Deep Infiltration

A gentle breeze blew past, causing a few leaves to drift down.

Danzō scrutinized Orochimaru coldly. Although he desperately wanted to kill this bastard, he had to compromise for the sake of his right arm and right eye.

"How did you know that Shisui possessed the Mangekyou Sharingan?"

He diverted the topic.

Uchiha Shisui's ocular power was a top-secret matter among Konoha's upper echelons; only a handful of people knew of it, and logically, it should have been impossible for Orochimaru to know.

Orochimaru gave a cold laugh and said, "I naturally have my own channels."

Although he did not yet think much of Hōzuki Mangetsu's strength, he was still very interested in the information he provided.

Besides, his cooperation with Danzō was merely mutual exploitation; they might turn on each other at any moment, so he naturally did not want to reveal the source of this information.

"Was it leaked from within Konoha?"

Murderous intent appeared on Danzō's face as he asked, word by word.

If someone had truly leaked the village's secrets, then Uchiha Shisui's eyes might have already been obtained by this mysterious person.

Whether it was Shisui's eyes or the matter of leaking village secrets, Danzō and Root would never let it slide.

Orochimaru smiled slightly and remained silent.

He was more than happy to cause some trouble for Konoha's leadership.

Danzō's heart sank. If Orochimaru had admitted it, he would have suspected the man was deliberately sowing discord, but now that Orochimaru was noncommittal, he found himself unable to make a decision.

If it really had been leaked by Konoha's upper echelons, then the matter certainly would not be so simple.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu.

Three figures kept spinning in Danzō's mind. Aside from himself, they were the only three who knew of Uchiha Shisui's abilities.

Was it one of those three?

Danzō's single eye narrowed once more.

After pondering for a long time, Danzō shook his head again. He knew all three of them well, and they simply had no motive to commit such an act.

"Can you tell me the details of your battle?"

Danzō raised the question again.

Judging by the traces at the scene, both sides must have engaged in a fierce battle, but the specific process was naturally known only to those involved.

Orochimaru straightforwardly recounted what had happened at the time.

At this point, there was no need to hide or hold back; in truth, he also wanted to find this culprit.

After listening to Orochimaru's account, a cold sweat broke out on Danzō's back.

Shisui's terror seemed to exceed his imagination.

Even Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, was no match for him.

Was this the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan?

Danzō thought with lingering fear.

The evil Uchiha.

The unease in his heart became even more pronounced.

The Uchiha's Sharingan was incredibly perverse; ordinary eyes could multiply their strength, and if they evolved to the level of the Mangekyou, they became top-tier existences in the ninja world.

In the past, when the Senju Clan was flourishing, they could still suppress them, but over the years, the Senju Clan's talent had withered and declined, long since left behind by other families. They could no longer be mentioned in the same breath as the current Uchiha.

If the Uchiha produced two or three more talents like Shisui, Konoha would fall into their hands.

No!

Danzō clenched his fists.

Konoha was the lifeblood of the Second Hokage, and Shimura Danzō, who inherited the Second Hokage's will, would never allow such a thing to happen.

Although the First Hokage, Hashirama, was known as the God of Shinobi, he was too naive, even somewhat of an idiot. If not for his younger brother Tobirama, who possessed great talent and strategy, to assist him, he would never have been able to establish Konoha.

After Hashirama died, Tobirama succeeded him as the Second Hokage. He carried out sweeping reforms of the village system and formulated a series of measures.

The establishment of the Konoha Military Police Force stripped the Uchiha Clan, an unstable factor in the village, of the center of power.

The establishment of the Ninja Academy broke the clans' control over their members and strengthened the village's cohesion.

The appearance of the assassination squads strengthened the power of the village's upper echelons.

These measures were scrambled to be imitated by every other village.

It was evident that the Second Hokage was a man of great talent and strategy; the reason Konoha was able to be stable and prosperous was thanks to these measures of his.

Where there is light in the world, there is darkness.

The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, inherited the bright side of the Second Hokage, while Shimura Danzō inherited the dark side.

"Do you intend to take action against the Uchiha Clan?"

Orochimaru was also a smart man; he could see Danzō's intentions at a glance.

The Uchiha Clan was an unstable element within Konoha, and Danzo, being a member of the Hawks, naturally would not allow such a situation to persist.

Orochimaru licked the corner of his mouth: "If we are dealing with the Uchiha, perhaps we could cooperate."

"No need!"

Danzo stated unceremoniously: "I have the ability to resolve this myself."

He already had a suitable candidate in mind, and that was the double agent of the Uchiha Clan—Uchiha Itachi.

Uchiha Itachi was also a genius of the Uchiha Clan, and being even younger, he would be easier to brainwash.

Orochimaru was not angered; he had long since figured out Danzo's temperament.

Although this man had some ambition, he was still loyal to Konoha, and he would not allow anything that threatened the village to exist.

The Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan possessed immense power, and Danzo would naturally never let them fall into the hands of Orochimaru.

The relationship between the two sides was merely one of mutual exploitation, liable to shatter at any moment, so he saw no reason to be polite to Orochimaru.

"It doesn't matter if you won't let me participate!"

Orochimaru said unhurriedly: "I only want Uchiha Itachi's body."

"Delusional!"

Danzo sneered.

"Is that so?"

Orochimaru smiled slightly and muttered to himself: "It seems I should go meet my teacher, Mr. Hiruzen. After all these years, I truly do miss him."

"Bastard!"

A savage glint flashed in Danzo's single eye; how could he fail to hear the threat in Orochimaru's words?

If he did not agree to this condition, Orochimaru would leak certain information to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Root had committed no shortage of unspeakable acts, and many times Danzo had operated behind the backs of Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others. At this critical juncture, if Orochimaru were to leak those secrets...

Danzo slowly closed his eyes.

"Once the deed is done, I will inform you of Uchiha Itachi's whereabouts. This is the bottom line for Root. As for whether you can capture him, that is your own affair."

"Deal!"

Orochimaru extended his long tongue to lick the corner of his mouth.

He had already witnessed the strength of Uchiha Shisui and had gained an understanding of the Mangekyou Sharingan. Dealing with a young child should not be a problem.

After the two departed, a puddle of water slowly rose and transformed into the shape of a person; it was none other than Hōzuki Mangetsu.

It had to be said that the Hydrification Technique of the Hozuki Clan was truly a bug in the system; as long as Hōzuki Mangetsu wished, he could infiltrate any location.

Even top-tier ninjas like Danzo and Orochimaru found it difficult to detect him.

"Has Danzo finally decided to make a move against the Uchiha?"

A smile appeared on the corner of Hōzuki Mangetsu's mouth. He had taken Shisui's eyes, yet he had not changed the trajectory of history.

The Uchiha Clan was destined to be unable to escape this calamity.