Root Archive City

The corridor outside the archive room was unnaturally quiet.

Lin Feng stopped at the corner.

The Technique-Sealing Talisman behind him had just burned away, its last embers drifting through the darkness as the ten-second opening sealed completely.

But he did not continue forward.

Five steps ahead, the door to the Root Archive Room stood half-open.

Dim yellow light spilled through the crack, casting a long, narrow strip across the floor. The sound of papers rustling came from within, mixed with quiet muttering.

Lin Feng's pupils narrowed slightly.

The patrol route map had marked it clearly—at the third quarter of the Hour of the Boar, the archive room should have been empty.

His hand settled on the hilt of a kunai. Holding his breath, he pressed himself completely into the shadow along the wall. The Crow Mark on his palm grew faintly warm, sending out indistinct pulses of perception.

The person inside was not a sensory ninja. His chakra fluctuations were weak, his movements slack, and he showed no signs of vigilance.

"Another pile of old files."

A hoarse mutter came from the archive room, full of obvious irritation.

"Lord Danzo's orders are too rushed. These experimental records from three years ago all need to be refiled. If I can't finish sorting them tonight, I'll definitely be punished tomorrow."

Papers were roughly stacked together, then slammed heavily onto the table.

Through the gap in the door, Lin Feng saw the speaker's position clearly—a Root member wearing a mask stood with his back to the entrance before a long table in the center of the archive room, holding a stack of yellowed documents. His white-striped mask covered most of his face, leaving only his chin and neck exposed.

The mask bore the coded markings of an archive administrator.

Lin Feng's gaze fell on the four metal filing cabinets beside him. Their doors stood open, filled with neatly arranged folders that had not yet been taken out.

The administrator had not begun sorting the confidential section yet.

There was still time.

"Tch, the Uchiha Clan Annihilation Plan has already been carried out, and they still want the old files checked again."

The administrator muttered as he placed the documents in his hands on the left side of the long table.

"I don't know what details Lord Danzo wants to investigate. The final destruction confirmation order was clearly already issued."

Destruction confirmation order.

Those four words entered Lin Feng's ears, making his grip around the kunai tighten.

He could not let the administrator touch the confidential files.

Lin Feng took a deep breath. The tomoe in his Sharingan spun silently in the darkness.

Through the gaps in the wall, he caught the administrator's entire movement trajectory—the man would turn around in five seconds and walk toward the third metal cabinet, intending to retrieve old files labeled "Three Years Ago" from its drawer.

That cabinet was closest to the confidential section.

The administrator currently had his back to him, absorbed in complaining and organizing papers. In this state, his attention was at its loosest, his awareness of his surroundings nearly nonexistent.

Lin Feng's peripheral vision swept over the corner of the archive room's ceiling.

There were no traces of sensory runes.

This archive room itself was not covered by Root's special surveillance network. Danzo had placed those sealing barriers in the passageways and at the entrances, not inside every archive room.

Physical restraint was the safest choice.

He could not use genjutsu. The sensing barrier inscribed through sealing techniques was extremely sensitive to chakra fluctuations; any unusual disturbance from a dojutsu could trigger an alarm. Pure taijutsu, however, would not leave such traces.

The administrator's body began to turn.

Now.

Chakra burst with precise force beneath Lin Feng's feet. The Body Flicker Technique carried him across the five-step distance in an instant, placing him in the administrator's blind spot.

His Sharingan had already seen through every intention behind the man's movements—the administrator would raise his right hand one second after completing his turn to pull open the metal cabinet's drawer. That motion would expose his elbow joint, leaving the opening beneath his arm completely vulnerable.

Lin Feng's left hand shot out like lightning and seized the raised wrist. His fingertips precisely locked into the hollow between the radial and ulnar styloid processes, then violently twisted in the direction opposite the joint.

Crack.

His elbow and shoulder joints locked at the same time.

The administrator's mouth flew open, but the sharp inhale was still caught in his throat.

