Mission Not Over, Crisis!

Meanwhile, at the Root Organization.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Objects were being smashed against the floor incessantly.

The group of Root members standing around were all trembling with fear.

They were terrified that they might have displeased Danzo in some way and would end up as targets for his redirected rage.

"Who do the Uchiha think they are?"

"A bunch of puppets manipulated by that guy Hiruzen, yet they actually dare to be complacent..."

"Hiruzen Sarutobi, it seems you really intend to make a move against me."

"In that case..."

A sinister expression appeared on Danzo's face.

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was not particularly good either.

He had expected that upon returning to the Hokage Office, the first person he would see would be Danzo.

After all, his behavior today, which clearly favored the Uchiha, was something that guy Danzo certainly could not tolerate.

What was wrong with him?

"Lord Hokage, after Lord Danzo left, he returned to the Root Organization immediately."

"He hasn't come out since."

Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was feeling puzzled, an Anbu ninja appeared to report the specific situation.

"I understand."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's brow furrowed even deeper.

When things happen contrary to the norm, there must be a demon at play; this behavior from Danzo was undoubtedly sending out a bad signal.

As for what that guy was thinking, Hiruzen Sarutobi already had some predictions in his heart.

For a time, the issues among the upper echelons began to show signs of accelerating, catalyzed by this incident.

Returning to the person who started this whole incident—Uchiha Sasuke.

Inside the infirmary of the Military Police Force.

"Father, this might not be enough; I need more food."

"I consumed too much during the fight earlier, and I need to have a proper meal."

"As for these injuries, they'll be fine once I'm full."

"Also, that meat roll—I need three servings, it's quite delicious!"

Sasuke made his requests while continuing to eat.

Fugaku Uchiha stood to the side, the black lines on his face clearly indicating his current mood.

Who on earth becomes such a glutton after awakening a special Kekkei Genkai!?

Moreover, this wasn't something Sasuke was just making up.

Ever since Sasuke became able to eat so much, both his talent and strength had seen a qualitative leap in a short period of time.

Even his way of thinking had undergone a massive, leap-like improvement.

This latest incident, in particular, had left Fugaku Uchiha in a state of deep self-doubt.

He even wondered, is this really his own son?

It wasn't until the next morning that Sasuke was finally full.

The injuries on his body had also recovered almost completely.

"Father, you have something you want to ask me, don't you?!"

"Just ask away."

Sasuke stood up, put on his clothes, and walked into Fugaku Uchiha's office.

"Those two people yesterday..."

"I killed them, though I did pay a certain price."

"How did you..."

"By using my Kekkei Genkai, combined with the insight of the Sharingan, it wasn't difficult to accomplish."

"Specifically..."

"I can't say. Those people are dead now; no one will know it was me."

"No, that's not right. Uchiha Shisui knows. Father, should we kill Uchiha Shisui too?"

Their conversation ended there.

Fugaku Uchiha was afraid that if he kept asking, Sasuke might get the idea to take him out as well.

Although the questioning had ended, Sasuke could not leave just yet.

He had sustained significant injuries the previous night.

If he left too soon, he would certainly attract even more of Hiruzen Sarutobi's attention.

After requesting leave, Sasuke sat in the infirmary, refining his chakra with a sense of helplessness.

Soon, Itachi returned.

That was right; the reason Itachi hadn't appeared earlier was that he had gone to request leave for Sasuke.

"I'm fine now."

"Brother, who do you think is most likely to make a move against our clan in the village?"

Before Itachi could speak, Sasuke asked the question.

"Root."

Itachi gave the answer without a moment's hesitation.

"This time, Root must have learned of my talent, which is why they wanted to take me to the Root Organization."

"Brother, if we don't possess enough power ourselves, we will always be suppressed and bullied!"

"This kind of thing cannot be solved just by avoiding them or by us taking a step back."

Sasuke began to work on Itachi with his "Talk no Jutsu" once again.

It had to be said, the workload of enlightening Itachi was comparable to Naruto talking down Nagato!

The reason Sasuke brought this up was that he saw his emergency mission had not been completed yet.

In other words, the Root Organization had not given up on attacking him.

Based on Sasuke's understanding of the system, such missions usually ended once the threat was gone.

Unless the Root Organization was going to attack him again in the short term, the mission should have disappeared by now...

Therefore, he had to properly manipulate Uchiha Itachi.

This was a super-powered enforcer, after all!

At critical moments, he might even surpass Uchiha Shisui.

The two brothers' conversation shifted from their initial discussion to questions about ninjutsu, genjutsu, and chakra, eventually devolving into aimless chatter.

However, it was clear that both brothers enjoyed this atmosphere, so when the conversation ended, both were in quite a good mood.

"Sasuke!"

At that moment, a familiar voice reached Sasuke's ears.

That golden hair and the reckless way the door was pushed open... it was his best friend, Uzumaki Naruto.

Standing behind him were several other familiar figures.

Rock Lee, Hinata Hyuga, and Neji Hyuga.

"Pardon the intrusion. I am Neji Hyuga, a friend of Sasuke's."

"We heard he was injured during training, so we wanted to visit him after school."

Neji explained their purpose with a polite expression.

"Actually, it's not that serious; I'll be fine after a few days of rest."

"You all talk; I'll go prepare some fruit for you."

Uchiha Itachi smiled gently and headed out to prepare the refreshments.

"Alright, Naruto, you've checked me over several times already. I'm really fine."

A few minutes later, Sasuke grew irritable at Naruto's habit of repeatedly inspecting his body.

As expected, even if he was touched, he still wanted to beat this guy to a pulp.

After finding nothing, he actually wanted to pull down Sasuke's pants to check the Deep Sea Giant Eel...

"Sasuke, how did you get such heavy injuries from training?"

Neji finally spoke up.

At first, he had been curious as to why Sasuke had battle scars on his body.

After activating his Byakugan, Neji became even more certain of his suspicions.

Sasuke's injuries were not from training, but the result of a battle...

"Have you seen through me?"

"I was just conducting some practical training—simulated combat—with the seniors of my clan."

"And, well, I ended up getting a little hurt... Hehe..."

Sasuke shifted the topic directly.

It wasn't that he wanted to deceive them, but it was better for the others, as they were now, not to know about these things.