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Under the night sky, the campfire crackled and burned, accompanied by sparks splashing about.
A sinister atmosphere pervaded the dimly lit cave.
Uchiha Yoru, who had been on the brink of death, was now sitting in front of the fire, his face pale only from excessive blood loss.
"Brat, are you really sure your Wood Style project was not successful?" Tsunade, back to her original appearance, stared with beautiful eyes that now carried an imposing aura of authority.
Faced with such questioning, Uchiha Yoru awkwardly nodded: "There was only one successful test subject, by chance. First serving in the 'Root' under the code 'Alpha', and then transferred to the Anbu."
Hearing the dirty secrets of the village, Tsunade couldn't help but snort coldly. When they returned, they suddenly saw a large tree on the beach, and within the tree, a person was enveloped.
As they approached, they were shocked to find that Uchiha Yoru's heart had stabilized, and his heart meridians were fully connected and healed; everything seemed to have miraculously recovered.
Wood Style!
The Senju clan did not awaken Wood Style, but it was an Uchiha who did. Although it didn't show the power of the First Hokage, it still made Tsunade widen her eyes in astonishment.
"Heh, I never thought the golden-haired loli would turn out to be the Sannin Princess Tsunade of Konoha, tsk tsk."
Terumi Mei, with his brown hair, revealed a pair of captivating green eyes, looking at Tsunade and Uchiha Yoru with a hint of jealousy. What's this, am I the only rogue ninja, while you two are from the same village? Isn't this unfair?
Faced with Terumi Mei's ridicule, Tsunade, as a woman, snorted disdainfully, "The girl is indeed not bad, having two Kekkei Genkai, what a pity."
The atmosphere was filled with an eerie sense, Uchiha Yoru was fine now, so what would become of the three of them?
At this moment, Terumi Mei felt very confused, and not just him, even Tsunade was holding her forehead with a frown, looking at everything with a headache.
What a headache, wouldn't it be better if this brat had died, and everything was over as if nothing had happened? But now, an Uchiha has unexpectedly awakened Wood Style, this is messing things up.
Pretend nothing happened? Everything is in the past?
It's not impossible, but what about Wood Style? The Wood Style unique to the Senju clan? It's not that she's petty, but this person happens to be an Uchiha.
You can't be serious! Thinking of this, the mature and voluptuous Tsunade couldn't help but glance at him. It must be said that the Uchiha clan's genes are quite excellent, all handsome men and beautiful women.
And it seems she has taken a genuine interest. Why not let this brat marry into her family? A case of the older cow eating the tender grass? It could also prevent the Wood Style from falling into the hands of the Uchiha clan.
At this stage in her life, Tsunade was at her peak, her mature charm goes without saying, and more importantly, her straightforward nature. Since she was sincere, she naturally wouldn't conceal her thoughts.
"By the way."
Suddenly thinking of something, Tsunade raised her eyebrows, and with a valiant look, she glanced at the two of them, her gaze falling on Uchiha Yoru and directly snorted coldly: "Brat, what secrets are you still hiding? Why would the Root want to eliminate you, and why won't you let this girl return to the Hidden Mist Village?"
Upon hearing this, Terumi Mei, gripping her large sword Samehada, scoffed coldly: "The Hidden Mist Village is my home, and I have this great sword."
Clearly, even though the atmosphere among the three was a bit strange and even slightly awkward, Terumi Mei, as a mature and calm ninja, still suppressed her chaotic thoughts. She could not betray her own country.
"What happened to the Root's ninjas?"
After a long silence, Uchiha Yoru finally spoke up, but he first asked about the ninjas who were pursuing them.
"A lot are dead, and the rest have fled."
Hearing Tsunade's words, Uchiha Yoru slowly raised his head to look at the two, his eyes still red with bloodshot veins, clearly still suffering from the aftereffects of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
"You can't return to the Hidden Mist Village, it's too dangerous."
Suddenly, upon hearing this, the two women felt a wave of disappointment, especially Terumi Mei, who let out a cold laugh.
"So, would you betray your own village and clan?"
They judged others by their own standard, setting aside any emotional issues. They might have had real feelings, but as adults, their values were no longer those of a childhood fairy tale world.
The idea of elopement, of a damsel in distress and her prince - all of this was nothing but a childhood memory.
An emotional experience that had not even started, and they were expected to betray their village for it?
Ridiculous!
This was why Terumi Mei gradually calmed down. She had thought he would speak some grand principles, but was this all?
