Eyes Watching the Night!

That very night after Riu left, Danzo, having failed to find Orochimaru, rushed back to Konoha upon receiving an urgent report. Gazing at Root's headquarters, which had been almost completely destroyed, and Fu Yamanaka's headless corpse, even the ever-calm Danzo flew into a rage. "What the hell happened here?!"

"Lord Danzo, this is what happened..." The Root member kneeling nearby reported the situation to Danzo.

After hearing the report, Danzo leaned on his cane and lowered his head in thought.

Someone who could silently breach Konoha's barrier, infiltrate Root's underground headquarters beneath Konoha, possess a body immune to all physical attacks and ninjutsu, wield Space-Time Dimension ninjutsu surpassing even the Second and Fourth Hokage, and have that ominous Chakra construct covering his body... There was no doubt it was the legendary Susanoo. Of all the possible intruders, I can think of no one but him! Uchiha... Madara?

With that thought, Danzo quietly tightened his grip on his cane before reconsidering.

No, Madara was from the Warring States period. No matter what methods he used to prolong his life, he should not still be alive... It had to be some Uchiha clansman who inherited Madara's will. He could use Wood Release and had targeted Kinoe, who possessed Lord Hashirama's cells. What he sought was the power of both the Uchiha and Senju Clan! In other words, he wanted the Nine-Tails! And Orochimaru had disappeared without a trace at precisely this time. This... was probably no coincidence!

"Report this matter to the daimyo of the Land of Fire immediately," Danzo said.

"Lord Danzo, this incident occurred at our Root headquarters. If word gets out, it will damage Root's reputation. Why would we do that?" his subordinate asked in confusion.

"Heh, what does reputation matter? This incident can expose the weakness and incompetence of Konoha under the Fourth Hokage's rule. The enemy exploited an opening and inflicted immense losses upon Root, which has diligently protected Konoha. The Fourth has only just taken office, and his position is not yet stable. This blow will be a heavy one, exactly as I wish..." Danzo said darkly.

"But the Fourth was recommended by the Third, and he is a hero of the Shinobi World War. Bringing him down like this is hardly realistic!"

"At the very least, it will turn the situation in my favor. For example... placing the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki under Root's supervision, openly and legitimately!" Danzo said in a deep voice.

"Lord Danzo is wise!"

Danzo's gaze grew deep. Kushina's Chakra was exceptional even among the Uzumaki Clan. She could fully suppress the Nine-Tails, which was why she had been chosen as the second Jinchūriki after Mito. Now that she was pregnant, the seal was steadily weakening. This was the perfect opportunity to act. Once the Nine-Tails was mine, I would pin the crime of killing the Jinchūriki on the Uchiha. That way, I could both destroy the Fourth's rule and eliminate the Uchiha Clan, that destabilizing factor.

"Hiruzen, the one who will ultimately become Hokage and lead Konoha to reign over the Shinobi World will be me, Shimura Danzo!" Danzo's ambition and schemes ran far deeper than anyone could imagine.

In the forest outside the Hidden Leaf Village, Riu raced through the trees. The reason he had not used Kamui to return to his base immediately was that he wanted to mark Space-Time Dimension coordinates in more places with his Sharingan, making it easier to jump back and forth.

In the later parts of the original story, Obito could use Kamui to travel through nearly every corner of the Shinobi World because his footsteps had covered the entire world...

"Yu, since we rarely come to Konoha, why not recover the Nine-Tails as well? Don't you want to become the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki..." Tobi asked.

Riu said, "Things need to be done one at a time. You can't get fat in one bite. Besides, Konoha's strength cannot be underestimated right now. The Yellow Flash is stationed here, the Third Hokage is still at his peak, Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin is here, along with numerous Elite Jonin. Without sufficient preparation, it won't be easy to succeed..."

"Well, that's true. The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki still has half a year before giving birth. There's no rush. We can act once the seal loosens further..." Tobi said.

Riu said nothing. In truth, the biggest reason he would not act now was—he did not want to attack a pregnant woman!

Attacking Kushina while she was giving birth, extracting the Nine-Tails, and causing Kushina's death was one of the few stains on Obito that could never be washed away!

Riu would not choose to strike while Kushina was giving birth like Obito had. He would capture the Nine-Tails openly and honorably!

Even if Kushina would still die after the Nine-Tails was extracted, that was another matter entirely. It concerned Riu's principles...

"I've marked enough places. Time to head back..." Riu said, looking around.

Rustle, rustle, rustle! Suddenly, a disturbance came from nearby.

Riu saw a tall boy standing before some rocks and targets, teaching a shorter boy Shuriken Technique.

The one intently throwing shuriken was none other than the five-year-old Uchiha Itachi!

The one guiding him nearby was the eight-year-old Uchiha Shisui. Beneath the moonlight, the three Magatama set in his scarlet eyes were completely at odds with his childish face...

Riu's eyes lit up.

Uchiha Shisui, known as Shisui Uchiha, was the greatest genjutsu prodigy in Uchiha Clan history. Itachi had awakened his Sharingan at the age of eight, shocking the entire Hidden Leaf Village, yet few knew that Shisui had awakened his eyes even earlier, at seven!

After merely one year of training, he had already mastered them and awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan...

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Itachi's shuriken could already accurately strike the bullseye of a target ten meters away.

"Itachi, I'll teach you how to hit a target hidden in a blind spot..." Shisui said with a smile.

"A blind spot? Wouldn't that mean making the shuriken turn? How is that possible?" Itachi asked in surprise.

"Like this."

Shisui stacked two shuriken together at a slight angle and casually threw them...

Clang! Clang! The two shuriken collided midair, their trajectories shifting as they accurately struck the bullseye behind the rock!

"Amazing! As expected of Brother Shisui. When will I be able to do that too?" young Itachi exclaimed in admiration.

"With your talent, you'll manage it with just a little practice. Actually, when I was your age, I hadn't yet... Hm?" Suddenly, Shisui's pupils flashed, and he looked up as though he had sensed something.

Whoosh... A gust of wind swept through, stirring up a great mass of leaves.

"Brother Shisui, what is it?" Itachi asked.

"Nothing. It was probably just my imagination..." Shisui murmured as he looked at the empty treetop.

"Tsk, tsk. Outstanding perception. Frankly speaking, the potential contained in Yu's eyes is no less than yours..." From afar, Tobi clicked his tongue in amazement.

Of course. Otherwise, he would not have been chosen by Riu!

"Shisui, I will wait for those eyes of yours, because they are worth waiting for... Only your Kotoamatsukami is worthy of merging with my Kamui, creating the strongest Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, unprecedented and never to be surpassed!"

Beneath Riu's mask, his pupils glimmered with an unusual light... Whoosh! Accompanied by a vortex, he vanished into the night sky.