Ryosuke knew that no matter how he answered, it wouldn't matter anymore.
With Danzo's personality, unless Ryosuke could kill him right then and there,
Danzo would never give up on the Sharingan.
And this war was the perfect opportunity for him.
"Yes, Lord Danzo. I understand. But what do I get out of this?"
Ryosuke wasn't willing to be someone's tool, especially when the risks were this high.
As for how things would ultimately turn out, he honestly couldn't say.
After all, this was a war. He couldn't guarantee that Sanhe and Miyuki would be safe.
The same went for Shisui.
Since the Cloud Ninja had dared to wage war against Konoha, they would naturally have taken the Uchiha Clan's strength into account.
Don't forget that the Second Hokage had died at the hands of the Cloud Ninja.
And even if none of them got hurt, Danzo would probably cause trouble anyway.
Danzo stared at Ryosuke, seeming surprised by his words.
After all, no one in Root dared to defy him, let alone make demands.
"What do you want?"
Danzo didn't immediately offer any benefits. Instead, he asked Ryosuke.
"I want to take a look inside the Forbidden Jutsu Room, or you could train me for a while, Lord Danzo."
Ryosuke spoke calmly.
The Forbidden Jutsu Room in Konoha held every S-rank jutsu developed from the village's founding to the present, including high-level jutsu Konoha had acquired from elsewhere over the years.
In the original timeline, Naruto had taken a forbidden jutsu scroll from the Forbidden Jutsu Room and learned the S-rank jutsu that made him famous: the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique.
If Ryosuke could get permission to enter, then with his Sharingan and the system's abilities, he could master a large number of high-level jutsu in a very short time.
As for having Danzo train him,
Ryosuke thought it was the best way available to learn shape transformation for ninjutsu.
Danzo's Wind Release techniques were among the best in the Shinobi World, after all.
Danzo probably wouldn't teach him wholeheartedly, but even learning a few tricks would be invaluable to Ryosuke.
"Lord Danzo."
The two Root members beside Danzo immediately stepped forward, apparently thinking that Ryosuke's request was far too rude.
But Danzo raised a hand to stop them.
"Fine. If you can bring me a Sharingan, I'll consider your terms."
"No, Lord Danzo. Considering it isn't enough. I want your promise."
Ryosuke stood firm.
"Uchiha brat, don't push your luck."
The Root member from the Yamanaka Clan snapped.
His orange hair was so conspicuous that Ryosuke recognized him at a glance.
But Ryosuke didn't even look at him. He continued speaking to Danzo. "The Sharingan is an important weapon of the Uchiha Clan. If the other clan members find out I did something like this, they'll definitely expel me from the Uchiha Clan. So I don't think my terms are unreasonable."
Danzo narrowed his eyes at Ryosuke, seemingly weighing his options.
A moment later, he finally spoke. "I can agree to your terms, but first you have to get me what I want."
"Deal."
Ryosuke turned and left.
Only after Ryosuke had disappeared from view
did the Root member from the Yamanaka Clan speak. "Lord Danzo, why did you agree to that brat's terms? If you wanted the Sharingan, why didn't you just take it from him earlier?"
Danzo glared at him. "These are extraordinary times. How could I possibly do something like that?"
"Besides, his eyes only have two tomoe and no special ocular power. He doesn't meet my requirements."
"Yes, I understand."
Danzo and his group soon left the forest as well.
Ryosuke took another route back to Sasuke's house.
But when he reached the second-floor window, he sensed a terrifying presence at the entrance.
"You're back?"
Uchiha Fugaku's eyes gleamed in the dim light.
"Clan Leader."
Ryosuke felt his scalp tingle.
Only then did he realize how careless he'd been. This was Uchiha territory. How could Root members come and go without being noticed?
Uchiha Fugaku glanced at Ryosuke. "Go back and get some rest. Don't go out at night again. It's not safe."
With that, he headed back inside.
Ryosuke breathed a sigh of relief, but he was also puzzled.
Why hadn't Fugaku asked what he'd gone out to do?
Or did he already know and had simply chosen not to bring it up?
Ryosuke pushed aside his doubts, climbed onto the windowsill, and returned to Sasuke's room.
Sasuke was fast asleep, murmuring the names of Ryosuke and Itachi in his dreams.
After lying down, Ryosuke went over everything that had happened that day, but there were still plenty of things he couldn't figure out.
Before long, he fell asleep.
"Ryosuke, big brother, wake up."
Early the next morning, Sasuke woke Ryosuke again.
"We're going to be late. Hurry up, or we won't make it."
Sasuke brought Ryosuke his clothes and urged him on.
"Got it."
Ryosuke and Sasuke ran out of the house together, leaving Mikoto's calls behind them.
After dropping Sasuke off at school,
Ryosuke headed to the training ground outside the village again.
He didn't know where to find Shisui, Sanhe, or Miyuki.
Usually, teammates would tell one another where they lived.
But the Uchiha Clan was an exception.
Fortunately, Sanhe and Miyuki soon arrived at the training ground.
Neither of them was wearing the Uchiha Clan's distinctive clothes. Instead, they had changed into green ninja outfits.
"You seriously only have that one outfit? Didn't you make a lot of money on your last mission?"
Sanhe looked at Ryosuke's clothes and couldn't resist teasing him.
"No need."
Ryosuke couldn't be bothered to entertain him.
"Ryosuke, are you confident?"
Miyuki looked at Ryosuke seriously as she asked.
"Confident about what?"
"About this mission, of course. We're going up against the Cloud Ninja's Anbu."
Miyuki's voice grew low.
Even Sanhe unusually kept quiet.
"Don't be so pessimistic. The Third Hokage isn't crazy enough to send us to our deaths. I doubt there'll be many enemies, and we'll also have Shisui-sensei..."
Before Ryosuke could finish, Miyuki cut him off.
"Ryosuke, we're teammates, aren't we?"
Ryosuke looked at her but didn't answer, because he didn't know what she meant.
"I know you're young, Ryosuke, but you're much stronger than us. Even the clan leader has praised you. My parents say you're a genius ninja, just like Itachi and Shisui-sensei."
"So I want to ask you: if things come to it, please help us."
After speaking, Miyuki actually bowed to Shisui.
"Miyuki, what are you doing? Why are you asking him? I don't think he's stronger than me."
Before you continue