Danzo Takes the Fall

Ever since Chuanhe revived Shisui with Impure World Reincarnation, Shisui had been living in Chuanhe's small town.

Shisui enjoyed the atmosphere of the town. Once again, he found that his senior was exactly as he remembered him.

Chuanhe was still the same gentle senior he remembered.

At one point, Chuanhe had considered using Soul Sealing Technique to give Shisui a new body, but Shisui had flatly refused.

His reason was simple: he needed his Sharingan to prove who he was. With a new body, even if his mind was still Shisui's, his body would be completely different. That would only lead to even greater misunderstandings.

After returning home, Chuanhe began thinking about the Ninjutsu Rifle.

It really was a revolutionary weapon.

A Barrier Ninjutsu formed the barrel, an Explosive Tag served as the gunpowder, and a ninjutsu construct acted as the bullet. The principle was exactly the same. It simply made better use of chakra constructs to create astonishing destructive power on a large scale.

This weapon was entirely different from Chuanhe's current Dimensional Technique. Its principles were far too simple. If it fell into the hands of someone with ulterior motives...

Chuanhe shuddered at the thought of that future.

It was terrifying.

The weapon had been inspired by the Four Red Yang Formation, which even the Ten-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb couldn't break through. After the explosion, all the force was released upward.

The only problem was that the shinobi hadn't realized it yet.

Once they understood the principles, these warmongers could advance the world's weapons of war to a level even Chuanhe couldn't imagine in just a few short years.

Chuanhe closed his eyes and began carefully sensing the oddly shaped "stick."

Unlike Hui, Chuanhe knew many advanced ways to use Four-Dimensional Perception.

He hadn't taught Hui directly; he had only guided him as much as he could.

It was better to let Hui figure everything out for himself. If he only ever took what he was given, eventually he would stop thinking about how to improve.

Hui had fallen into that very trap. He was obsessed with pursuing power, even though he was capable of far more than he realized.

After a long session of Four-Dimensional Perception, Chuanhe finally confirmed there was only one object of a similar shape in all of Konoha.

With his perception fixed on its location, Chuanhe murmured, "Let this Ninjutsu Rifle give you some inspiration."

Hui was excited today, but a little nervous, too.

Chuanhe had given him the first mission of his life.

Steal something from the Anbu warehouse...

Hui's expression froze as soon as he heard the mission.

Steal something? Did their family really need to?

Most of Chuanhe's family income came from selling Flame Explosion Talismans.

Their effect was close to a standard Chunin's self-destruction, and the blast could cover roughly one-fifth of the Uchiha Compound.

They were far more powerful than Explosive Tags. Even an Elite Jonin would have trouble surviving a point-blank explosion.

Because of their tremendous power, a single Flame Explosion Talisman could cost as much as a thousand Explosive Tags.

Though a thousand Explosive Tags had far more destructive power than a single Flame Explosion Talisman.

A thousand Explosive Tags might sound like an outrageous amount.

A single Explosive Tag cost around three thousand ryō, though the price fluctuated with the times.

For three million, you could buy an Elite Jonin's head. In most cases, that was a pretty good deal.

After all, Asuma Sarutobi's bounty was thirty-five million ryō. Though the two prices weren't really comparable.

In any case, these were restricted goods in Konoha.

Perhaps this was one reason Hiruzen Sarutobi had agreed to delay taking action.

They wanted to stockpile more supplies for the coming war with Kumogakure.

Hui recalled the strange masked man he had encountered that day. He seemed capable of doing something similar, too.

He could use the necklace on his chest to create an illusionary projection.

Meanwhile, his real body could hide in four-dimensional space and do exactly the same thing.

The problem was that Hui couldn't stay in the fourth dimension for long yet.

He could only make a brief detour through it.

Could he create an independent three-dimensional space, like that masked man?

That was beyond him for now, too.

Hui pondered hard. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him, like lightning illuminating the darkness.

He realized there was something crucial that everyone had overlooked.

All barriers and sensory ninjutsu relied on chakra.

"But..." Hui looked toward the distant Anbu warehouse with Four-Dimensional Perception, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

"Just because I don't have chakra doesn't mean I'm powerless."

This method would simply consume more "mental energy."

Hui acted as soon as the idea came to him. He took a deep breath and completely emptied his body of chakra, making himself utterly "invisible" to sensory abilities. Then he began his first mission.

Relying on his Four-Dimensional Perception, Hui moved through the Anbu patrol routes like a ghost.

Every step landed precisely in the guards' blind spots, and every move perfectly avoided the fluctuations of the sensory barriers.

