Picking Up Shisui Uchiha's Body

Hiruzen Sarutobi said out of habit, "The Uchiha Clan also has true Konoha Ninja, such as Shisui and Itachi."

Danzo's momentum immediately surged. "Shisui Uchiha is only sixteen, and Uchiha Itachi is just a thirteen-year-old child. Can they really stop the Uchiha Clan's coup?"

"We can't keep indulging the Uchiha Clan!"

"Are we really going to wait for Fugaku Uchiha to launch a rebellion and let Konoha suffer unprecedented losses?"

"..."

Shimura Danzō faltered, and an awkward silence fell over the office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had not directly spoken out against Shimura Danzō. As a result, Danzo did not know how to continue.

Shimura Danzō looked at his old classmate with a resentful gaze. Hiruzen, why aren't you opposing me?

If you don't oppose me, how am I supposed to say, "Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"?

Without any lead-in, I can't say my line at all.

Suddenly, inspiration struck Danzo. He understood what Hiruzen Sarutobi's silence truly meant.

What deafening silence.

After all, the Hokage had to protect every Konoha Ninja. As the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi absolutely could not openly order the execution of innocent Konoha Ninja.

Hiruzen Sarutobi said nothing.

But in Shimura Danzō's heart, he had said everything.

After causing quite a stir in Konoha, Shazo did not stop training. He merely chose to train beneath Konoha's walls. At his speed, the Konoha Ninja would never discover him.

When he circled around Konoha's northeastern corner again, Shazo suddenly caught the faint smell of blood in the air.

So he stopped and followed the scent until he reached his familiar Wood Release training ground. Then, after walking a short distance upstream along the creek, he smelled fresher, stronger blood.

It was human blood indeed. That distinct fishy, salty scent made Shazo frown, and he instinctively prepared to avoid it.

Konoha's situation was growing increasingly tense. News of missing Uchiha Clan ninja kept spreading, while the Konoha Military Police Force searched like madmen.

Under such circumstances, Shazo felt that he should not invite additional trouble. After all, one of a ninja's basic qualities was restraining one's curiosity.

The first rule of ninja secrecy: don't look at what you shouldn't see, and don't listen to what you shouldn't hear.

Not knowing was the best way to keep a secret.

However, while Shazo wanted to avoid trouble, the ninja causing it wanted him dead, using his death to ensure absolute secrecy.

A blinding blade flashed out like lightning, slashing toward Shazo's neck.

Midway through its arc, the blade light suddenly split into three, striking at Shazo's neck, heart, and waist respectively.

[Dance of the Crescent Moon]

Shazo stared fixedly at the sword-wielding ninja and the intricately patterned mask he wore, without even looking at the three streaks of blade light.

So it was a Root ninja.

Everyone knew that as long as a Root ninja wore a mask, he could be treated as an enemy of the Konoha Ninja.

And this was not three days ago. There were no other Konoha Ninja around to watch.

Shazo felt there was no need to hold back.

Dance of the Crescent Moon was an advanced Konoha Style sword technique combined with genjutsu, but it was not the best sword technique.

Because it split into three attacks.

Divided force was scattered force; concentrated force was strong force.

As long as one was not affected by the genjutsu and counterattacked directly, the enemy could be easily defeated.

Shazo was 188 centimeters tall with a wingspan of 190 centimeters. He merely turned slightly sideways, using the breadth of his shoulders to drive his fist into that mask faster and harder.

The mask shattered into pieces, some fragments even embedding themselves in the man's face.

The Root ninja died, and the three streaks of blade light dissipated.

Since he had killed someone, Shazo absolutely could not simply leave.

He had to find out what had happened, why the Root ninja had wanted to kill him, and avoid getting dragged into unnecessary trouble as much as possible.

After taking a few steps toward the creek where the smell of blood came from, Shazo saw someone in the grass by the water. He lay face-up, with most of his body submerged.

As Shazo approached, he saw that the man's eyes had been gouged out. His face was as pale as a corpse's, but that distinctive garlic-shaped nose and the Uchiha Clan ninja uniform still proved his identity.

Shisui Uchiha.

Shazo frowned deeply. The attack on Shisui Uchiha had happened ahead of schedule!

He should not have been attacked today, nor should he have appeared here.

Everyone knew that after Shisui Uchiha gouged out his own eyes, he jumped into the Naka River to kill himself. This nameless creek did not even flow into the Naka River, so how had he ended up here?

This had changed far too much.

Should he save him?

In an instant, Shazo made his decision. Of course he would save him. So many of his own subsidiary plans depended on it.

Still, he should first ask whether this suicidal fellow wanted to live.

If Shisui Uchiha wanted to live, then they could lay everything out in the open, and everything afterward would be easy.

But if he truly did not want to live, Shazo would have to prepare another method to make him sleep until Uchiha Clan Extermination Night.

Shazo walked over to Shisui Uchiha, kicked Shisui's head with his foot, and sent a thread of Yang Release chakra into him, jolting him awake from his near-death coma.

Pinching his throat and altering his voice, he asked, "Shisui Uchiha, do you still have the will to live?"

Shisui Uchiha's lips moved. "My eyes are gone, my internal organs are severely injured, and I'm already crippled. There's no value in continuing to live."

Shazo shrugged. Fine, you're the one who doesn't want to live. It's not that I want to use methods on you.

He stood up and asked one final question. "Do you have any last words?"

Shisui Uchiha murmured, "No. I entrusted my hopes and dreams to a reliable junior. He will resolve the problems between the clan and the village. I have no regrets."

Shazo sneered. "You really are blind."

"Your death will stimulate Uchiha Itachi and help him awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan. He really will resolve the conflict between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha."

Shisui Uchiha smiled as though returning briefly to life. "Is that so? That's wonderful."

Shazo chuckled. "It's just that Uchiha Itachi's way of solving the problem is a little extreme. He'll wipe out one side of the conflict."

"Once the Uchiha Clan no longer exists, naturally there will be no conflict between them and Konoha."

Splash—

Like a corpse suddenly rising, Shisui Uchiha abruptly sat up from the water, startling Shazo into leaping far back.

Sitting up in shock while gravely ill really was terrifying.

Shisui Uchiha looked at Shazo through his bloody eye sockets, his voice hoarse and distorted. "Itachi killed the Uchiha clansmen? He... he's so kind, so gentle..."

"You're lying to me! Itachi would never do something like that, absolutely never!"

Shazo said lazily, "You're about to die. Why would I lie to you? It's not like you have a third Mangekyō Sharingan to give me."

Shisui Uchiha asked in horror, "Who are you? How do you know I awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan? That's a secret only a few people know!"

"Wait, you just said that Itachi will also awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan. How do you know that?"

Shazo said nothing, letting Shisui question him over and over.