The Root members who had been assigned to pursue Shisui lowered their heads, not daring to say a word.
All they could do was endure Danzo's reprimand.
At that moment, Danzo's mind raced. If the Uchiha found out Shisui was missing, would they launch their coup ahead of schedule?
Danzo gripped his cane tightly, his face dark and sullen.
No. He had to move up the operation.
While Danzo was lecturing his subordinates, Uchiha Yan used his Sharingan's copying ability to forge farewell letters from Shisui and Itachi.
The letter Shisui had supposedly left behind went roughly like this:
Shisui had met with Danzo in secret, but Danzo had attacked him, leaving him mortally wounded. Shisui hoped the Uchiha Clan would put the village's interests first, and so on.
However, Uchiha Yan had no intention of letting the letter surface so soon. Instead, he also fabricated the appearance of Shisui and Itachi leaving on a mission.
Given the tense relationship between the Uchiha and Konoha's High Command, neither Fugaku nor the other Uchiha could personally go ask Danzo or Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi about it.
Besides, Itachi and Shisui were close, practically inseparable.
Naturally, no one would suspect anything.
Danzo, for his part, was more than happy to have Shisui disappear.
That way, with Itachi and Shisui temporarily gone,
the Uchiha coup would be delayed, and he could let Danzo and Hiruzen tear each other apart.
Uchiha Yan was plotting to turn Konoha's High Command against itself.
Only then did Sarutobi Hiruzen learn from the Anbu that a battle had taken place in the Forest of Death.
They could confirm that one of those involved was a Fire Release expert.
But they didn't know who the expert's opponent had been.
Sarutobi Hiruzen rubbed his temples and waved dismissively at the Anbu member. "Got it. You can go."
Outside Root headquarters.
Uchiha Yan appeared at the entrance to Root headquarters like a ghost.
He had already changed into Root's uniform, and two companions—his Shadow Clones—followed behind him.
Drawing on the memories of the expendable Root member, Uchiha Yan made his way into headquarters.
From the man's description, Uchiha Yan had already formed a rough picture of Root headquarters.
Still, the place before him was beyond anything he'd expected.
Both sides of the corridor were lined with human and animal corpses preserved in formalin.
The stench of blood in the air was nauseating.
Since the facility was underground, the air was unusually damp.
Uchiha Yan felt a wave of discomfort.
Just then, a masked Root member stopped him.
"Ding, Lord Danzo has ordered an emergency assembly."
Uchiha Yan lowered his head slightly. "Yes, sir."
Then, following his memories, Uchiha Yan went to the place where Danzo issued orders.
The open square grew crowded as Root members gathered.
Leaning on his cane, Danzo slowly stepped onto the raised platform above, which was lined with a railing.
He looked down and surveyed the crowd. "I called you here because I have a mission for you."
"This mission concerns Konoha's survival."
The Root members, tools whose humanity had long since been erased, all raised their heads.
They stared at Danzo with dead-fish eyes.
Danzo was pleased with their reaction.
He stamped his cane against the ground. "Your mission is to find Uchiha Shisui and bring him back. I want him alive or dead. Understood?"
His voice carried unquestionable authority.
The Root members in the square shouted in unison, "Yes, Lord Danzo!"
Their voices echoed through the square.
Only then did Danzo speak again. "All right, dismissed. Those assigned to monitor the Uchiha, stay behind."
At Danzo's words, the square, which had been packed with people, was suddenly left with only Uchiha Yan and his two Shadow Clones.
Danzo had dispatched everyone he could to find Uchiha Shisui.
Only he remained in the square.
Danzo slowly came down from the platform, fixing his gaze on Uchiha Yan. "Any news from the Uchiha? Have you found out what happened to the missing Root member?"
Uchiha Yan pretended to look ashamed. "I'm sorry, Lord Danzo. I haven't found any clues about the missing Root member, but I did find—"
"Found what?"
Danzo sounded excited. He instantly closed the distance between them.
Uchiha Yan leaned in and whispered in his ear, "I saw, Lord Danzo's—"
Before he could finish, Uchiha Yan drew a Kunai and stabbed Danzo in a vital spot.
"Guh!"
Danzo stared down in disbelief at the Kunai lodged in his heart.
A trace of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
He felt his life slowly slipping away.
Uchiha Yan looked at the system options.
Option 1: Kotoamatsukami
Option 2: Izanagi
Option 3: A small amount of Hashirama Cells
Uchiha Yan had ways to obtain both the first and second options.
So he chose the third: Hashirama Cells.
After reading the option's description, Uchiha Yan felt a warm current flow through his body, but nothing else happened.
By then, Danzo had realized that an insider had infiltrated Root.
He looked at the traitor before him, the corner of his mouth curling in mockery.
"Izanagi."
As soon as the words left his mouth, he vanished from where he stood and appeared behind the traitor.
"Let's see who you really are!"
Danzo spoke in a low voice.
Then he pulled out a Kunai and drove it straight into the traitor's vital spot.
When the smoke cleared, the person before him turned out to be a Shadow Clone.
Uchiha Yan realized that he could still receive a reward when his opponent used Izanagi.
But he had no time to think about anything else. Uchiha Yan began assessing his opponent.
He knew perfectly well that Danzo's Izanagi lasted one minute.
During that time, he only needed to keep Danzo under control.
With that in mind, he pulled out the Sealing Jutsu scroll he had prepared in advance.
Barrier: Silent Lotus Formation.
Uchiha Yan had bought the scroll specifically for this purpose on the black market.
Its main effect was that no matter what happened inside the sealing barrier, no one outside could see or hear it.
All they could see was a hazy gray interior. Even sensory ninja could only detect that there was no chakra inside.
Unless the user died, ran out of chakra, or ended it voluntarily, the sealing barrier would remain in place.
Since it was a scroll, it could only last about two minutes.
That was more than enough for Uchiha Yan.
Although Danzo had lost a Sharingan, he didn't feel the slightest regret.
Even if it had been Shisui's eye.
After all, as long as he found Shisui, he could get himself a second eye.
Danzo and Uchiha Yan continued fighting.
Danzo formed Hand Seals.
Wind Release: Vacuum Bullets!
Then he spat out a series of air bullets, each like a transparent projectile.
Uchiha Yan's expression didn't change. The terrifying visual acuity of his Three-Tomoe Sharingan made it easy for him to dodge the attack.
Danzo wasn't alarmed when his attack missed. He had already seen the Three-Tomoe Sharingan in the traitor's eyes.
All he had to do was make enough noise to keep the fight going until his trusted subordinates arrived.
At the very least, they could seriously injure the traitor. They might even kill or capture him alive.
Then they could work directly with Hiruzen and the others to carry out a major purge of the Uchiha.
Thinking of this, Danzo couldn't help but give a quiet snort.
But as the fight continued, Danzo began to sense that something was wrong.
They had been fighting for half a minute, making a tremendous racket.
So why hadn't any reinforcements arrived?
Danzo suddenly recalled one fatal detail.
The scroll in Uchiha Yan's hand.
Danzo fixed Uchiha Yan with a gaze like a venomous snake. "A sealing barrier? So you've been plotting this for a long time."
Before you continue