Chapter 33

He picked Sasuke up, carried him into the room, and gently laid him on the bed.

After closing the door, Itachi turned and left.

Sasuke stared at the door for a few seconds, secretly letting out a breath of relief.

The reason he was so sure that masked man had already left was because the color of the mission status bar had changed.

A moment ago, it had still been a glaring red. Now it had turned into a steady green.

The mission was not complete, but at least it was not as dangerous as before.

On top of that, with Susanoo still as a trump card in his hand, Sasuke felt very calm.

What he needed to do now was wait for the mission settlement.

Thinking of that, Sasuke sat down cross-legged and began refining chakra.

At the same time, outside the room, Itachi stood in the corridor, his whole body a little dazed.

He had just seen Sasuke inexplicably smile, then start refining chakra.

This kid... was he really not scared at all?

Had that frightened look just now been an act?

Even more absurdly, he could actually calm down and train so quickly.

Several hours passed in the blink of an eye.

The system prompt sounded in Sasuke's mind.

Ding—congratulations to the host for completing the mission.

Reward: special item...

Sasuke's gaze swept over the thing that appeared before him, and his pupils abruptly shrank.

This reward was actually this fierce?

Elsewhere, in the Hokage's office. "What did you say?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi put down the documents in his hand and stared at Uchiha Fugaku in shock. "A ninja infiltrated the Uchiha Clan Compound?"

He had not received any abnormal reports from the barrier team today at all.

In other words, the other party had completely bypassed Konoha's barrier system.

Even more absurdly, Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Itachi had joined hands, yet still failed to keep the person there.

In a situation like this, the problem was huge.

Could it be... someone from inside the village?

A cold gleam swept through Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes. "That's right."

"I have already had every member of the Police Force strengthen patrols."

"I also personally searched the entire compound, without letting even the corners off."

"At present, there are no findings."

"That is the most troublesome part."

"The other party must be extremely familiar with Konoha..."

Uchiha Fugaku stated his judgment word by word.

After Hiruzen Sarutobi listened, he slowly nodded. "I understand."

"I will immediately arrange for people to investigate this matter."

"The Anbu and the Police Force will act together. Start by screening the village's interior."

After saying that, he picked up his pen and directly wrote the order on the document. "Understood, Lord Hokage."

Uchiha Fugaku answered, then turned and left through the door. "Call Danzo here."

The worried look on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face vanished in an instant, replaced by a cold, icy expression.

Only now did he finally figure out one truth—

With some people, simple tolerance and forgiveness were useless. You had to get tough!

An hour later, Danzo pushed the door open and walked into the Hokage's office.

His expression was just as dark, as if water could drip from it.

He had already found out most of what had happened in the Uchiha Clan Compound.

He knew perfectly well what Hiruzen Sarutobi was planning by calling him here at this time. "That matter has nothing to do with me."

"It also wasn't done by anyone under me."

"If that is what you wanted to ask, then that is the only answer I can give you."

Before the Third could speak, Danzo threw down his words first. "Fine. That works out. I have a job here that needs you to make a trip."

"Go to the Land of Waterfall and escort a batch of chakra metal back."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's tone was indifferent.

But the moment Danzo heard it, his whole body felt awful!

He was one of Konoha's pillars!

A direct disciple of the Second, the head of the Root Organization!

And now he was actually being made to do this kind of errand?

This was clearly meant to put him in his place!

"I'm not going!"

"There are still a pile of things in the village..."

"No, you don't get to choose."

Hiruzen Sarutobi cut him off directly. "Third, what exactly do you mean by this?"

The killing intent in Danzo's eyes grew thicker and thicker.

If he had not known that making a move in the village would brand him as a rogue ninja, he would already have lost control of his anger. "What do I mean?"

"I mean for you to go out and avoid the spotlight for a while, so I can also give the other clans an explanation."

"You can take this chance to calm your mind."

After Hiruzen Sarutobi finished speaking, he lowered his head and began flipping through the documents on the desk, no longer looking at him.

