"The visitor used a Shadow Clone."
"He wore a black cloak with red clouds and a mask over his face. We couldn't confirm his identity."
"He only called himself Obito Uchiha. Then he said he had important intelligence to give you."
Danzo took the letter and frowned in thought for a moment. "Obito Uchiha... if I remember correctly, that fellow died long ago. That eye of Kakashi's belonged to Obito, didn't it?"
The subordinate beside him nodded. "Yes. According to our records, Obito Uchiha died in the Battle of Kannabi Bridge."
"Looks like a little rat that doesn't know how to behave."
After speaking contemptuously, Danzo opened the letter in his hand.
Cut-out printed words covered the thin sheet of paper.
"A coward hiding in the shadows. Quite the cautious one."
He had intended to have his subordinates investigate the handwriting to narrow down the candidates.
But someone had clearly anticipated that move.
"Brilliant and magnificent! Wise and discerning! For the personal attention of Lord Danzo, the future Fifth Hokage!"
At this, Danzo nodded with a measure of approval.
Anyone else would have thought the writer was shamelessly sucking up to him.
But Danzo took it seriously, because he thought so too.
"At least this rat has a decent eye."
At that moment, Danzo felt something of a kindred spirit in the writer, a sense that great minds thought alike.
He continued reading.
"The destruction of the Uchiha Clan is already fated! Your humble little brother knows how it ends but is powerless to stop it."
At this, Danzo's brow furrowed.
He grew somewhat wary of this mysterious person.
Whether the writer had his own intelligence network and had learned what the Konoha High Command was thinking,
or had deduced it from mere scraps of evidence,
coupled with this cautious approach...
This is a sneaky bastard!
Before he had finished the letter, Danzo had already formed an initial impression of its writer.
"Through a chance opportunity, your humble little brother once stole a batch of Sharingan from the main hall of the Uchiha Shrine."
"Knowing that the Uchiha Clan's days are numbered, your humble little brother lives in constant anxiety."
"I dare not ask you to show mercy and spare our clan."
"Your humble little brother is weak. I don't ask to save the clan, only that you allow me alone to leave this place of trouble."
"Of course, before leaving, your humble little brother also hopes to earn a little money to settle down while fleeing for his life."
"So your humble little brother has decided to hold one last clearance sale before going on the run!"
"No bargaining! Thirty million in cash per Sharingan... would you like one?"
"If you agree to the terms above, we'll trade face-to-face at two tonight, beneath the most luxuriant cherry tree outside the compound."
Tiny flames abruptly appeared in Danzo's hand, reducing the letter he had finished reading to ash.
Then he stood there staring at the scattered ashes, his brow deeply furrowed as he sank into thought.
There were far too many questionable points in the information the letter revealed.
Danzo had already analyzed several possibilities.
First: the letter was false, a prank by some audacious rat.
But that possibility was extremely unlikely. After all, a time for the trade had already been arranged. He would find out tonight!
Second: the letter was true! The other party really did have a batch of Sharingan.
But that situation was even stranger.
As for the claim that he had obtained "a batch" of Sharingan by chance, Danzo would have to be a complete fool to believe it.
Danzo knew what sort of man Uchiha Fugaku was.
He would never be so careless that he remained unaware after his clan's precious treasures had been taken.
Either the rat who stole the Sharingan was powerful enough to infiltrate the Uchiha Clan undetected and seize the Sharingan outright,
or this letter was simply Uchiha Fugaku's work.
With the time and place set, what awaited him when he brought his men there might well be an inescapable trap.
As for whether it really could be just a member of the Uchiha Clan who had obtained a batch of Sharingan without Fugaku knowing,
then discovered the threat of the clan's extermination and planned to make a fortune alone instead of informing his clansmen-
Impossible!
Completely impossible!!!
Danzo wouldn't believe it!
He knew the traits of the Uchiha Clan all too well.
They were synonymous with coldness, arrogance, and evil!
If the writer really was a member of the Uchiha Clan, his goal could never be something as laughable as money!
"Ryoma!"
Having sorted out his thoughts, Danzo immediately ordered, "Take two sensory ninja with you and lie in wait at the trading location mentioned in the letter."
"Check carefully for any traps that have been set, and watch for the mysterious person's approach."
"If there aren't any, hide nearby with those two. I'll come when it's time for the trade."
Dressed in black, with a hood and sunglasses, Aburame Ryoma nodded at his leader's orders.
He then selected two sensory ninja from those around him and headed to the trading location ahead of time.
Watching Ryoma and the other two leave, Danzo murmured to himself from deep within the darkness, "Let's hope you really do have Sharingan!"
"Whether it's true or false, as long as you're still in Konoha, you'll never escape my grasp."
The recuperation area within the Uchiha Clan compound.
His sight restored and his health recovered, Shisui looked at Haruma, who lay leisurely in a rocking chair sunbathing, and asked in puzzlement, "Will Danzo believe what's in that letter?"
Shisui had been busy cutting words out of newspapers since early morning, making the letter according to Haruma's instructions. He couldn't understand whether those words, riddled with holes, would really get Danzo's attention.
Having served in Root, Shisui knew Danzo's character very well.
Calculating, ruthless, sinister, and cunning-those words fit Danzo perfectly.
"You can rest completely assured."
Haruma said leisurely, "No matter how many holes there are, Danzo will definitely make this trade with us."
Seeing that Shisui still looked confused, Haruma explained, "You need to understand that sneaky bastard Danzo's desire for Sharingan is no small thing."
At those words, Shisui was baffled again. "Didn't he already get my eye? Will he really fall for it if we use Sharingan to lure him again?"
"He absolutely will."
"One Sharingan isn't nearly enough to satisfy that many-eyed freak's desires."
At this point, Haruma looked up at Shisui and said seriously, "Right now, you not only need to keep your identity hidden, but also avoid contact with Danzo as much as possible."
"If something unexpected happens and you're forced to fight him, you'll need to be careful."
"Even if you cut down that sneaky bastard yourself, you can't let your guard down. After all... that many-eyed bug can come back to life."
Haruma had deliberately mentioned this just in case.
If Danzo ever discovered that Shisui was alive, he would absolutely plot again to kill him.
Shisui's brow twitched. Looking at Haruma, he said gravely, "Come back to life? You mean the Uchiha Clan's forbidden technique, Izanagi?"
Izanagi: one of the Uchiha Clan's ultimate Dōjutsu.
Each use permanently rendered one Sharingan useless, and no Medical Ninjutsu could treat it afterward.
Its side effects were severe, but its effects were astonishingly powerful.
The caster could directly rewrite reality unfavorable to himself the instant his eye closed.
Including death!
It was equivalent to carrying a single-use resurrection fountain with every Sharingan.