Conversation

After Naruto and Jiraiya retreated, they hurried to the location of Shisui Uchiha, retrieved him, and used the Flying Thunder God to return to a small town hotel.

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō had already arrived at the cliff, and Anbu ninjas were continuously rushing to the scene.

By the time they arrived, Naruto and the others had long since departed, leaving behind only the corpses of a few Root ninjas.

Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered the Anbu who had arrived to immediately scout the surroundings, while he turned to look at Shimura Danzō. "Danzō, what exactly happened here? What is the situation with Shisui Uchiha?"

Shimura Danzō replied, "Shisui Uchiha attacked me. I led the Root ninjas in pursuit until we reached here, but two rogue ninjas from other villages arrived and took him away."

Hearing Shimura Danzō say this, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a sense of certainty. As fellow disciples, he knew exactly what kind of person he was, so he asked again, "And what about those two rogue ninjas?"

"We had already surrounded Shisui Uchiha here when those two rogue ninjas suddenly appeared, claiming they wanted to recruit Shisui Uchiha into their organization," Shimura Danzō answered.

Upon hearing the word "organization," Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned and asked, "What organization?"

"They call themselves the Akatsuki, an organization that specializes in recruiting rogue ninjas. Judging by their forehead protectors, one is from Takigakure and the other from Yugakure." Shimura Danzō did not hide this, honestly stating everything he knew.

"How strong are those two rogue ninjas?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked again.

Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi inquire about their strength, Danzō gathered his thoughts and said, "Very strong. One seems to have practiced some kind of special Nintaijutsu that allows him to withstand ninjutsu head-on, while the other killed almost all the remaining Root ninjas with just a single Fire Style ninjutsu."

After pondering for a moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and said, "I understand. I will send people to identify these two ninjas. Also, Danzō, do not do anything unnecessary." After speaking, he gave Danzō a meaningful look and turned to leave.

During the previous Crystal Ball incident, he had used the excuse of not pursuing Danzō to demand one of his Root ninjas, and Danzō had always assumed Hiruzen Sarutobi knew the contents of his deal with Orochimaru, so he had gritted his teeth and agreed.

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's demeanor as he left, Shimura Danzō felt an inexplicable chill. He stopped overthinking it, as there were still many matters back at Root that required his attention.

On the other side, as soon as Naruto and the others returned to the hotel, he called out to Kurama. At this time, Shisui Uchiha had become very weak, and his tightly shut right eye was still bleeding.

Although Kurama had converted his chakra into spiritual energy, his Yang-attribute could still be used and had become even more powerful, making it perfectly capable of treating Shisui Uchiha's current injuries.

As Kurama's Yang-attribute spiritual energy condensed, a golden light erupted from Naruto's right hand. Naruto then placed his hand over the eye socket of Shisui Uchiha, who was lying on the bed.

Under the healing effects of the Yang-attribute spiritual energy, the bleeding from Shisui Uchiha's eye socket soon stopped. His tightly furrowed brows relaxed, his pained expression slowly vanished, and his breathing steadied. Naruto then ceased the treatment.

Naruto and Jiraiya stepped out, not wanting to disturb Shisui Uchiha's rest. Although his physical injuries were healed, the mental exhaustion remained, so it was best to let him get a good night's sleep.

The next day, Naruto and Jiraiya, having finished their training, stood up and walked to the room where Shisui Uchiha was staying, pushing the door open to enter.

At this moment, Shisui Uchiha had just woken up. Seeing Naruto and Jiraiya walk in, he hurriedly asked, "Who are you?"

After returning last night, they had dispelled their Transformation Technique, so Shisui Uchiha did not recognize them.

Naruto looked up at Jiraiya, had a sudden realization, and apologized before using the Transformation Technique to take on the appearance of Hidan. "We were the ones who saved you last night," he said, before dispelling the technique to return to his original form.

Seeing Naruto use the Transformation Technique, Shisui Uchiha understood. He sat up on the bed and said gratefully to Naruto and Jiraiya, "Thank you both for saving me. May I ask who you are?"

Jiraiya stepped forward and said, "My name is Jiraiya. You must have heard of me, right?"

"So it is the Sannin, Lord Jiraiya. Thank you for the rescue, my lord. And this is?" Upon hearing Jiraiya's name, Shisui Uchiha immediately recalled his identity.

Although Jiraiya had left Konoha many years ago and the new generation of ninjas had never seen him, that did not prevent them from hearing the legends of the Sannin. However, what puzzled him was that, to his knowledge, Jiraiya should be in his forties, yet the Jiraiya standing before him looked only to be in his early twenties. He was far too young, but he did not press the issue, instead turning to ask who Naruto was.

Jiraiya pointed at Naruto and said, "His name is Uzumaki Naruto. You should know him, right?"

Shisui Uchiha said with slight confusion, "Uzumaki Naruto? The jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails? Shouldn't he be in the village? What is going on here?"

