Chapter 16

Sasuke's tone was very steady. "Right now, when you get down to it, the only ones who can pull this off are the three of us."

"Big Brother Shisui, the Third old man still trusts you well enough, right?"

"As for my brother, that goes without saying. My impression with the Third should be decent too."

"So next, we've got to make good use of that identity and create a new enemy—"

"Or rather, drag the enemy that already exists completely out into the open."

"Root Organization!"

Shisui still had not wrapped his head around it, but Sasuke was already striking while the iron was hot with his talk-no-jutsu.

Against someone this stubborn and dead set on his beliefs, talk-no-jutsu was far more useful than any S-rank ninjutsu. As long as the direction was right, the effect would be maxed out on the spot.

Hearing the words "Root Organization" pop out of Sasuke's mouth, Itachi and Shisui's expressions changed at the same time.

At Sasuke's age, by rights, he should not have known such a thing existed at all.

That was the Anbu organization the Third used to handle those shady, unspeakable matters. A little brat...

Could Father have told him in private?

"Sasuke, why would you bring up Root?"

No matter how Shisui thought about it, he could not make sense of it.

Root was directly managed by Danzo, an institution that answered straight to the Hokage. How could an organization like that possibly be used to divert the conflict?

"Big Brother Shisui, why do you think Konoha's higher-ups have always targeted us Uchiha?"

"Just because the Uchiha are too arrogant?"

"Just because pinning the Nine-Tails' Attack on us seemed only natural?"

Sasuke did not answer his question.

Some things only needed to be hinted at.

His current goal was to first pull Shisui, one of the clan's top combat powers, back to his side. Once the ability of Shisui's eyes was exposed in front of the higher-ups, those people naturally would not dare act so arrogantly anymore. "Then... did the clan head say something to you?"

Shisui thought about it for a long while, but still could not figure it out.

His brain was probably filled entirely with talent. He simply could not turn the corner on these schemes and struggles. "It's because of the power in our hands."

"Some people have their eyes on our Sharingan..."

"And some people are afraid that power will go out of control."

"Big Brother Shisui, think about it—if one group among the higher-ups wants to obtain this power, and another wants to control it completely, can the Uchiha still coexist peacefully with the village?"

Sasuke's words were crisp and clean, striking right at the heart of the matter.

No matter how unwilling Shisui was to accept it, this was the reality right in front of them. "Root Organization... that lord is after our eyes?"

"Lord Hokage wants to control this power?"

"Sasuke, that's what you mean, right?"

Itachi took over.

He digested Sasuke's explanation faster than Shisui—after all, he had already been shaken once before by his younger brother's wildly unconventional way of thinking, so now it was actually easier for him to accept. "Mm." Sasuke nodded. "So, right now, we need to grab hold of the thread called the Will of Fire and let the Hokage see the changes in the Uchiha with his own eyes."

"The most crucial part is the change in geniuses, the change in the strong."

"Once they see us as controllable weapons, think about it again. How high do you think the chance is that the other side will make a move?"

"The conflict can't be pushed outward?"

Sasuke was speaking to Itachi, but his gaze kept drifting toward Shisui, who stood in the corner.

Itachi was indeed a genius, no question. He would only turn eleven next month, yet his strength had already brushed the threshold of an elite jonin. But compared with Shisui, who had mastered the Mangekyo Sharingan and could activate Susanoo, the gap was still right there.

This was genuine Kage-level combat power.

On top of that nearly unreasonable ability of his, he was more than enough to protect the Uchiha family.

The problem was—this guy needed to grow a few more brain cells...

"Sasuke, I won't leak a single word of what you said today."

"But I can't believe everything you said."

"I'll verify it myself."

After leaving those words behind, Shisui vanished.

Itachi raised his hand a little, originally wanting to call him back, but in the end he still lowered it.

Shisui's usual gentle nature was real enough.

But what Sasuke had just said had already stepped on his bottom line.

Judging by the way he had not immediately fired back on the spot... he most likely knew in his heart that these things were ** pretty close to the truth.

Let him digest it on his own. "Brother, something's going to happen to Big Brother Shisui..."

