Danzo's Mission and Itachi's Little Thought

After leaving the Hokage Building, the more Danzo thought about it, the angrier he became.

The Third Hokage's decision left Danzo fuming, yet he could find no suitable grounds to refute it.

Hiruzen had already given him one chance, offering him the opportunity to lead the Root Ninja in pursuit of Obito. He had rejected that proposal himself, and in doing so, he had lost the right to handle the Mangekyo Sharingan.

There was little else he could say.

He wondered who Hiruzen had learned this craftiness from; perhaps he had been infected by that wicked Uchiha.

As things stood, he didn't even dare to utter the words, "Hiruzen, you will regret this." He feared being looked at with strange eyes by Koharu and En, which would damage his image and affect his future bid for Hokage.

Uchiha Youhu, you have brought this death upon yourself.

Danzo thought viciously to himself.

Upon returning to the Root Office.

Danzo found Uchiha Itachi waiting at the doorway. He then remembered that he had planted one of his own men, Uchiha Itachi, within Kakashi Squad.

Although Itachi had already graduated from the Root Ninja, he had been his man from the very beginning.

Perhaps he could learn the specific details of yesterday's battle from Itachi.

Danzo gestured for Itachi to enter the office with him. Sitting on the sofa, he said, "Itachi, you're here. Tell me exactly what happened last night. Was the Masked Man truly Uchiha Obito?"

"Yes."

Itachi nodded. He stood respectfully before Danzo and began to recount the events of the previous night.

In truth, Itachi had wanted to find Shisui to discuss the matter of Obito.

Throughout all of Konohagakure, the only ninja Itachi could truly trust was his mentor, Shisui. They shared a common dream: both wanted to mend the rift between their clan and the village.

However, Shisui had gone out on a mission and would not be returning to the village anytime soon.

Otherwise, if Brother Shisui had been there, they might have actually been able to detain Obito yesterday, or at the very least, understand what exactly Obito was trying to achieve.

Itachi had an intuition that Obito, disguised as the Masked Man, had not attacked the village out of a desire for revenge.

But with Shisui absent, he had no choice but to come and seek Danzo's opinion. While Danzo's heart was incredibly dark, he possessed a thorough understanding of the rules that governed the ninja world.

To a large extent, Danzo's actions were all for the sake of the village.

"Is that all that happened last night? The Hokage has certainly hidden quite a bit."

After listening to Itachi's report, Danzo let out a cold laugh and immediately said, "Itachi, the Hokage will soon issue an order for Kakashi Squad to continue the pursuit of Obito, and you will follow them."

"My request for you is simple: kill Obito as much as possible and bring the Mangekyo Sharingan to me."

"Beyond that, I suspect Youhu and Kakashi are potential traitors. They will soon make private contact with Obito. If you discover them engaging in such actions..."

"You may ambush them and bring back their Sharingan."

Itachi frowned, feeling dissatisfied with the order Danzo had issued. "Lord Danzo, Captain Kakashi and Youhu cannot be traitors, and the Sharingan belongs to the Uchiha..."

"Only in my hands can the Sharingan be utilized to its greatest potential."

Danzo noticed Itachi's dissatisfaction and continued:

"You only need to execute the mission according to my orders. Once Kakashi and the others truly collude with Obito to overthrow the Hokage Building, do you think the village in its current state could survive another period of turmoil?"

"If you are worried, the Sharingan can also be handed over to the Third Hokage for safekeeping."

"Yes, Lord Danzo."

Itachi finally nodded, accepting the mission Danzo had issued.

However, he felt a growing sense of suspicion toward Danzo in his heart. Was Danzo truly acting wholeheartedly for the sake of the village? Why did he always covet the Sharingan and harbor hostility toward the Uchiha?

For the sake of the village's stability, ninjas who affected that stability could be sacrificed.

He and Shisui had once killed a defecting Anbu Jonin for this very reason. To maintain the village's stability, the Hokage faction had to suppress the Uchiha clan, constantly monitoring their every move.

If he raised his perspective slightly, was Root a part that could be sacrificed for the sake of Konoha as a whole?

For the sake of the entire Ninja World, could Konoha, which was constantly caught in the center of the whirlpool, also be abandoned for the sake of global stability?

Itachi could not figure it out, nor could he find a concrete answer.

Danzo's heart held only a twisted Will of Fire; Shisui's heart held only his clan and the village; Captain Kakashi and Yamato spent every day thinking about the next volume of Icha Icha Paradise.

The only people he could turn to for help seemed to be Youhu and Obito.

Youhu always held an inexplicable hostility toward his family. His only remaining choice was Obito, who had long since left the village and was active under the identity of the Masked Man.

Perhaps Obito could give him the answer he wanted.

From ten in the morning until six in the evening.

Youhu had experienced a full sleep.

Although his days and nights were somewhat reversed, he had at least managed to secure eight hours of high-quality sleep. After all, who could complain when the Anbu was a militarized organization in a time of peace?

Having any rest time at all was good enough.

This made Youhu begin to miss the leisure of working in the Security Force; that nine-to-five lifestyle was simply a luxury.

However, the good days for the Security Force were about to come to an end.

Tiehuo had decided to challenge Fugaku at the next clan meeting and, at the same time, carry out deep reforms within the Security Force. Imagine wanting to launch a coup while only working eight hours a day.

Twelve hours is the absolute minimum; if you aren't putting in the effort, you aren't a true Uchiha.

After a simple wash, Youhu discovered an extra ninja technique scroll sitting on his desk.

Sensing the chakra of a White Zetsu, Youhu called out to his surroundings, "Bodyguard, what is the meaning of this ninja technique scroll?"

The White Zetsu emerged from the wall, his face plastered with a smile as he said:

"Lord Youhu, you can just call me Afu. Lord Obito had me bring this ninja technique scroll over, saying it's to help you improve your strength so you don't accidentally die in Konoha."

What kind of name is Afu? Are you going to pull a flying crow kick next?

Youhu complained internally, then opened the scroll. Recorded inside was a technique called Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame, with a learning difficulty of B-rank.

Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame.

Youhu was all too familiar with this technique.

Isn't this the Fire Style Uchiha Madara used against the Allied Shinobi Forces? One man outputting the firepower of an entire fire-style squad—not only was it powerful, but its lethal range was also astonishing.

However, he remembered that the clan library also had this technique.

But considering this was a gift from Obito, Youhu accepted it with a look of delight. After all, it wasn't easy for Obito to think about winning people over.

Otherwise, after being Mizukage for so many years, he wouldn't have only had Kisame Hoshigaki following him.

It was a complete waste of the power within Kirigakure.

After putting the scroll away, Youhu asked the White Zetsu, Afu, "Afu, can you still stay inside the ring? Your body is too big now; it's not convenient for you to stay by my side and protect me."

"I can't turn back."

White Zetsu Afu shook his head. With his main body not around, he didn't know what to do either.

"Then what should we do? Without you by my side, it won't be easy for me to pass messages to Brother Obito at any time..."

Youhu looked troubled, then, as if thinking of something, said, "Why don't we sign a summoning contract? That way, whenever I need to send a message to Brother Obito, I'll just need to summon you."

"This..."

White Zetsu Afu hesitated, but he was already being pulled along by the excited Youhu.

Afu tried to use the Mayfly Technique to escape, only to find he couldn't move at all. He could only watch helplessly as he was pulled into the barrier and forced to sign the summoning contract.