Stop, Danzo

"Seven-year-old with the Three Tomoe... How long are you going to let someone like that run loose?!"

Hokage Office.

The four people at the pinnacle of Konoha's power had gathered.

Led by Sarutobi Hiruzen, they included Hokage's Assistant Shimura Danzō and the two senior advisers, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.

"That child is studying normally at the Ninja Academy." Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice was heavy. "Danzo, I told you not to interfere with matters concerning the Ninja Academy."

"Heh." Shimura Danzō gave a sinister chuckle and said coldly, "Have you forgotten what this means?"

"Have you forgotten those eyes?!"

"Mangekyo..." Utatane Koharu murmured, turning her gaze toward Sarutobi Hiruzen. "With the talent Kagami Uchiha has displayed, all it would take is sufficient stimulation for him to awaken the Mangekyo."

"That kind of power... is far too uncontrollable!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep drag from his pipe and exhaled a cloud of smoke, his expression turning somber. "I have a plan."

"What plan could you possibly have? You should do as I said and hand him over to me for training."

"I'm confident I can make him completely one of our own."

"Hiruzen..." Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were clearly tempted.

They had lived through the era of Uchiha Madara, after all, and had only ever known one Mangekyo wielder.

They instinctively raised their estimation of the Mangekyo's potential, imagining what it would be like to have a controllable Mangekyo...

Wouldn't that be wonderful?

A seven-year-old with the Three Tomoe was even more astonishing than the Uchiha Madara recorded in history. If he couldn't awaken the Mangekyo, even they wouldn't believe it.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had not wanted to say anything, but seeing that several of his old friends shared that intention, he let out a sigh and said:

"I've already called Jiraiya back. I'll arrange for Kagami Uchiha to follow him."

"Jiraiya..." Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu exchanged a glance and nodded.

Jiraiya was their ideal candidate for the Fourth Hokage. They would feel at ease entrusting Kagami to him.

But Danzo wasn't at ease!

"That man ignores the village's rules and runs around wherever he pleases. How can you let him take care of an Uchiha?!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at him and said indifferently, "He taught Minato."

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu had still been somewhat hesitant, but after hearing that, they were completely reassured.

Namikaze Minato was the most perfect candidate for the Fifth Hokage in their eyes.

"That was because Namikaze Minato was outstanding in his own right, not because your disciple taught him well!" Danzo made one last attempt to resist.

"If that's not enough, I'll teach him personally. I raised the Sannin, after all. Surely that won't be a problem."

"You're nurturing a future calamity! That brat will definitely cause immense harm to the village. I can see the dense darkness hidden within him!"

"You..."

"I won't regret this, Danzo." Sarutobi Hiruzen's tone was firm and decisive.

"That child hasn't done anything wrong. I will definitely raise him into an excellent ninja who cherishes his comrades."

"But you... Don't think I don't know what you're doing. As for Sakumo's matter, stop."

Even an aging tiger retained its fearsome might.

Facing Sarutobi Hiruzen's gradually chilling gaze, Shimura Danzō said nothing. The door of the Hokage Office, however, suffered for it.

Bang!

"Honestly, they're all so old, yet they still haven't learned to close a door gently."

--

Night fell.

Uchiha Clan Compound.

He had just climbed out of the Medicinal Bath and washed himself clean when his grandmother told him someone had come to visit.

"Jing-kun, sorry to disturb you."

"Clan Head, please come in." Kagami Uchiha gave the formal invitation. He was part of the Radical Faction, so he was not especially respectful toward Fugaku, who tended to waver.

Besides, his most hated Uchiha was Obito, followed by Itachi Uchiha and Uchiha Fugaku.

Obito and Itachi had carried out the clan massacre, while Fugaku was the one who had allowed things to reach that point.

The circumstances had forced his hand, and it wasn't his personal fault?

That was what people said, but as the Uchiha clan head, being unable to change anything was itself a kind of failure.

"No need. I'm here to deliver an invitation." Fugaku's usually lifeless face wore a rare smile as he held out an invitation.

"Tomorrow is my child's Seven-Day Celebration. I hope you can come if you're free."

Kagami Uchiha accepted the invitation and looked up. "Have you decided on a name?"

"Itachi. Itachi Uchiha. He's a boy!" Fugaku's face was full of a father's smile.

Fortunately, Sasuke had inherited his mother's good looks. Otherwise, he would have looked old at a young age, just like Itachi.

"Alright. I'll be there."

Watching Fugaku leave, Kagami Uchiha's gaze darkened.

Although he knew that killing Obito and Itachi would be meaningless, and that another "Obito" would appear after being influenced by Madara, it would still be better to leave them alive and reduce the unknown variables.