While Itachi was still mulling over the matter, Sasuke suddenly threw out a sentence. "Mm?!"

Itachi's expression changed with a swish, and he stared straight at Sasuke, wanting to find any trace of a lie on his face. "It won't be our dad who moves against him. It'll be Root."

"They can't wait any longer."

Sasuke's tone was a little urgent.

The Three-Tomoe Sharingan instantly lit up. As chakra surged, the power overflowing from his pupils could no longer be suppressed. "Sasuke, your eyes..."

"Mm, this Sharingan of mine is a little special."

Sasuke nodded.

Then he immediately began making up abilities for his eyes.

[At first, he had also thought it was just an illusion]

[But later, he discovered they were random visions of the future. The people and events he saw were different every time, and the timing was impossible to say]

[He saw the Uchiha's ending—they were wiped out, and the one who did it was also one of the Uchiha's own]

[In order to protect the family, Shisui had one eye dug out by Danzo, then finally gouged out the other in front of Itachi before jumping off a cliff...]

For a transmigrator, making up an ability like this came far too easily.

He could not designate the target, and the time was uncertain too.

That actually left a ridiculously huge amount of room to maneuver.

Add in Itachi, this younger-brother fanatic.

As long as he was willing to enter the game, the whole thing could be pushed forward naturally, and there would almost be no mistakes in carrying it out. "Have you told Father about this?"

Itachi froze for a long while before finally squeezing out a sentence. "No."

"Other than you, Brother, no one knows."

Sasuke stared seriously at Itachi, his tone extremely certain.

Hearing that, Itachi believed him at once.

For a younger-brother fanatic, what could be more intoxicating than his little brother's trust?

"Sasuke, don't tell anyone else about this for now."

"I'll find Father and talk to him later, then go find Big Brother Shisui."

"What you need to do right now is focus on training."

"Right, do you still have enough money to spend lately?"

"Here's ten million ryo. Take it for now. If it's not enough, come find me anytime."

"And also..."

After rambling for several minutes, Uchiha Itachi left behind a stack of money, then vanished. "Uh..."

"Did he forget that he still hasn't taken me away..."

Sasuke was speechless.

Fortunately, he was still in the village, and it was not too far from the clan compound.

On top of that, Orochimaru had run quickly enough earlier, so there should not be anything wrong for the time being.

Thinking that, Sasuke simply activated Lightning God Mode and began tempering his body and practicing taijutsu.

At the same time, inside a certain underground building. "What is the meaning of this?"

"You're giving me materials on the Uchiha. What are you trying to do?"

Danzo held the stack of documents, his expression very dark.

Half the reason he was displeased was because he hated the Uchiha, and the other half was because the progress of the person before him was extremely unpleasant to him. "Lord Danzo."

"I want the person on those documents."

"As for everything else, all of it can be discussed."

"Besides, I'm already more or less prepared on my end. The experiment can begin at any time."

The man before Danzo slowly lifted his hood.

A terrifyingly pale face was revealed.

That was right. The one standing before Danzo was none other than Konoha's S-rank wanted criminal—Orochimaru.

And the document in Danzo's hand recorded information on Uchiha Sasuke.

After Orochimaru stated his terms, Danzo Shimura's expression did not change at all.

The two of them seemed frozen in place. Neither of them spoke, and neither of them moved.

Only after quite a while. "I can agree to this."

"However—"

Before he finished speaking, Orochimaru had already taken a small bottle from his sleeve.

Inside was a clump of cells, still constantly pulsing. "You handled the activity problem?"

Danzo stood up at once, excitement in his voice. "It was handled long ago."

"During this period, I used ** for experiments. Basically, there were no major issues."

"Once the big data has been organized, we can officially begin."

"As for the timing, it can be completed within a year."

"So, I hope you hand that boy over to me quickly."

After Orochimaru finished speaking, he put the bottle away again.

He stared at Danzo, the corners of his mouth carrying a hint of amusement.

To Orochimaru, open schemes and hidden plots were not important at all.

With Danzo, he only played open schemes.

He wanted Uchiha Sasuke.

Danzo wanted his technology.

A fair trade. Neither of them had the right to talk about the other.

