Danzo took the bait

Jinyan, standing nearby, grew a little anxious. "Why didn't you let him keep talking? This is the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan! And what exactly was that thing Itachi learned?

"Was that why the clan head gathered a few clan members with one-tomoe and two-tomoe Sharingan for experiments last time?"

A rare look of gravity appeared on Xiaren's face, and his voice grew low.

"This involves the Hyuga Clan. It must be his deepest secret. We're better off not knowing."

"Since when did the Uchiha need to fear the Hyūga?"

"I'm worried some of our actions might affect Yan's plans."

"Ah!"

Jinyan sighed. "What do we do now? Should we let Yan go to the Land of Rain?

"As long as he goes, the Third Hokage will have to stop Danzo from targeting the clan head and the others so the Uchiha can fight on the front lines without worry.

"Besides, Yan's plan to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan is clearly set at the Land of Water border too. Shisui already left ages ago.

"I just don't understand why he needs Shisui's eyes. Didn't he only awaken his Sharingan recently?"

"Let's follow the plan for now. If Danzo really cooperates, that means Yan can see through people.

"In that case, with his brains and Kakashi around, Yan shouldn't run into any major problems.

"If Danzo doesn't cooperate, that means these plans are just a child's wild fantasies. He'll stay in the compound, and we'll help him awaken his Sharingan."

Jinyan nodded slightly. "Let's do that! Let's see whether Danzo makes a big fuss this time."

"Come on! You find some youngsters in the clan. I'll find a Root ninja."

"What about Yan?"

"Just let him sleep!"

Before the Uchiha, Uchiha Yan had no secrets at all. Even his underwear had nearly been stripped off.

Luckily, he had said beforehand that he underwent genjutsu every night. Otherwise, who knew what else Xiaren might have gotten out of him?

He had originally done this in preparation for Shisui's Kotoamatsukami a few years down the line. He hadn't expected it to come in handy now. It had worked out by accident.

After carrying Uchiha Yan into the bedroom, the two went their separate ways to put the plan into motion.

An hour later, two Uchiha children appeared at a barbecue restaurant, where a Root ninja happened to be feasting.

"Boss, two steaks, please. With cumin."

"Sure, just a moment!"

The two children nodded, then went to sit by a window and waited.

"Misa, I want to go to the Land of Rain border and fight in the war like Shisui. Can you help me?"

"Shinichi, you can't go! Shisui has already awakened his Sharingan. You haven't even learned the Fireball yet. How could you go?"

"Ah..."

Shinichi's voice was full of regret. "Senior Yan said he ran into a missing-nin from Kirigakure on his trip to the Land of Rain. Apparently, something's gone wrong in Kirigakure.

"If that's true, wouldn't it be easy for Konoha to defeat Kirigakure? We could earn some merit too.

"We're the same age, but Shisui has already awakened his Sharingan, while I can't do anything. I was even thinking of competing for the Hokage position someday!"

"What does the Hokage position have to do with merit?"

"Didn't the Fourth Hokage become Hokage because he ended the war with Iwagakure?"

"You're not the Fourth Hokage. Just come practice with kunai with me later!"

"Fine! What a shame, though. So many missing-nin suddenly appearing from Kirigakure-what a great opportunity!

"If I were the Third Hokage, I'd definitely send the Uchiha to Kirigakure."

"..."

The Root ninja heard their entire conversation. Before long, he hurried out of the barbecue restaurant, while Misa and Shinichi stayed where they were and waited.

Danzo soon learned of their conversation. Faced with this unexpected news, he failed to grasp it at first and berated the Root ninja.

"What sort of intelligence is this? What village hasn't had a few missing-nin? Haven't you seen missing-nin from Konoha? Kirigakure..."

Halfway through, a suspicious look appeared on Danzo's face.

"Did you just say there seemed to be some internal problem in Kirigakure?"

"Yes! That's what those two children said. Uchiha Yan encountered a Land of Water Missing-nin in the Land of Rain and learned this from him.

"Since Uchiha Yan is inside the Uchiha Clan Compound, I cannot interrogate him..."

