Hidden Crisis, Encounter Hyuga Neji!

Upon hearing Orochimaru's request, Shimura Danzō's face remained devoid of expression.

It was as if the two of them had suddenly frozen in place, neither moving nor speaking.

After a long silence.

"I can grant you this."

"But..."

Before Danzō could finish, Orochimaru had already pulled a vial from his sleeve.

Inside, a cluster of active cells was pulsing.

"Has the viability issue been resolved?"

Danzō stood up, agitated.

"It has."

"I have been using it in live experiments during this period, and there are basically no major issues."

"Once the data is compiled, we can begin."

"It will take no more than a year."

"Therefore, I hope you can hand that brat over to me as soon as possible."

After finishing his sentence, Orochimaru tucked the vial away.

He stared at Danzō with a playful look on his face.

For Orochimaru, conspiracies were irrelevant.

With Shimura Danzō, it was a straightforward, open scheme.

He wanted Uchiha Sasuke.

Shimura Danzō wanted the technology in his hands!

It was merely a mutual exchange of needs; the two were never in a superior-subordinate relationship.

They weren't before, and they certainly weren't now.

"I understand."

"I will have him delivered to you as soon as possible."

"He is just a child, rest assured."

"Root has the capability to do so."

Danzō suppressed the flicker of dissatisfaction in his heart and spoke gently.

"Then I shall await your good news, Lord Danzō."

"I have matters to attend to in my laboratory, so I will not keep you company any longer."

After saying this, Orochimaru raised his finger.

Immediately, a snake surged from the ground, swallowed Orochimaru whole, and then vanished into white mist.

"Bang!"

Danzō smashed the table in front of him in displeasure and stood up, his face full of anger.

"My Lord!"

In an instant, three members of the Root Organization appeared before Danzō.

All three wore Fox Head masks, though the patterns on their faces differed slightly.

"This is the target."

"Find an opportunity as soon as possible to bring this brat here."

"Remember, do not let anyone else from the Uchiha clan discover you; make it clean."

Danzō finished speaking, tossed the information on Uchiha Sasuke to the three, and then turned and left.

Danzō was in a foul mood at this moment.

The three picked up Sasuke's intelligence, their expressions beneath their masks somewhat strange.

However, their mission was not to investigate why this was being done, but to execute it.

After exchanging glances, the three vanished using Body Flicker.

Of course, Sasuke could not possibly know about these events.

Even as a transmigrator, he could not predict the butterfly effect brought about by his arrival.

After training ended, Sasuke returned to his room.

The information he had leaked today was more than enough.

However, given the stubborn, honest nature of Itachi and Shisui, it shouldn't be much of a problem.

Furthermore, with Uchiha Shisui's abilities, investigating those matters wouldn't take too long.

With the seeds of suspicion already sown, Shisui wouldn't be so easily ambushed by Danzo.

Next, it was time for his own training and some infiltration of the other clans.

Infiltrating those old foxes would be difficult.

But, infiltrating their children...

[Naruto: Right, right, this Uchiha Sasuke guy is a human trafficker, he's led us all astray!]

The next day.

After completing the daily routine of quizzing Lee and Naruto on the Will of Fire, the three agreed to train together at the public training grounds after school.

"I have an announcement, due to Iruka-sensei's health reasons, I will be leading the team for next month's village outside trial."

"Today, we will continue to discuss some classic combat..."

Mizuki smiled as he announced the trial and then began today's lesson.

"Sasuke, don't you think Mizuki-sensei is acting strange?"

After class, Naruto mysteriously approached Sasuke and whispered.

"Hm?"

Sasuke was taken aback.

Has this guy Naruto finally started to get smarter?

He can already see Mizuki's problem this early?

"His hand is injured."

"Should we go and show some concern for him?"

A sunny smile appeared on Naruto's face.

Hearing this, Sasuke's expression turned dark.

As expected, this guy... is Naruto!

What was I expecting?

"Have you had enough training time?"

"You're the man who's going to be Hokage, if you don't work hard, someone will surpass you."

"Teacher naturally has his own arrangements, it wouldn't be good for us to disturb him."

"Also..."

Under Sasuke's barrage of "talk no jutsu," Naruto nodded in defeat.

The afternoon class quickly passed.

Since they weren't in the same year as Rock Lee, the two went to the public training grounds together to find him.

Soon, they arrived at the public training grounds.

However, today, in addition to Rock Lee, there was another person—Hyuga Neji!

"Lee!"

Naruto boisterously rushed over.

He didn't even notice that another person had appeared.

"Huh?"

"Who are you?"

"Your eyes, why are they the same as Hinata's eyes..."

"Right, Sasuke said this is the Byakugan... are you and Hinata both from the Hyuga Clan?"

Naruto only realized there was another person after getting closer.

"Hello, Uzumaki Naruto."

"And you, Uchiha Sasuke."

Neji looked at Sasuke with a hint of seriousness, his eyes revealing a fighting spirit.

He even activated his Byakugan with just a glance.

Upon seeing the vast amount of chakra within Sasuke's body, even though he was prepared, he was still astonished.

He even noticed.

At this moment, chakra was constantly surging within Sasuke's body...

Is this the genius friend of the Uchiha that Lee mentioned?

"Hello, Hyuga Neji."

"Did you come here to train with us?"

Sasuke greeted him generously.

He didn't mind Neji's rude behavior.

"Mm."

"However, if your performance is too poor..."

Neji didn't speak, and directly assumed the starting stance for Eight Trigrams Palms.

"Neji is very strong, let's watch their fight."

"Let's go to the side."

Lee pulled Naruto, who didn't understand the situation, and went to the side resting area to watch.

"I should not disappoint you."

"However, since it's a fight, shall we bet on something?"

Sasuke's lips curved slightly upwards, and he also assumed the starting stance for Uchiha taijutsu.

"If you lose, you will have to follow my arrangements until you surpass me."

"If I lose, it's the same."

Sasuke proposed the bet.

"Okay."

"But I will not lose!"

After Neji finished speaking, he vanished from his spot.

His speed was so fast that even Lee was surprised.

He hadn't expected Neji's strength to improve again.

"Bang!"

Sasuke raised his hand and blocked Neji's palm strike.

At the same time, the Lightning Style that surged from his arm canceled out the chakra that came with Neji's Gentle Fist.