Bumper Harvest

"Damn it!"

Inside Konoha's Root base.

Danzo, whose body was wrapped up like a mummy, slammed his fist heavily against the table.

He was absolutely furious.

Today's plan had originally gone very smoothly.

But who could have expected a Mysterious Person to appear at the very last moment?

Not only did that guy know some secrets he shouldn't have known, he had even forced Danzo to destroy that Mangekyo Sharingan!

"And the people sent to capture him all died?"

Danzo had already received the news.

His face was somewhat twisted, though it was impossible to tell whether it was from pain or anger.

"More importantly, I caused such a huge commotion. Hiruzen should be coming over too..."

He had made such a huge commotion precisely to call for Konoha's aid.

After all, he had brought this upon himself.

He was genuinely starting to regret why he had turned off the barrier!

"Danzo, it seems you've been waiting for me."

As he was thinking, a familiar voice suddenly rang out behind him.

Even though he had already prepared himself mentally, his body still stiffened when he heard that voice.

He tried his best to calm himself and slowly turned his head.

"Yes, I've been waiting for you."

"Then shouldn't you explain yourself?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat down across from Danzo with his smoking pipe between his lips.

His expression was extremely ugly.

"What happened in that valley?

"The Anbu I sent out didn't find Shisui. They only found a suicide note in his room."

A suicide note?

What the hell?

Shisui had killed himself?!

Danzo was just as bewildered when he heard that.

Then he suddenly realized something.

Could that Mysterious Person have done something behind the scenes?

At that thought, Danzo's eyes flickered.

A moment later, his gaze became even more severe!

"Are you certain?

"I must have an answer for this matter. Otherwise, too many things won't make sense."

"This is his suicide note. Itachi gave it to me, but I'll be returning it soon."

Hiruzen Sarutobi pulled out the suicide note with a cold expression and stared at Danzo with utmost seriousness.

"Now tell me. What the hell were you thinking?!"

"Let me ask you this. Do you believe that a technique like Kotoamatsukami, which can control a person's will, is in the Uchiha's hands?"

Danzo didn't answer directly, but the pipe in Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand was almost crushed!

"Danzo, you bastard! Have you forgotten Kagami? Have you forgotten that Shisui is Kagami's descendant?!"

"I've never forgotten Kagami, but I've always placed Konoha's safety first."

Danzo knew exactly how to argue with Hiruzen Sarutobi.

All he had to do was put the village first!

"If those eyes controlled you, then controlled the future Hokage, what do you think would happen to Konoha?"

"That's just your guess..."

"Don't act so innocent after taking advantage of the situation!

"By attacking him, I could eliminate future concerns while also damaging the Uchiha's morale and buying you more time. What more do you want?"

"You..."

"Besides that, I have one more thing to tell you. Uchiha Shisui wasn't killed by me!"

"?"

Those words instantly brought Hiruzen Sarutobi, whose head had nearly exploded from anger, back to his senses.

He looked at Danzo seriously.

He knew that his old friend was full of lies, but sometimes things were different.

"Speak."

"Do you remember the information the Sensory Unit reported to you?"

Danzo spoke slowly, causing Hiruzen Sarutobi to furrow his brows slightly.

"That guy who occasionally sneaks into Konoha and is extremely difficult to track?

"Wasn't that just a misjudgment by the sensory system?"

Obito's visits to Konoha were not frequent, at least not for now.

Moreover, his movements were extremely strange and nearly impossible to track.

After investigating several times, Konoha had stopped pursuing the matter.

"Today, I can confirm that this person really exists.

"Hyuga Makoto's intelligence was probably correct."

As the "Pot Kage," Danzo had not only taken the blame this time, he had actually shifted it onto someone else!

He admitted to Shisui's affair, but today's losses had to be repaid several times over.

"I obtained one of Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan and sent people to continue hunting him down.

"Only after he died could Konoha be at peace, but..."

"Get to the point!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi had no interest in listening to a story.

He only wanted to understand the situation.

Danzo was also somewhat intimidated.

After all, he really had been surrounded by the Anbu...

"Just then, someone dressed in the same clothes as Orochimaru appeared.

"He wore a mask, but his insight was extremely sharp.

"His target was also Shisui. I suspect he was an Uchiha!"

"..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent.

He wondered if his old friend had developed some kind of delusion.

