Secret File and Alliance

Lin Feng leaned against an ancient tree.

A stream flowed past his feet, icy to the bone.

The black markings on his left arm had already spread to his collarbone. Every heartbeat felt like needles piercing him. He tore open the sealing scroll taken from a corpse, its surface giving off faint chakra fluctuations in the morning mist.

Dense technique patterns spread across the scroll's inner layer.

Lin Feng's pupils contracted.

These patterns were identical to the sealing techniques in Root's archives, but more complete and detailed. Every technique node was marked with activation conditions, and every sealing stage listed its corresponding target—Body Flicker Technique suppression, Sharingan lockdown, live nerve extraction.

His fingers stopped on the execution mark at the end of the scroll.

Ready for execution.

Lin Feng read the scroll's core contents in a low voice. "On the eve of the Uchiha coup, an elite Root squad infiltrated Shisui's residence. Sealing techniques will suppress the Body Flicker Technique, and both eyes will be removed while the target is alive. They will be implanted into a designated Root shinobi, who will use Kotoamatsukami to control the Nine-Tails and suppress the Uchiha rebellion."

It was not an assassination.

It was not about taking Kotoamatsukami.

It was live transplantation combined with control of the Nine-Tails.

Danzo's ambition had escalated from suppressing the Uchiha to controlling the strongest tailed beast. Shisui's eyes were not tools, but strategic weapons.

The technique imprint along the scroll's edge grew faintly hot. This was an official execution order issued by Root—not a draft, not a proposal, but a plan already in motion.

The Curse Seal suddenly throbbed violently.

Lin Feng groaned, the black markings on his left arm spreading toward his collarbone like living creatures.

Danzo was locking onto his location.

Footsteps came from deep within the forest.

Two sets.

They were closing in from both sides.

Lin Feng clenched the scroll and rose. He forcibly activated his Sharingan, but the Curse Seal's backlash instantly threw his chakra into chaos. His left arm went completely numb, the Three-Tomoe trembling violently in his eyes as double images filled his vision.

A Root shinobi emerged from behind an ancient tree to his front right.

The other circled in from downstream on his rear left.

"Target confirmed. The sealing scroll is in his possession."

"The Curse Seal signal is stable. Lord Danzo is locking on."

The shinobi on the front right threw out chakra-sealing chains. The metal links, wrapped in blue sealing techniques, split into six afterimages in midair.

Lin Feng tried to use the Body Flicker Technique.

The Curse Seal lashed back.

Chakra flowed backward through his meridians, and the black markings on his left shoulder blade erupted in burning pain. His body stalled, and all six chains tightened at once, pinning him to the ancient tree.

Where the chains touched his skin, sealing techniques began eroding the flow of his chakra.

The shinobi at the rear left formed hand seals. "Sealing Technique: Four-Limb Restraint."

Lin Feng gritted his teeth.

His Sharingan was still spinning, but his vision was growing increasingly blurred. He could see the second shinobi's hand seals and analyze the sealing technique's activation pattern, but his body could not keep up at all.

The Curse Seal had already suppressed all his neural reflexes.

The sealing technique was about to be completed.

The air suddenly warped.

The space beside Lin Feng rippled like water, and a green afterimage flashed past.

Uchiha Shisui appeared at the center of the battlefield.

No hand seals.

No opening stance.

His Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun at high speed. He created two Body Flicker clones out of thin air, appearing behind both Root shinobi at the same time.

Kunai pressed against vital points.

The chakra threads of the sealing technique were cut with precision, and the chains binding Lin Feng fell away with a clatter.

Shisui spoke, his voice calm. "The person you're looking for should be me."

The two Root shinobi exchanged a glance.

One of them quietly gave the code phrase. "The target has awakened. Report to Lord Danzo."

Both of them abandoned resistance at once, their figures melting into the tree shadows and vanishing.

Shisui did not pursue.

He put away his kunai and looked at the sealing scroll Lin Feng was gripping tightly.

"Is that intelligence about me?"

Lin Feng slid down the ancient tree and sat on the ground, then handed him the scroll.

Shisui unfolded it.

His expression shifted from confusion to shock.

His fingers trembled slightly when he read the words "live transplantation" and "control the Nine-Tails." He repeatedly rubbed the already-activated sealing technique imprint at the edge of the scroll, confirming that this was an official execution order issued by Root.

Silence.

Only the sound of the stream remained in the forest.

Shisui lowered the scroll, his voice deep. "As expected, he doesn't trust the Uchiha's power... He wants to turn it into his own tool."

