Deep in the forest.
Before Danzo could catch up with Itachi, they reached a weed-choked ruin. It dated back to the Warring States Period, when the town that once stood there had been reduced to rubble by war.
Beyond the ruins stood a sheer, smooth cliff.
At the sight, a smile crept onto Danzo's lips. He looked at Itachi, who had stopped ahead of him, and sneered, "Why aren't you running anymore? Out of chakra for your clones?"
Unlike the basic Three-Body Technique, elemental clones capable of moving freely consumed large amounts of chakra. Even jonin could use the Clone Technique only sparingly in actual combat.
Although Itachi possessed the strength of a jonin, his chakra reserves certainly could not match those of an elite jonin.
Itachi did not answer. Instead, he turned his back and walked deeper into the ruins, seemingly unconcerned about a surprise attack from Danzo.
Just then, a bleak wind whistled through the ruins, and a chill stirred in Danzo's heart.
What made Itachi so calm? Had he already alerted the Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan wielders? Was that why he could wait here with such confidence? But neither of them had left the village today.
Suppressing his unease, Danzo once again felt the instability within his body. It hardened his resolve to seize the Sharingan.
He slowly made his way deeper into the ruins, examining every trace around him.
Before long, he gleaned considerable information from the carvings and inscriptions. They recorded that this had once been a town belonging to the Senju Clan, destroyed in battle against the Uchiha.
Ultimately, this place had also witnessed the final war between the Senju and the Uchiha.
This history was nothing new to Danzo. Both the Shimura Clan's oral traditions and the village's records recounted these major events from