Lin Feng's right hand was already pressed against the side of his neck. His thumb precisely compressed the carotid sinus while the heel of his palm simultaneously pressed a branch of the vagus nerve. His force was perfectly controlled—it would rapidly deprive the man's brain of blood and knock him unconscious without causing permanent damage.

The administrator's body began to go limp.

His white-striped mask slipped from his face, revealing a young countenance covered in fine scars. His eyes were wide, his pupils rapidly dilating, while his lips still moved unconsciously.

Lin Feng caught his falling body and silently laid him flat on the ground.

A document slipped from the administrator's limp fingers.

The paper drifted to the floor. Along the edge of its yellowed page was a Root internal-document serial stamp, and at the top was a neat line of black ink:

"Final Confirmation Notice Regarding the Uchiha Clan Annihilation Plan."

Lin Feng's pupils contracted sharply.

He crouched down, confirmed that the administrator's breathing was steady, then picked up the document.

The instant his fingertips touched the paper, the Crow Mark suddenly burned fiercely. A vague emotion left behind in the mark by Shisui surged into his senses—an anguish and rage carved into bone.

Lin Feng opened the first page.

"Under Lord Danzo's instructions, this clan annihilation operation shall formally enter the execution phase, using the failed assassination attempt against Uchiha Shisui as its trigger. Uchiha Itachi shall serve as the primary executor, while Root shall provide full logistical support."

His finger stopped on the words "failed assassination attempt."

Shisui's fall into the river had been classified as a failed assassination attempt—had Shisui tried to assassinate someone, or had someone tried to assassinate him?

The document did not specify.

Lin Feng continued reading.

The second page was an operation authorization, the third a mission assignment sheet, and the fourth—he stopped when he reached the fifth page.

At the top of that page was written: "The following is a summary of background intelligence for this operation. Information sources are current through August of Konoha Calendar Year Fifty-Eight. All information has been categorized and archived in accordance with Lord Danzo's requirements. The archive codes for the relevant individuals are as follows—"

Below it was a list of names.

Uchiha Shisui's name was first.

Beside his code, a line of small red handwriting read: "Classified as a special observation subject three years ago. Related research archive code: R-001-504."

Three years ago.

Lin Feng's Sharingan began spinning faster of its own accord, the Three-Tomoe in his pupils nearly merging into one.

Discussion of the clan annihilation plan had only begun last month.

But Shisui had been classified as a special observation subject three years ago.

Three years ago, Shisui had just awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Three years ago, Shisui had become Fugaku's most trusted deputy.

Three years ago—

Lin Feng abruptly rose to his feet, his gaze sweeping like blades across the four metal filing cabinets in the center of the archive room. The administrator had not yet had the chance to sort the third cabinet, but he had raised his hand to open the drawer labeled "Three Years Ago."

Lin Feng walked over and pulled open the drawer.

Inside was a cabinet packed with file folders, each spine bearing a label:

"R-001-501: Theoretical Model for Mangekyo Sharingan Awakening"

"R-001-502: Parameter Assessment of the Ultimate Genjutsu Kotoamatsukami"

"R-001-503: Chakra Signature Code of Caster Uchiha Shisui"

"R-001-504: Kotoamatsukami Suppression Program"

Lin Feng pulled out the last one.

Aside from the serial number, the cover bore a blood-red stamp: Top Secret. For Lord Danzo's Eyes Only.

He opened the first page.

"Experimental target: Uchiha Shisui, Mangekyo Sharingan holder, ability designated as the ultimate genjutsu Kotoamatsukami. Experimental mission: develop a complete suppression program for this ability to ensure it cannot be used against Root at a critical moment."

Time marked: March, Konoha Calendar Year Fifty-Five.

The spring of three years ago.

At that time, Shisui had only just emerged in the aftermath of the Third Shinobi World War, had only just been recognized by Konoha's upper ranks as the future of the Uchiha Clan, and had only just begun to believe he could use Kotoamatsukami to change the relationship between the Uchiha and the village.

And Danzo had already been researching how to kill him.

Lin Feng continued turning the pages.