Shisui Uchiha had seen Naruto before. As an Anbu ninja, he had previously carried out missions to monitor Naruto. In his impression, the Naruto he knew should have just entered the Ninja Academy and been only a little over six years old. So what was up with his height? And last night, he had witnessed his strength—that was not something a six-year-old child could possess.

During his first training session, Naruto's height had shot up significantly, and combined with his training during this period, Naruto did not look like a six-year-old child at all; in terms of height, he looked to be about ten years old.

Naruto and Jiraiya sat down, exchanged a glance, and Jiraiya began, "This is because..." Jiraiya explained a great deal, telling Shisui Uchiha why Naruto was here.

"So, Naruto intends to defect?" Shisui Uchiha asked after listening.

Jiraiya looked at Naruto and said, "No, he will only take revenge on Konoha, but he will not defect, because his father is the Fourth Hokage of Konoha—Namikaze Minato."

Hearing Jiraiya reveal Naruto's identity, Shisui Uchiha wore a look of shock and said, "How is that possible?"

He had monitored Naruto in the past and seen the life he led. He had wanted to reach out and help, but due to his missions and the instructions of the Third Hokage, he could only stand by and watch. If Naruto was the son of the Fourth, why would the Third give such orders, and why would Naruto live such a life in the village?

Although he was later reassigned to other missions, he had naturally heard the rumors about the Konoha Demon Fox.

Hearing Shisui Uchiha's shocked tone, Naruto shrugged and signaled for Jiraiya to continue: "The current Third Hokage is no longer the Shinobi Hero he was in his youth. Ever since he became Hokage, power has eroded his heart. Slowly, he has become like those politicians, skilled in schemes... as for Shimura Danzō..." Jiraiya told Shisui Uchiha everything that Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō had done.

As Jiraiya slowly recounted the truth, Shisui Uchiha became increasingly shocked. He could not believe that Konoha had decayed to such an extent.

In the current Konoha, through the intentional propaganda of Hiruzen Sarutobi and the education in the academy, the Third Hokage was considered the strongest Hokage in the hearts of the new generation of ninjas. Coupled with the fact that he performed his surface-level duties so well, most Konoha villagers viewed the Third as a competent and kind Hokage.

If these words had come from someone else, Shisui Uchiha might not have believed them, but these facts were being told by Hiruzen Sarutobi's own student, one of the Sannin, Jiraiya. He could not help but believe it.

Seeing Shisui Uchiha so shocked by the facts that he could not even speak, Jiraiya continued, "As for your Uchiha Clan, you should know that they formulated the Uchiha Clan Downfall Plan, right?"

Seeing Shisui Uchiha nod to indicate he knew, Jiraiya continued, "Konoha was founded by Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha together, so the Uchiha Clan holds high prestige in Konoha. Having your clan serve as the Konoha Military Police Force was not only to drive the Uchiha Clan away from the center of power in Konoha's high command, but also to make the civilians of Konoha hostile toward the Uchiha Clan. That way, even if your Uchiha Clan were to be wiped out in the future, the villagers would only applaud."

The people of the Uchiha Clan are naturally sensitive to emotions, which may also be related to how they awaken their eyes.

The Uchiha Clan requires strong emotional stimulation to awaken their eyes, and the most effective trigger is hatred. The stronger the hatred, the faster the awakening. Perhaps due to the way the Uchiha Clan is raised, the clan members who have already awakened their eyes and become ninjas are all warmongers, with the exception of Shisui Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha.

"Then, Lord Jiraiya, can you go and stop the Uchiha from being wiped out?" Shisui Uchiha asked, looking at Jiraiya with hopeful eyes.

Jiraiya shook his head slowly and said, "It is not just the Konoha high command that wants to wipe out the Uchiha Clan; the Uchiha also want to launch a rebellion. Even if I went back to stop it now, it would only be temporary. The seeds of hatred are still buried in the hearts of both sides, and the next time this hatred erupts, the consequences will be far more severe than they are now."

Shisui Uchiha sighed after hearing this. He understood this logic, but he couldn't help but think of the many ordinary people in the Uchiha Clan; they were all innocent.

Jiraiya saw what Shisui Uchiha was thinking and said, "However, you can rest assured that when the time comes, I will return to Konoha to save some of your clansmen, but this will be limited to the civilians who have not yet become ninjas."

Hearing Jiraiya say this, Shisui Uchiha looked up and said gratefully, "Thank you, Lord Jiraiya."

As for why they would not save the ninjas of the Uchiha Clan, this was a decision made after Jiraiya, Minato, and Naruto had discussed it.

Because of their delicate emotions, the Uchiha Clan is too easily corrupted, and the stronger they are, the more prone they are to extreme ideologies.

Among the civilians who have not become ninjas, there are many children. These children have not yet been tainted by the extreme education of the Uchiha Clan. As long as they are rescued and properly educated, they can become the fresh blood for the force they are about to build.