Shimura Danzo still had his principles.
This former leader of the Root was concerned about his own dignity.
Therefore, Shimura Danzo left an order for himself to retrieve one hundred and forty-three Sharingan from the Root, clearly not needing the little devil, Akihara Kagura, to sweet-talk him into wiping the so-called loose ends.
When Shimura Danzo left, he was still furious. His purpose in coming to the Root was merely to obtain the eleven Sharingan that would be useful to him, but not only did he end up getting nothing, he even owed more than a hundred Sharingan.
Just when Akihara Kagura personally saw Shimura Danzo off, he saw Yakushi Kabuto arrive at the Root base, which intensified the anger in Shimura Danzo's heart!
Yakushi Kabuto, this guy...
So he decides to show up now!
Shimura Danzo stared at Yakushi Kabuto, then turned to Akihara Kagura: "An orphan has taken control of the Root, even the dogs from your orphanage are being raised by the Root, aren't they?"
"..."
Yakushi Kabuto respectfully bowed his head towards Shimura Danzo.
Yakushi Kabuto's personality was never showy, as he was still unaware of the situation and did not want to offend Shimura Danzo carelessly, bringing trouble to Akihara Kagura.
"I hadn't thought of that."
Akihara Kagura's mouth curved into a smile, seemingly like a villain, and said to Yakushi Kabuto, "Kabuto, after you go back, send the dogs raised by the orphanage here to the Root. I'll arrange a ninja dog unit for them…"
"You damn brat!"
Anger flashed in Shimura Danzo's eyes.
"Now, we are restraining each other."
Akihara Kagura looked at Shimura Danzo, utterly indifferent to his anger, simply gesturing with the scroll in his hand: "Lord Danzo, you wouldn't want the Third Hokage to find out about your affairs, would you?"
"Damn it!"
Shimura Danzo stormed off in a rage.
"Kabuto."
As Akihara Kagura watched Shimura Danzo's retreating figure, he placed his hand on Yakushi Kabuto's shoulder: "From now on, don't worry about Danzo's threat…"
"Still, be cautious."
Yakushi Kabuto shook his head, his personality being very cautious, and softly suggested: "Shimura Danzo has always acted despicably. Kagura, if you still have any leverage in his hands, I'll think of a way to eliminate him soon, to prevent any trouble he might cause."
After saying this, Yakushi Kabuto didn't care whether Akihara Kagura agreed and started inquiring about what he cared about most: "Kagura, are you hurt? What exactly happened tonight? The Dean and I are concerned about you…"
"The Uchiha were annihilated by Uchiha Itachi."
Akihara Kagura explained lightly what happened that night: "That guy also wanted to stir up the Three-Tails' disturbance but was stopped by me. With his strength, he's no match for me. Uchiha Obito rescued the person…"
"..."
Yakushi Kabuto's pupils suddenly constricted!
The Uchiha clan was a millennium-old noble ninja clan!
Even though Yakushi Kabuto had always wanted to take revenge on Uchiha Itachi and the Uchiha clan, he couldn't think of a way. He never expected that a noble clan would disappear overnight!
"Find a way to inform Orochimaru about this."
Akihara Kagura looked at Yakushi Kabuto, softly saying: "Tell Orochimaru, I need his help. Uchiha Itachi possesses the Mangekyou Sharingan, and I need to obtain Uchiha Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan to become even stronger."
"Do you want Orochimaru and Uchiha Itachi to kill each other, or do you want the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan?"
Yakushi Kabuto frowned, sensing the difficulty of the situation: "I'll also think of a way. According to the intelligence I've collected in secret, the owner of the Mangekyou Sharingan…"
"I want them to kill each other."
Akihara Kagura shook his head, gazing at Yakushi Kabuto, and continued, "However, I also want Orochimaru to think that I desire the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan, letting him know that I've already contemplated betraying him."
At this point, Akihara Kagura spread his hands and looked at his palms, "I can't really hand over my body to him, even if I wanted to, he shouldn't have the courage to take it, right?"
"That makes sense."
Yakushi Kabuto nodded, pondered for a few seconds, and immediately had an idea: "Then, in the future, I will secretly tell Orochimaru, asking him to spare the Dean, as a price for betraying you and defecting to him, taking the opportunity to lurk by his side, and find a way to learn the forbidden jutsu that Orochimaru holds..."
"Will he believe it?"
"He will."
Yakushi Kabuto didn't want Akihara Kagura to worry and brought out his acting skills as a former spy: "I've been a spy in the Root for five years, I've been to the most dangerous places, I understand the likes of Orochimaru very well, he won't doubt me..."
