Codename Araki

Danzo glared at Itachi's retreating back, gnashing his teeth as he watched him leave Root.

Then—

"What the hell happened?!" he roared at his subordinate, his face twisted with anger.

"I underestimated Uchiha Dan's strength, which led to the annihilation of Second Squad. I also fought Dan, but I couldn't kill him, so I had no choice but to retreat. The mission's failure was my fault. Please punish me, Lord Danzo."

Aburame Ryoma took the blame without hesitation or complaint.

At that, Danzo took a deep breath, calming his anger.

He knew how strong Aburame Ryoma was, and how loyal he was. Ryoma would never lie to him.

If even Ryoma had been helpless, what kind of monster was that Uchiha Dan?

With that thought, Danzo sat back down and raised a hand to Ryoma, who was kneeling before him. "Get up. I'll let you off this time."

Aburame Ryoma rose and asked, "Should we continue sending people to assassinate Uchiha Dan?"

"Forget it. Don't waste any more manpower on him for now. We'll act as if nothing happened."

Danzo waved a hand.

He wasn't worried in the slightest that Dan would come after him when he returned.

After all, Danzo had even tried to assassinate the Hokage and had gotten away with it. What was the problem with trying to kill a Uchiha?

In Konoha, no one could touch him.

He was the darkness of the Ninja World.

He held everything in the palm of his hand.

"I'll gather and organize detailed information on Uchiha Dan again, then report back to you," Aburame Ryoma added.

"Good. You must find his true weakness. Understood?"

Danzo nodded and cautioned his subordinate.

Every ninja had a weakness. Uchiha Dan was no exception. Danzo simply hadn't found his yet.

He set the matter aside for the moment.

"We lost Second Squad this time, so it's time to replenish Root's ranks and bring in some fresh blood. Come to think of it, it's been a while since I visited the major ninja clans."

Danzo murmured to himself, pondering for a moment before suddenly asking Aburame Ryoma, "By the way, does the Aburame Clan have any promising young talents lately?"

"I'll ask around when I get back."

Aburame Ryoma answered with his head lowered. Behind his sunglasses, a flicker of sorrow passed through his eyes.

He was loyal to Danzo and to Konoha, but he also loved his clan. He knew what joining Root meant for them.

Itachi left Root, disbelief flickering in his eyes.

He never imagined that even Root's carefully planned assassination would fail to take down his uncle.

It must have been an intense and spectacular battle.

Itachi didn't know the details, but he guessed his uncle had used the same method he'd used against the Masked Man, leaving Aburame Ryoma empty-handed.

Maybe he could ask his uncle about it when he came back.

But—

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and Dan still hadn't returned.

Early one morning, Itachi received a summons to meet the Third Hokage at the Hokage Office with Kakashi and Tenzo.

Tap.

The Third Hokage took a puff from his pipe and blew out a long ring of smoke. Then he said to Kakashi:

"Though the Land of Forests is allied with Konoha, it's been secretly flirting with Iwagakure. I've already sent Might Guy and his team to the border to exchange intelligence scrolls with the Hannya Corps of the Land of Forests, but after thinking it over, I'm still uneasy. Take Team Six and secretly follow Guy's squad. If the Hannya Corps betrays Konoha, you know what to do."

"Yes, sir."

Kakashi accepted the assignment and set out with his team at once.

Itachi seemed lost in thought along the way.

Noticing this, Kakashi asked lazily, a little surprised, "Is this your first time going on a mission as an Anbu? Nervous?"

Tenzo patted Itachi on the shoulder and encouraged him.

"Don't worry about doing a bad job. It's really nothing. I even tried to assassinate the Hokage once. I was ten at the time..."

Tenzo had still been in Root then. Acting on Danzo's orders, he'd tried to assassinate the Third Hokage. Kakashi, the Hokage's guard, defeated him, after which he abandoned the darkness and came over to the light.

Itachi: Nice.

Actually, the mission wasn't what had him on edge.

The end of the month was approaching, and the Uchiha Clan Meeting would be held in a little over a week.

Under the surface, tensions were simmering within the clan, and the contradiction between Hawk and Dove Factions was growing more pronounced.

Shisui had visited Itachi the night before and told him gravely:

This Clan Meeting might become the flashpoint for the two factions' conflict. He hoped Itachi would stand with him and help preserve peace within the clan.

Besides—

Itachi remembered that his uncle had also accepted his father's invitation and would attend the Uchiha Clan Meeting for the first time.

Given his uncle's inscrutable nature, Itachi had no idea what he might do at the meeting.

Thinking about all this, Itachi's thoughts grew tangled. He had a feeling that something major would happen.

So he couldn't miss the Clan Meeting.

What worried him now was whether he could make it back in time if this mission took too long.

Within the Land of Fire.

Dan walked along a forest path, wearing a cloak and a Bamboo Hat.

A vast primeval forest stretched around him, with birds and wild animals appearing now and then. After walking for most of the day, he finally reached a remote town.

The streets were deserted and lifeless, with only a few scattered homes and convenience stores. Several crows perched on roadside utility poles, occasionally cawing.

Dan knew the way well. He walked to the end of the street, entered a tall building, and headed straight for the bathroom.

Different time, same bathroom.

Behind the bathroom's hidden door lay the underground Bounty Exchange of the Land of Fire.

Creak.

Dan pushed the door open and followed the passage dozens of meters underground, arriving at the exchange's trading hall.

Unlike the empty, desolate streets above, the hall was packed with people. Bounty hunters, wandering shinobi, and samurai crowded together, their voices blending into a clamor.

The Bounty Exchange was a black market where countless ill-gotten funds, intelligence, and stolen goods changed hands, along with...

Corpses.

In the world of shinobi, the dead were sometimes worth more than the living, because their bodies often held important secrets.

The best proof of this was Hashirama Senju, revered as the God of Shinobi.

His cells were like Tang Monk's flesh: whoever got their hands on them would gain a power-up.

If the First Hokage had been cremated after his death, there wouldn't have been so much trouble later.

The morgue was the Bounty Exchange's busiest department.

When Dan arrived, several bounty hunters were lined up with corpses. Staff inspected and verified each body, then collected it and paid out the reward on the spot.

Corpses could fetch anywhere from a few hundred thousand to tens of millions of Ryo.

Of course, corpses worth tens of millions usually belonged to the Kage of a major village, an elite high-ranking shinobi, or an S-rank rogue ninja. You might not see a single one all year.

Dan was a high-level bounty hunter with the codename "Araki," so he didn't have to wait in line.

The exchange's boss received him personally.

"Mr. Araki, you're here."

A bald man with a scar across his face hurried over to welcome Dan.

Dan glanced at the boss.

The man was just a businessman, a hired hand. The real big boss behind the Bounty Exchange was surely someone else.

But Dan wasn't interested in any of that. He was only here to make money.

Thanks again to Caution: Don't Get Heated and Yangge stay for the tips. Thank you all for the monthly and recommendation votes.