The second page contained Shisui's complete combat data. The frequency of his Body Flicker Technique, his chakra nature, ninja-tool preferences, tactical habits—every parameter had been recorded in detail, accompanied by a note:

"Data source: Root Anbu observation records. Observation period: daily."

Someone had watched Shisui every day for three years.

The third page contained an analysis chart of Kotoamatsukami's capabilities. The Mangekyo's pattern had been traced stroke by stroke, and its range of effect, duration, chakra depletion coefficient after use—every item was accompanied by precise figures.

A parameter in the notes column had been circled in red: "Suppression window—peak chakra depletion occurs between the seventh and ninth seconds after the target activates Kotoamatsukami."

Lin Feng's fingers turned white.

Those figures could not have been obtained through long-distance observation.

Only from close range—extremely close range—at the moment after Shisui had used Kotoamatsukami and his chakra was at its lowest point, could such precise depletion parameters have been measured.

Someone had approached Shisui when he was at his weakest, measured him, studied him.

That person was Danzo.

Lin Feng turned to the fifth page.

Its title read: "Kotoamatsukami Suppression Program—Final Confirmed Version."

Below it were densely packed arrays of sealing techniques, chakra interference sequences, and countless theoretical models he could not fully understand. But he saw a familiar term in one line:

"Core of suppression program: use the target's chakra signature code to reverse-engineer an interference sequence, then activate it when the target enters the chakra depletion window."

Lin Feng's Sharingan gave off a piercing red glow in the darkness.

He understood.

Shisui was not a victim of the clan annihilation plan.

Shisui had been marked for elimination three years ago.

The clan annihilation plan was merely one part of that elimination operation. No—the clan annihilation plan had been created as cover for eliminating Shisui. The destruction of the Uchiha Clan was meant to conceal Danzo's true motive for killing Shisui.

Someone could not allow others to know of Danzo's fear of Kotoamatsukami.

Someone could not allow others to know that Danzo had spent three years researching how to kill a ninja who wanted to save the village with genjutsu.

Lin Feng turned to the final pages.

Large portions had been blacked out.

Black ink covered three entire pages, leaving only scattered fragments visible at their edges:

"...success..."

"...test subject..."

"...permanent suppression..."

"...Itachi's... selected..."

Lin Feng's Sharingan began to ache.

He stared at the blacked-out passages, trying to pierce the ink with his dojutsu.

The tomoe spun madly, peeling back layers of black markings in his eyes and revealing the hidden words beneath—

"...Phase Two of the Kotoamatsukami Suppression Program experimental group succeeded. Test subject U-001 (Uchiha Shisui) has achieved triggerable suppression of Mangekyo ability, with suppression duration designated as permanent. This program shall be implanted into the test subject's body in the form of a Technique-Sealing Talisman. Suppression trigger condition: test subject activates Kotoamatsukami. Suppression effect: interrupt Kotoamatsukami activation, forcibly shut down the Mangekyo, and cause irreversible damage to chakra pathways. Second executor: Uchiha Itachi."

Three years ago.

It had all been complete three years ago.

Three years ago, Danzo already knew how to kill Shisui.

Three years ago, he had already chosen Itachi to do it.

The three black tomoe in Lin Feng's pupils burned into a field of scarlet.

He opened his mouth and let out a growl lowered to its absolute limit:

"You never intended to let him live from the beginning."

Research records from three years ago, a suppression program from three years ago, an executor chosen three years ago.

This was not an impulsive decision.

This was a premeditated murder.

From the very beginning, Shisui had been the target that needed to be eliminated.

The clan annihilation plan was the cover story created for this truth.

Lin Feng's fingers nearly crushed the paper file.

He needed more evidence. Several more pages had been blacked out, and he did not even know what deeper secrets the black ink concealed beneath them.

He activated his Sharingan, trying to see through the next blacked-out page.

The temperature in the archive room suddenly dropped.

Heavy footsteps from a cane sounded outside the door.

Tap—

Tap—

Tap—

Each sound landed precisely on the beat of Lin Feng's heart.

The archive room door was slowly pushed open from outside.