"But... is money really that important?"
"Since you know Danzo has mastered Izanagi, wouldn't selling him Sharingan just be helping him?"
"Sigh."
"Then all that talking I just did was wasted."
Looking utterly speechless, Haruma explained, "I just told you, Danzo has plenty of ambition. He isn't satisfied with his current position."
"Aside from his fear of them... his coveting of the Sharingan is another extremely important reason he's so eager to wipe out the Uchiha Clan."
Hearing this, Shisui seemed to understand a little. "So, besides making money, selling Sharingan to Danzo can also dispel his eagerness to destroy the Uchiha Clan?"
Haruma picked his ear with his little finger. "Exactly. If you can figure out one of the objectives, you've made some progress."
Shisui froze for a moment. "One of the objectives?"
Haruma nodded. "That sinister old bastard would never be satisfied with just getting the Sharingan."
"And in Danzo's eyes, the Uchiha Clan is synonymous with evil. He would never let them off so easily."
Shisui said, "Then we..."
Haruma had no intention of explaining further. He merely rolled his eyes and said flatly, "Enough. Your brain doesn't have the capacity for all this. Just follow orders."
Shisui opened his mouth, looking aggrieved, and finally squeezed out, "Understood..."
Have you ever seen Konoha at two in the morning?
Darkness descended, and all was silent.
At the gates of the Uchiha Clan compound.
A black cloak with red clouds, and a wooden spiral mask covering his face completely.
If Black and White Zetsu saw Haruma dressed like this, he might well suspect that Obito had come to launch a night raid on Konoha.
His expression beneath the mask was composed as he arrived beneath the cherry tree right on time, his steps unhurried.
Underground, less than ten meters from the meeting place.
Three ninja wearing Root combat uniforms hid in an underground passage wide enough to accommodate around five people.
A Root ninja beside Aburame Ryoma said coldly, "We can make our move!"
"The target is within range of the jutsu!"
"Stop!" Ryoma interrupted. "From what the insects I placed at the meeting place are telling me, this isn't his real body. It should just be a clone."
"Number Two! Go report to Lord Danzo. I'll stay here and keep watching him with my insects."
The ninja called Number Two nodded and rapidly formed hand seals. "Earth Release: Quicksand!"
The underground passage silently began to extend, and Number Two swiftly departed along it.
In just a few dozen seconds.
Number Two found Danzo drinking tea in a residential house eight hundred meters from the meeting place.
"My lord, we found no traps or ambushes within a five-hundred-meter radius of the meeting place."
"Ryoma says the visitor is only a shadow clone, so we cannot capture him. What are your next instructions?"
Setting down his teacup, Danzo wore an expression that said it was just as he had expected.
That letter alone had shown how cautious this scurrying rat was.
How could someone unwilling to reveal even his handwriting possibly risk coming in person?
But since he had actually appeared, even if only as a shadow clone, did that mean the rat truly intended to make a deal?
If he did, that meant he really had Sharingan!
Though his purpose remained unknown for now, it certainly wasn't a mere matter of money!
"Let's go. Lead the way. Let me see just what tricks this rat intends to play."
Though Danzo and his men were already several minutes late, Haruma showed no impatience beneath the cherry tree.
Instead, he admired the scattered cherry blossoms in the night with interest, looking utterly certain that Danzo would not fail to show.
Swish, swish, swish.
The sound of air brushing leaves and grass rang out.
Six Root ninja appeared, surrounding Danzo.
Slightly narrowing his exposed eye, Danzo discreetly studied Haruma in his Akatsuki uniform, finding it rather familiar.
That uniform seemed identical to those worn by the members of an organization he and Hanzō had slaughtered in Amegakure.
Could the Uchiha Clan have ties to Amegakure, or perhaps some other organization?
His mind racing, Danzo studied him for a while. Rather than asking about his background, he simply said coldly, "You're the one who wanted to make a deal with me?"
"That's right. Lord Danzo, you truly have a sharp eye. You realized at a glance that I was the one who wanted to trade with you."
At that flippant tone, Danzo's face involuntarily darkened.
Sharp eye, my ass!
It's two in the morning, you're at the meeting place, and you're hiding your face. Who else could it be?!
Don't tell me you're here to admire the scenery...
He can't even flatter someone properly! A rat indeed!
Though inwardly displeased, Danzo's expression remained unchanged as he regarded Haruma coldly. "So, where are the goods you're offering?"
"No hurry. Allow me to introduce myself first."
Haruma pointed at the mask on his face and declared loudly, "I! Obito Uchiha! Currently serve as the diplomat of the mysterious organization, Akatsuki!"
"Our mysterious Akatsuki organization has its headquarters in the Amegakure building!"
"Our leader is named Nagato, and he even possesses the Rinnegan. His strength is unrivaled in the Shinobi World! Unparalleled!"
Haruma rambled on for ages, spilling most of Akatsuki's intelligence.
Seeing that Danzo was growing impatient, Haruma stopped rambling and immediately tossed over a scroll. "I know the rules! I proposed this deal, so you can inspect the goods first, boss, then pay."
Ryoma caught the scroll the instant it flew over. After inspecting it carefully and confirming that there were no traps, he handed it to Danzo.
Danzo tore open the scroll, revealing a Two-Tomoe Sharingan floating inside a transparent medical tube.
Two tomoe. The minimum requirement for casting the dōjutsu Izanami was a Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Danzo frowned and looked up at Haruma. "Didn't you say you had a batch of Sharingan? Why is there only one, and only a two-tomoe one at that?"
Haruma chuckled. "Lord Danzo, if I really brought out all my Sharingan, I imagine this deal would become our last."
We're both Yellow River water. Why pretend you're Nongfu Spring... a little sweet?
If I really let him inspect all my stock, the first thing this old bastard would do would probably be to rob me blind.
After that inward bout of grumbling, Haruma continued, "Of course! I have plenty of Three-Tomoe Sharingan in stock too..."
"But any further deals depend on our first transaction going pleasantly."
Danzo frowned, finding the rat before him rather difficult to handle.
He was far too cautious!
He had sent only a clone, wouldn't show his face, and had even rattled off a whole string of names and titles whose authenticity was unknown.
Danzo had indeed intended to rob him.
But the fellow's decision to trade only one Sharingan at a time truly irritated him.
Danzo fixed Haruma with an icy gaze. "I have no need for a Two-Tomoe Sharingan. What I want is a three-tomoe one, or perhaps even... a Mangekyō!"