Sasuke lightly rubbed the web between his thumb and forefinger as he continued to think in silence. What should I do? Should I stop it?
The moment he thought of that, Sasuke rejected the idea. He glanced at the sun, which had already sunk more than halfway below the horizon.
Leaving aside the fact that his current strength made it impossible, judging by the time, Root and Uchiha Itachi might have already begun their operation.
What if I laid all my cards on the table?
Could I save the Uchiha clan?
Sasuke considered another angle. In his previous life, he had always liked to examine problems from multiple perspectives. Before doing anything, he would run through the cautious, insane, and bold options in his mind. He was someone who liked to plan before acting.
From now on, he would live in this world as Second Pillar. Whether emotionally or practically, having an intact and thriving ninja clan would bring him far more benefits than drawbacks.
If I laid all my cards on the table, then the only person I could turn to would be the Third Hokage!
Would he believe me?
Or rather...
Was he worthy of trust?
The Third Hokage—Sarutobi Hiruzen—was explicitly described in the official databooks as a magnanimous, kind-hearted old man. It could be said that Masashi Kishimoto personally vouched for him.
From the anime and manga, he also appeared to hope for a peaceful and satisfactory resolution between the two sides. He supposedly only learned of the massacre after it happened and immediately stripped Danzo of his position, making it seem as though everything had been Danzo's private, unilateral action.
But did the Third Hokage really know nothing?
Was the Third Hokage truly worthy of trust?
The Konoha Military Police Force, responsible for guarding Konoha's security and carrying out police duties, had all returned to the Uchiha clan compound. There were also the Ninja Academy's special remedial lessons and the movements of the Konoha Anbu. Could all these procedures really have bypassed the Hokage?
He didn't believe it!
Not to mention that after Uchiha Itachi dealt with the Uchiha, the first thing he did was meet the Third Hokage. The meaning of the Third Hokage's original words at the time was:
"You've worked hard, Itachi. You successfully prevented a war between the village and the Uchiha."
That made it clear that the Third Hokage had known about this all along. Shimura Danzō might have been the one in charge, but the Third Hokage had tacitly approved it from the shadows.
At that thought, Sasuke could only abandon the idea of revealing everything.
I am the fish; others hold the knife.
In his previous life, he had been someone who liked to keep the initiative in his own hands. He could not entrust his life and death to others, hoping for their mercy and benevolence.
I'm sorry!
Sasuke sighed inwardly. His heart seemed to cramp, and his nails dug into his palms. Tears faintly showed in his eyes, but to avoid drawing attention, he calmly closed them.
Was this body's memories affecting me?
Sorry...
There's nothing I can do...
After taking a deep breath, Sasuke opened his eyes again, his expression returning to that cool, aloof look. Since there was no way to stop it, he had to figure out how to gain something from the situation.
The most important thing was his parents' Sharingan!
And above all, Uchiha Fugaku's Mangekyō Sharingan!
Uchiha Fugaku had not shown any sign of possessing the Mangekyō Sharingan in the manga, but it had clearly appeared in the TV adaptation and the official novel Itachi Shinden.
Sasuke did not know what source this world's development followed, but even if it followed the manga, there was still over a ninety percent chance that Uchiha Fugaku possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Although Itachi Shinden was a novel, Masashi Kishimoto had endorsed it and personally drew a side story for it.
That showed that the possibility of Uchiha Fugaku possessing the Mangekyō Sharingan was extremely high.
In just a few moments, Sasuke recalled the knowledge from his previous life while silently considering how to obtain the Mangekyō Sharingan.
What should I do?
Just as Sasuke sank into thought, he suddenly felt a gaze fixed on him.
Someone was watching me!
The gaze came from above!
Although he did not look up, Sasuke was certain. In his previous life, he had been extremely sensitive to people's gazes, almost as if he had a supernatural ability. Ordinary people could only sense someone watching them from behind under rare circumstances.
But he was different. No matter when it was, as long as someone was watching him, he could detect it. Even if that person was hundreds of meters away, even if they were atop a skyscraper!
Even when riding an elevator, if he focused intently on the surveillance camera overhead, he could vaguely sense whether the security guard in the monitoring room was watching him.
After transmigrating into Second Pillar's body, he found that his sensitivity to gazes had grown even stronger. The gaze from above was harder to detect than a camera's, yet Sasuke noticed it instantly.