Disappointing! Perhaps the past beauty would be better left as a sealed memory.
Even Tsunade couldn't help but sneer, taking out a flask of sake and sipping lightly. These words indeed fell short of expectations.
They were not naïve little girls who would abandon their country and family for so-called love, even if the feelings had started.
Love, friendship, and familial affection are all built on the foundation of country and clan. So, for some romantic sentiment, they would act against their country? They were not little girls.
Facing the two's gradually calming gaze, Uchiha Yoru fell silent, as if suppressing some inner turmoil.
"I'll leave at dawn."
In the end, it seemed like she wanted to put a full stop to this experience and her own farcical feelings. Terumi Mei said indifferently, "There will be no more of that tenderness we shared before."
Tsunade was casually sipping her drink, her once fluttering heart now subdued. They were all adults and naturally understood the principles of choice and sacrifice.
After a long silence, under this oppressive atmosphere, Uchiha Yoru looked up at the two women and said hoarsely, "Mei, you can't go back to the Hidden Mist Village."
"Tsunade, you shouldn't return to the village either!"
Bringing up this subject again caused both women to frown. They weren't fools; likewise, Uchiha Yoru wasn't an impulsive young man. If his first mention could be explained by rashness, what about the second time?
They didn't believe that a genius capable of effortlessly commanding a thousand ninja soldiers could be so impulsive.
"Kid, why can't I return to the village?"
Tsunade, with furrowed brows, muttered impatiently, "Kid, dawdling isn't manly. Stop beating around the bush."
Terumi Mei, however, frowned and looked inquisitive, as there must be a reason for him bringing it up again.
Faced with their gazes, Uchiha Yoru sighed deeply in his heart, thinking to himself that he had told no lies, only the truth.
"The war between the Leaf and the Mist is a conspiracy, a terrible conspiracy, and I..."
He hesitated here, but Terumi Mei, having heard this, calmly lowered her head and gripped her large sword, Samehada. She had made her decision, regardless of what was said, she would never betray her village.
Tsunade scoffed in disdain, it was just another mess caused by the old fools in the village; she couldn't care less.
As if making a difficult decision, Uchiha Yoru looked down hoarsely and then said something that caused both women's expressions to change dramatically.
"The Fourth Mizukage of the Hidden Mist Village is being controlled by the Sharingan."
"What!" Not just Terumi Mei, even the seasoned Tsunade showed a look of shock.
"Sharingan! What kind of conspiracy does your Leaf Village have!"
Upon hearing this shocking news and coming to her senses, Terumi Mei immediately showed an angry look, seemingly accusing them, as if to say, "You are from the same village, what are you plotting?"
After saying this, Uchiha Yoru seemed to have lifted a weight off his shoulders, showing a complex expression, but he still shared his investigation with the two.
"According to my investigation, the Fourth Mizukage of the Hidden Mist Village has been manipulated by the Sharingan, and it's possible that he had been under its control even before that."
His suspicions were not unfounded at all. When Madara designed Obito during the Third Ninja War, how could the Mist Ninja cooperate so well? Sealing the Tailed Beast inside Rin? This could not be achieved simply by manipulating a few Jonin with illusions.
The Tailed Beast is the nuclear weapon of a village. Any major action involving the Tailed Beast would require a decision made by the Mizukage in conjunction with the high-level officials of the village. Therefore, he speculated that the Third Mizukage might have been controlled already.
Under the shocked expression of Terumi Mei, Uchiha Yoru continued to speak slowly about his investigation.
"The Nine-Tails' Disturbance in Konoha, that very night, the Sharingan was seen in the Nine-Tails' eyes, and only the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan is qualified to manipulate a Tailed Beast so easily."
Watching Terumi Mei's confused expression and Tsunade's mind already flashing with various information about the Uchiha clan's Mangekyō Sharingan.
"I've secretly investigated the Uchiha clan and found that during this period, there was only one person in the family recorded to have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan! It was Uchiha Kagami!"
Uchiha Yoru didn't avoid discussing his covert investigation of his own clan. Having spoken this much, he simply spoke faster and faster.
Tsunade was shocked upon hearing this name, her pupils shrank, and she blurted out in shock: "You brat! Are you saying it was Uchiha Kagami's Mangekyō Sharingan that controlled everything? No, Senior Kagami had long passed away."
However, in the next moment, Tsunade suddenly thought of something, her face drastically changed, recalling the earlier mention of the Mist Ninja and the village.
