Beneath Konoha, the Root Organization's base was perpetually shrouded in an unrelenting chill and silence.
Shimura Danzō leaned on his cane, his lone eye looking particularly sinister in the dim light.
Before him, a Root ninja wearing an animal mask knelt on one knee. He had just finished reporting the day's events at the Ninja Academy, with the focus naturally on "Sasuke Uchiha apparently awakening his Sharingan for Naruko Uzumaki."
"Utter nonsense!!!"
Shimura Danzō's low, raspy voice broke the silence, carrying undisguised anger and scorn.
He slammed his cane against the floor with a dull thud.
"The inherently evil, cursed Uchiha draw their Sharingan's power only from darkness, hatred, betrayal, and the most extreme suffering!"
"Awakening it out of love? Absurd! What an absolute joke!"
A cold gleam flashed in Shimura Danzō's lone eye, his tone leaving no room for doubt. "This must be Fugaku Uchiha's doing! That ambitious clan leader will stop at nothing to further cement the Uchiha's relationship with the Fourth Hokage!"
He rose and paced through the dim room, as though working through his deductions. "He must have used some Uchiha secret technique we know nothing about, or subjected Sasuke Uchiha to special stimulation and training beforehand, fabricating the illusion that he awakened his Sharingan out of love."
"His aim is simply to curry favor with Minato Namikaze and emphasize the close ties between the Uchiha and the Hokage's faction, particularly by binding them together through the next generation!"
He stopped abruptly and fixed his lone eye on the Root ninja. "Send people at once to keep an even closer watch on the Uchiha, especially Fugaku Uchiha's movements. Also..."
He paused, his voice growing even darker. "I must personally warn the Fourth Hokage not to be taken in by this pathetic Uchiha performance! They are exploiting