Uchiha Shisui's face was full of regret.
After realizing that Sarutobi Hiruzen was a hypocritical Hokage, he had told him the secret of his Mangekyō Sharingan and Kotoamatsukami. There was no doubt that he had put himself in danger.
And now Shimura Danzō knew the secret too. As the leader of Root, he would never tolerate a power he couldn't control.
After realizing the Third's hypocrisy,
Uchiha Shisui understood many things in an instant!
"Wait!"
A strange glint flashed in Uchiha Gray's eyes. "We need to get to the Land of Waves immediately!"
Uchiha Gray's body tensed, his nerves on edge!
This was bad!
Because of faulty intelligence, he had overlooked something. Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't the biggest concern. No matter what, he was the Third.
Even when he resorted to schemes, he did so openly.
But Shimura Danzō was narrow-minded and absolutely couldn't tolerate anything beyond his control. In a fit of rage, he was very likely to tell Orochimaru about this!
"Shimura Danzō might send Root shinobi after us!"
Uchiha Gray couldn't exactly say that Shimura Danzō would contact Orochimaru, so he put it another way.
If it was just Root shinobi, they would be no trouble at all for Uchiha Shisui.
In the worst-case scenario, if Root shinobi and Orochimaru came after them together, even if they couldn't kill Uchiha Shisui, they could still threaten Gray.
Most importantly, Gray couldn't be sure whether Orochimaru had undergone his body-transfer technique yet.
If he hadn't, then while his resistance to genjutsu wasn't so weak, Orochimaru's strength was definitely on par with Uchiha Shisui's.
"What!?"
"How is that possible!? Shimura Danzō is the leader of Root. No matter how much he discriminates against the Uchiha Clan, he wouldn't dare do something like that so brazenly, would he?"
Although Uchiha Shisui had realized that Konoha had a dark side, he still instinctively defended it.
That was Uchiha Shisui's kindness—and his fatal weakness!
Uchiha Gray glanced at him impassively. "You overestimate human nature. You overestimate Shimura Danzō even more."
"You're publicly on Sarutobi Hiruzen's side. If Sarutobi Hiruzen orders you to use Kotoamatsukami to control Danzō, then Danzō will be helpless. No one would just sit back and accept that."
Uchiha Shisui's kindness would become the noose around his neck.
But it was precisely that kindness that let Uchiha Gray trust him without reservation!
He couldn't be bothered to explain further to Uchiha Shisui.
The thickheaded needed a taste of the real world!
"Stay alert. If nothing unexpected happens, Danzō's men will come after us today!"
"Let's hurry to the Land of Waves."
After speaking, Uchiha Gray gave Dolif a somewhat pitying look.
What a poor old man.
He'd thought he was the one who'd brought trouble down on them, but in the end, they were the ones who'd dragged him into the abyss.
If Orochimaru arrived before they reached the Land of Waves, Dolif's chances of survival would be a hundred percent zero!
Orochimaru would summon Manda once.
Then Manda would, as usual, mistake Dolif for a snack and gobble him up...
Two hours later, the three arrived safely in the Land of Waves.
It seemed that even traveling from Otogakure to the Land of Waves took time. And there was no way to communicate over long distances yet. So, thanks to the difference in their arrival times, Orochimaru hadn't reached them yet.
"Dolif, you should head home first. We have some business to take care of. Once we're done, we'll help you deal with Gato."
Uchiha Gray said calmly.
Dolif beamed with joy, thanked them repeatedly, then left.
[ Ding! Land of Waves mission sign-in successful! ]
[ Congratulations, host! You have obtained 10% of Kizaru's Glint-Glint Fruit ability template and a Sage Body! ]
[ Ding! Congratulations! Kizaru's Glint-Glint Fruit ability template has reached 24% progress. You have obtained Light Weapon! ]
Even Uchiha Gray, usually as calm as still water, felt a surge of joy at that moment.
In an instant,
Uchiha Gray's appearance began to change. His whole being filled with a sunny, natural aura, as if he were nature itself.
His body was undergoing a complete transformation too!
The Sage Body thoroughly remade Uchiha Gray's body, making the cells within him incredibly powerful!
If his cells had once been grains of rice, now they were plump soybeans, brimming with vitality and bursting with energy.
The speed and capacity of his chakra production increased instantly to an unimaginable degree, as though it were limitless and inexhaustible!
Back in his previous life, many people had debated why Senju Hashirama was so powerful. Was it because of Wood Release, or because of his Sage Body?
Back then, Uchiha Gray couldn't give a definite answer. Now, he could say it was because of the Sage Body!
The Sage Body was like a massive amplifier. Any ninjutsu, any kind of power, could shine brilliantly in the hands of someone with a Sage Body.
In Yamato's hands, Wood Release was only useful for building houses.
In the hands of a Sage, it became the world-destroying Wood Monster Demon God.
Fire Release in the hands of an ordinary shinobi became a sea of flames stretching for thousands of miles in the hands of someone with a Sage Body.
Water Release in the hands of an ordinary shinobi became a vast ocean in the hands of someone with a Sage Body!
That was the Sage Body: chakra reserves comparable to the Nine-Tails, and a ninjutsu's power pushed to terrifying, bone-chilling levels!
More importantly, Uchiha Gray felt a Power of All Things in Nature stirring within his Sharingan, as if it were evolving toward the Mangekyō Sharingan!
But Uchiha Gray knew very well that no matter how powerful the Sage Body was, it couldn't force his Three-Tomoe Sharingan to evolve into the Mangekyō Sharingan.
They were fundamentally different.
Even the Sage of Six Paths had only evolved his Three-Tomoe Sharingan into the Rinnegan after his younger brother died.
On another front, when Kizaru's Glint-Glint Fruit ability template reached 24% progress, Gray gained a new skill: Light Weapon!
It was an application of the Glint-Glint Fruit's power.
It allowed light to be transformed into an incredibly hot and powerful weapon.
Light Weapon possessed the speed and heat of light, giving it tremendous killing power!
Even Orochimaru's Kusanagi Sword couldn't withstand such terrifying force.
"Now I have the strength of an Elite Jonin. Even if I can't beat Orochimaru, I have the means to protect myself!"
"And once I've fully mastered my body's abilities, I'll truly be a Kage Level powerhouse!"
Uchiha Gray's eyes burned with excitement.
He hadn't expected the thing that would first make him a Kage Level powerhouse to be neither Kizaru's Glint-Glint Fruit ability template
nor the Mangekyō Sharingan,
but the all-around improvement to his physical abilities after gaining the Sage Body!
Before you continue