Got Played

"Hmph, it seems you still aren't willing to admit it..."

"Then I'll spell it out."

"Back then, while Itachi and I were carrying out the clan's extermination, one of your subordinates showed up wearing a Fox Ghost Mask and carrying the Pure White Sword!"

"He deliberately let me beat him, then stole all the Sharingan and left!"

"Could it be..."

"That all of this was done on your orders?"

"Shimura Danzō!"

As he spoke the name, the Masked Man fixed his eyes on Danzō, enunciating each syllable.

If he hadn't needed to find out what had happened to the Sharingan, he would have wanted to finish the old man off right then and there.

However, at that moment,

after hearing the Masked Man's words,

Shimura Danzō suddenly jolted, his expression changing slightly.

"Hmm?"

"You said... someone wearing a Fox Ghost Mask?"

Then, as if he'd thought of something, his gaze suddenly narrowed, and he said quickly, his expression darkening:

"Impossible!"

"There has never been anyone wearing a Fox Ghost Mask in Root!"

"As for the Pure White Sword, I've never even heard of it!"

"That night, all my men were watching the Uchiha Clan's compound, as well as Hiruzen and the others!"

"It's impossible that anyone went to steal your Sharingan!"

"Besides,"

"if I were going after you, why would I send only one person?"

"How could there possibly be anyone in all of Konoha capable of taking on both you and Itachi Uchiha?"

At this point, Shimura Danzō suddenly drew in a sharp breath and narrowed his eyes. His voice was grave as he said:

"Madara Uchiha, haven't you realized—"

"It seems we've both... been played by the same person!"

The moment he finished speaking, the Masked Man's expression stiffened.

He wasn't one of Danzō's men?

He had suspected Danzō was putting on an act, but after hearing those words, a sudden sense of unease took hold of him!

He'd found it strange even then—

why someone as powerful as Fox Ghost would choose to work for Danzō...

And when he'd shown up, he'd clearly mentioned a mission to "silence" someone. In the end, though, he'd simply stolen the Sharingan and then vanished without a trace...

It was all completely contradictory!

It was entirely possible

that the real reason he'd shown up was to steal the Sharingan!

"...Tch."

The Masked Man clenched his teeth slightly.

At that moment, even he couldn't help beginning to believe Danzō's explanation.

That man had probably been using Danzō from the very beginning to draw his attention away, making it possible to steal the Sharingan!

Hmph... What a perfect plan to pit us against each other!

The Masked Man narrowed his eyes, an anger unlike anything he'd felt before showing in his gaze.

Danzō's expression was naturally grim as well,

but he still raised his head and looked at the Masked Man, speaking solemnly:

"Madara Uchiha, perhaps this is our chance to start working together again."

"If Fox Ghost knew about the clan extermination plan and took advantage of the opportunity to steal the Sharingan..."

"then he could very well be someone close to either of us!"

"As long as we uncover his true identity, the Sharingan... can still be ours!"

Danzō's tone was resolute, and he sounded utterly sincere.

"..."

The Masked Man, too, thought it over for a long while before finally giving a cold snort and speaking in a low voice:

"Hmph, then we'll continue working together—"

"We have to find Fox Ghost as soon as possible and take back the Sharingan!"

"I'll... come find you again."

As he finished speaking,

a black vortex appeared before the Masked Man's eyes. His body was quickly drawn into it, and then he vanished.

Apparently, he was going to start investigating.

Afterward, Shimura Danzō quickly summoned a Root member and issued a firm, stern order:

"Go investigate at once!"

"Find out whether any man wearing a Fox Ghost Mask and carrying a Pure White Sword has appeared in Konoha in the past few days!"

"Also, immediately put out the highest-level bounty in every country in the Ninja World—"

"Set it at 90 million ryō! Put a bounty on this man!"

"?"

What?

!90 million?

The Root ninja's expression changed drastically. He was completely stunned.

He'd never heard of anyone in the world receiving such an enormous bounty all at once...

A few days later, in Amegakure.

When Chen Xiaoxi saw the bounty notice Konan handed him,

he almost burst out laughing.

There wasn't a single photograph or drawing on it.

It contained only a few brief lines of description, with keywords like "Fox Ghost Mask," "Pure White Sword," and "has been seen crossing Konoha's borders."

As for who had issued the bounty,

it only vaguely stated that it came from Konoha, without specifying who was behind it.

And yet, despite how unreliable the notice seemed,

it brazenly bore the highest-level bounty mark.

The reward was... a full 90,000,000 ryō!

Chen Xiaoxi raised his eyebrows slightly, unable to keep from chuckling to himself.

Well, well...

It seemed Shimura Danzō was truly willing to spend big to get the Sharingan. He'd even put out a bounty of the highest possible level.

When he'd first seen the eight-digit reward,

Chen Xiaoxi had almost thought he'd wandered into One Piece.

Although Chen Xiaoxi was a transmigrator and wasn't familiar with the purchasing power of the Ninja World's currency,

he did know this much.

In the Ninja World, a bounty didn't represent strength alone. A ninja's identity and the level of threat they posed to a country or village also had to be taken into account.

Besides, bounties weren't fixed.

As a wanted person's influence grew, it was possible for multiple factions to place bounties on them at the same time.

When that happened, the bounty would keep rising.

In the original story, Asuma Sarutobi, one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja of the Land of Fire, had a bounty of 35 million.

His comrade Jirōbō, who had also once been one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja of the Land of Fire, had a bounty of 30 million.

But the difference was

that their bounties had gradually accumulated over years of work in the Ninja World, on top of their status.

Yet Chen Xiaoxi had started out with 90 million right away, which naturally seemed outrageous.

"So, Chen Xiaoxi?"

"Have you seen anyone who matches the description on this bounty notice?"

Konan turned to Chen Xiaoxi and asked.

"No."

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

"Kakuzu got it."

"He's always out collecting high-value bounty missions, and this is the most unusual one he's found so far."

"According to Kakuzu—"

"Every member of the Akatsuki can keep a copy of this bounty notice, so we can take the mission whenever we want."

"..."

Hearing that, Chen Xiaoxi couldn't help grinning to himself.

Well, well.

I'm supposed to catch myself?

Now that's interesting...