Chapter 19

Four Shadow Clones appeared in unison, transforming into adult forms.

Each one hoisted a Root ninja onto his shoulder.

Before moving out, they first placed a layer of Sealing Jutsu on each man, completely locking away their chakra.

Then, carrying the men on their backs, they vanished from the spot after several whooshing flashes.

Whoosh—

Xuan's original body remained where he was and formed another hand seal.

"Wind Release: Gentle Breeze on the Face."

A soft breeze spread outward from him, scattering and sweeping clean the remaining traces on the ground and the scents lingering in the air.

After finishing, he clasped his hands behind his head, humming a cheerful tune as he turned and continued toward the Uchiha Compound.

Inside the underground laboratory.

The lights were bright, and all kinds of equipment had been arranged neatly.

"Who are these people?"

Uchiha Senichi, who had been helping organize the laboratory, looked up and frowned at the four bodies that had just been carried in.

Every one of them carried the aura of a Jōnin.

One Shadow Clone casually responded, "Danzo's Root ninjas. They came looking for trouble with the original body, and he dealt with them. From now on, they're our test subjects."

"What?!"

Senichi's expression changed instantly.

His face darkened like the bottom of a pot, rage shooting straight to his head as his teeth ground together. "That old bastard Danzo! We haven't even settled accounts with him yet, and he dared make the first move? He even dared target you? What the hell is he trying to do?"

At that moment, he wished he could charge over and chop that old bastard to pieces.

"Don't rush."

Xuan's original body walked in and pressed a hand downward at his old man. His tone was as relaxed as if they were discussing what to eat today. "It's not time to touch him yet. The timing isn't right, so wait a little longer. Sooner or later, we'll deal with him."

He walked over to the four Root ninjas lying there, glanced down at them, and sneered.

"There's no need to guess what that old bastard is thinking. He just wants to capture me and drag me into Root, plant a curse mark on me, and turn me into his tool."

"Or, when my Mangekyō Sharingan awakens, he'll just dig out my eyes and take them for himself."

"That's all the ambition he has."

Xuan's eye twitched fiercely. Veins bulged across his forehead as he gritted his teeth and cursed, "That beast deserves to be carved into a thousand pieces! Son, you have to leave that bastard to me. I'll kill him myself!"

"If I don't kill him, I'll never swallow this anger."

Anyone who dared lay a hand on his child was asking to die.

Especially when that child was Xuan.

Uchiha Hao: "...???"

So love could disappear?

If I were the one being targeted, you wouldn't be this angry, would you?

"Fine!"

Xuan smiled, touched, and accepted this show of affection from his father.

Then he stepped forward and reinforced the seals on the four Root ninjas once more.

After that, he locked three of them in separate dark rooms.

Finally, he used genjutsu to wake the remaining Root ninja.

He controlled the man into opening his mouth and sticking out his tongue. When he heated it with chakra, the complete formula of the Cursed Tongue Eradication Jutsu was clearly displayed before Xuan.

"So this is the Cursed Tongue Eradication Jutsu Danzo uses to control his subordinates?"

Uchiha Senichi leaned closer as well, staring curiously at the formula as he asked.

"Yeah."

Xuan stared at it with full concentration. While using his mental power to probe the formula's complete internal structure, he nodded. "I've wanted to study it properly for a long time. This is the perfect opportunity."

The Uchiha Clan's secret archives also contained quite a few Sealing Jutsu.

With Xuan's authority, he could read most of them.

Over the past two years, he had gradually learned quite a few.

Previously, because he had no chakra, he had never been able to use them.

Over the last three months or so, Xuan had been splitting off several Shadow Clones every day to study and learn these ninjutsu and Sealing Jutsu.

The only regret was that he had discovered his Shadow Clones could not share his heaven-defying comprehension.

Otherwise, his learning progress would have been far beyond what it was now.

Senichi's face darkened as he listened, and he nodded. "Be careful. There's something wrong with the look of that thing."

