Leaf Village, the dark base of the Root division.
At this time, the relieved Danzo Shimura had not gone home and still sat calmly in the Root base, as if he still held control over it.
It must be said that Hiruzen Sarutobi really did favor Danzo. For such a big issue, he only received a verbal reprimand.
"Danzo-sama, it seems Orochimaru-sama's counterattack was really sharp this time," said the person sitting across from him, who was the current head of the Anbu and also Hiruzen Sarutobi's daughter-in-law. "Being able to shake the Leaf Village from thousands of miles away truly lives up to the name."
"He managed to pull all the major clans of the Leaf Village into the fray, even causing the Hyuga clan to split. The branch family has become a knife in our hands, but this notoriety has fallen upon Root. No one will think that this is all his doing, right, Danzo-sama?"
The voice echoed in the dark room. When Danzo heard this, he let out a stifled cold humph. He really was caught off guard this time, with no chance to react.
Now, all the major clans in Leaf Village thought he was behind it, but Orochimaru was the one who benefited the most.
Holding the power of the branch families of Leaf, plus the support from the Uchiha, and followed by a host of ninja, he now had overwhelming momentum.
"I've already been suspended by Hiruzen. I'm just here to pack up and make arrangements for Root. From now on, the Anbu chief will temporarily take over," said a sour Danzo sarcastically.
The Anbu chief shook her head with a smile, "Elder Danzo jokes. Though Lord Third has suspended you, his order hasn't been issued yet. Until that happens, Root is still under your command."
Having played the game of schemes all his life, how could Danzo not know what the other party wanted to do? He snorted coldly in his heart but still pretended to be ignorant, "What do you want me to do?"
The Anbu chief gave a quiet smile, "Elder Danzo, what do I want to say? Isn't it what both of us have been wanting to do?"
"Orochimaru is already on his way back. Elder Danzo, haven't you prepared everything? I hope this time we can make sure this snake never turns over again."
The quiet voice echoed in the room. Watching the disappearing figure, the eye revealed by Danzo showed a hint of chill, and he sneered, "Short-sighted women. You've left a handle by coming to Root today. This time, I'd like to see how Hiruzen can make me take the blame again. It's you Sarutobi who are eager to see this snake never turn over again."
"Orochimaru! It's your fault for being too uncontrollable." Under Danzo's quiet voice, some arrangements had already begun in the dark.
…
The Land of Lightning has signed a peace treaty. As for the so-called extortion for Hyuga bodies through the threat of war, it's just a despicable tactic in politics and a way for the Leaf Village to keep the Hyuga Clan in check. If the Third Hokage had given in, the prestige of the largest ninja village would be gone.
Now the Hyuga Clan is divided, so there's no need to keep them in check. Through diplomatic means, the drama with the Land of Lightning has ended, and the borders seem to have stabilized again. Orochimaru, a shinobi of Kage-level threat, has also returned from the front lines.
The thriving Leaf Village is now brewing another new storm.
The Hyuga main family has gone quiet since the incident, seemingly opting for recuperation. They still control all their industries and are pouring resources to quickly recover their strength.
The matter of the Hyuga branch family seems to have come to an end. The Uchiha Clan may have grievances, but the two senior advisers in the Hokage's upper echelons have delayed and finally reached some compromise.
This time the Hyuga branch family has firmly established itself within the Uchiha Clan. The higher-ups are fully supporting this new force since the branch family has essentially started afresh.
Inside the prison under the jurisdiction of the Uchiha Police Force's Seventh Division.
A hurried Uchiha Itachi runs out with a grave expression, his speed far exceeding that of a regular Genin.
"Big Brother Shisui!"
Itachi, who ran out of the prison, finds his elder brother Uchiha Shisui, who is utterly shocked. "Itachi, what happened? You don't have to be in such a rush even for training."
Originally, they had agreed to train here, but Itachi arrived in a state of panic. After all, he is only seven years old and just graduated, lacking the steadiness of later years.
"Big Brother Shisui, what's going on with the imprisoned young men in the prison!"
Itachi's opening statement immediately changes Shisui's expression. In an instant, Shisui uses a body flicker technique to arrive in front of Itachi. Itachi has never seen his elder brother look so serious.
"Itachi! Why did you go to the prison!"
Shisui's tone is unprecedentedly grave. Witnessing this, Itachi takes a deep breath and solemnly says, "I heard from Big Brother Shisui that there are many heroes who just returned from the front lines in prison. They committed wrongs because they haven't recovered mentally from the war, so I wanted to see."
Though Itachi is young, his thoughts are mature. "Big Brother Shisui, tell me honestly. Why are there a group of young people in prison, many of whom are around my age?"
"They couldn't possibly have committed crimes, right? And they are even held separately in another prison. Big Brother Shisui! What exactly are you doing!"
Faced with Itachi's incredulous questioning to find the truth, Uchiha Shisui lets out a sigh, and his face reveals a forced, self-mocking smile.
Facing Itachi's incredulous questioning as he sought the truth, Uchiha Shisui let out a sigh and revealed a forced, self-mocking smile.
"Itachi, perhaps Big Brother Yoru was right. You, as the son of the clan leader, should bear all your responsibilities. I shouldn't have treated you like a child."
Shisui's eyes revealed the three tomoe as he calmly looked around to ensure no one was eavesdropping. He then spoke solemnly, "Go to the waterfall. I will tell you some things. Itachi, you will also have to take responsibility."
Shisui was still cautious; the sound of the waterfall could easily disrupt any eavesdropping.
The two transformed into shadows, flickering through the forest. They soon arrived at a waterfall not far from the Uchiha clan's land—also where Shisui met his end in the original timeline.
