Danzo's Rage and Misjudgment, an Ominous Sign of the Uchiha Clan Massacre Conspiracy

The source of chakra Itachi had sensed during his previous mission was here.

It was the Nine-Tails Chakra leaking from Naruto's body.

"Why is the Nine-Tails Chakra surfacing?"

Itachi frowned and asked the Root ninja beside him.

Soon, he saw that Naruto's right eye was hollow, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

Had these Root people still not given up on the Jinchuriki?

The squad captain immediately perked up and shouted at Itachi in a commanding tone:

"Move! Suppress the Nine-Tails, or it'll completely lose control!"

Itachi's brow furrowed as he looked at the Three-Tails emerging behind Naruto, his expression darkening.

But it only made him take things the slightest bit more seriously.

Itachi had not awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan yet, but Shisui had already conceded during their previous sparring sessions.

As long as Itachi did not use clones, he and Shisui were evenly matched in their Three-Tomoe Sharingan states.

Even Sasuke, with only a Three-Tomoe Sharingan, could suppress Naruto when the Four-Tails went berserk.

Handling the current situation was nothing to Itachi.

The three tomoe in his eyes spun wildly as his consciousness plunged into the sealing space.

Seeing bubbles of Nine-Tails Chakra covering the ground, Itachi suppressed that power in just a few moves.

But something felt off to him.

The Nine-Tails was not as crazed as he had expected.

Its true body lay in the cage, watching him reinforce the seal with a sidelong glance, its gaze carrying a hint of amusement.

This had gone far too smoothly.

Itachi blankly glanced at the unconscious Naruto, unease stirring in his heart.

Over there, Shikamaru, Shino, and the other young ninjas shouted as they rushed over:

"Naruto!"

The ANBU and the Root squad captain stepped forward together, blocking Shikamaru and the others.

"Stop right there! The ANBU are conducting business. Uninvolved people are not to come any closer."

"ANBU?"

Shikamaru and the others studied the group in shock and suspicion.

"How did Naruto get hurt so badly? What are you trying to do?"

"It's none of your business."

The Root squad captain turned his gaze toward Naruto.

Since they had failed to obtain the Sharingan, taking the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki back would at least help offset some of the blame.

"Hand the Jinchuriki over to me."

The squad captain addressed Itachi.

Itachi had no intention of listening to him.

He was on the Hokage's side now.

"He's badly injured. I'm taking him to the hospital."

"No need! Just hand him over!"

The squad captain grew anxious. If he failed to capture Naruto, he would be lucky to escape death when he returned.

Itachi ignored him completely, picked Naruto up, and vanished with a Body Flicker.

The white-robed squad captain's face instantly turned black as a pot.

With his abilities, how could he possibly stop a genius of the Uchiha Clan?

And that genius was only eleven this year.

"Damn it!"

He viciously glared at the two ANBU watching the show beside him, took out a scroll to seal his companions' corpses inside, then turned and left as well.

The two ANBU exchanged a glance and hurried to report to the Hokage without delay.

Only Shikamaru and the others remained at the scene, standing there with bewilderment written across their faces.

In the forest.

A green giant had withstood every explosive tag that came flying at it.

That squad of ANBU looked up at Susanoo, their legs going weak.

"What the hell is that thing?"

"Yasaka Magatama!"

The green magatama flew like bullets, riddling the Root members with holes one after another.

Supporting his body that was on the verge of collapse, Shisui flashed out of the forest.

Naruto's appearance had forced the enemy to split their forces. Even if Itachi had not come to support him, he would still have escaped.

The surviving members of the two Root squads knelt before Danzo, their faces burning with shame.

Danzo's arm hung limply at his side, and his face was so dark it seemed ready to drip ink.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi!"

Danzo let out a low growl through clenched teeth.

Only now did he realize that the Third had played him from beginning to end.

The Rasengan.

That was a ninjutsu known only to direct members of the Hokage's lineage, people like the Fourth, Jiraiya, and Kakashi.

It looked unremarkable, but it was an A-rank technique.

Without someone teaching it personally, who could possibly learn it?

In Danzo's eyes, the one who had stolen the Sharingan had to be an ANBU under Hiruzen Sarutobi.

No wonder the Third had specifically summoned him and introduced Shisui from head to toe.

No wonder he had said he would assign an ANBU to Shisui.

So that was the trap waiting for him.

The Third's former cowardly image shattered completely in Danzo's mind.

This was not cowardice. This was a damn old fox.

What disgusted Danzo most was that he had failed to capture that ANBU.

He had no evidence whatsoever to prove that person belonged to the Third.

Then Itachi had happened to take Naruto away, making Danzo feel more and more like a fool the longer he thought about it.

The clown had turned out to be himself.

Worse still, he could not go settle the score with Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The Third had not said anything extra. He had merely told Shisui to stop the coup.

Danzo himself had secretly tried to gouge out Shisui's Sharingan behind the Third's back.

Now that things had reached this point, Hiruzen Sarutobi was clearly not the spineless weakling Danzo had once thought he was.

Even if he went to Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, he would still be the one in the wrong.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi, I'll remember this."

Danzo glared fiercely toward the Hokage Building.

This time, he had truly tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice.

Kagami Uchiha's Sharingan had been used up, yet he had not obtained even one of Shisui's Sharingan.

A trace of viciousness appeared on Danzo's face.

"Luckily, I still have a backup plan. If they want to bring in the Uchiha Clan, then they can't blame me for wiping them out."