Danzo's fingers stopped in mid-air.
The candle flame flickered, reflecting the dim light in his single eye even more deeply.
The clan land of the Uchiha Clan.
He suddenly remembered something.
In that blood-succession family that has been passed down for thousands of years, how many members of the clan died on the battlefield, died on missions, died of diseases and accidents in the long history?
Those Uchiha ninjas who possess Sharingan, even if they die, their eyes will not be disposed of at will.
Uchiha has a complete tradition of storage.
Those eyes must be properly preserved somewhere in the clan's territory.
The "internal library" of Uchiha.
Danzo's one eye slowly narrowed.
That is not a warehouse in the ordinary sense. Uchiha's wealth, scrolls, secret techniques, and Sharingan accumulated from generation to generation, are all tightly sealed and stored somewhere deep in the clan.
He has been operating for many years and has installed hidden stakes in an attempt to find out the specific location and guard mechanism of the inner treasury, but with little success.
Uchiha's tribal defense system consists of a rotating guard team, and there are secret guards directly under the jurisdiction of the Presbyterian Council. Outsiders have no way to approach it.
That is Uchiha Clan's final trump card and dignity.
It is also the biggest treasure in Danzo's eyes.
His breathing became heavier unconsciously.
If I could get that inner library...
Even if you only get part of it...
The tolerance of the third generation Hokage, the low profile of Fugaku, and the threat of that mysterious man.
All the problems that troubled him will be easily solved.
Sharingan is no longer scarce, he can use Izanagi arbitrarily, he can continue his necessary evil, and he can regain the initiative.
However--
Danzo loosened his fingers and slowly clenched them into fists.
Root just suffered a heavy blow.
In the attack a few days ago, he lost six core members at the Jonin level and a dozen elite combatants. Nearly 30% of the base facilities were damaged and have not been fully repaired to this day.
The mysterious man who controlled the blood broke most of Root's fangs in a clean massacre.
And what about the Uchiha Clan?
Although Uchiha Fugaku is young, he has fully grasped the authority of the patriarch.
Although Uchiha Setsuna is old, he is still alive.
There are also Uchiha Inabi and Uchiha Hachidai in the clan - no, Yashiro has "died" on the battlefield of Amegakure.
Danzo decided to go in person.
The moment this idea came up, a trace of sadness flashed in his one eye that even he himself had not noticed.
There is no one available for such a huge Root.
The mysterious man who attacked a few days ago used a massacre to prove that in the face of the real Kage Level combat power, there is no difference between Root's elite and lambs waiting to be slaughtered.
Who could he send?
The help he needs now is not in Root.
Hokage's assistant, Mitokado Homura's mansion.
"You want us to call out Fugaku and Uchiha Setsuna?"
Mitokado Homura took off his glasses and wiped them slowly with deerskin. His tone was surprised, he didn't know what his old friend was going to do.
"Tomorrow morning."
Danzo said.
"You can find any reason you want. Financial review, garrison budget, post-war pension... anything can be done. Let them leave the clan and come to the Hokage Assistant Office."
"How long?"
"Two hours."
Mitokado Homura did not answer immediately.
He put his glasses back on and looked at Danzo with his cloudy but still sharp eyes.
He is not stupid, he knows that this old guy Danzo is going to cause trouble again, and it is something that Sarutobi Hiruzen cannot know about.
After a moment, he sighed softly.
"Koharu, I'll go talk to you over there."
The next day.
Hokage assists in the office, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu sit down together.
Several volumes of accounts and documents were spread out on the desk. The tea had been brewed and two spare teacups were quietly placed opposite.
When the notification was delivered to Uchiha Compound, Fugaku was reviewing the guard roster in the study.
"Hokage, your assistant, summoned Mr. Fugaku and Mr. Uchiha Setsuna regarding the verification of the financial allocation of the garrison."
Fugaku put down the pen without thinking much.
This kind of official communication happens every month, but usually it is his deputy who handles the matters, and there are not many times when he directly summons the clan leader.
But he still got up to change his clothes and ordered the great elder to accompany him.
Uchiha Setsuna arrived very quickly. His back was not as straight as when he was young, but his steps were still steady.
"Fugaku, do you know what it is?"
"It's a financial reconciliation."
Fugaku paused.
"But when Lord Mitokado speaks in person, I'm afraid it's not just a formality."
Uchiha Setsuna didn't ask any further questions. He just nodded, with no emotion visible in his cloudy old eyes.
He felt it was not a good thing.
The two left the tribe and headed in the direction of Hokage Building.
at the same moment.
The figure of Danzo is like a drop of ink falling into a deep pool, silently melting into the shadow on the south side of Uchiha Compound.
The path he chose was old information extracted from the memory of a dead Uchiha three years ago.
There is a blind spot on the south wall where guards alternate. Every three quarters of an hour, there is a gap of twelve breaths.
Twelve breaths.
Enough.
He crossed the wall and moved forward against the shadow of the eaves.
Uchiha's tribe is more peaceful than he remembered, and it is even a little strange to him.
There was no tense, bowstring-like atmosphere here that he was familiar with.
Several young children were chasing and playing at the end of the alley, laughing loudly.
Danzo lowered his body and bypassed the first hidden whistle.
Then comes the second place.
The third place.
He had to admit that Uchiha Setsuna did have some abilities.
The defense positions of the secret guards are tricky and echo each other, with almost no dead ends.
If it weren't for the thirty-year old information in his hand, today's infiltration would never have been possible.
But he still got there.
The entrance to the inner warehouse is at the back of a seemingly ordinary warehouse, close to the old cherry tree that has been dead for many years.
Danzo squatted down and inserted his skinny fingers into the gap between the tree roots and the wall base.
A cold touch came, it was an almost imperceptible chakra seal, completely integrated with the surrounding land.
Fortunately, he learned Sealing Jutsu from the Uzumaki Clan. Sealing Jutsu of this level is simply child's play in front of him.
A glimmer of determination flashed in his single eye.
It took him half an hour to unlock the seal.
The seal melted silently.
A stone staircase sloping downward spread out in front of him, leading into the deep darkness.
Danzo didn't hesitate.
He stepped into the darkness, and the seal behind him closed on its own after he fully entered, as if it had never been opened.
The stone steps are very long.
Danzo silently counted his steps. After one hundred and twenty-seven steps, the terrain suddenly became clear.
He stopped.
The pupil in his one eye suddenly shrank.
It's not the warehouse he imagined, not a storage room full of shelves.
This is a stone room covering an area of dozens of square meters. The walls are inlaid with special ores that suppress chakra fluctuations. The air is filled with the smell of old paper mixed with some kind of antiseptic medicine.
And in the center, on the long ironwood table that is completely black -
Seventeen jars with inscriptions are neatly arranged.