Danzo's Move

As time passed, Duanmu grew increasingly proficient with the Rasengan. As for other basic ninjutsu, he had long since committed them to memory.

At the same time, Duanmu had more or less figured out his own chakra natures. Through repeated attempts and chakra-condensing exercises, he was pleasantly surprised to discover that he actually possessed all five natures: wind, lightning, water, earth, and fire.

In the weeks before the night of the Uchiha massacre, Duanmu had also fully mastered the Rasengan, its power several times greater than when he had first used it.

Meanwhile, within the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Fugaku had already begun preparing for a coup, and the atmosphere inside the clan had grown increasingly tense because of it.

Shisui and Itachi tried many times to mediate, hoping to find a path that could preserve the Uchiha's honor while avoiding an armed clash with the village, but their efforts achieved very little.

Fugaku had been swept along by the emotions of the radicals within the clan, and with years of accumulated suspicion toward Konoha's higher-ups added on top, he had already made up his mind to use force to fight for the status the Uchiha deserved.

In their daily lives, Duanmu and Naruto also noticed that Sasuke's mood was becoming more and more depressed. He often sat alone in a corner, staring blankly into space, and trained even harder than before, as if he wanted to vent all his energy on the wooden posts.

"Duanmu, what's been up with Sasuke these past few days? He always looks like someone owes him money, and when he trains, he acts like he's trying to get himself killed. Last time during sparring, he almost snapped the wooden post in half." As Naruto practiced basic taijutsu movements, he secretly glanced at Sasuke, who was practicing shuriken alone not far away, and couldn't help complaining to Duanmu.

Duanmu had just finished a set of chakra-refining exercises. Hearing this, he wiped the sweat from the corner of his forehead and followed Naruto's gaze.

Sasuke was standing in front of the target, shuriken shooting out like meteors. Every single one struck the bull's-eye with precision, but the gloom and agitation in his eyes were even sharper than the blades of the shuriken.

Duanmu knew that as the night of the massacre approached, the pressure inside the Uchiha was constantly bearing down on him.

A few days later, news spread through the village that the Uchiha clan was preparing to hold a meeting. Like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, the news stirred up ripples in the village—not too large, but not too small either.

To ordinary villagers, a meeting of the Uchiha clan might have been nothing more than a routine internal affair of an old family. But to those at the center of power, or those who sensed the undercurrents in the village, the meaning hidden behind this news was anything but ordinary.

When Duanmu heard the news, he was sparring with Naruto in taijutsu. Naruto was caught off guard and tripped to the ground by a sweeping kick from Duanmu. He sat up, rubbing his butt, still muttering, "Duanmu, why'd you suddenly get distracted?"

Duanmu's gaze was somewhat heavy. He looked toward the Uchiha clan grounds in the center of the village, that area surrounded by tall courtyard walls, and thought to himself, Is it finally coming? The curtain on the night of the massacre seems to have already risen.

He forced a smile and pulled Naruto up. "It's nothing. I was probably just too focused on training. Again!"

At dusk, Danzo found Shisui.

"Lord Danzo, is something the matter? The meeting is about to begin." Shisui stood with his back to the setting sun, half-hidden in shadow, only one bandaged eye and his tightly pressed lips visible.

Danzo looked at Shisui, his voice hoarse and low. "If you use your ocular jutsu on Fugaku and persuade the Uchiha, but the village still does not change, what will you do?"

"Lord Hokage promised me that he would definitely change things." Shisui still firmly believed in Hiruzen Sarutobi's promise.

Danzo let out a sneer, the sound like sandpaper scraping over rotten wood, grating and unpleasant. "Even with the Third's persuasion, the villagers' suspicion of you will not disappear so easily."

"I understand," Shisui said, still unaware of Danzo's true purpose. "But as long as we take more time..."

"And," Danzo gave Shisui no time to explain, "people as deeply suspicious as I am will not change their minds so easily either. When that time comes, what will you do?"

The moment those words came out, Shisui immediately became alert, but he still pretended to be the same as before. "But, Lord Danzo..."

"When that time comes, will you use Kotoamatsukami on me as well?" As soon as Danzo finished speaking, he took advantage of Shisui's momentary daze and closed in like a ghost, his right hand flashing toward Shisui's right eye. "I'll be taking your Sharingan!"

Shisui reacted at once, grabbed Danzo's hand, and cast a genjutsu on him.

Danzo's body immediately went limp.

"It's only an ordinary genjutsu. He'll wake up soon." Just as Shisui was about to leave, Danzo behind him activated Izanagi, avoiding the genjutsu from moments earlier, then swiftly stepped forward, condensed chakra, and injured Shisui with several punches.

Then Danzo took advantage of the momentum to remove Shisui's left eye. Shisui quickly retreated and saw with his own eyes as Danzo installed the Sharingan he had just stolen from him into his own left eye.

Shisui was so shocked that he could not speak. A savage smile appeared on Danzo's face, and the newly transplanted Sharingan turned in its socket, giving off an ominous red glow.

"Shisui, give me the other one too." As soon as Danzo finished speaking, a large number of Root members leapt out from behind him.

At that moment, Duanmu happened to arrive. Seeing Shisui and Danzo facing off, Duanmu's heart suddenly clenched, and a chill crawled up his spine.

He hid behind a tree trunk not far away, the dense leaves concealing his figure, but his palms were already soaked with cold sweat.

He had not expected that simply because he felt uneasy and wanted to investigate near the Uchiha clan grounds, he would run into such a shocking scene—Danzo, the man who always hid in the Hokage's shadow, had actually brought Root members to surround Shisui!

Shisui's condition was clearly extremely bad. He clutched his bleeding right eye, his breathing rapid, and in his originally gentle black eye, only cold killing intent and unbelievable pain remained.

But the current Shisui could not fight them, so he could only activate the Body Flicker Technique and leave.

Danzo had just been about to order his men to chase after him when a Root member beside him stopped him.

"Lord Danzo, there's one more person." After saying that, the Root member's gaze locked onto the direction where Duanmu was hiding like a venomous snake.

Duanmu's heart tightened. He knew he had already been exposed, and he could even feel the cold killing intent radiating from that Root ninja.

"Oh? It seems a rat has wandered in." After saying that, Danzo also looked toward the direction where Duanmu was hiding.

Damn it, Duanmu thought. Never mind whether he could beat those Root ninjas—Danzo alone was an expert nearly at Kage level.