"If you need help, you can find someone."
Akihara Kagura glanced at Yakushi Kabuto, and continued, "Orochimaru is still in the Akatsuki organization, and Sasori of the Red Sand in there is my man. If you need someone to cooperate, you can ask Sasori for help."
"..."
Yakushi Kabuto felt a bit strange.
Whenever he wanted to sacrifice for Akihara Kagura, wanting to do something very difficult, the thing Akihara Kagura casually mentioned made him feel like it became easier to accomplish.
This feeling...
Made Yakushi Kabuto feel that doing things was very easy.
"Let's get this done as soon as possible."
Akihara Kagura looked at Yakushi Kabuto, and continued, "Better sooner than later, Orochimaru is about to have an unpleasant time soon, you must appear by his side when he is most in trouble..."
"I understand."
Yakushi Kabuto no longer thought too much, nodded, and said, "Tomorrow, under the guise of carrying out a mission, I will take the Red Copper Armor and the Sword of Sumi away from Konoha."
After saying this, Yakushi Kabuto took another look at Akihara Kagura, making sure he wasn't hurt: "Then, I'll go first, to report back to the head sooner, so as not to worry them."
This night seemed especially long.
Yakushi Kabuto knew the news wasn't too worrying, but others were slower to receive it, and many people in Konoha were scared by this sudden change!
Especially the Hyuga clan, who also rely on the power of their eyes as a Kekkei Genkai, immediately felt a sense of sadness upon hearing about the Uchiha clan's massacre!
The news about the Uchiha spread quickly throughout Konoha.
The entire Uchiha clan was slaughtered by Uchiha Itachi, leaving only an orphan named Uchiha Sasuke, who was seriously injured and stayed in the hospital!
This news shocked everyone!
In the Ninja School of Konoha.
Eight-year-old Uzumaki Naruto and Karin had already been promoted to the third grade.
The entire third grade saw Uchiha Sasuke's seat empty, and they also learned about the Uchiha clan's massacre...
Uchiha Sasuke was once the most envied child in the entire class, the younger son of the head of the prestigious Uchiha clan, who would have awakened the family's Kekkei Genkai in the future. His family loved him dearly, and Uchiha Sasuke often boasted about having a brother who loved him...
Now...
Uchiha Sasuke became an orphan.
The brother he used to boast about became the perpetrator of the clan's massacre overnight, becoming the biggest enemy of Uchiha Sasuke's life.
"Sasuke-kun... are you okay…"
A little girl with pink hair and a broad forehead looked worriedly at the empty seat in the classroom.
"That guy..."
Uzumaki Naruto has always disliked Uchiha Sasuke, who is popular in the class. Now, seeing Sasuke's seat empty, he didn't say anything.
"Sasuke's brother was scary from the past."
Yamanaka Ino knew some things about Uchiha Itachi. She frowned at the empty seat and whispered, "His brother and Lord Kagura, Kakashi-senpai were teammates. When Kakashi-senpai was in danger, he didn't rescue him but went to assassinate someone important to Lord Kagura. It's not surprising he ended up committing such an act as annihilating his clan."
"This is as big an incident as the one eight years ago."
Nara Shikamaru also glanced at Uchiha Sasuke's empty seat. He knew more from what his father told him and whispered, "His brother controlled the Three-Tails, trying to use its power to destroy Konoha. Fortunately, it was stopped by the ninja of the village, Akihara Kagura..."
Nara Shikamaru held his head, resting it on the desk behind him, recalling his father, Nara Shikaku's evaluation of Akihara Kagura and Uchiha Itachi: "They're all terrifying folks, one comparable to Uchiha Madara, another to the First Hokage..."
While they were still discussing, their teacher, Umino Iruka, walked in with a pale-skinned boy, obviously a new transfer student for the class.
"Quiet, please."
Umino Iruka calmed all the children down and said, "This is the new transfer student in our class, Sai. Introduce yourself to everyone!"
"..."
This pale-skinned boy seemed not used to seeing so many children and was trying hard to think of what expression to show, eventually just putting on a fake smile.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Sai."
This little guy didn't know what to do.
The only guidance he ever received was from his deceased brother, who told him that to survive, he must forget all emotions.
After being sent from the Root to the orphanage, Sai met the gentle like a mother, Yakushi Nono, which made him feel a warmth he had never experienced before. Yet, he still couldn't manage to get along with the children as Yakushi Nono advised.
