"Uchiha Shisui, are you unwilling to execute the mission?" The Root Jonin's tone carried a hint of threat: "Konoha… has finally chosen to trust the Uchiha clan once."
"Do you want the entire Uchiha clan to lose Konoha's trust again? Think carefully, the future of Konoha and the Uchiha clan is in your hands."
"Examine your Will of Fire! Uchiha Shisui!"
This rhetoric was well-rehearsed in the Root.
The purpose was to ensure Uchiha Shisui wouldn't defect halfway.
Apparently, this rhetoric seemed to work.
Shisui's eyes flashed with hesitation and conflict...
Which he then pushed aside.
"Let's begin!" Uchiha Shisui took a deep breath and said: "The cooldown for the special technique in my eyes is very long. Once I use this extremely special dojutsu, it might take over ten years before I can use it again."
"In other words, we have only one chance. If we don't seize this opportunity, the mission will fail."
"What? Over ten years?" The nearby Root Jonin was stunned: "Wait!"
Beneath the Root mask, his face frowned deeply.
"You never mentioned such a severe side effect!"
He asked urgently: "Is it one eye that has a ten-year cooldown, or both eyes?"
The Root Jonin's tone was anxious.
This situation was beyond his initial expectations.
"Why are you asking?" Uchiha Shisui was surprised: "This doesn't concern the Root, does it?"
Shisui didn't notice the Root ninja furthest from him, who seemed to be on guard but was actually eavesdropping on the conversation.
When that Root ninja heard this, the eye under the mask, exposed through bandages, narrowed.
The wrinkles on his face twitched.
Irrelevant?
How could it be irrelevant?
If these eyes need over ten years to cool down after use, what use would they be to Danzo?
Indeed!
Among the group of Root ninjas, one was Danzo himself!
Danzo didn't want someone like Whitebeard to exist in the world.
He didn't want a jinchuriki out of his control.
And he didn't want the Uchiha clan to have such terrifying eyes.
So.
Under Hiruzen Sarutobi's "non-interference," Danzo used Sarutobi's name to contact Uchiha Shisui secretly.
He wanted to use Uchiha Shisui.
To achieve multiple goals.
First, have Uchiha Shisui use Kotoamatsukami to control Whitebeard, then execute Whitebeard, a significant threat.
Then, when Uchiha Shisui's chakra was depleted, he would take Shisui's eyes!
Finally, capture the jinchuriki and hide him within the Root, shaping him into a weapon for the Root!
In this way.
Eliminate the threat of Whitebeard + possess the Mangekyo Sharingan + control a Nine-Tails jinchuriki...
Who else but him would be the next Hokage of Konoha?
Even if the old monkey didn't want to step down, Danzo could use Shisui's eyes to alter the jinchuriki's will, making the kid loyal to the Root.
Then, use the dojutsu again to alter the monkey's will, forcing him to step down and hand over the Hokage's power.
Hmph! Then the position of Hokage would be his!
But the information Shisui just revealed.
Made Danzo realize the situation had changed.
If Shisui's eyes required a long cooldown, then the triple objective was no longer feasible.
Only a single choice remained.
Either not take the eyes, just kill Whitebeard, or take the eyes and run with the jinchuriki; or take the eyes and return to fulfill his ambition of becoming Hokage.
Danzo's eyes narrowed.
"Uchiha Shisui."
Suddenly, Danzo moved forward with a flicker.
He stood before Shisui, speaking in a voice not his own: "I just received an order from Danzo-sama, the assassination plan for Whitebeard has changed again."
"Hmm?" Shisui's brows furrowed even more: "Changed again? What is the Root doing?"
"Because Danzo-sama noticed you are unwilling." The disguised Root ninja, Danzo, spoke: "You have been hesitant from the beginning."
"And if your eyes have such a long cooldown, they shouldn't be used here. They should be saved for more critical moments."
Shisui didn't argue.
He indeed believed that Danzo's extreme methods would not eliminate the threat of Whitebeard.
In Shisui's view.
Konoha could try to accept Whitebeard instead of rejecting the giant from top to bottom.
Doing so...
It would only deepen the conflict.
"Shisui, Danzo-sama also asked me to ask you a question." Danzo's eyes narrowed to slits: "You once said you wanted to use your eyes to alter the will of the Uchiha clan leader to prevent the Uchiha coup."
Shisui's brows furrowed even more.
He noticed the Root ninjas around him had taken very strange positions.
Rather than preparing to hunt Whitebeard.
It seemed they were surrounding him.
Danzo slowly removed his mask.
Revealing his old, wrinkled face, he questioned word by word: "How can we be sure... you won't use those special eyes to alter my will?"
Instantly!
Danzo's killing intent erupted, and his eyes narrowed to slits. Under Shisui's shocked gaze, his right arm shot forward like a spear, aiming for Shisui's eye.
However.
Danzo's eyes suddenly became vacant, his fingertip stopping two centimeters from Shisui's eye.
Shisui's red eyes had spinning tomoe!
"Actually, I've been on guard against you."
Ignoring the surrounding Root ninjas, Shisui's confidence in his body-flicker and Mangekyo Sharingan showed.
"This is just an illusion... Pfft!"
Shisui's eyes widened suddenly, his internal organs twisting in pain, almost causing him to vomit.
Danzo quickly struck Shisui's abdomen, neck, and chest three times in a row.
His right hand shot out again.
Directly hitting Shisui's right eye!
"Izanagi." As Shisui clutched his empty right eye socket, his left eye full of disbelief, Danzo held a bloody eyeball, smiling: "I planned to deal with Whitebeard before taking your eyes."
"But the information you revealed made me realize I couldn't wait. I believe these eyes can be used for greater purposes in my hands."
"Sharingan isn't exclusive to the Uchiha." Danzo removed the bandage covering his right eye.
A three-tomoe Sharingan had lost its light.
Completely useless.
"I'll replace my eyes with yours!" Danzo's tone was filled with killing intent: "Go! Capture him!"
"Yes!!!" Several Root ninjas near Shisui immediately threw several spheres at their feet.
The spheres exploded.
A strange smoke spread.
Blood flowing from his eye socket, Shisui smelled the smoke and felt a sharp pain in his respiratory tract, his expression changing instantly.
"Poison? So, you were ready to kill me? Itachi, I was right after all."
Shisui clutched his painful eye socket, cold sweat dripping: "The village never trusted me. No matter what I do, as long as I have these eyes, they'll never trust me."
His left eye flashed with resolve, the three-tomoe transforming into the Mangekyo Sharingan!
The pattern in his eye spun wildly.
"Susanoo!!"
...
"Dad, why are you looking over there? What's going on?" Naruto noticed Whitebeard gazing into the distance for a while.
Curious, he looked in the same direction.
Suddenly.
Naruto's eyes widened.
"What is that?!"
...
...