The First Collaboration with Danzo

After obtaining an Eye of God—and one with Yin Release, no less—Uchiha Shizuka instantly became the center of attention among the children.

Even Ayatsuki gathered around her, genuinely happy for her while asking what it felt like to have an Eye of God with Yin Release.

Uchiha Arashi sat some distance away, watching them enjoy themselves, and couldn't help letting out a soft sigh.

"Still no luck?"

Izumi sat down beside him and turned her head to ask.

Uchiha Arashi knew what she meant.

"No. There's been no reaction at all."

He took an Eye of God out of his pocket. It was a blank one, which he had made for himself after the one he had created for Izumi.

Unfortunately, in his hands, the Eye of God was as good as fake. It didn't react at all.

"Could it be that your desire isn't strong enough? Like you said, only a sufficiently strong desire can receive a response from an Eye of God."

"Maybe."

Uchiha Arashi nodded.

In truth, he knew it wasn't that simple.

He could feel the Eye of God trying to respond to him, and he had been doing his best to establish a connection with it. But it was as if an invisible wall stood between them, turning all his efforts into nothing.

"Relax. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Even if the Eye of God doesn't respond to you, you still have me... us. Me, Shizuka, Ayatsuki, Kyoko—we're all your strength. You don't need to fight. You can plan things from the rear and leave the fighting to us."

Izumi gently comforted him.

Uchiha Arashi nodded.

"I understand. Don't worry, I won't put pressure on myself."

Not being able to connect with an Eye of God wasn't a big deal. He was an Uchiha who couldn't even awaken the Sharingan, and where had that gotten him? Didn't he still have two Mangekyo to use now?

If the Eye of God wouldn't work, perhaps the Gnosis would. The Power of Recognition it required was truly terrifying, but it wasn't a problem. As his novels spread across the Land of Fire, his readership kept growing, and he was gaining the Power of Recognition faster and faster.

And as time went on, his novels would reach other countries too. Sooner or later, he'd be able to make a Gnosis.

If he could skip straight to resonating with a Gnosis, then what would he need an Eye of God for? He wouldn't touch one with a ten-foot pole!

As for the Eye of God he had now, so what if it didn't react? He could wear it as a keepsake.

He could make Eyes of God for his younger siblings once they met the requirements. Fortunately, they didn't take much Power of Recognition to create, so there was hardly any pressure.

"By the way, our collaboration with Danzo should be coming up soon, right? Are you ready? Who should go on the first mission?"

Izumi recalled what had been written on the scroll and asked him.

"For the first one, we should be cautious. I'll go with you."

Uchiha Arashi thought it over before answering.

Danzo had ultimately been unable to resist the temptation of becoming Hokage. On the very night Uchiha Arashi met him, he had sent a scroll proposing cooperation through a Ninja Cat.

He had even planned out the entire operation. All Uchiha Arashi had to do was drive off or defeat Konoha's Anbu.

Of course, Uchiha Arashi wasn't going to do everything Danzo wanted. He had his own ideas about how to handle things.

During this time, Konoha continued investigating the Masked Man in secret.

As more and more clues emerged, traces of "Uchiha Arashi" gradually came to light.

"He's in the Land of Rain?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the intelligence report before him, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.

"Can we be sure? Is it really him?"

"We can. This person is very mysterious, but he showed up in the Land of Rivers not long ago. Once our people picked up his trail, they followed him very carefully and watched him enter the Land of Rain. And I can say with complete certainty that he didn't notice anything unusual."

Kakashi said solemnly. He had already taken off his eyepatch.

Recently, he had gradually emerged from the shadow of what had happened before. He had to admit, that novel really was quite good.

Its world was entirely fictional, and its imagination ran wild. Everything in the book opened Kakashi's eyes.

Especially the relationship between Venti and Dvalin.

He was glad that Dvalin had been saved. At the same time, he thought of what had happened between himself, Rin, and Obito. Though he was painfully aware of his own helplessness, he resolved to grow stronger. He could never drift aimlessly through life like before. More than that, he would personally reclaim the eye he had lost. Even if he never used it again, he couldn't let his friend's keepsake remain in someone else's hands.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had noticed all of Kakashi's changes.

Although he didn't know what had brought them about, he was glad to see them.

"Good. Since he hasn't noticed anything, get ready to move. This time... this time, Kakashi, you won't be leading the team. Someone else will go."

"But, Lord Third—"

"No buts, Kakashi. Your eye has only just recovered, and you still need time to adjust to life without the Sharingan. Let someone else handle this mission."

In other words, Kakashi shouldn't hold everyone back.

Kakashi clenched his fist.

"I understand."

"Good. And even though you won't be taking part in the operation, that doesn't mean you have nothing to do. We've only found that person's whereabouts; the other Uchiha are still missing. Kakashi, I have a more important mission for you."

"Please, tell me."

"Go and keep an eye on Orochimaru for me. We can now be certain that his hideout is in the Land of Fields, but we don't know its exact location. The village doesn't have the manpower to keep watch on Orochimaru right now, and this mission is extremely dangerous—more dangerous than capturing that person. I wouldn't feel comfortable assigning it to anyone else. You're the only one I trust with it, Kakashi. Can I count on you?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Kakashi with a sincere expression.

What else could Kakashi say?

"No problem, Lord Third. I'll complete the mission."

"Good. Be careful. You know how dangerous Orochimaru is. Don't let your guard down."

"Yes!"

Kakashi turned and left.

"Hiruzen, are you really not going to let Root take part? The Anbu alone might not be able to capture that person."

Danzo, who had been standing in the corner of the room the whole time, finally spoke.

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at his old friend, fully aware of what he was thinking.

Danzo had repeatedly asked to send people to the Land of Rain recently. His little scheme was already obvious: he wanted to seize the Mangekyo Sharingan!

How could Hiruzen Sarutobi let him have his way?

"I trust the Anbu's abilities. Danzo, you have other missions. Don't forget the Akatsuki hiding in the shadows."

Hiruzen Sarutobi reminded him.

He had known about the Akatsuki for a long time. He had even reached an agreement with Itachi for him to infiltrate the organization. But he couldn't place his complete trust in Itachi, so Danzo would have to handle this personally.