Itachi Uchiha's Intelligence

Before Uchiha You turned to leave, he glanced once more at the files on the table.

"Oh, right."

"The Police Force will make copies of these files."

"For future review."

Koharu Utatane had just been about to refuse.

When Uchiha You calmly added:

"After all, this matter involves Uchiha victims. The Police Force has the right to retain copies."

Koharu Utatane: "..."

Rules again.

Those damned rules again.

They had once used rules to suppress the Uchiha Clan.

Now Uchiha You used rules to push back at them every day.

The most disgusting part was that he actually had the legal standing to do it.

The Third Hokage nodded wearily.

"Fine."

Uchiha You picked up several scrolls and handed them to Uchiha Chuan.

"Let's go."

The group left the Hokage's office.

The moment the door closed, Uchiha Chuan finally could not help asking in a low voice:

"You, are they just fobbing us off with useless files?"

Uchiha You said calmly:

"Of course."

"Danzo isn't an idiot."

"Why would he hand over Root's real evidence of its crimes?"

Uchiha Chuan frowned.

"Then why did we accept them?"

"Why not?"

"These files are incomplete."

"But as long as they contain records of Root monitoring the Uchiha Clan, that will be enough for us to continue proving the higher-ups' hostility to the clan."

"Besides, Lord Hokage has already agreed to restrict ANBU and Root from entering the clan grounds."

"That buys us time to set up our defenses."

Uchiha Chuan's eyes lit up.

He understood.

Danzo thought he was using useless files to stall the Uchiha Clan.

But Uchiha You had casually turned the matter into a reason for the Uchiha Clan to buy time.

The higher-ups wanted an investigation?

Fine.

Then during the investigation, they had to rein in their surveillance.

Otherwise, it would mean the suspects were continuing to contact the victims.

That move was ruthless.

Uchiha Chuan said quietly:

"They think they're stalling us."

The corners of Uchiha You's lips curled upward.

"Then let them stall."

"The longer they drag it out, the more thoroughly we'll prepare."

"By the time they realize something is wrong, it'll be too late."

Meanwhile.

At the Root Base.

Deep underground.

The air was filled with the pungent stench of disinfectant, blood, and mixed medicinal agents.

Danzo lay on an operating table, his face pale.

His right arm had been completely severed.

The arm corroded by Black Umbrella's Necrosis Mark had been sealed inside a special container.

Within the container, black-red chakra still writhed slowly like a virus.

Several Root medical ninja stood nearby, their foreheads drenched in cold sweat.

"Lord Danzo, that chakra is far too corrosive."

"Although Hashirama Cells can suppress part of it, they cannot completely remove it."

"If the original right arm had remained, the necrosis would have spread through the meridians and could even have affected your heart and chakra center."

Danzo's expression darkened.

That was why he had decisively abandoned his right arm.

He was not someone who could not bear to lose an arm.

As long as he lived.

As long as he could continue controlling Root.

What was one arm?

Besides, Root had long prepared backup plans.

Transplant experiments.

Hashirama Cells.

And even prosthetic materials that had not yet fully stabilized.

Danzo asked coldly:

"How is the new arm adapting?"

The medical ninja immediately replied:

"The initial transplant has been completed."

"This arm incorporates tissue cultivated with Hashirama Cells, but its Sharingan implant slots have not yet been fully activated."

"For the time being, it cannot bear too many Sharingan."

"Otherwise, the rejection reaction will be extremely severe."

Danzo's gaze darkened.

"It doesn't matter."

"Restore my mobility first."

"There will be plenty of Sharingan later."

When he mentioned the Sharingan, the strange Mangekyō Sharingan in Uchiha You's eyes surfaced in his mind.

A pattern like a Protective Umbrella.

Those eyes were far more dangerous than ordinary Sharingan.

And far more valuable.

If he could obtain them...

Greed flashed through Danzo's eyes.

But he quickly forced the emotion down.

Uchiha You was not Shisui.

Shisui would hesitate.

He would believe in the village.

He would give Danzo opportunities.

But Uchiha You would not.

That brat was a savage beast wearing human skin.

Taking his eyes could not be done the same way it had been done to Shisui.

He had to be killed in a single strike.

It would be best to launch the ambush after he had overused his Mangekyō Sharingan.

With that thought, Danzo looked toward the Root ninja standing nearby.

"Any news from Itachi?"

The Root ninja immediately handed over a scroll.

"This is the latest intelligence from Itachi Uchiha."

Danzo took the scroll and slowly unfurled it.

The more he read, the colder his single eye became.

The scroll did not contain much.

But it was exactly what he most wanted to know.

[Uchiha You's left eye appears capable of corroding chakra, contaminating meridians, and creating virus-like chakra.]

[His right eye appears capable of cellular enhancement and self-repair.]

[However, according to records within the Uchiha Clan, the Mangekyō Sharingan does not come without a cost.]

[The more frequently it is used, the greater the consumption of ocular power, and eyesight gradually declines.]

[Uchiha You has used his Mangekyō Sharingan repeatedly in recent days. The strain on his eyes should be extremely severe.]

[Some of the clan elders are concerned about this.]

Upon seeing this, Danzo's eyes finally lit up.

The Mangekyō's side effects.

That made sense.

Such powerful ocular techniques could not possibly come without a price.

Uchiha You had been using those eyes too frequently lately.

The Land of Water mission.

Killing Root members.

Stopping the eye theft.

Seriously wounding him.

After several consecutive high-intensity uses, his ocular power must have been greatly depleted.

The reason he still appeared so forceful was likely only to intimidate the Uchiha Clan and the higher-ups.

In reality, perhaps he was no longer as composed as he appeared.

A cold smile appeared on Danzo's lips.

"Uchiha You."

"So you do have weaknesses after all."

The medical ninja was securing his new right arm.

Danzo endured the agonizing pain, but his single eye grew ever colder.

The stronger the Mangekyō, the greater its consumption.

Then Uchiha You could not be given any more time.

If this continued, if Uchiha You truly consolidated the Uchiha Clan, recovered his ocular power, and joined forces with Shisui, then Konoha's higher-ups would completely lose the initiative.

They had to strike first.

Before he fully took control within the clan.

Before his Mangekyō's side effects stopped accumulating.

Before Itachi could no longer be used.

Before the Uchiha Clan completed all its defenses.

They would wipe them out in one stroke.

Danzo asked coldly:

"How much longer before the new right arm fully integrates?"

The medical ninja lowered his head.

"Seven days at the earliest."

Danzo's gaze sank.

"Too slow."

Cold sweat beaded across the medical ninja's forehead.

"Lord Danzo, Hashirama Cell integration cannot be rushed, or there will be backlash."

Danzo said icily:

"Five days."

The medical ninja's face turned pale.

"This..."

Danzo fixed him with his single eye.

"I said five days."

The medical ninja immediately lowered his head.

"Yes!"

Danzo closed his eyes again.

Five days.

At most five days.

Once this right arm had begun to recover, he would pressure Hiruzen.

The Uchiha Clan could not be allowed to remain.

Especially Uchiha You.

That brat's existence would turn the entire Uchiha Clan into a blade aimed at Konoha's heart.

It had to be broken before it was fully drawn.