Unknown Uchiha, Orochimaru's Empty Promises

"Nonsense!" Danzo immediately retorted.

He definitely couldn't reveal that the mysterious masked man had broken into his Root Base and taken away a Sharingan.

Moreover, he still doesn't understand this matter.

Why did you only take one?

He kept the three Sharingan together at the Root Base, so why didn't he take them all?

"Danzo, tell me everything you know. A powerful stranger suddenly appearing in the village and easily defeating you is a threat to the entire Konoha," Hiruzen Sarutobi advised.

"Yes, Danzo," Minato Namikaze echoed.

The actual situation is still uncertain.

Especially now that Danzo claims the mysterious masked man is Uchiha Clan, given the conflict between the two sides, we cannot simply believe Danzo's one-sided story.

What is certain now is that the mysterious masked man does exist— Danzo wouldn't cut off his own arm to frame the Uchiha, would he?

But aside from that, he still didn't know whether the Mysterious Man was actually Uchiha, what his purpose was in going to the Root Base, or why he clashed with Danzo.

Shimura Danzō had to omit the details of stealing the Sharingan and recount the story in detail again.

He highlighted his possible speculations about the Mysterious Man's abilities.

"The first Root ninjas to arrive were all caught in Genjutsu, and that guy definitely showed his Sharingan right in front of me, so he must be from the Uchiha Clan!"

"As for the abilities that guy displayed later, whether it was invisibility Ninjutsu, some special Space-Time Ninjutsu, or even Mangekyō Sharingan Dōjutsu, I can't be sure," Danzo a dark expression.

After he finished speaking, everyone in the Hokage's office fell into deep thought.

Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly looked at his disciple. "Orochimaru, where were you at that time?"

"I was at the Root Base, but I didn't notice it at all," Orochimaru said, his expression unchanged, as if he had been prepared. "Besides, the battle should have ended quickly; by the time I arrived, that Mysterious Man had already left."

He had no intention of telling anyone what the Mysterious Man had said!

However, he was also curious as to why the mysterious masked man had clashed with Danzo. With that guy's abilities, he could have easily left undetected.

"Qingye, Fugaku, what do you think?" Minato Namikaze asked, casting an inquiring glance.

Qingye shook his head, neither confirming nor denying, and said, "It might be Mangekyō Sharingan Dōjutsu; no one can say for sure."

"I don't know much about the Mangekyō Sharingan either." Uchiha Fugaku continued to keep his abilities hidden.

"It might be you, Uchiha Aoya!"

Shimura Danzō pressed on again. "No need for explanations, you've definitely awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan! But we still don't know what your Dōjutsu is?"

Are you doubting me?

"So what if it is?!"

Laugh!

The Tachi is drawn.

A chilling glint flashed, and Qingye Tachi pointed his Danzo, his face cold as he said, "If it were me, you wouldn't still have the chance to stand here and continue talking to me. If you doubt me, I wouldn't mind helping that Mysterious Man cut off your other arm too!"

"When I went to the Land of Sea, I was inexplicably ambushed by the head of the Kirigakure Hozuki Clan. They clearly knew I would be there at that time, and I still haven't settled that score with you!"

"Stop spouting nonsense!" Mentioning this only made Danzo's already bad mood worse.

He never did such a thing!

After Aburame Ryoma reported this matter to him, he even went to investigate, wondering if any of Root's subordinates had secretly leaked information about Uchiha Aoya to Kirigakure behind his back.

Although he felt it was unlikely that his subordinates would do such a thing, it was indeed in line with the way their Root operated.

But everyone who asked them said they had no idea.

Then this matter has absolutely nothing to do with him!

It's one thing for him to take the blame for Hiruzen Sarutobi, but don't even think about pinning this baseless accusation on him!

"Alright, alright, everyone calm down." Hiruzen Sarutobi looked exasperated. "A mysterious powerful figure has only just appeared in the village. Shouldn't we avoid infighting among ourselves at a time like this?"

"Danzo, don't spout nonsense without evidence!"

"Qingye, I've also investigated the matter you mentioned. Danzo has also conducted his own investigation, and it's definitely not related to him."

"Self-investigation?" Uchiha Yashiro and Uchiha Yakumi almost burst out laughing. It would be a miracle if Danzo could find anything by conducting a self-investigation.

At this moment, Minato Namikaze tapped the table lightly, drawing everyone's attention. "Everyone, let me first share my thoughts."

"The Intelligence Division received a strange message recently. It's rumored in Kirigakure that the previous Third Mizukage was controlled by a mysterious Uchiha using Genjutsu."

"Of course, this information hasn't been fully confirmed yet. But I wonder, if it's true, could these two be the same person?"

"Is it possible that there is still an unknown Uchiha outside of Konoha in the Shinobi World?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression changed. "Minato, is this information reliable?"

"I've already sent my Anbu in to investigate," Minato Namikaze.

Now, even Shimura Danzō began to have doubts.

Although he was very unhappy that Minato Namikaze had become the Fourth Hokage, he believed that the latter's word was reliable—unlike himself.

Could it really be an unknown Uchiha?

"In that case, once the Anbu has the results, I will immediately notify Danzo." Minato Namikaze finished speaking and then looked at the Uchiha. "When Clan Chief Fugaku returns, he should also conduct his own investigation and compile a list of those who have disappeared and whose fate remains unknown throughout the clan's history. This will make it easier to verify later."

Downstairs at the Hokage Building.

As Shimura Danzō watched the departing Uchiha chuckle and say they were going to celebrate, his anger grew even stronger.

That damned Uchiha!

The Uchiha of Konoha deserve to die, and the Uchiha outside of Konoha deserve to die too!

After returning to his Root Base, Orochimaru quickly came looking for him again.

"I don't have any more funds to give you right now!" Shimura Danzō was annoyed just seeing Orochimaru.

"Heh, Danzo, do you really want to live with only one arm for the rest of your life?" Orochimaru smirked. "Regarding the transplantation of the First Hokage's cells, I've recently come up with some new ideas. If we could—"

Danzo was stunned after hearing Danzo, not even considering the future prospects that Orochimaru had painted for him.

"Orochimaru, are you insane?"

After a long while, Danzo finally came to his senses and said incredulously, "You went to kidnap orphans from the Senju lineage for experiments. When it gets out, you'll have no choice but to defect!"

"As long as you don't get caught, that's fine, right? Besides, Danzo, don't tell me you haven't secretly targeted members of the Uchiha Clan," Orochimaru said calmly.

How can those be the same?!

Danzo's face was dark.

He only dared to occasionally scheme against a lone Uchiha during a mission, and he had to do so as not to leave any trace, for fear of being caught red-handed.

However, human experimentation is something that can't yield results from just one or two subjects!