"You're late!"
"Takada Fujiwara's squad took a mission of their own and has already left Kikyo Mountain Camp."
"If you're looking for them, I suggest going to the Land of Rain. With some luck, you might run into them."
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Orochimaru's mouth, but he still gave off a chilling air.
The Uchiha squad naturally didn't dare act recklessly!
Though they were somewhat puzzled, they still bowed and prepared to take their leave.
Just then, Orochimaru added, "Root came by just now. Lord Danzo seems to be very interested in Takada Fujiwara's squad as well."
Uchiha Kou's pupils shrank slightly, but he still bowed respectfully.
"Thank you, Lord Orochimaru. We'll take our leave first!"
"Don't mention it!"
The indifference returned to Orochimaru's face as he casually waved his hand.
After leaving the camp, the Uchiha squad immediately wrote a letter and used the Summoning Technique to summon a Ninja Cat. "Cha, help me deliver this letter to the clan head."
"A pleasure. Five hundred ryo!" The Ninja Cat wore a thoroughly mercenary expression.
Uchiha Kou pulled out a banknote. "Sorry for the trouble. This is urgent, so please hurry."
"Sure thing, meow." The Ninja Cat Cha nodded.
With a bang, it vanished from the spot. The Uchiha squad didn't leave, instead standing there quietly and waiting.
Five minutes later.
Uchiha Kou sensed the fluctuations of a summoning, so he promptly used the Summoning Technique again and summoned Ninja Cat Cha back.
"This is your letter!"
"Thank you!"
After Uchiha Kou took the letter, Ninja Cat Cha vanished with another bang.
After opening and reading it, he immediately said, "The clan head ordered us to go to the Land of Rain. We're authorized to mobilize the personnel from the ninja tool shops, and can even seek help from the Daimyo of the Land of Rain. In short, we're to find Uchiha Jin at any cost!"
"Captain, isn't that a bit excessive?" one of the team members asked, his face full of confusion.
It had to be known that the Uchiha were a thousand-year-old clan with an extraordinary foundation. Even though they were no longer as powerful as they once were, their ninja tool business could still rank among the top five in the entire Shinobi World.
Their dealings with Daimyo and nobles across the various lands had never ceased, either. That was the true reason the Uchiha hadn't gone bankrupt despite rarely participating in battle, refusing commissioned missions, and often delaying the Military Police Force's financial subsidies. They could even continue supporting the entire clan.
Normally, the clan wouldn't mobilize these resources. Yet this time, they had decided to do so for Uchiha Jin, which was why the team member before him couldn't understand it.
As for this—
Uchiha Kou spoke indifferently. "If you had awakened the Sharingan at five years old, you could receive this kind of treatment too!"
The team member fell completely silent at those words.
As for the remaining team member, he was relatively young, at most a few years older than Uchiha Jin. Yet he had remained silent from beginning to end, with only a faint trace of worry deep in his eyes.
Immediately afterward.
Following Uchiha Kou's order, everyone headed straight toward the Land of Rain.
Meanwhile, at Konoha's Root.
In the gloomy underground space, the Root squad that had just returned from Kikyo Mountain was kneeling on one knee, their heads lowered.
Danzo's expression was extremely grim.
After learning that his scheme had failed and Uchiha Jin had escaped, he had been so furious that he smashed the table.
"Useless! Idiots!"
"You managed to botch such a simple mission. What can trash like you even accomplish?"
"Get out of here and go receive your punishment!"
A cold glint flashed in Danzo's icy eyes. With a wave of his hand, he sent the three idiots away.
Although he knew the failure couldn't really be blamed on those three idiots, there was never any discussion of right and wrong in his Root.
His orders were above all else!
The Root squad trembled. Even with their masks on, they couldn't conceal the fear in their hearts.
This showed how terrifying Root's discipline was. Yet they didn't dare complain in the slightest. Otherwise, what awaited them would be more terrifying than death.
After they left, Aburame Torune spoke. "Lord Danzo, let me make a trip!"
"No need." Danzo's expression remained indifferent as he spoke. "It would be meaningless."
"Those idiots from Sunagakure really are useless. We gave them the intelligence, and they still failed. Now they've lost the best opportunity to make a move."
"Takada Fujiwara's squad has become alert."
"There's a Nara on their team who understands intelligence analysis. It'll be difficult to hide ordinary schemes from that fellow, so we'll have to plan carefully if we want to eliminate them."
"And there's Hatake Sakumo's son, Kakashi. Why was that fellow Sawada Seiichi willing to help them? Wasn't it because of Hatake Sakumo?"
"Even though Hatake Sakumo committed suicide and died, the influence he left behind is still too great. Many people on the battlefield are willing to help Takada Fujiwara's squad."
"That damn Uchiha Jin. His luck is simply too good!"
"I'll go find Hiruzen and try. Even if we can't kill Uchiha Jin, we have to bring him into Root. At the very least, we have to break up this squad."
"Otherwise, dealing with Uchiha Jin will be far too difficult."
"Torune, the mission you're responsible for is more important. You can't waste your time on such a trivial matter."
"Let's go!"
"Come with me to the Hokage Building!"
Danzo's expression was cold. Having made his decision, he headed straight for the Hokage Building.
At this stage, he hadn't yet become as insane as he would later. Especially now, when friction had already developed between Konoha and Sunagakure and the Third Shinobi World War could erupt at any moment, he naturally wasn't willing to invest too much strength into dealing with Uchiha Jin.
To put it bluntly—
He was merely a five-year-old Uchiha who had just awakened his eyes. No matter how high his potential was, he still wasn't worth Danzo going all out.
Ten minutes later, in the Hokage's Office.
Danzo didn't waste any words. Even with Uchiha Fugaku present, he spoke directly. "Hiruzen, hand Uchiha Jin over to me!"
"Hokage-sama, absolutely not!" Fugaku's face turned green, and he immediately cut in forcefully. "Jin must be raised by the Uchiha."
"Only the Uchiha know how to raise him. And only under the Uchiha's guidance can Jin grow better and faster!"
What a joke!
That was an Uchiha who had awakened the Sharingan at five years old—an Uchiha who had awakened it without experiencing any major trauma!
That alone showed how pure Uchiha Jin's bloodline was. A genius of this level was practically a once-in-a-century rarity. No matter how weak Uchiha Fugaku was, there was no way he could hand him over.
Otherwise...
Considering how eccentric the Uchiha were, if he dared abandon Uchiha Jin, the Uchiha clan members would dare overthrow him from below.
"Enough! Stop arguing!"
"Uchiha Jin is a good child. He isn't suited for a place like Root."
"Nor is he suited to being taught within the Uchiha clan. Let him stay safely in his current squad."
Before you continue