Sarutobi Hiruzen's Fury

"Damn it! Shisui, are you telling the truth?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's furious roar echoed through the entire Hokage Building. His aged face was filled with rage. An Anbu had been killed within Konoha and had even attempted to ambush another Konoha shinobi. It was undoubtedly a slap in Konoha's face.

"Absolutely true, Third Hokage. That person was wearing Cat's mask at the time, and I can say for certain that he was definitely not Cat."

Shisui hurriedly assured him. He had never seen the Third Hokage this enraged before.

"What did he want with you?"

Shimura Danzō spoke from the side. Though he was addressing Uchiha Shisui, his eyes remained fixed on the view outside the window.

Uchiha Shisui had already prepared his explanation. Though he trusted the Third Hokage's character, he absolutely could not let a third person know that the other party was an Uchiha.

"He was after my Sharingan. That person seemed to possess an ability that could directly steal another person's bloodline limit."

Uchiha Shisui's expression was grave as he added, "Not only did he use Invisibility Release, he also used Wood Release."

Uchiha Shisui suddenly recalled the tree beneath Naruto's feet that had carried him away. The shock in his heart still had not faded. That was Wood Release. Hashirama had once swept through the Ninja World with it.

"What did you say?"

This time, not only was Sarutobi Hiruzen shocked, but even Shimura Danzō, who had remained composed until then, changed expression dramatically.

That ability to seize another person's bloodline limit reminded them of a Konoha rogue ninja from the past.

But then they dismissed the possibility. They knew clearly that person could not possibly have mastered Wood Release. Wood Release was too dangerous, and that person had never had the chance to fuse with it.

"What mission was Cat carrying out before this?" Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly asked. Although he was Hokage, aside from the Anbu who normally guarded him, he gave orders directly to the captains, who then assigned tasks to their subordinate squads. Thus, he did not know exactly what mission Cat had been carrying out.

At that moment, an Anbu figure suddenly appeared in the Hokage's office. After respectfully saluting, he said, "Cat was previously assigned to monitor the Jinchuriki."

"This is bad!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō rose at the same time, their expressions changing drastically.

"Let's check on Naruto first."

Though Sarutobi Hiruzen was advanced in age, he was not slow in the slightest. He immediately used the Body Flicker Technique and vanished from the spot.

Shimura Danzō hurriedly went out after him. He did not dare remain alone with Uchiha Shisui now.

Of the three, Shimura Danzō was the weakest, yet he was still at the peak of Elite Jonin, a half-step Kage-level powerhouse. Naturally, he traveled extremely quickly.

Before long, they had arrived beneath the apartment building where Naruto lived.

So this is where the Jinchuriki lives?

The apartment building stood alone at the corner of the Street. There were no other buildings anywhere in the area, and Naruto was the only resident in the entire building. The silence around them was broken only by the occasional wind and the rustling of leaves. Those quiet whispers of nature echoed along the empty Street, sounding especially clear in the cold, tranquil night.

It really was desolate.

Uchiha Shisui could not help sighing inwardly. This was his first time coming here. Because of the Sharingan that had appeared in the Nine-Tails' eyes during the Nine Tails Rampage, the Uchiha Clan had always been forbidden from coming into contact with the Jinchuriki. This entire area was practically forbidden ground for the Uchiha Clan and was managed directly by the Anbu.

Whenever the Jinchuriki appeared in the village, any Uchiha with an activated Sharingan would be directly ordered to stay away from him. Though such demands were extremely unreasonable, the Fugaku Clan Head had repeatedly explained matters to the Third Hokage, only to be sternly rebuffed by Elder Danzo each time.

The Uchiha could not be too forceful in this matter either. After all, it concerned the village's nuclear weapon, and the Uchiha themselves had yet to clear away the suspicion hanging over them. In the end, the matter was simply dropped.

The Nine Tails Rampage...

Bitterness filled Uchiha Shisui's heart. After reflecting for a moment, his eyes suddenly widened.

The person who had controlled the Nine-Tails could not have been an Uchiha. He knew this clearly. The Fugaku Clan Head had examined every Uchiha clansman who had awakened the Sharingan, even Kakashi Hatake's eye. At the time, not a single pair of eyes had possessed the ability to control the Nine-Tails.

But there was still one person in Konoha who possessed a Sharingan and had never been discovered.

Shimura Danzō!

Uchiha Shisui's gaze grew profound. He could not confront a village advisor based on the words of that mysterious Uchiha alone, but he could investigate the truth with his own abilities.

Uchiha Shisui suddenly felt a headache coming on. Even without thinking, he felt one. First, the conflict between the village and the Uchiha had already reached a breaking point. Now there was a mysterious Uchiha, and Advisor Danzo might even be the true culprit behind the Nine Tails Rampage.

One matter after another was chasing at his heels. Never before had he felt time and circumstances so pressing. It made him feel intensely guilty even when he tried to clear his mind for a moment.

"Hokage-sama!"

The three of them had not concealed their presence, so the Anbu monitoring the area naturally noticed the Hokage's arrival at once and immediately revealed themselves to salute him.

Sarutobi Hiruzen merely nodded to them, then immediately used a sensory ninjutsu to inspect Naruto's home.

When he discovered Naruto lying in bed, sleeping soundly, Sarutobi Hiruzen finally let out a breath of relief.

"Where was Cat carrying out his mission?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen asked aloud. The task of protecting the Jinchuriki was jointly handled by two Anbu squads. Logically, if something had happened to one of them, the members carrying out the mission alongside him should have been the first to discover it. From the looks of it, had he been dealt with without the other Anbu noticing at all?

This looked quite troublesome.

"Cat?" Several Anbu were visibly surprised. They exchanged glances, and the leader among them said, "Because Cat has Invisibility Release, he was directly monitoring the Jinchuriki at close range inside his room today..."

His voice was somewhat weak, and he clearly lacked confidence. Uchiha Shisui did not hear anything amiss, but Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō saw through it at a glance.

"Didn't I say that you must maintain your distance while protecting the Jinchuriki?" Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze immediately turned icy. Combined with his lingering anger, the pressure radiating from him made several Anbu break out in cold sweat.

"Gulp—"

The leading Anbu swallowed and said under the pressure, "Cat's entire family died in the Nine Tails Rampage. Only one younger brother survived, so he wanted to take this opportunity..."

"Bastard!" Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately cursed. "The villagers may not know, but do you, as Anbu, not know either? Naruto is the Jinchuriki. He is an important part of the village, yet you dared to do something like this!"

The several Anbu hurriedly dropped to one knee and said anxiously, "Please forgive us, Hokage-sama. Although Cat harbors hatred toward the Jinchuriki because he lost his family, I can guarantee that he would never do anything to harm the Jinchuriki. Please give Cat another chance."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression remained icy. His gaze inadvertently swept over the calm Shimura Danzō beside him. He was certain that Danzo had secretly incited Cat. Otherwise, an Anbu would never have disregarded his orders.

This was also one of Danzo's usual methods for recruiting people into Root.

"He no longer has a chance." Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke with an ugly expression, already thinking about how to deal with Root.

"Hokage-sama, Cat, he..."

The Anbu ninjas all hesitated to speak.

"Cat is already dead. Naruto's room contains only his Chakra." Ignoring the shocked Anbu ninjas, Sarutobi Hiruzen continued issuing orders.

"Notify all Anbu ninjas to strengthen the village's security and Naruto's protection. Then notify the heads of every ninja clan and all Jonin in the village to gather at the Hokage Building for a meeting."

Sarutobi Hiruzen returned to the Hokage Building with a grim expression. With a single order, he could make every high-ranking figure in Konoha stay up through the night with him.