Damn it! Could it be? As if already realizing something, Tsunade's scalp numbed with anger. How many dirty secrets had these old fellows hidden?
Indeed, Uchiha Yoru nodded gravely, and his next words unveiled a long-standing grand conspiracy of the ninja world.
"Correct, Senior Uchiha Kagami had indeed passed away, but the whereabouts of his Mangekyō Sharingan were unknown. The incident involving Orochimaru in the village exposed some secrets of the Root, and also gave me the opportunity to investigate further."
"The Byakugan of the Hyūga clan! Hyūga Hizashi personally admitted that he saw through the Byakugan that the leader of the village's Root, Danzō Shimura, had a Sharingan covered on his right eye and a disabled right arm that also possessed a Sharingan!"
When he spoke of this secret, Tsunade could no longer restrain herself and crushed the wine bottle in her hand into powder. Her fury was sky-high. The act of harming fellow villagers and stealing eyes to obtain bloodline limits was not permitted in any village, after all, they were all people of the same village.
Yet, the next words from Uchiha Yoru were what truly made Tsunade explode.
"Danzō's right arm had the First Hokage's cells. This matter, after Orochimaru was expelled, I personally asked, and my teacher Orochimaru himself admitted it. It was a secret research of the Root, and he personally transplanted the Sharingan arm for Danzō, which also had Hashirama's cells."
At this point, Uchiha Yoru even showed a look of lingering fear, touching his own eyes and couldn't help sighing: "The teacher was right, the First Hokage's cells possess a strong vitality, not only enhancing the body's strength but even able to suppress the Sharingan, with both powers forming a balance."
"But the teacher also speculated that if these two powers were to fuse, they would give birth to an even stronger force."
As he spoke, Uchiha Yoru's eyes slowly revealed a pair of Sharingan with three tomoe, which then evolved into a Mangekyō Sharingan. Although there were still fierce blood vessels in his eyes from using his ocular powers today, it was clear that he could already distinctly feel the enhancement of his ocular strength.
"The combination of two powers began to slowly restore my ocular strength, and the consumption of ocular power and chakra by my ocular techniques has decreased, whereas before it was different."
After activating the Mangekyō Sharingan, the recovery of ocular strength wasn't impossible, just exceedingly slow, giving the impression that each use would permanently consume a portion of ocular strength until it was completely depleted, resulting in blindness.
However, since awakening the ability to use Wood Release, he could clearly feel that the recovery rate of his ocular strength had significantly increased, and even the burden of using his ocular techniques was not as great as before.
He could even use his ocular techniques frequently.
"The Fourth Mizukage of the Mist Village was manipulated, and the leader of the foundation within the village, Danzō Shimura, possesses several pairs of Sharingan, and moreover, the higher-ups within the village have not been controlled. All this made me realize that the ninja world is in the midst of a huge conspiracy."
As Uchiha Yoru slowly shared his investigative deductions, Terumi Mei and Tsunade were both incredibly shocked, their findings almost beyond their imagination.
A conspiracy in the ninja world?
He wasn't wrong at all; the Fourth Mizukage was indeed controlled by the Mangekyō Sharingan, and Danzō's arm had Hashirama's cells, along with a significant number of Sharingan.
And the higher-ups in Konoha were not controlled; Uchiha Kagami had indeed passed away.
Everything he said was the truth! However, the conspiracy didn't need to be mentioned by him; in the minds of Terumi Mei and Tsunade, amidst the chaos, pieces of shocking information were slowly connecting together.
Like a puzzle, Danzō Shimura, known as the darkness of the ninja world, always had a bad reputation—ambitious and extremely skilled at scheming, a truly sinister figure lurking in the shadows.
A Mangekyō to control the Mist shinobi, to launch a war!
It was to silence the dissenting voices within the village. Tsunade quickly thought of this, and in that moment, her mind whirred, and she couldn't help but glance at Uchiha Yoru.
Damn it! The front lines are filled with supporters of Orochimaru, those old fools!
And what shocked Terumi Mei was recalling the many years of the Blood Mist policies in Kirigakure, how many clansmen it had harmed, and how many fellow villagers it had caused to defect.
At this moment, Uchiha Yoru's head was lowered in solemnity. He hadn't spoken carelessly; all of this was what they had deduced themselves. Since it all led to the same conclusion, he couldn't be blamed.
As for wrongly accusing the scapegoat king, Danzō?? Was there any? He never said it was Danzō who controlled the Mizukage, it was just a conjecture, and moreover, it was their own conjecture.