The sound of the waterfall resonated throughout, and it's fair to say that the prosperity of Konoha truly made the other great ninja villages envious.
Above the waterfall, Shisui spoke some of his innermost secrets to Itachi. Perhaps he had been bottling it up for too long or maybe he just wanted someone to confide in.
"...Itachi, now you know. Everything we did was for Konoha. Although Big Brother Yoru, Orochimaru, and I went against some village orders, we don't regret it. After all, those children are living beings."
After sharing his secrets, Shisui seemed relieved and proud as if he found a like-minded comrade. They had disobeyed some foundational commands and secretly hid these children, but he felt no guilt.
However, after Uchiha Itachi heard these words, his face turned extremely pale, showing a sense of shock. Seeing this, Shisui smiled and shook his head, saying, "Itachi, perhaps all of this is beyond your imagination, but you have to know, we are all doing this for the village."
"No!" Though the dark side of the village shocked Itachi, something seemed to cross his mind that made him break out into a cold sweat.
"Shisui, are you saying that those children were sent by the Root? Are you sure?"
Itachi looked terrified. Shisui sensed something was wrong and became serious, "What is it, Itachi? Yes, these children were sent by the Root."
"Though Root took them secretly, Big Brother Yoru and I intercepted them. Don't worry; none of the test subjects are Konoha ninjas."
Upon hearing this, Itachi looked up at Shisui, gritting his teeth, "Shisui, I saw two faces in the prison that I recognize. One is the son of the Fire Country Daimyo who visited the village, and the other is a classmate from the Nara clan. Both have been made mute. How could Root act against the Daimyo and Nara clan!"
Seven-year-old Itachi, whose thinking could match an adult's, broke out in a cold sweat as he thought of a terrifying possibility.
Shisui's face turned pale; he had thought of himself as a hidden hero until he heard this. "Itachi! Are you sure about the Daimyo and Nara family?"
Itachi nodded solemnly, "Yes, I saw the Daimyo's people being escorted by the village's elite ninja. And the one from the Nara clan was my senior; I've seen him in school."
This is bad! A major incident is about to happen!
"Shisui, tell me! It's crazy enough that Root is secretly abducting the village's ninjas, but why would they act against the Nara clan and the Daimyo?"
Shisui almost fell from the waterfall; his face turned white with numerous horrifying speculations running through his mind, "Itachi, this is bad! Quickly, tell the clan leader. No! Forget it, you don't know anything!"
With a swoosh, Uchiha Shisui used his fastest body-flicker technique to head towards the Seventh Division of the Police Department. He had to inform his elder brother, Uchiha Yoru, that something was about to happen.
Left alone on the waterfall, young Uchiha Itachi knew something was wrong. He hesitated for a moment, then followed in the direction of his elder brother Shisui.
Police Department, Seventh Division Office Building.
Although the Seventh Division is officially under the jurisdiction of the Police Department, everyone knows that it has long been a private force under Orochimaru.
To expand the Hyuga branch family, the Third Hokage even personally signed an order for expansion, and many from the Hyuga branch family joined the Seventh Division.
Inside the office.
Uzuki Yugao respectfully made tea, her assistant work almost perfect. Recently, she seemed even more radiant, as if exuding a sense of imminent maturity.
"Kakashi, look at Guy's spirit, then look at yourself."
Uchiha Yoru in the office, holding hot tea, joked while Kakashi still had that indifferent dead fish-eye expression, showing no enthusiasm.
Bang!
At that moment, the door burst open, startling everyone in the office. They saw Shisui rush in, his Sharingan still active. His eyes filled with anger as he saw the people inside the office, charging at them.
"Kakashi Hatake! What do you have to say for yourself! You said you had checked everything. Is this what you checked?"
Uchiha Shisui, glaring furiously at Kakashi, grabbed his collar, shocking everyone.
"I'm sorry! I must go!"
The first to react was Uzuki Yugao, the assistant. Though visibly shocked, she hurriedly made the most sensible move.
Click. The office door closed, leaving only the sound of three people breathing.
Sitting in the office, Uchiha Yoru demanded, "Shisui! I need an explanation!"
Kakashi, clueless as to why Shisui was so impulsively grabbing him, also showed discontent.
However, Uchiha Shisui angrily shoved Kakashi away and turned to his elder brother, "Brother Yoru! Do you know? There are two special children in the prison! One from the Daimyo's palace, and one from the Nara clan! Kakashi helped investigate them. But the information is fake. Someone is setting us up!"
"What!" Uchiha Yoru and Kakashi both changed their expressions.
"Do you realize the gravity of your words, Shisui? Can you take responsibility for this?"
Uchiha Yoru quickly stood up, pondering the high-level schemes aimed to corner Orochimaru.
Kakashi was also confused but soon realized that the target was Orochimaru.
"Oh no! Bad news! Master Orochimaru!"
Uchiha Yoru dropped his teacup in shock, realizing that their adversary had quickly counterattacked.
"Rumors say Jiraiya is back in the Leaf Village. Go tell Hyuga Hizashi to find Jiraiya. We need outside help to get through this."
Uchiha Yoru angrily smashed his desk and yelled at Kakashi, "Kakashi! Shisui! Go! Inform Master Orochimaru, before it's too late!"
Boom~
The office window shattered as Uchiha Yoru, Uchiha Shisui, and Kakashi Hatake rushed out. The wooden office door slowly opened, revealing a shocked Uzuki Yugao.
Jiraiya? Orochimaru? Children in the prison? The Daimyo's palace? The Nara family?
All this information swirled in her mind. Although she didn't fully understand, she knew that something big was happening, involving many key figures.
~~~
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