Perhaps the owner of the gaze had no intention of concealing it and had never imagined that he could notice.
Was it the Third Hokage's crystal ball?
Feeling that camera-like gaze from above, Sasuke's expression did not change as he silently judged, He probably won't watch me for long. His attention is focused elsewhere today.
Sure enough, the feeling of being watched disappeared in less than three minutes. During that time, Sasuke had also come up with a plan.
He lowered his gaze to his knee beneath the desk, where he saw a wound of moderate size.
He had accidentally gotten this wound during taijutsu class today. It was already showing signs of healing, and what Sasuke needed to do now was make it worse.
He extended a finger into the wound and stirred it around. Once it split open and began bleeding heavily, Sasuke slowly rose to his feet and walked out of the classroom under his classmates' surprised gazes.
Had Sasuke's injury gotten worse?
Only after seeing the blotches of blood on Sasuke's leg did the students understand. Of course, quite a few girls looked at him with concern.
The infirmary.
"Be more careful next time, little Sasuke." After treating Sasuke's wound, the medical teacher spoke gently.
"Thank you, Teacher Misa. I'll be more careful next time." Sasuke nodded and thanked her, then casually swept his gaze over the bottles and jars around the room.
"Teacher Misa, I'd like to buy some medicine."
"Oh?" The medical teacher pushed up her glasses and asked, "What medicine do you want to buy?"
"Saline, medical alcohol, and healing spray..."
After buying the medicine he needed, Sasuke left the infirmary and headed straight into the school restroom. He entered one of the stalls and quietly waited for three minutes. Just as he had expected, he felt no sense of being watched.
After all, this was Naruto, not a furnace!
The Third Hokage could only be considered a normal dirty old man. It was fine for him to use his crystal ball to peek at women's baths now and then, but he would never spy on Ninja Academy students in the restroom, regardless of gender.
As a dirty old man, he was indeed lustful, but as the leader of a village, he still had the basic bottom line that adults should have toward minors. At the same time, he would strictly forbid anyone in Konoha from spying on such places.
If the Third Hokage really was that perverted, or if some other person secretly monitoring him was that perverted and could evade his senses, then Sasuke could only accept it. But he believed in his deductions and his perception.
As he had said, this was Naruto, not a furnace!
Only after confirming that he felt no gaze did Sasuke open his waist pouch and begin his preparations.
The first thing in the pouch was a heart-shaped lunchbox. His mother had prepared it for him that morning, and it contained his food for the day. After thinking for a moment, Sasuke set it aside and took out several storage scrolls beneath it.
As the son of the Uchiha clan head, the foremost noble clan of Konoha, Sasuke's equipment had always been luxurious. For example, he had storage scrolls like the kind only rich girls such as Tenten possessed!
Sasuke looked at the bottle of saline in his hand, then at the storage scroll.
If I obtain the Sharingan and place them directly into a storage scroll, that still won't be safe enough. Someone might open it and inspect it.
Put them in a medicine bottle, then seal the bottle inside a storage scroll?
No, that still isn't safe!
He was too weak right now, and what he intended to do was extremely bold. There could not be the slightest mistake. Every step had to be taken as cautiously as if walking on thin ice.
Sasuke quickly swept his gaze past the scroll marked "Medicine" and stopped at the one marked "Sword."
Moments later, a katana appeared in his hand. Sasuke compared the size of its hilt with the saline bottle.
A perfect fit!
Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly. He took out a kunai and began carving into the katana's hilt, gradually hollowing it out.
He worked very carefully, striving not to damage the hilt's original appearance. He even dumped every wood shaving into the toilet.
It had been more than nine minutes since I entered the restroom. Normally, people spend around ten minutes using the toilet, and at most no more than twenty.
Seeing that only half the hilt had been hollowed out, Sasuke picked up the pace slightly. Perhaps no one would care how long he spent in the restroom, but he had to be cautious—more cautious than ever!
A few minutes later, Sasuke finished modifying the katana's hilt. He placed the saline bottle inside, replaced the hilt cap, and wrapped it several times with blue cord before finally breathing a sigh of relief.
This is the best preparation I can make right now. Next, I'll do everything I can and leave the rest to fate!
After putting everything back into the storage scrolls and flushing the toilet several times, Sasuke left the restroom and headed back to the classroom.
Before you continue