Danzo shouted toward the door, "Kinoe, go ask Kakashi and Hyuga Taichi whether they encountered any Kirigakure ninja in the Land of Rain.

"Taka, bring me all the intelligence on Kirigakure from the past six months."

"Yes!"

After giving his orders, Danzo returned to his seat, his eye fixed on the scroll on his desk. He was clearly deep in thought.

If something really has gone wrong in Kirigakure, commanding the fighting at the Land of Water border would benefit me more.

The Uchiha on the Land of Lightning front certainly won't obey orders. While I could use that to eliminate some Uchiha ninja with three-tomoe Sharingan, it might also leave the war at a stalemate.

If Kirigakure breaks through our defensive lines, even the Land of Lightning battlefield will be in trouble.

If the Land of Water battlefield is swiftly dealt with under my command, while Hiruzen's trust in the Uchiha leads to defeat on the Land of Lightning battlefield, then Hiruzen's position as Hokage... hehehe...

Danzo wanted to go to the Land of Lightning precisely so he could use his authority as commander to send the Uchiha to their deaths, while also allowing some localized defeats. Then he could use the Uchiha to impeach the Third Hokage.

If there really was an internal problem in Kirigakure, whatever it was, he was confident he could quickly end the war with the Land of Water.

As for the Land of Lightning battlefield, he only needed to sell Kumogakure some intelligence of middling importance.

While Danzo was thinking, a Root ninja found Kakashi. Kakashi had not intended to pay him any attention, but since they had fought together before, he stopped and looked at him.

"What do you need?"

"Senior Kakashi, Lord Danzo sent me to ask whether you encountered any Kirigakure ninja during this mission in the Land of Rain."

Kakashi froze at the question. He had thought Uchiha Yan was joking, but he hadn't expected it to actually draw Danzo's attention.

After a long silence, Kakashi spoke slowly in a low voice. "What happened to Uchiha Yan?"

"Senior Kakashi, does this have something to do with the Uchiha Clan?"

"No!"

Kakashi inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't sure why Danzo was asking about this, but he knew it would be best to follow Uchiha Yan's account, both for Uchiha Yan's life and for the village.

At that thought, Kakashi spoke solemnly. "We did. He disguised himself as an Akatsuki ninja and attacked Uchiha Yan. Later, he was killed by Lord Jiraiya's disciple."

"I see. Thank you, Senior Kakashi. Let's talk again when we have time."

"Kinoe, you're nothing like a Root ninja."

"Huh! Really?"

Kinoe rubbed the back of his head. "Maybe it's because I haven't experienced real combat yet.

"I'd better go. Lord Danzo is waiting."

Watching Kinoe leave, Kakashi kept feeling that something was going to happen. His mind was full of questions.

Why did Yan tell me to use Water Release? Why did he insist I say it was a Kirigakure ninja? Why did Danzo send someone to ask about it now?

After puzzling over it for a long time without finding an answer, Kakashi decided to find Uchiha Yan and ask him directly.

Meanwhile, Danzo received Kinoe's report. He glanced at the scant intelligence on Kirigakure on his desk, then at Kinoe. He was already convinced something must have happened in Kirigakure.

Compared with the intelligence on other villages, there was clearly far less on Kirigakure. That in itself was highly abnormal.

"What did Hyuga Taichi say?"

"The same thing!"

"Could they be lying?"

"Huh?"

Kinoe exclaimed in surprise, "Lord Danzo, there's no reason to lie about this! Encountering ninja from other villages during missions is perfectly normal."

"True!"

Danzo also felt he was overthinking it. What was there to hide about something like this? If he hadn't asked, Kakashi might not even have remembered.

Since something really has gone wrong in Kirigakure, should I do Hiruzen a favor and go command the war against Kirigakure?

No! Uchiha Yan was right. The person you see in others is who you truly are. Hiruzen sees me as evil, so he is the most evil one of all.

If I volunteer, he'll definitely suspect me. I can't do that.

How can I get him to give me a direct order or beg me?