"He's quite handsome..."
The girls in the class had a good first impression of Sai.
No matter what, Sai indeed looked good. Although in their eyes, he wasn't as attractive as Uchiha Sasuke, he could still be considered a handsome boy.
Umino Iruka quickly patted his shoulder, gently saying, "Introduce a bit more about yourself, like what you like..."
"What I like..."
Sai's eyebrows slightly furrowed, then relaxed, mentioning a name that everyone he met praised, showing a fake smile.
"I like... Lord Kagura!"
Now, everyone Sai met liked Akihara Kagura.
For instance, the head of the orphanage where he currently lived, Yakushi Nonou and Yakushi Kabuto, seemed to like Akihara Kagura very much, and he thought he should do the same.
"That guy..."
Yamanaka Ino, with the strongest sensory ability, Kagura's Mind's Eye, saw through Sai's too fake smile at a glance, immediately frowning and becoming cautious towards Sai!
"Such a fake smile!"
Uzumaki Naruto, a straightforward person, bluntly pointed out Sai's fake smile: "You don't like Kagura at all!"
"I really like Lord Kagura."
Sai still wore that fake smile on his face.
"Sai, go take a seat!"
Umino Iruka felt as if he had encountered another problematic student again. He had no choice but to let Sai sit down first before he began to talk about Uchiha Sasuke: "By the way, everyone should already know about Sasuke. Sasuke is our classmate, our companion. From now on, it is forbidden to mention last night's events in front of Sasuke, understand?"
"Yes!"
A group of kids promptly agreed.
However...
Uchiha Sasuke would not forget because of this.
This boy, who had just experienced the night of his clan's annihilation, was lying on the hospital bed. His spirit had not yet recovered; he just covered his eyes with his hands, preventing his tears from falling.
That night...
Uchiha Sasuke lost everything but gained a pair of scarlet Sharingan eyes. The Sharingan eyes he had once envied so much, the method of their awakening was so terrifying...
"Uchiha Itachi..."
Uchiha Sasuke no longer called him "brother." He had resolved to regard that person as his most significant enemy to be killed at all costs: "I must... I must kill you! At any cost!"
"It looks like this little guy will recover soon."
The doctor, Yakushi Kabuto, who came to check on him, noticed that Uchiha Sasuke was waking up quickly. He quietly instructed the nurse from outside the door: "I'm leaving the village today to go on a ninja mission. There's no need to use sedatives on him anymore. Let him be discharged after some time!"
Elsewhere.
In the Konoha Village, at the Hokage building.
Akihara Kagura was participating in the first high-level meeting. The event that occurred last night was so shocking that even the Konoha Village couldn't suppress the news, and more troubles were to follow.
"The first matter, dealing with Uchiha Itachi, is to directly issue an S-class rogue ninja wanted order. We don't need to worry about the truth behind the Night of the Uchiha Clan Annihilation anymore..."
"Approved."
This was Shimura Danzo.
"Approved."
This was Homura Mitokado.
"I'll go kill him when I'm free."
This was Akihara Kagura.
"Cough cough... There's no need to rush."
Sarutobi Hiruzen coughed lightly and immediately brought up the next matter: "The second matter is about the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi. What should we do with him..."
Shimura Danzo couldn't help but frown, feeling that Yagura Karatachi's fate was somewhat tragic: "This Mizukage really had a hard life, being controlled by the Mangekyo Sharingan repeatedly, and this time he almost caused the Three Tails' disturbance in the Konoha Village..."
"Should we send him back to the Mist Village?"
Homura Mitokado looked towards Sarutobi Hiruzen: "According to what the Mizukage said after waking up, it was his subordinate, Kisame Hoshigaki, who betrayed him and sided with Uchiha Obito..."
"Send him back."
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed.
The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, was indeed a hot potato.
Sarutobi Hiruzen really didn't want to keep him in the Konoha Village any longer, as continuing to do so could lead to more problems, and the Mist Village would surely harbor resentment against the Konoha Village.
"Killing him is also an option."
Akihara Kagura casually proposed his suggestion: "After all, there's a precedent for this. We can also push the blame onto Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Obito, making the Mist Village even more hostile towards them..."
"..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen fell silent for a while, then looked up at Akihara Kagura and asked about another matter: "I heard that last night, Danzo went to the Root base again, this must be Danzo's teaching, right? Don't follow in Danzo's footsteps, you are now the leader of the Root."
"..."
Akihara Kagura remained silent, tacitly acknowledging the matter.
~~~
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