Fooled

"Hmph, it seems you aren't prepared to confess..."

"Then, I will speak plainly."

"At the time, while Itachi Uchiha and I were carrying out the clan extermination, that guy among your subordinates—the one wearing a Fox Ghost mask and carrying a Pure White Sword—appeared!"

"He first intentionally lost to me, then stole all the Sharingan and left!"

"Could it be..."

"Wasn't all of this done under your orders?"

"Danzo Shimura!"

As he reached the end, the Masked Man stared fixedly at Danzo, enunciating almost every word.

If not for the need to obtain the whereabouts of the Sharingan, he would have wanted to finish off this old man right then and there.

However, at this moment.

After hearing the Masked Man's words, Danzo Shimura suddenly gave a violent start, his expression shifting abruptly.

"Hmm?"

"You say... a guy wearing a Fox Ghost mask?"

Immediately following, as if he had thought of something, his eyes narrowed and his face turned grim as he spoke rapidly:

"Impossible!"

"In my Root organization, there has never been any member with a Fox Ghost mask!"

"As for a pure white sword, I have never even heard of such a thing!"

"That night, all of my subordinates were monitoring the Uchiha Clan's compound and Hiruzen and his people!"

"It is absolutely impossible for anyone to have gone to steal your Sharingan!"

"Furthermore,"

"If I were to deal with you, how could I possibly have sent only one person!"

"In all of Konoha, how could there exist anyone capable of dealing with both you and Itachi Uchiha at the same time?"

Speaking to this point, Danzo Shimura suddenly drew a sharp breath, then narrowed his eyes and said with extreme gravity:

"Madara Uchiha, haven't you realized it yet—"

"It seems that both of us... have been played by the same person!"

As his voice fell, the Masked Man's expression stiffened.

Not Danzo's man?

Having originally suspected that Danzo was acting, after hearing these words, a sudden, ominous premonition arose in his heart!

At the time, he had found it strange, Why was the strength of that Fox Ghost so great, yet he chose to work for Danzo...

Moreover, when he appeared, he clearly spoke of a mission regarding "silencing witnesses," yet in the end, he simply stole the Sharingan and vanished completely...

All of this was entirely self-contradictory!

It was highly likely that, His true purpose for appearing was the Sharingan all along!

"...Tsk."

Thinking of this, the Masked Man gritted his teeth slightly.

At this moment, even he could not help but start to believe Danzo's explanation.

That guy had likely been intentionally using Danzo from the very beginning to divert his attention, thereby successfully stealing the Sharingan!

Hmph... what a truly perfect plan to incite conflict!

The Masked Man narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze revealing an unprecedented fury.

At this time, Danzo's expression was naturally just as grim, However, he still raised his head, looked at the Masked Man, and said solemnly:

"Lord Madara Uchiha, perhaps now is our chance to resume our cooperation."

"Since that Fox Ghost knew of the existence of the extermination plan and took advantage of that moment to steal the Sharingan..."

"Then, it is highly likely that he is someone close to one of us!"

"As long as we find his true identity, the Sharingan... can still belong to us!"

Danzo spoke with a firm tone, appearing quite sincere.

"..."

And the Masked Man, after pondering for a long time, finally let out a cold snort and spoke in a low voice:

"Hmph, then let's continue our cooperation—"

"We must find the existence of the Fox Ghost Mask as quickly as possible and reclaim the Sharingan!"

"I... will come find you again."

As the words fell, In front of the Masked Man's eyes, a black vortex appeared, and his entire body was rapidly drawn into it, finally disappearing.

Clearly, he seemed to be starting his investigation.

And then, Danzo Shimura quickly summoned a member of Root and commanded sternly and decisively:

"Go investigate for me at once!"

"Have any men wearing the Fox Ghost Mask and carrying a pure white sword appeared in Konoha within these past few days!"

"And immediately issue the highest-level bounty mission across all the Ninja World countries—"

"For 90 million Ryo! Directly bounty this person!"

"?"

What?

!90 million?

The Root ninja's face changed drastically upon hearing this, and he was utterly stunned.

He had never heard of anyone in his life possessing such an enormous bounty at once...

A few days later, in Amegakure.

When Chen Xiaoxi saw a bounty notice handed to him by Konan, He almost burst out laughing.

There was no photograph or portrait on it.

It only contained a few lines of description, with keywords such as "Fox Ghost Mask," "pure white sword," and "having entered and exited Konoha's borders."

And the issuer of the bounty, Had only vaguely indicated that they were from Konoha, without specifying who it was.

However, such an unreliable bounty notice, Still boldly displayed the even more outrageous highest-level bounty mark below.

The bounty was... a full 90,000,000 Ryo!

Chen Xiaoxi raised his eyebrows slightly and couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.

Good heavens...

It seemed Danzo Shimura was truly willing to pay a hefty price to obtain the Sharingan, even issuing such a highest-spec bounty.

Upon seeing this eight-figure bounty just now, Chen Xiaoxi almost thought he had transmigrated into One Piece.

Although as a transmigrator, Chen Xiaoxi was not familiar with the purchasing power of currency in the Ninja World.

However, he did know that.

In the Ninja World's bounties, the bounty was not entirely equivalent to a symbol of strength; at the same time, one had to consider the ninja's identity and the threat they posed to the country or ninja village.

Furthermore, such bounties were not fixed.

As the influence of the wanted individual expanded, multiple forces might simultaneously issue bounties for them.

In this way, the bounty would continue to increase.

And in the original work, Asuma Sarutobi, one of the Land of Fire's Guardian Shinobi Twelve, had a bounty of 35 million.

His companion Jirōbō, also one of the Land of Fire's Guardian Shinobi Twelve, had a bounty of 30 million.

But the difference was, Their bounties were accumulated over time due to their identities and years of hard work in the Ninja World.

Yet Chen Xiaoxi, starting with ninety million, naturally seemed absurd.

"How is it, Chen Xiaoxi?"

"Have you seen anyone matching the description on the bounty notice?"

Konan, standing beside him, asked Chen Xiaoxi.

"No."

Chen Xiaoxi simply smiled and shook his head, saying, "Where did this bounty notice come from?"

"Kakuzu got it."

"He's been collecting all sorts of high-value bounty missions outside, and this one is currently the most special."

"According to Kakuzu—"

"Every member of the Akatsuki can keep this bounty poster, so they can complete the mission at any time in the future.

"..."

Hearing this, Chen Xiaoxi was delighted.

Good heavens, I'm capturing myself?

This is getting interesting...

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