"It'd be best if you can find a way to ** it. If you can't, don't force it."

"By the way, you captured four of Danzo's Jōnin. You didn't leave behind any evidence, did you?"

"That old fox definitely won't let this go!"

Those were four Jōnin. He believed that even Danzo would be heartbroken over such a loss.

They had to guard against Danzo's retaliation.

He was already considering secretly sending several Uchiha Jōnin to protect Xuan for a while.

Although he knew his son's strength probably did not fall far short of an Elite Jōnin, he still could not help worrying.

"Don't worry. He can't stir up much trouble."

Xuan waved a hand, not taking it too seriously as he continued lowering his head to study. "My strength is right here for all to see. I can put down four Jōnin directly. No matter how many more come, they'll just be delivering themselves to me."

"I've also learned most of the Medical Ninjutsu. For the next while, I plan to stay in the compound, so there won't be any problem with safety."

But simply hiding was not a solution either. After thinking it over, Xuan added, "Dad, we should also make things difficult for that old bastard Danzo. We can't let him stay idle all day, hopping around everywhere."

"Send a few trustworthy people to disguise themselves as ordinary villagers with the Transformation Technique and secretly spread some rumors in the village—say that Danzo dug up the First Hokage's grave and used ** for Wood Release experiments. Don't make too much noise. Spread it around a little, then stop. Can you do that?"

He knew that such tactics would not bring down Danzo, but it would be worth it if they could disgust him and make him behave himself for a while.

"It can be done!"

Uchiha Senichi nodded, then stared at his son curiously. "Son, is it true that Danzo dug up the First Hokage's grave for experiments?"

He felt that Danzo really was capable of doing something that vile.

"Of course it's true."

Xuan's tone was certain. "And it wasn't the first time."

"The Third Hokage was probably involved back then too."

"Later, the experiments failed, and only then did the Third Hokage shut the whole thing down and forbid them from continuing."

"But Danzo never gave up. He's been secretly continuing it behind everyone's backs."

"He wants to obtain the First Hokage's Wood Release to satisfy his ambitions, just like he wants to steal our Uchiha Clan's Sharingan."

If Xuan had not been around, that old bastard might really have succeeded.

"Huh?"

Uchiha Senichi froze on the spot. "The Third Hokage had a hand in it too? What a filial bunch! Their skill at betraying their master and destroying their ancestors has clearly been passed down in one line. No wonder they were taught by the same teacher."

It was obvious that Senichi held quite a bit of resentment toward the Second Hokage.

After all, Konoha's suppression of the Uchiha Clan had begun with the Second Hokage.

Senichi had personally lived through those days, so he must have endured plenty of humiliation.

"Leave this to me! I'll make sure it's handled perfectly!"

"When it comes to manipulating public opinion, we Uchiha are experts!"

Uchiha Senichi thumped his chest and gave his word.

"Mm."

Xuan nodded and added another reminder. "Tell the people doing it to be careful of the Third Hokage's Telescope Technique. That old man loves using it to spy on the village whenever he has nothing better to do. Don't let him catch any evidence."

Though more often than not, he used that thing to peek at bathhouses.

Uchiha Senichi nodded in agreement, his tone brisk. "We can't delay any longer. I'll handle it now, before Danzo frees up his hands and keeps biting at us." With that, he turned and strode away.

That afternoon, Konoha erupted into an uproar. Someone spread word that Danzo had secretly dug up the First Hokage's grave and used ** for forbidden jutsu experiments. The rumors grew more and more outrageous, claiming that he was researching Wood Release because he wanted to seize the Hokage position from the Third Hokage. They also said he had always resented the Third Hokage taking office and had never accepted it in his heart.

The rumors were told with such vivid detail that even Danzo's identity as a one-eyed rat was exposed, along with a pile of his personal secrets. The entire village immediately became a hotbed of hidden currents, and everyone was filled with unease.