a little too quickly. The village is already lacking combat power, so we can't waste any more of it on a Rogue Ninja."
Danzo remained calm. The relationship between the Uchiha and Konoha had already reached a critical point. Shisui's death had not weakened the Uchiha's determination to stage a coup. Instead, their anger had made them even more resolute.
It was after witnessing this that Itachi said, "I have already despaired of this boring clan."
Even before his death, Shisui had still been thinking of changing the Uchiha. Yet the Uchiha's response to Shisui had been an even firmer determination to rebel. One had to admit that it was truly despairing.
It was February of Konoha Year 56. Kagami guessed that there would inevitably be a conclusion between the Uchiha and Konoha sometime this year. Their accumulated conflict had reached its absolute peak and could hardly continue any longer. An eruption was imminent.
Hello, everyone! This chapter was more of a transition, I suppose. Next, we'll finally reach the Uchiha Clan Massacre that has been mentioned all along.
Oh, right! Seeing everyone's encouragement yesterday really moved me. I'll definitely work hard to write this novel well. Thank you to everyone who encouraged me yesterday!
Let's go!
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At the request of a friend, the update time for the first chapter will be moved one hour earlier, to six o'clock from now on. I think this won't affect everyone much. After all, for people who can't get up early, seven or six makes no difference—233333. As for early risers, a six o'clock update might be more convenient for them, so I changed it. I hope everyone understands. Thank you!
Before you continue