Only when there was no other choice did he use Space Leap.

Without chakra, Space Leap forced Hui to confront the abstract nature of the fourth dimension. If the sensation continued too long, he could easily become dizzy. So he tried to avoid using it as he made his way through the shadows.

Suddenly, Hui heard voices up ahead.

"Are the Shuriken, Explosive Tags, and ninjutsu scrolls all ready? Elder Danzo will send someone to collect them later," said an elderly voice.

"Yes, sir! I've got everything ready," another, younger voice replied at once.

Listening to the two Anbu Ninjas in the distance, Hui came up with a "great" idea.

Through Four-Dimensional Perception, Hui's "sight" penetrated the warehouse walls.

From this four-dimensional perspective, the entire warehouse looked like a transparent model, and the position of every item was clear.

He quickly located the package that the Anbu had mentioned, the one meant for Danzo.

Using Space Leap, he carefully selected some of the most sensitive and valuable supplies from all around the warehouse and secretly tucked a portion of each into Danzo's package.

Neither Sealing Techniques nor Barrier Ninjutsu could stop Hui, who could move through space directly. He could even retrieve items from storage scrolls through the fourth dimension without anyone noticing.

Once everything was ready, Hui took the strange "stick."

Then he vanished from the scene.

Early the next morning, at the Hokage Office,

Hiruzen Sarutobi was so furious as he read the report that the hand holding his pipe trembled.

The Anbu warehouse had been robbed the previous night.

The shinobi taking over the shift had discovered a serious discrepancy between the inventory records and the actual stock, and they had immediately launched an investigation.

Yet, incredibly, every clue pointed to one person—Shimura Danzō.

"Danzō... You again!" Hiruzen Sarutobi drew a deep breath. The ember in his pipe brightened and dimmed with each breath.

The report clearly stated: "Members of Root sent by Elder Danzō took a large quantity of supplies without authorization."

"Go!" Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his hand on the desk, his voice low and restrained.

"'Invite' Elder Danzō over! I want to hear what 'legitimate reason' he has this time!"

"Yes, sir!" An Anbu Ninja knelt on one knee, then vanished with the Body Flicker Technique.

Before long, Danzō walked straight in through the door.

"Hiruzen, what is there to discuss this time? Don't tell me you've changed your mind and plan to act sooner?"

His voice came before he did. Danzō had already launched into his speech before the door even opened.

Hiruzen Sarutobi paused at those words.

"We won't change what we agreed on. This is to minimize casualties, after all. Itachi has the Will of Fire in him. He won't let us down," Hiruzen Sarutobi said gravely.

Danzō snorted, a sinister glint in his single eye.

"Hmph, Hiruzen. The Uchiha are still the Uchiha. When the time comes, I'll lead Root into battle myself to make sure nothing goes wrong."

Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent, lowering his head to study the documents on his desk.

Yes, perhaps this was the best outcome.

But when his gaze once again landed on the report about the stolen supplies, his anger surged anew.

"Danzō!" He looked up sharply, his voice unusually stern.

"You keep taking more supplies than you're supposed to. How are the other departments meant to function?!" He snatched up the report and flung it in front of Danzō.

"Starting next month, Root's budget will be cut by thirty percent!"

Danzō's heart tightened. He really had requested a lot more supplies this time—and he had done the same before.

But outwardly, he remained unfazed. He merely replied coldly, "Hiruzen, are you trying to weaken Konoha's Root?"

Hiruzen stared at him, took a deep pull from his pipe, and slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"Danzō, don't think I don't know what you're scheming."

Danzō snorted, then slammed the door on his way out once again.

"Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"

This had been a chance for Chuanhe to give Hui some practice. Obito's attack had made him feel a real sense of urgency.

That was why he had given Hui the mission of retrieving the Ninjutsu Rifle.

Experience was the best ally in actual combat.

And the weapon would become Hui's new weapon, making up for some of his weaknesses.

Just as Chuanhe had expected, Hui soon returned, looking delighted, with the Ninjutsu Rifle in his hands.

Chuanhe had been worried that the theft might attract Konoha's attention.

He couldn't help it. He wasn't afraid of the Ninjutsu Rifle itself, but if it fell into someone else's hands, the battles in this world would no longer be small-scale skirmishes between a few shinobi.

After hearing Hui's report, Chuanhe's expression turned strange. What a coincidence.

Now Chuanhe was actually looking forward to Konoha's reaction. If they let the matter die down...

At that thought, Chuanhe nearly burst out laughing, leaving Hui beside him utterly bewildered.