He was the killer?

Uchiha Douyang silently gave Kakashi a thumbs-up.

You observed everything so carefully, Kakashi.

Shisui took the stone, examined it closely, and agreed with Kakashi's assessment.

"Senior Kakashi, I apologize for my earlier rudeness."

"Shisui, I understand."

Kakashi patted Shisui on the shoulder and said, "By the way, is there anyone in the Uchiha who fits those characteristics?"

Shisui frowned in thought for a moment, then shook his head. "There are no Uchiha in the clan who have only their right eye left and are stronger than a Chunin."

Kakashi held his chin, racking his brains. "Then who could the killer be?"

Before long, Yugao and Pakkun returned.

"Did you find anything?" Kakashi promptly asked.

"Pakkun and I followed the scent all the way, but when we reached the area by the village's northwestern outer wall, the scent vanished completely."

Kakashi's brow furrowed deeply at her words.

Taken together, all these clues made it almost certain that the person who had killed Itachi was some mysterious ninja in the village with a transplanted Sharingan.

But besides me, who else has a transplanted Sharingan?

"The village's northwest..."

A flash of inspiration struck Kakashi. Suddenly thinking of something, he quickly took out a map of the village and spread it flat on the ground.

"Yugao, where exactly did you lose the trail?"

Yugao marked the location where their search had ended on the map.

Looking at the circle Yugao had drawn, Kakashi's eyes widened.

"This area is wasteland. No ninja clans or villagers live there. However, Root's headquarters is here."

"Senior Kakashi, could he be the killer?"

Shisui also thought of Root at that moment, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

As far as anyone openly knew, Kakashi was the only outsider with a transplanted Sharingan.

But Root's leader, Shimura Danzō, had been blind in his right eye for many years.

If there was a Sharingan beneath Shimura Danzō's bandages, everything made sense.

Shimura Danzō was exceptionally powerful, and as the Hokage Assistant, he held a high position and great authority.

It was plausible that he could have ambushed Uchiha Itachi and killed him in a single strike.

Shisui honestly asked himself and concluded that, without having awakened the Mangekyo, he most likely could not have escaped Danzo's ambush.

Shimura Danzō carried out the Second Hokage's will and had always taken a hard line toward the Uchiha. The relocation of the Uchiha Clan Compound to the outskirts had been arranged entirely by Shimura Danzō.

Furthermore, Shimura Danzō had coveted the Hokage position for a long time.

Once the Uchiha and the Third Hokage started fighting, he could reap the benefits without lifting a finger.

Shimura Danzō had both the ability and the motive to kill, and all the evidence they had uncovered pointed to him.

Could the killer be anyone else?

No!

Shisui's thoughts branched out, and he felt he had found the answer.

"Shisui, don't jump to conclusions."

Kakashi reminded him at that moment.

If the person who had killed Uchiha Itachi was Shimura Danzō, then this was not the end of the matter, but the beginning.

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "Come on, let's go back and see Lord Hokage."

The Hokage's Office.

After hearing Kakashi's report, the muscles in Hiruzen Sarutobi's aged face twitched rapidly, and the pipe in his mouth fell onto the desk with a clack.

The room was silent, its atmosphere oppressive and frozen.

"Shimura Danzō killed Uchiha Itachi. I would like to ask how Lord Hokage intends to deal with this."

Shisui broke the silence. His tone no longer held any respect for Hiruzen Sarutobi and had turned cold.

Back then, Shimura Danzō had incited Kakashi to assassinate the Third Hokage.

Who could have imagined that after the matter was exposed, the Third Hokage would choose to let it rest out of consideration for their bond as fellow disciples?

But this time, the one who had died was Uchiha Itachi. No matter what, Shimura Danzō could not be let off.

Shisui's cold attitude made Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression stiffen slightly.

Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could speak, Douyang said:

"Shisui, Lord Danzo has given a great deal for the village. Personally, I don't believe Lord Danzo would commit such an outrageous act as stabbing a comrade in the back."

"We only suspect that Lord Danzo is the killer. We have no conclusive evidence. If Lord Danzo has never had a Sharingan transplanted, wouldn't we be falsely accusing an innocent man?"

"Lord Hokage, why not summon Lord Danzo and verify it face-to-face?"

Hearing this, Shisui considered it briefly and felt it made some sense.

He was certain that the killer was Shimura Danzō. Even if it wasn't him, Itachi's death still had to be connected to Shimura Danzō.

But until they had solid proof, anything was possible.

Thus, Shisui said, "Lord Hokage, please give the order to summon Shimura Danzō."

Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered for a moment, then said, "Douyang, Shisui, Danzo is not only the Hokage Assistant, but also my closest friend. But if Danzo really killed Uchiha Itachi, then for the sake of the village and the Uchiha, I will certainly not let him off.

"Someone... never mind. Shisui, go yourself!"

If he sent another Anbu to summon Danzo, it would inevitably give people grounds to accuse him of colluding with Danzo.

Shisui was the most suitable choice.

After Shisui left, Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up his pipe, held it between his lips, and turned to gaze at Hokage Rock, sinking into thought.

Danzo, I hope it wasn't you.

The Root Base.

Shimura Danzō was buried in a mountain of documents.

Root received a great deal of classified intelligence from all over the shinobi world every day.

Shimura Danzō was also a naturally suspicious man who trusted no one.

As a result, he had to review almost every piece of intelligence personally.

Knock, knock, knock...

An urgent knocking sounded at the door.

Danzo put down the scroll in his hand and frowned. "Come in."

A Root ninja entered with a red scroll and addressed Danzo respectfully. "Lord Danzo, a letter from Orochimaru."

"Oh?"

Danzo's brows rose slightly.

After Orochimaru defected, Danzo had repeatedly sent people to search for him everywhere. Four years had passed without any news.

Danzo thought that Orochimaru was probably still brooding over the exposure of his human experiments and was hiding to avoid seeing him.

He had not expected Orochimaru to take the initiative to contact him this time.

Danzo eagerly took the scroll and read through it.

A moment later, Danzo threw the scroll aside with a dark expression.

"I wondered why Orochimaru had contacted me of his own accord. It turns out he's short on funds and wants money from me."

In recent years, not only had Orochimaru refused to abandon his Wood Release research, but he had also begun studying powerful forbidden techniques such as Living Corpse Reincarnation and the Eight Branches Technique.

Every forbidden technique required enormous funding.

When Orochimaru was still a hero of Konoha, he had secretly established laboratories throughout the shinobi world and had some financial reserves.

However, scientific research and experiments were a bottomless pit that required vast financial support.

Over the years, Orochimaru's funds had been almost completely depleted.

Left with no other choice, he had decided to seek help from his former partner, Shimura Danzō.

Danzo rested his chin on his palm and narrowed his eyes in thought.

Root was not flush with funds either, but he could still come up with a few hundred million.

However, if he simply gave it to Orochimaru, wouldn't that money go down the drain?

So he had to make Orochimaru pay a price and exchange his research results for it.

After pondering for a moment, Danzo shifted his gaze to his right arm.

This arm had been injured in the war. Although it was not yet crippled, it was nowhere near as flexible as a normal arm, causing his combat strength to decline.

With Root protecting him, Danzo did not need to fight most of the time.

Still, this feeling of lacking strength left Danzo uneasy.

"I wonder how far Orochimaru's Wood Release research has progressed. If I could get a Wood Release arm, my strength would surely improve by leaps and bounds."