Why did he think everything pointed toward the Uchiha?

Wasn't that a little too extreme?

Still, he extracted the key information.

"He's from the same organization as Orochimaru?"

"He called Orochimaru a rotten snake and had secretly read Orochimaru's information."

"I see..."

"Moreover, he really did resemble an Uchiha.

"Although I couldn't see his eyes, I couldn't mistake that fighting style.

"Especially since he wanted Shisui's eyes!"

"Shisui's eyes..."

Danzo's words left Hiruzen Sarutobi half-convinced.

He had been watching Danzo the entire time.

He felt that Danzo really wasn't lying!

But if that was true, then the situation was far worse than ordinary...

"Hokage-sama, Lord Danzo."

Just as the two fell silent, someone gently knocked on the door.

Danzo frowned, but when he saw Hiruzen Sarutobi nod, he could only speak.

"Come in."

Soon, a Root shinobi walked in slowly and handed over a scroll.

"Hokage-sama, Lord Danzo, we've gotten some results from the investigation."

"Oh?!"

Danzo's eyes lit up.

He immediately took the scroll and flipped through it, which made Hiruzen Sarutobi somewhat displeased.

Can't you tell who outranks whom?

Before he could say anything, Danzo excitedly handed the scroll over.

"Another one.

"He wore a black cloak with red clouds and moved between the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers.

"Do you believe me now?!"

"Another one..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi studied the information seriously.

Only after a long while did he nod.

He stood up silently and walked indifferently toward the outside.

But just as he was about to leave through the doorway, he stopped.

"Shisui may not have been killed by you, but this trouble was caused by you.

"Konoha still needs you for now, so I've decided to reduce the Root's size.

"Your team's funding will be cut in half starting today.

"I also hope that from now on, you'll be careful."

"Hmph!"

Danzo lowered his head and snorted coldly, but he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He knew this was the best possible outcome.

Still, he spoke indifferently.

"I've said it before. Everything I do is for Konoha!

"I don't care what others think. That's all..."

"Looks like there's no problem."

In the valley outside the Uchiha clan's territory, Hyuga Makoto walked in from outside.

When Danzo caused such a huge commotion, he knew the Anbu would assemble.

He had initially felt somewhat awkward.

After all, he was the true culprit!

But he wasn't worried about being exposed.

Danzo had shut down the barrier himself, while Makoto had been observing with the Tenseigan the entire time and had confirmed that no one would discover him.

Still, "returning to the scene of the crime" was genuinely hard to endure...

Fortunately, Hiruzen Sarutobi only glanced at the valley before disbanding the Anbu and leaving on his own.

Hyuga Makoto guessed that the Third Hokage had gone to find Danzo.

Luckily, he could use a Shadow Clone to return to the Hyuga clan while he came to check on Shisui himself.

"Although the injuries are serious, they're already under control..."

He had indeed only obtained Medical Ninjutsu today.

But he had been "born" with Yin and Yang Release, and controlling Chakra was practically instinctive for him!

He simply couldn't understand why Shisui didn't dare to seek out the Third Hokage.

Even if he assumed the worst and the Third Hokage really wanted him dead...

The disgraceful act of forcibly seizing a kekkei genkai would make it impossible to claim that the Uchiha had rebelled!

"Uchiha Itachi is something else too. He's even more outrageous than Shisui.

"He really doesn't dare to say a damn thing..."

Hyuga Makoto truly couldn't understand them.

He decided not to think about it anymore and figured he should check his rewards first.

"One Mangekyō Sharingan, and a piece of Danzo's flesh..."

He still hadn't decided how to use the Mangekyō Sharingan.

If he had a choice, he would rather extract the eye's ocular power!

Such powerful Yin Release would greatly benefit his eyes.

As for that piece of Danzo's flesh, it was filled with Hashirama Cells.

Aside from the immense Yang Release within it...

"I wonder how effective it would be as material for cloning?"

That was also one of the reasons Hyuga Makoto had taken the risk.

He might not be able to get his hands on White Zetsu for the time being, so this thing might come in handy...

"Hm?"

Just as he was thinking, his system suddenly activated.

When he examined it carefully, his heartbeat immediately quickened!

[Side Quest Complete]

[Fated Death? Save Uchiha Shisui's Life]

[Reward: A large amount of Shisui's Yin Release and some of his traits]

...