Danzo clenched his fists, his whole body trembling. "...Fine."

Only after a full dozen minutes did he squeeze that one word out from between his teeth, then turn and leave.

After returning to the Root Organization base, Danzo dropped heavily into his chair. Nothing could be read from his face, but the fire pent up in his chest was suffocating him. "Hiruzen Sarutobi... well done!"

"You really are something!"

He took a deep breath, changed into combat gear, called a few subordinates, and set off directly to carry out the mission.

In Danzo's view, Hiruzen Sarutobi was clearly targeting him.

Had Danzo done too few things like this in the past?

Why, when it landed on his head, did he have to swallow this kind of humiliation!?

He had never thought about it—

Even if the Uchiha had only patrolled one extra street, he could pin the charge of "endangering village security" on them and suppress them to death.

Now that he himself was suspected of attacking people in the village, the result was only this painless, harmless punishment?

Danzo simply could not understand any of this.

There was only one thought in his mind—Hiruzen Sarutobi was deliberately screwing him over!

At this moment, the atmosphere among Konoha's upper echelon had completely changed.

Danzo was full of resentment.

Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane cared only about protecting their own little benefits.

As for Hiruzen Sarutobi, he was calculating how to keep everyone in the palm of his hand.

Danzo going out to carry out a mission did not stir up any waves in the village.

The clan heads who had shouted the loudest at the start had all gone silent now.

They knew very well in their hearts—someone like Danzo could not possibly fall from power because of such a small matter.

After seeing it too many times, there was no expectation left.

Being able to make Danzo suffer a setback once already felt pretty rare to everyone.

A few days later, in the Uchiha Clan Compound.

Sasuke, who was in the middle of training, suddenly stopped.

He turned his head, his gaze landing on Itachi beside him. "What's wrong?"

Itachi thought his younger brother had not yet fully mastered the genjutsu, and his tone carried concern. "It's not that."

Sasuke shook his head and stared at Itachi as he asked, "Brother, where is Big Brother Shisui?"

"Why haven't I seen him these past two days?"

Itachi froze for a moment. "Shisui? Father said he went out on a mission. Counting the days, he should be back soon."

He paused, a hint of teasing entering his voice. "What, you think I'm not enough to train with you? Then I'll have to double your training load this afternoon."

"No, brother."

Sasuke pointed at his eyes, and his pupils instantly turned into Three Tomoe.

The tomoe spun rapidly, and a strange power seeped out from his eye sockets. "Do you still remember what I told you about these eyes of mine?"

Itachi's expression changed.

Of course he remembered.

Sasuke had said that his eyes would occasionally see fragments of the future beyond his control.

That just now—

Had he seen something again?

And was it related to Shisui?

"Mm."

Sasuke's voice sank very low. "Big Brother Shisui died."

"He died... right in front of you."

"Died..."

The kunai in Itachi's hand trembled.

He did not speak, but the stiffness that flashed across his face already said everything. "Sasuke, stay here and don't move. I'm going to find Father."

As soon as the words fell, he had already disappeared.

Sasuke stood in the training ground and sighed.

During this period, he had poured all his energy into Danzo and Hiruzen, almost forgetting this crucial matter.

According to the timeline, Shisui Uchiha was about to die.

Originally, he had thought that since he had diverted Danzo's attention and improved the Uchiha's situation in the village, the extermination would not happen.

It seemed he had still underestimated those people's wariness of the Uchiha.

He lowered his head and looked at the panel that popped up in front of him:

[Uchiha Defense Mission: Beginning · Shisui Uchiha's Death]

[Mission Objective: Protect Shisui Uchiha]

[Reward: 50% increase in ocular power, random genjutsu gift box, random reward gift pack]

Sasuke did not obediently stay in the training ground.

He went straight to Fugaku's study.

He knocked on the door. "Father."

"Come in."

The voice that came from inside carried obvious exhaustion.

When he pushed the door open and entered, Itachi was standing to the side with an anxious expression.

