Danzo's Regret, Hiruzen's Shadow

"..."

The "outrageous" sight left Fugaku's eyes filled with shock. His mouth hung slightly open, and he remained speechless for a long while.

He had known that Yin Jie, who had awakened the Sharingan at six, possessed exceptional talent.

But he had never imagined Yin Jie's talent would be so absurdly high that Fugaku completely lost his usual control over his expression.

Yin Jie had only just begun learning ninjutsu, yet after watching Fugaku perform it once, he had successfully unleashed a Great Fireball with even greater power.

Though the Sharingan had certainly helped, and Fugaku had deliberately restrained most of the Great Fireball's power when demonstrating it, there was no denying that Yin Jie's own talent was unprecedented.

After all, Fugaku was a jonin—an elite among jonin. No matter how one looked at it, this was not something a six-year-old encountering ninjutsu for the first time should have been capable of.

The rising mist draped itself around Yin Jie like a thin veil. He stood where he was, silent for a long time as well.

Yet the excitement on his face was impossible to hide.

The mist in the air gradually condensed into scattered droplets, falling like glittering pearls.

As though sensing something, Yin Jie tilted his head up slightly, closed his eyes, and spread his arms, savoring the cool touch of droplets against his skin.

Freshness, vitality, joy, fulfillment...

While Yin Jie and Fugaku were learning ninjutsu,

A fierce argument was erupting in the Hokage's office on the top floor of the Hokage Building.

"Hiruzen! You should hand him over to me!"

A thin middle-aged man planted both hands on the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's desk, his gloomy face looming over him as he roared.

He had short brown hair with neatly trimmed sideburns. The corners of his narrow eyes tilted upward slightly, while a prominent cross-shaped scar marked his chin. He looked incomparably cold and vicious.

He was none other than Konoha's Root leader, Danzo Shimura—the man known by such titles as the First Pot Shadow, the Darkness of the Ninja World, and a renowned bridge construction engineer!!!

"How could a bloodline ninja clan like the Uchiha Clan, which values its bloodline to such an extreme degree, possibly have a clansman left outside? And in a sensitive place like the Land of Rain, no less! Hiruzen! Use your brain and think about it properly!!!"

Seeing that Hiruzen Sarutobi remained unmoved and utterly impervious, Danzo Shimura's voice grew even louder, his tone becoming increasingly cold.

In his eyes, Yin Jie, this supposed Uchiha child who had appeared out of nowhere, definitely had some kind of problem.

Therefore, for Konoha's sake, he had to intervene in this matter concerning the Uchiha Clan!

Of course, what angered him most was that his dear friend Hiruzen Sarutobi had not told him about this!

Their teacher, the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, had repeatedly warned them to be strictly wary of the inherently evil Uchiha Clan.

And that was precisely one of the original reasons Root had been established.

Besides, as Konoha's Hokage advisor, he ought to have had the right to know.

If not for his special intelligence channels, Hiruzen Sarutobi might have continued keeping him in the dark, causing him to completely miss the chance to take control of this genius!

Especially when this genius came from the inherently evil Uchiha Clan!

After being blasted at point-blank range by Danzo Shimura, the anger in Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart surged wildly!

How could he not know what his dear friend was plotting?

It was true that Danzo wanted to inherit Teacher Tobirama's so-called will and target the Uchiha Clan, but more than that, he probably wanted to cultivate Sharingan ninja for his own Root—or perhaps he was simply after the Sharingan itself!

Hiruzen saw it all clearly.

But there was no way he would hand Yin Jie over to Danzo.

After all, Yin Jie was an extraordinarily talented Uchiha child who was unfamiliar with both the village and his clan. Hiruzen had plans for him too.

Ever since Uchiha Kagami had "disappeared," Konoha's upper ranks had lost their bridge for close communication with the Uchiha Clan.

Though Uchiha Fugaku, the current captain of the Konoha Military Police Force, was also quite good and willing to remain "close" to Konoha's leadership and maintain communication, Fugaku had not been raised by the village since childhood. He was not so easy to fool.

Yin Jie, on the other hand, had only just returned to the Uchiha Clan and had yet to be stained by any color. He suited Hiruzen Sarutobi's wishes perfectly.

Thus, Hiruzen was determined to paint upon this spotless sheet of white paper, using his "Will of Fire" to dye Yin Jie in Konoha's colors and turn him into a new bridge between Konoha's upper ranks and the Uchiha Clan!

"I told you, that child has no problems. He is unquestionably a member of the Uchiha Clan!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke calmly. He did not want to argue with his dear friend, though for some unknown reason, the man had begun constantly trying to deny him and challenge his authority.

"Hiruzen! That brat..."

Danzo Shimura raised his voice another octave, intending to say more, but before he could finish, Hiruzen Sarutobi cut him off with righteous indignation.

"Danzo, there is no need to say anything further. I will never hand him over to you!"

"And put away your little schemes! The Uchiha are our comrades!!!"

Upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, which made him sound like the incarnation of justice itself, Comrade Danzo, having been struck right in the sore spot, saw his blood rush to his head and instantly snapped.

Bang!!!

He glared viciously at Hiruzen Sarutobi, then turned and slammed the door behind him as he left. "Hiruzen! You will regret this!!!"

Danzo's vaguely threatening tone finally pushed Hiruzen Sarutobi's emotions beyond the point of suppression. In a voice even louder than Danzo's, he responded forcefully.

"Danzo! I am the Hokage!!!"

To ensure that Danzo, who had stormed out and slammed the door, could hear him, Hiruzen Sarutobi even infused his voice with chakra.

His voice echoed through the top floor of the Hokage Building for a long time...

At the same time,

The great battle Sakumo Hatake had planned for so long erupted on the battlefield in the southwestern Land of Rain.

With Ebizo tied down by Tsunade and several jonin, Konoha's side did not hold a numerical advantage. However, thanks to the antidote Tsunade had specifically developed after arriving at the front lines, Konoha's ninja fought the Hidden Sand Village ninja to a standstill and even gradually gained a slight upper hand.

As for Ebizo, the moment he saw Tsunade appear and failed to find any trace of Sakumo Hatake on the battlefield, he sensed that something was wrong and hurriedly tried to lead all the Hidden Sand Village ninja in a swift retreat.

However, he was riding a tiger and could not get off.

Once the battle had begun, the ninja of both sides had become completely entangled. How could they possibly withdraw so easily just because he said so?