Lin Feng braced himself against the ancient tree and stood. "Danzo's plan isn't to take your life. It's to take your eyes for live transplantation, then use Kotoamatsukami to control the Nine-Tails. This isn't a pursuit. It's a hunt."

Shisui's fingers tightened around the scroll.

His Three-Tomoe Sharingan stopped spinning for an instant.

"But the Third Hokage doesn't know about this. As long as we show him this secret file and let him know Danzo's true plan—"

"Are you sure he doesn't know?"

Lin Feng interrupted him.

Shisui's pupils contracted.

"You talked in your sleep while you were unconscious. 'The Third Hokage... he knows.'"

Shisui looked away.

Morning mist drifted slowly between them.

Lin Feng did not press the matter. Instead, he said, "Before the coup, we need to gather more evidence and expose Danzo's entire plan to the light. We need to strike first—we can't wait for him to act before responding."

Shisui raised his head.

His Three-Tomoe Sharingan slowly turned.

"You mean... we join forces? Not against the Uchiha, nor against Konoha, but against Danzo?"

"Your enemy has only ever been Danzo," Lin Feng said. "The Uchiha's problems, Konoha's problems—the root of them all lies with him. Kotoamatsukami, live transplantation, controlling the Nine-Tails—this is Danzo's personal plan, not Konoha's will. At least, not yet."

Shisui fell silent.

"But the Third Hokage is the person I trust most. If he truly knows... if he truly condoned it..."

"Then you should verify it yourself instead of treating an assumption as the truth," Lin Feng interrupted. "This secret file is evidence, not speculation. What we need are facts."

Shisui's fingers tightened over the scroll.

His knuckles turned white.

Then they relaxed.

He looked at Lin Feng's torn collar. "The Curse Seal on your body... Danzo planted it? How far has it spread?"

Lin Feng exposed the black markings near his collarbone. "He's tracking me in reverse. I have time, but not much. So we need to move quickly."

Shisui reached out and touched the Curse Seal markings on Lin Feng's left arm.

His Sharingan rotated as he analyzed the technique's structure.

"Reversing the chakra flow can suppress it. It can't remove the seal, but it can slow its spread."

"What's the condition?"

"In exchange, help me figure out one thing." Shisui withdrew his hand. "How much does the Third Hokage really know?"

"Deal."

Lin Feng did not hesitate.

"But we need to leave first. Root's pursuers won't be limited to these two."

Shisui nodded.

The two passed through the forest and entered the ruins of an abandoned outpost.

Moss covered the broken walls and rubble, but the outpost's main structure remained intact. Shisui formed hand seals with one hand and set up a Sensing Barrier at the entrance.

Lin Feng sat down against a stone wall.

Shisui stood across from him, placing his right hand over the Curse Seal markings again.

"Reverse the direction of chakra flow in your meridians. The Curse Seal is a parasitic technique. It spreads by devouring forward-flowing chakra. Reversing the flow will deprive it of nourishment."

Lin Feng closed his eyes.

His Sharingan captured the flow of chakra within his body, and he reversed it one meridian node at a time.

The black markings began to recede.

From his collarbone to his shoulder blade.

From his shoulder blade to his elbow.

The Curse Seal stopped spreading at his left elbow, and the black markings faded.

Shisui withdrew his hand.

"At most, three days. After three days, the Curse Seal will adapt to the reversed chakra flow and spread even faster."

Lin Feng moved his left arm.

His fingers could move again.

Some feeling had returned.

"Three days is enough."

Shisui sat on a stone platform amid the ruins and unfolded the sealing scroll again.

His gaze fell on the words "live transplantation."

"I'll contact the Third Hokage as soon as possible. You'll analyze the sealing techniques in the secret file and find a technical means to counter Danzo's plan."

"We split up."

Lin Feng sat across from Shisui.

"We each complete our tasks before Root's next move. This outpost will serve as a temporary base. Set up a reverse Sensing Barrier, and we'll be able to detect Root's tracking in advance."

Shisui nodded.

His Sharingan glimmered faintly in the dim ruins.

"Lin Feng."

"Yeah."

"Thank you for not hiding this secret file from me."

Lin Feng looked at Shisui.

"Trust is the foundation of an alliance. I want to fight Danzo, and you want to uncover the truth. This isn't using each other. We share the same goal."

Shisui was silent for several seconds.

Then he extended his right hand.

Lin Feng clasped it.

Outside the ruins, the morning mist gradually dispersed.

Dawn light shone through the cracks in the broken walls, falling onto the sealing scroll between them.