Uchiha Fugaku sat behind the desk, pressing his temples, his brows tightly furrowed.

Although the Uchiha Clan's situation in the village had improved recently, their workload had also multiplied several times over.

The Police Force had once been a leisurely post, but now it had to do the work of the Anbu, the interrogation department, and the Police Force all at the same time.

It was truly exhausting, but it had indeed dug out quite a few spies and rogue ninja.

It was just that the intensity was so high that even Fugaku was somewhat unable to bear it.

He had finally wanted to catch his breath, only for Itachi to bring him this piece of news...

"Father."

Sasuke spoke, a trace of hesitation in his tone. "Just now, I saw some things again."

"But... I'm not very sure if they're real."

Uchiha Fugaku took a long breath, his voice pressed very low before he finally forced out this question.

Eyes that could foresee the future—if that kind of ability was used well, the benefits would be more than a little.

On top of that, what crooked intentions could a child have?

The credibility was definitely not bad. "Um... Big Brother Shisui was actually killed by someone."

"But the real reason was that one of his eyes was taken."

"The person who dug out his eye... was Lord Danzo..."

As soon as Sasuke finished speaking, Uchiha Fugaku shot straight to his feet. "Danzo?!"

His mind spun rapidly several times.

Originally, he had still been wondering what kind of opponent could kill Shisui Uchiha.

But now, he more or less had an idea.

That kid Shisui had never been very good at guarding against the village's ninja deep down.

He had always been trying to find a way to keep things from getting too stiff between the Uchiha and Konoha.

If Danzo Shimura used some rhetoric to coax and deceive Shisui, then Shisui would most likely believe it was true.

If Danzo made a move in secret, then...

"Itachi, can you still contact Shisui right now?"

Uchiha Fugaku's words were very direct, without the slightest unnecessary detour. "I..."

"I can."

Itachi nodded, his fingers shifting as he began forming hand seals with both hands. "Bang!"

White smoke burst out, and a crow landed on Itachi's arm. "A summoned beast?"

"Send word to Shisui at once. Have him send over his location."

"I'll go to the Hokage Tower myself."

After Uchiha Fugaku threw down those words, he vanished from the spot.

Shisui was currently one of only two people in the clan, at least openly, who had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan.

No matter how you looked at it, nothing could happen to this guy.

If he died, the small bit of ground they had finally managed to regain would collapse at once.

It might even become worse than it was now.

Sasuke was getting anxious too.

This mission came as a chain.

If this first step failed, every link after it would no longer be triggered.

So Shisui had to be kept alive!

Before long, Uchiha Fugaku returned.

He was clutching a permit to leave the village. "Father, I've already confirmed Brother Shisui's location."

"He's on the east side of the village. I sent him a message, and he said he'd wait for me where he is."

Uchiha Itachi spoke much faster than usual, carrying a trace of urgency he could not suppress. "All right."

"Let's go. We're leaving the village to find Shisui."

As soon as Uchiha Fugaku finished speaking, he vanished with the Body Flicker once more. "Brother, I want to go too."

Uchiha Itachi was just about to move when Sasuke suddenly grabbed his arm. "Hm?"

"Sasuke, don't mess around."

"You're still young. This trip isn't for fun. Be good and stay at home. Just wait for me to come back."

Itachi lowered his head to look at his little brother, his eyes full of indulgence, his tone very gentle, as if coaxing him. "No, I'm going."

"Brother, when you were my age, you'd already been on the battlefield."

"I want to become a ninja as amazing as you too, not just strong-willed, but also—"

Next, Sasuke launched into a rapid-fire barrage of praise.

Itachi froze.

He suddenly felt that his little brother had actually never changed.

He was still that little fanboy who treated him like an idol.

That cold, icy manner from before was probably only because he had grown up a little and no longer said whatever came to mind like he had as a child.

He was just shy, right? "All right, I'll take you with me."

As a textbook bro-con, with his little brother praising him to this extent, how could Itachi bear to refuse?