Investigation of the Disappearance

After Uchiha Nara left, Danzo looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen and said coldly:

"The Uchiha are a clan born of evil. This Uchiha Nara is even more disrespectful and arrogant; he dared to come here and run wild. Hiruzen, you are far too lenient. Let me give the Uchiha a heavy lesson on your behalf."

The Third Hokage took his pipe from his mouth, slowly exhaled a ring of smoke, and said in a deep voice:

"It is Uchiha Nara who needs a lesson, not the other young seedlings of the village. You—why did you capture those Uchiha ninja?"

"Does it take a reason to strike at the Uchiha? After all these years, they have actually gone and elected a new clan head. Heh, can you not see the wild ambition in this Uchiha Nara?"

"Furthermore, Uchiha Nara possesses exceptional talent. Hiruzen, do you wish to watch this young man become the second Uchiha Madara?"

Danzo did not deny capturing the Uchiha ninja; instead, he sneered.

At this time, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, held a very stable grip on power. The victory in the Second Great Ninja War had pushed his reputation to an all-time high.

In particular, the Sannin he had trained and the White Fang of Konoha, who was his contemporary, were his capable right-hand men. Thus, at this moment, the Third Hokage still held the village—including the Uchiha—in his heart.

"Uchiha Nara is indeed talented, but he is still far from being Uchiha Madara. Release everyone you have captured."

The Third Hokage puffed on his pipe and said softly. When the two spoke of Uchiha Madara, they were not referring to his strength, but to his rebellion.

"Where the leaves dance, the fire burns. The fire's shadow illuminates the village and allows new leaves to sprout. I do not wish for this to happen again."

Sarutobi Hiruzen emphasized the Will of Fire and issued a stern warning.

Regarding his advisor, Shimura Danzo, and the Root organization, Sarutobi Hiruzen had always made use of them while keeping them in check.

"Hiruzen!"

Seeing the Third Hokage indulge the Uchiha to such an extent, Danzo could not help but feel a surge of anger.

"Go back and release everyone! Remember, I am the Hokage!"

The Third Hokage's voice deepened as he emphasized it once more.

"You! Hmph!"

Danzo let out a cold snort, flicked his sleeve, and departed.

Sarutobi Hiruzen took a hard drag from his pipe, narrowed his eyes, and slowly exhaled the smoke. He found the feeling of power firmly in his grasp to be quite satisfying.

Deep within an underground base in Konoha Village.

"Release the Uchiha captured a few days ago," Shimura Danzo said flatly to the masked ninja below.

"Yes!" The masked ninja received the order and vanished with a Body Flicker technique.

As the Hokage's advisor, Danzo did not dare to defy the Third Hokage's orders at this time, and not just because his authority stemmed from the Third Hokage.

The more significant reason was that Danzo was secretly conducting Wood Release experiments that the Third had already ordered to be shut down.

If the Third were to discover he had secretly restarted the forbidden Wood Release experiments, the trouble would truly be immense.

Originally, Danzo would not have captured villagers, but the experiments had reached a critical juncture and he was in urgent need of test subjects, so he had grabbed some nearby.

Coupled with his disdain for the Uchiha, whenever he saw one passing by, he would send Root members disguised as Anbu to relay a summons from the Hokage, luring them away.

Those Uchiha chunin and genin, while wary of the Anbu, dared not defy a summons from the Hokage and could only obey.

Little did they know that by following the ninja in Anbu uniforms, they were walking through the gates of the Root.

It was no different from walking through the gates of the underworld; their lives were now completely in Danzo's hands.

Danzo had initially wanted to inject these people with the First Hokage's cells to test the Wood Release. However, upon remembering they were Uchiha, he felt they were unworthy of the First Hokage's cells and hesitated.

Furthermore, he had already captured enough civilian ninja without affiliations, solving his immediate crisis. He had kept the Uchiha imprisoned, intending to consider how to use them as materials later.

He had not expected the Third to personally inquire about the missing persons. Since the Third had ordered their release, Danzo had no choice but to comply.

He had to avoid displeasing the Third, lest his Wood Release experiments be exposed, which would be a disaster.

What annoyed Danzo was that he had only captured fifteen chunin and genin, fewer than ten of whom were Uchiha, yet there were over twenty missing persons reported in Konoha.

Uchiha Nara had reported fifteen chunin and genin, which was clearly an attempt by the Uchiha to extort him.

Danzo narrowed his eyes, then shook his head. Putting it out of his mind, he stood up and walked toward the laboratory where the Wood Release experiments were underway.

"Captain, we have a lead! In the forest ten kilometers from Konoha, I extracted chakra signatures. Someone released an Earth Release jutsu here and then restored the environment afterward."

Uchiha Saburo, an elite investigator from the first squadron of the Military Police Force, reported to Nara.

"Earth Release? There are far too many ninja skilled in Earth Release. Are there any clues like bloodstains or ninja tools?" Nara asked.

"None, but I can conclude that this ninja's Earth Release is extremely refined. Anyone capable of this must be a jonin. If we narrow the search to jonin in Konoha who specialize in Earth Release, we will have a lead to solve the case!"

Uchiha Saburo analyzed.

"Hmm, that makes sense. Take me to the scene!"

"Yes!"

Nara took his guards and followed Uchiha Saburo toward the outskirts of the village. Under normal circumstances, all Konoha ninja leaving the village required mission documents from the Hokage Building.

In principle, the Military Police Force required them as well, but aside from the main gate guarded by those directly under the Hokage, other side paths and exits were guarded by Uchiha ninja.

Before Naraku adjusted the scope of the First Division's duties, the so-called Military Police Force mostly handled security and neighborhood management—a thankless job that offended people and earned no respect.

Although the relationship with the villagers hadn't yet reached the level of hostility seen in the future, the writing was already on the wall.

If not for the Military Police Force holding the vital authority to maintain public order, manage the prison, and arrest rogue ninja, they likely would have been shunned by the villagers of Konoha Village long ago.

Of course, that wasn't the worst part; the most pathetic thing was that many Uchiha clansmen still flocked to these positions that only served to alienate others.

Naraku and his party quickly crossed the streets, arriving at the perimeter of Konoha Village, where two ninja were currently guarding the high wall.

"Halt! Show your passes!" The two Uchiha Military Police members on duty were very professional; without even seeing who was approaching, they barked out their standard security script.

Naraku's guard, Uchiha Akabi, snapped at them: "You two idiots! Look closely at who is here!"

"Clan Leader!"

"Clan Leader!"

The two guards recognized the arrivals: it was Naraku accompanied by four bodyguards and Uchiha Saburo from the First Division of the Military Police.

"Keep up the good work! Remember to maintain confidentiality!" Naraku nodded. He didn't dwell on their lack of awareness, instead offering them a word of encouragement.

Naraku stood atop the high wall and performed a few hand seals. He gathered blue chakra in his palms and thrust them forward as if touching a solid wall, causing the surrounding environment to ripple.

A faint white light flickered, illuminating a space of several meters—this was a corner of the Konoha barrier.

Naraku pressed his hands against the white light and pushed outward, causing it to part and reveal the true landscape outside the village.

"It's done. Let's head out." Naraku used a Body Flicker technique to exit the village, and the others followed suit.

The high walls of Konoha were not just tall; they were reinforced with barrier ninjutsu.

Through his relationship with Uzumaki Nao and the rotating shifts of the Military Police, Naraku had spent much time probing for information. Having long since grasped the operating patterns and hand seals of the barrier, he bypassed the wall with ease.