Setting a Trap for Two Filial Sons

"Hmph, how much longer are you going to play dead, Shimura Danzō?"

Minagawa Uchiha calmly swept his gaze across his handiwork before finally settling on Shimura Danzō, who lay at the back. His mocking voice rang out with undisguised contempt.

Knowing that Shimura Danzō possessed spare Sharingan, Minagawa Uchiha was certain that someone as cautious as Danzō would have used Izanagi at that critical moment. Naturally, he would not naively step forward to inspect the body and fall into his trap.

This also showed just how sinister Shimura Danzō was. Not only had he intended to use his subordinates to shield himself from disaster, but when things proved impossible, he had exploited Izanagi's properties to feign death, hoping to launch a surprise attack when his enemy approached to investigate. Even as countless subordinates died for him, he remained calm to the point of cold-bloodedness.

However, now that Minagawa Uchiha had exposed his scheme, Shimura Danzō no longer continued pretending to be dead.

Shimura Danzō, who had been lying on the ground without the slightest trace of life, turned into an afterimage and vanished the instant Minagawa Uchiha finished speaking. At the same time, another completely uninjured Shimura Danzō appeared by the doorway, his gaze locked tightly onto the Masked Man before him.

"Who exactly are you? What is your purpose in infiltrating my base? You had better think this through. This is Konoha. If you invade one of the village's secret departments without cause, you will face the pursuit of all Konoha."

Although Shimura Danzō appeared extremely confident, the fleeting wariness in his eyes did not escape Minagawa Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan. Seeing the position Danzō had chosen, one that allowed him to flee at any moment, Minagawa Uchiha could not help but chuckle.

Still, judging from Shimura Danzō's vigilance, Obito Uchiha had not yet made contact with him. The thought put Minagawa Uchiha in an even better mood.

"Tch. Uchiha Itachi must have already reported every detail of my existence to you Konoha High Command. Someone like him forgets the earth the moment he sees the sky. In the end, he is merely a tool to be toyed with as one pleases. There is no need for you to ask. I am simply a departed soul of the Uchiha."

"Heh heh. As for my purpose, the Uchiha's destiny does not require meddling from little rats outside the clan. I came here only to warn you: I will reclaim all Uchiha property. As for a rat like you, one who only knows how to hide in a stinking gutter, seeing how diligently you built the stage for me, I, Uchiha Madara, permit you to wave flags and shout from the sidelines!"

Minagawa Uchiha's words conveyed a great deal of information, and they thoroughly crossed Shimura Danzō's bottom line.

First, they could make Shimura Danzō wary of Uchiha Itachi. After all, a tool anyone could use might one day become a tool someone else used against him. By seizing upon Danzō's view that all ninja were merely tools, Minagawa Uchiha subtly guided him into classifying Uchiha Itachi as an unreliable tool.

Furthermore, Minagawa Uchiha implied that if an Uchiha could slaughter the Clan Members who had raised him for Konoha, then he could also harm Konoha for an even greater goal. Itachi had seen me, the sky, and thus abandoned you, Shimura Danzō, the earth. That was why I could appear here.

Of course, Minagawa Uchiha had never expected Shimura Danzō to kill Uchiha Itachi over this. After all, Itachi had reported clues regarding the Masked Man, so he naturally would not be punished for it.

But as long as he planted the seed of suspicion in Shimura Danzō, Danzō's distrustful nature would inevitably influence the Konoha High Command as well. Once Konoha High Command grew suspicious of Uchiha Itachi, someone with Itachi's talent and ninja instincts would surely notice.

Then, with another push from Minagawa Uchiha, Uchiha Itachi would naturally awaken from the beautiful dream he had woven for himself and discover that the ending he had considered perfect had instead placed him in the Uchiha's current predicament.

Second, it was meant to deliberately provoke Shimura Danzō and lay the groundwork for a possible conflict with Obito Uchiha. He was sending the message that Uchiha Madara, the Masked Man, intended to take everything, leaving Shimura Danzō without even a sip of soup.

Naturally, that was something Shimura Danzō could not tolerate. The greatest reason he had destroyed the Uchiha Clan was his coveting of the Sharingan. If he was not even allowed a sip of soup, then as the powerful elder of the number one ninja village, how could he possibly endure it? The chances of him clashing with Obito Uchiha were quite high.

Moreover, considering Obito Uchiha's current mindset while impersonating Madara, if he encountered something like this, he would neither explain himself nor be able to. He would definitely attack without restraint in order to defend the identity he was playing.

More likely, at Shimura Danzō's urging, the Konoha High Command led by Sarutobi Hiruzen would demand that Uchiha Itachi prove his innocence, then join forces with the Anbu to ambush Obito Uchiha and deal him a brutal blow.

Of course, even in such an ideal outcome, Minagawa Uchiha did not think Obito Uchiha would fall there. Setting aside Izanagi, Obito's life-saving trump card, Kamui alone would give him an innate position of invincibility.

Besides, how many White Zetsu were currently in Konoha? Ambushing Obito Uchiha would be even more impossible.

"Still, that would be a good opportunity. In order to surround and kill someone who dared call himself Uchiha Madara and was highly likely to be the culprit behind the Nine-Tails Incident, Sarutobi Hiruzen would probably lead most of the Anbu there himself. Wouldn't that leave some secret areas of the Hokage Building poorly defended?"

With that thought, Minagawa Uchiha remained outwardly composed and waited quietly for Shimura Danzō's response.

"Uchiha Itachi? I see. Hmph, as expected, no one from the Uchiha can be trusted. But the Uchiha Madara I know is not some rat who hides his head and shows his tail like you... villain."

Shimura Danzō had initially wanted to call him a rat, but remembering how the Masked Man had kept calling others little rats and vermin, saying it himself would not merely be agreeing with him?

Faced with Shimura Danzō's mockery, Minagawa Uchiha remained utterly unconcerned. He snorted disdainfully and said arrogantly, "Shimura Danzō, I will spare your life for now. Cherish the time you have left. My spokesperson named you as a target long ago. Heh heh, surely you have not forgotten how you fled back from the Land of Rain in such a sorry state?"

After saying that, he ignored the terror in Shimura Danzō's eyes and directly simulated the distorted vortex ripples of space, vanishing before him.

Yet even after the Masked Man disappeared, Shimura Danzō's frown did not ease. Deep fear was written across his face. He could not forget that Rinnegan boy in the Land of Rain. That had been Root's most devastating loss in years. Even Hanzo of the Salamander, the ninja world's demigod at the time, had fallen beneath a single ninjutsu from that boy.

Who knew how strong that Rinnegan boy had become by now? With Masked Man Uchiha Madara added to the equation, Shimura Danzō felt as though he was finished. He had to go find his old buddy for some comfort first.