The Truth

Root headquarters.

At this moment, Danzo had also regained his senses.

He looked at the blood-stained kunai in his hand and began to recall the events.

It seemed that there had been a mole within his Root organization who had killed quite a few people.

In the end, he had been forced to sacrifice Shisui's precious Mangekyo Sharingan and use Izanagi just to barely manage a counter-kill.

Danzo crouched down halfway and began to examine the corpses.

To his surprise, he discovered that these bodies actually bore the exclusive markings of the Anbu.

Danzo's face darkened instantly.

He looked up toward the Hokage's office and muttered to himself, "Hiruzen, are you attempting to eliminate me even while the internal situation is unstable?"

Originally, Konoha had no Root, only the Anbu.

But following the unexpected death of Senju Tobirama, Sarutobi Hiruzen lacked sufficient influence upon taking office, and the various great clans of Konoha seized the opportunity to plant their own people within the Anbu.

They had effectively turned the Hokage's private army into a battleground for the various clans of Konoha to vie for power.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the dignified Hokage, found that his political decrees could not even make it out of his office.

Root was the product of that era.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzo, and other new elites of Konoha adopted orphans with clean backgrounds, subjecting them to brutal training to turn them into weapons devoid of independent thought.

They then transferred ninjas from their own clans into Root to provide support.

This allowed them to stand on equal footing with the Anbu controlled by the various clans.

The final result of this power struggle within Konoha was clear.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had made some unknown promises to the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, securing their status as the ironclad faction of the Hokage.

Meanwhile, the Uchiha and Hyuga clans, due to their arrogance, suffered varying degrees of suppression.

Sarutobi Hiruzen reclaimed the power of the Anbu, while Danzo took control of Root to handle the dirty work that Sarutobi Hiruzen could not bring into the light.

However, Danzo still harbored some doubts; after all, if his old friend truly wanted to assassinate him, he would never have sent these few Anbu operatives.

Could this be a warning to him?

Danzo's eyes flickered; he was well aware that Sarutobi Hiruzen was already somewhat dissatisfied with some of his recent actions.

The reason was simple: he hadn't reported his intentions to Hiruzen in advance.

Danzo took a deep breath, the utility of Kotoamatsukami manifesting at this very moment.

He began to consider whether he should first test Sarutobi Hiruzen's attitude; after all, that position was of great importance.

If Sarutobi Hiruzen could sit in it, then he, Danzo, could sit in it too!

A flash of ruthlessness appeared in Danzo's eyes.

By now, members of Root were silently cleaning up the corpses before them.

One of the leaders walked up to Danzo and said, "Apologies, Danzo, we arrived late, and Lord Yamanaka Fu is also dead."

Danzo waved his hand to indicate it was of no consequence, then signaled for his trusted subordinate to approach.

Once the subordinate was close, Danzo whispered, "Send a few reliable men to assassinate Sarutobi Hiruzen."

Upon hearing Danzo's words, the subordinate's eyes widened in shock as he stared at Danzo.

He was supposed to be a weapon without emotions, but even he could not remain calm after hearing such an outrageous order.

His expression at that moment was like a caricature of disbelief.

The subordinate pointed at himself in disbelief, "I am to take out the Hokage?"

Danzo looked at his subordinate and said helplessly, "Just send a few reliable men to test the waters; I'm not asking you to go yourself."

The subordinate then accepted the order and departed.

Danzo rubbed his temples and sat down in his chair.

For now, he could only take things one step at a time; as for the Uchiha, he would put them aside for the moment.

Uchiha Yan had just returned to the Uchiha compound when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Yan, where did you go?"

Uchiha Yan turned around to see Izumi tilting her head as she looked at him.

He casually made up an excuse, "I went to train, why?"

Uchiha Izumi reached out and hooked her arm through his, saying, "Forget it, come shopping with me."

Without waiting for Uchiha Yan to refuse, Izumi dragged him out toward the streets of Konoha.

Uchiha Yan felt the warmth of the sun enveloping him as he looked at the bustling streets of Konoha.

His mood, which had been somewhat gloomy back at Root, improved significantly.

At that moment, Izumi pulled him toward a shop that sold Three-Color Dango.

Izumi bought a few skewers of dango and took a bite herself first.

Upon tasting the sweet treat, Izumi's eyes immediately crinkled into crescents.

She casually held the snack out toward Uchiha Yan's lips and said, "Yan, try this."

Uchiha Yan opened his mouth instinctively.

The outer layer of the Three-Color Dango yielded with a soft springiness in his mouth.

The sweetness was just right, not cloying at all.

Uchiha Yan chewed twice and swallowed the dango.

"How is it?" Izumi asked, looking at him.

Uchiha Yan opened his mouth to comment, "It's alright, though it's a bit too sweet."

"Liar, you clearly like it," Izumi said with a beaming smile, "Have another one."

Uchiha Yan took the opportunity to open his mouth and eat another.

While the two of them strolled leisurely through the streets of Konoha, an assassination attempt against the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was being plotted.

Danzo's trusted subordinate found several death-row prisoners and handed them a photograph of Sarutobi Hiruzen.

He said indifferently, "Kill this man. Even if he doesn't die, you will."

The few death-row prisoners nodded expressionlessly.

Their lives had already been sold off by the man before them.

In other words, they had no right to refuse.

As the sky grew dark, Izumi finally let Uchiha Yan go.

When they parted ways, she waved at Uchiha Yan, "See you tomorrow, Yan."

Uchiha Yan also waved back, "See you tomorrow, Izumi."

When he arrived at his front door, he discovered an "uninvited guest."

Kakashi was wearing casual clothes, leaning against the wall by his door with his mask on.

Uchiha Yan looked at him and asked, "Have you made up your mind?"

Kakashi nodded, "I'm curious. My father clearly committed suicide, so why do you say there were hidden circumstances?"

Uchiha Yan opened the door and said calmly, "Follow me."

Kakashi did not hesitate and followed directly behind him.

Uchiha Yan took out the scroll from Root and handed it to Kakashi, saying, "Read it yourself, and keep your emotions in check."

Kakashi took the scroll.

His fingers trembled slightly.

The paper of the scroll had already yellowed, and the edges were worn.

Based on Kakashi's experience, this was not something that had been intentionally aged.

[Mission Number: Konoha Year 44 - Secret Code 073]
[Mission Rank: S - Classified]
[Executor: Hatake Sakumo]
[Mission Summary: Infiltrate the front lines of the Land of Grass and cut off enemy supply lines]

Kakashi knew all of this. He had heard the rumors in the village countless times after his father's mission failed—that he had abandoned the mission to save a comrade, causing Konoha to fall into a passive position during subsequent negotiations and ultimately suffer massive losses.

He had always believed this to be the truth.

Kakashi's gaze swept across the lines of records, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

It was an investigation report from the Root intelligence department.

The report pointed out that the comrade Hatake Sakumo had saved, codenamed "Crow," was in reality a ninja directly under the command of Root embedded within the Anbu.

And the fact that "Crow" had been injured and captured was, in itself, a staged performance.