Konoha, Hokage Office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was smoking as he watched the Crystal Ball. When he suddenly heard a knock at the door, he hurriedly covered it and called out:
"Come in!"
The door opened with a click, and a white-haired ninja who looked rather dejected walked in.
"It's Kakashi! Is there something to report? Could something have happened with the Uchiha?"
"Lord Hokage, Uchiha Itachi hasn't reported to Anbu for a month. He's not with the Uchiha Clan, either. I wanted to ask what happened."
"Uchiha Itachi? He hasn't been with Anbu for a month?"
The Third Hokage was briefly taken aback, then remembered that Uchiha Itachi had indeed requested an extended leave.
In fact, Uchiha Itachi had made some preparations before his battle with Shimura Danzō. He had also prepared for the possibility of being seriously wounded in the fight. The reason he'd requested leave was to give himself time to recover.
The Third Hokage had been so slow to react because the Uchiha Clan had been keeping a low profile lately, and no one had been bringing up the Uchiha threat theory around him.
But when the Third Hokage finally realized what was going on, he remembered something else: it seemed that Uchiha Itachi wasn't the only one who'd been out of touch. His old friend, Shimura Danzō, hadn't contacted him in some time, either.
At the thought of Uchiha Itachi and Shimura Danzō, the Third Hokage's heart lurched. Had Shimura Danzō made a move against Uchiha Itachi?
Shimura Danzō had always been hostile toward anyone from the Uchiha Clan. He'd even killed Uchiha Shisui a while back, and Shisui had been Uchiha Itachi's friend.
If Uchiha Itachi had been determined to investigate, it was only a matter of time before he traced the trail back to Shimura Danzō.
There was motive on both sides, and their conflict was clear. From what the Third Hokage knew of them, he couldn't be certain Uchiha Itachi would act—but Shimura Danzō would undoubtedly make a direct move against him!
"Kakashi! Go to the Root Base at once and find out whether Shimura Danzō has returned! If he has, tell him to come see me immediately!"
The more the Third Hokage thought about it, the more uneasy he became, and he immediately gave the order. Hatake Kakashi's eyes widened. He seemed to have picked up on something in the Third Hokage's words.
That only made Hatake Kakashi more alarmed. Shimura Danzō had acted against Uchiha Itachi? That would be pushing the Uchiha Clan into rebellion!
Losing Uchiha Shisui could be considered a warning to the Uchiha Clan. But if Uchiha Itachi went missing as well, the Uchiha would have no choice but to rebel.
Uchiha Itachi's talent was second only to Uchiha Shisui's. On top of that, he was the son of the Uchiha Clan's leader. Killing him in the open would not only infuriate Uchiha Fujioka, it would also make it clear that Konoha intended to wipe out the entire Uchiha Clan.
Even a cornered rabbit would bite, let alone the Uchiha, whose emotions were hardly stable to begin with!
Once they realized that compromise would still leave them facing certain death, the Uchiha Clan's choice would be obvious—they would charge as one and go to war with Konoha!
The consequences would be enormous. Given the Uchiha Clan's strength, even if Konoha won, it would be a costly victory. At best, Konoha would lose thirty percent of its strength. With a little less luck, it might lose most of it.
And if things went even worse, it could trigger a chain reaction and unleash the Fourth Great Ninja War. Konoha was already in the midst of a generational gap; if the war really broke out, the village might be in danger of falling.
Cold sweat streamed down Hatake Kakashi's forehead. He acknowledged the order, then left the Hokage Office without another word and rushed toward the Root Base.
The Third Hokage was no longer in the mood to relax, either. As soon as Kakashi was gone, he uncovered the Crystal Ball. Its view immediately shifted, moving from the women's bathhouse to the Uchiha Clan's compound.
"Uchiha Itachi isn't with the Uchiha Clan... It seems they haven't noticed anything. He must have made arrangements before he left."
The Third Hokage let out a quiet sigh of relief. His body relaxed slightly, and his aged face showed a measure of relief.
"That makes sense. If Uchiha Itachi hadn't left a contingency in place, the Uchiha would have rebelled long ago. They wouldn't have waited this long."
But a moment later, anger welled up in the Third Hokage. Whether it was Shimura Danzō or Uchiha Itachi, both had chosen to settle their scores in their own way. Neither of them had shown the slightest regard for him, the Third Hokage!
"Shimura Danzō, you'd better resolve this business with the Uchiha Clan. Otherwise..."
He slowly closed his eyes. A look of resolve appeared on his tired, aged face.
"I'll have no choice but to sacrifice you, Darkness of Shinobi..."
Kakashi moved swiftly. In just over ten minutes, he had reached the entrance to the Root Base. Just then, two masked Root Ninjas appeared and blocked his way.
"This area is off-limits!"
"I have an order from the Third Hokage. Tell Shimura Danzō to come out and speak with me!"
Hatake Kakashi didn't waste a word. He took out the order and tossed it to one of the Root Ninjas. The Root Ninja took it, glanced at it, then looked up at Kakashi.
"Wait here. I'll inform Lord Danzō!"
With that, the Root Ninja turned and left. Kakashi frowned slightly, but didn't try to force his way in.
"Looks like Shimura Danzō is back. Could he really have nothing to do with Uchiha Itachi's disappearance? Or has he already killed Uchiha Itachi?"
Whatever Kakashi suspected, this wasn't something he could get involved in. He might be the most promising ninja of Konoha's younger generation, but in the end, he was only an Anbu captain. He wasn't in a position to meddle in the power struggles among Konoha's leaders.
Footsteps sounded. A short while later, Shimura Danzō slowly emerged from the Root Base.
Two masked Root Ninjas stood behind Shimura Danzō, their presence formidable. Even Kakashi felt a hint of wariness and confusion.
The Root was full of hidden talent, but its truly top-tier fighters rarely joined. After all, genuinely powerful ninjas couldn't be trained through brainwashing alone.
That was why Root had the most Special Jonin and Elite Chunin, while Elite Jonin were few and far between. Kakashi had no idea where Danzō had found the two unfamiliar Elite Jonin standing before him.
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