But Itachi's birth meant that the Uchiha had entered the countdown to their extermination.

Twelve years... That was enough.

Lying in bed, Kagami Uchiha had already slept enough during the day. His consciousness sank, entering his Mental Space.

"Brat, what level does the person you saw today possess in this so-called Konoha?"

Sukuna's voice rang out.

Over the past two years, the strongest person he had seen was naturally Sarutobi Hiruzen. His strength might have been equivalent to seven or eight of Sukuna's fingers.

Even in his thousand-year life, experts of that caliber had been rare.

Unfortunately, that man's vitality had begun to decline. Otherwise, Sukuna would truly have wanted to test himself against him.

As for Hatake Sakumo, whom he had seen during the day... He might not have been as strong as that old man. But even reduced to skin and bones, the razor-sharp edge belonging to a swordsman had still caught Sukuna's attention.

He greatly admired the strong, especially strong people with such pure convictions.

Considering Sukuna's question, in terms of raw strength, Hatake Sakumo should have been slightly stronger than the current Sannin, but weaker than the Third Hokage and the others.

More importantly, there was also the outlier in terms of combat power: Kushina Uzumaki.

The complete Nine-Tails absolutely surpassed the combined strength of the current forces. Only Sealing Jutsu could deal with it.

To keep Sukuna from getting too arrogant, Kagami Uchiha simply included the Konoha experts who had existed in the past and would appear in the future.

After all, Sukuna had asked about Konoha.

"Somewhere beyond twentieth place. That old man I saw before is, to put it nicely, the village chief of Konoha. But there are plenty of people stronger than him."

"Interesting!"

Amid the sea of blood and corpses, Sukuna gave a savage grin. "Brat, let me borrow your body and have some fun. You're coveting my power too, aren't you?"

"Just give me five minutes of activity each day, and I'll even teach you how to use my power!"

Kagami Uchiha drew a large mass of Black Mist through a gap in the seal, kneaded it a few times, and stuffed it into his mouth.

He glanced at Sukuna disdainfully. "Do I need you to teach me? Give me two more years of eating, and I'll be able to turn you inside out."

"How exactly are you stealing my power?!" Sukuna was utterly baffled. He clearly hadn't sensed his power weakening.

In fact, his Cursed Energy was still growing inside this Mental Space.

In just a few short years, it had surpassed the accumulation of the Curse World over several centuries!

He had already become stronger than he had been at his original peak, yet he still had no way to deal with this strange seal.

Even Space Slash couldn't cut through it!

After swallowing the Black Mist, Kagami Uchiha had a premonition. Once he completely digested what he had gained this time, using Dismantle would become much easier.

As long as he had enough Chakra, he might even be able to use it as a regular attack on the spot.

He activated the Sharingan to assist with his training.

Over the past two years, his body had developed thanks to the Medicinal Bath. His physical energy was roughly equivalent to that of a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old Uchiha.

The Uchiha naturally possessed more Chakra than ordinary ninjas, thanks to their immense Spiritual Energy.

But what determined the upper limit of one's Chakra was still physical energy.

Some members of the Senju and Uzumaki clans possessed Chakra comparable to that of a tailed beast.

Compared with those two clans, the Uchiha had always been somewhat deficient. Even Uchiha Madara had needed to capture the Nine-Tails as a living battery before he could fight Hashirama Senju for days on end.

Thinking of this, he looked at Sukuna with even greater disdain.

The tailed beasts were creations of the Sage of Six Paths' Yin-Yang Release. Every one of them could serve as a living battery; only their upper limits differed.

But Sukuna possessed only Yin Release. Kagami Uchiha's Spiritual Energy already far exceeded his physical energy, so he had more than enough Yin Release Chakra.

"Hey! Brat! What kind of look is that?!"

Kagami Uchiha curled his lips. "Your power isn't anything special either. I was wondering whether I should capture one of your neighbors for you."

"Bastard! What do you mean?!"

Whoosh--

Kagami Uchiha's control over the seal grew stronger. He could at least isolate Sukuna's voice now, sparing himself from listening to him howl and rant.

He extended his palm, and a brilliant blue ball of Chakra appeared. Kagami Uchiha began trying to add Fire Release Nature Transformation to it.

A spark of flame had just touched the Chakra ball.

Boom!!

A violent explosion rang out. As expected, he had failed.

Kagami Uchiha couldn't replicate Naruto's absurd nerves and use Multi-Shadow Clone to train. He could only keep trying over and over without losing patience.

A Rasengan infused with Wind Release Chakra became a Rasenshuriken. Then what would one infused with Fire Release become...?