In the first place, the two of them were not in a superior-subordinate relationship.

They had not been before, and they were even less so now. "I know what I'm doing."

"I'll deliver him to you as soon as possible."

"He's only a brat. Don't worry."

"Root has that ability."

Danzo suppressed the ** anger in his heart, and his tone eased. "Then I'll wait for your good news, Lord Danzo."

"I still have matters in my laboratory, so I won't stay any longer."

After Orochimaru finished speaking, he raised his hand and made a gesture.

The ground suddenly split open, and a snake shot out, swallowing Orochimaru in one bite before turning into white smoke and disappearing. "Bang!"

Danzo's expression darkened, and he smashed the table in front of him with one palm. "Sir!"

Three members of the Root Organization instantly appeared, kneeling on one knee.

All three wore fox masks, though the patterns were different. "This is the target."

"Find an opportunity and capture this brat as soon as possible."

"Remember, don't let the other Uchiha notice. Keep it clean."

After Danzo finished speaking, he threw Uchiha Sasuke's information to them.

Then he turned and left.

Right now, Danzo had a fire pent up in his chest, and everyone he looked at displeased him.

The three of them flipped through Sasuke's file, their expressions beneath the masks indescribably subtle. But the order they had received was only one thing—do it, and don't ask why. They looked at one another, and in the next second, they vanished from where they stood at the same time.

Of course, Sasuke could not possibly know about these things.

Even as a transmigrator, there was no way to accurately calculate what kind of commotion the flap of his butterfly wings would stir up after he arrived.

As soon as training ended, Sasuke returned to his room.

What he had thrown out today was more or less enough. Besides, with those two wooden heads, Itachi and Shisui, even if they really discovered something, they would not think in a crooked direction. And with Shisui's ability, investigating those things would not take much time.

The seed of suspicion had already been planted. If Danzo wanted to ambush Shisui again, it would not be that easy.

What he had to do next was improve himself and, while he was at it, plant nails in the other families.

It was too difficult to make a move on those old foxes.

But if he found a way through their children...

[Naruto: Exactly, exactly. It was that guy called Uchiha Sasuke, a human trafficker, who led all of us astray]

The next day.

After the routine recitation of the Will of Fire, and after tormenting Rock Lee and Naruto for a while, the three of them agreed to go to the public training ground together after school. "I need to tell you all something. Teacher Iruka isn't feeling well, so I'll be leading next month's trial outside the village."

"Today, we'll continue covering a few classic real-combat cases..."

Mizuki announced the matter of the trial with a beaming smile, then began class. "Sasuke, don't you think Teacher Mizuki is acting weird today?"

As soon as class ended, Naruto snuck over sneakily and lowered his voice. "Oh?"

Sasuke froze for a moment.

Since when had this guy Naruto become so sharp?

He had actually noticed that Mizuki had a problem this early?

"He has an injury on his hand."

"Should we go show him some concern?"

Naruto had a bright, sunny smile on his face.

Sasuke's face darkened after he finished listening.

Right. It really was Naruto—what exactly had he been expecting?

"Have you trained enough?"

"Didn't you say you wanted to become Hokage? If you don't work hard, watch out or you'll be left behind."

"The teacher knows what he's doing. What are we butting in for?"

"Besides..."

After Sasuke bombarded him with a barrage of words, Naruto drooped his head and nodded dejectedly.

The afternoon classes flew by.

Because they were not in the same grade as Rock Lee, Sasuke and Naruto headed straight for the public training ground after school.

Only when they arrived did they realize that Lee was not the only one there today—Hyuga Neji was there too!

"Lee!"

Naruto charged over noisily, not noticing at all that there was an extra person. "Huh?"

"Who are you?"

"Those eyes of yours... why are they the same as Hinata's..."

"Oh, right, Sasuke said they're called the Byakugan... You're like Hinata, a member of the Hyuga Clan, right?"

Only after Naruto got closer did he react to the unfamiliar person being there. "Hello, Naruto Uzumaki."

"And you, Uchiha Sasuke."

Neji stared at Sasuke, his eyes filled with fighting intent. With just one glance, he activated his Byakugan.