"Sasuke, strive to grow stronger. My eyes will always be here for you."
With these words, Sasuke, broken in spirit, collapsed unconscious on the ground.
Itachi, with tears staining his face, cast one final glance back at his parents' bodies before resolutely departing.
"Tsk tsk, what a touching display of familial love and brotherly bond." Two white figures silently emerged from the ground.
"You handle this, I'll search the rest of the place."
After all, it was the home of the Uchiha clan head, Uchiha Fugaku, so there was bound to be some valuable finds. Surely, there would be scrolls of jutsu and secret techniques hidden here.
A sharp, ripping sound followed.
Without hesitation, Uchiha Mikoto and Fugaku's eyes were ruthlessly gouged out one after the other.
"Fugaku's eyes… he truly unlocked the Mangekyo Sharingan…"
Looking at the blood-soaked eyeballs, the White Zetsu clone made by Kiyoshi marveled at the potent eye power within, delighted with the find.
Without even sparing a glance at the unconscious Sasuke, it carefully stored the collected Sharingan into a storage scroll before disappearing into the ground.
At that moment—
On the main street of the Uchiha clan district, the forces from the Root organization had already begun their operation.
Under Danzo's command, they moved to retrieve the Sharingan from the corpses scattered around.
Meanwhile, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who appeared entirely unaware of the Uchiha massacre, finally arrived with the Anbu.
His expression was filled with shock as he looked upon the horrendous scene left behind.
"Search immediately, secure the bodies and check for any survivors!"
He took a deep breath and gave the order.
"Hiruzen, at least now the village is free of this threat," Danzo remarked directly.
"Regardless of the circumstances, the Uchiha were still part of Konoha… Danzo, you shouldn't have acted without authorization."
"This was a necessary sacrifice!" Danzo replied coldly.
To him, the rebellious Uchiha had long since been an obstacle to remove.
"You're too extreme, Danzo..." The Third Hokage frowned, clearly angered.
"The situation hadn't reached this point, yet you bypassed me as Hokage and incited Itachi to turn against the entire Uchiha clan."
"Hiruzen, everything I've done has been for Konoha." Danzo's face shifted as he raised his voice.
"For Konoha?" Hiruzen, puffing on his pipe, eyed Danzo keenly. "I suspect Shisui's death was also connected to you, wasn't it?"
"Danzo, I can no longer ignore your actions…"
Without giving Danzo, whose expression changed drastically, a chance to explain, the Third Hokage firmly declared.
"From today onward, you are stripped of your position as Hokage advisor, and the Root will be placed directly under Anbu's control."
"In addition, you are to remain at home in confinement, forbidden from leaving."
"Hiruzen, I—"
"No need to say anything further!"
Watching as Hiruzen left without a backward glance, having taken the opportunity to remove him as "Hokage advisor" under a pretext, Danzo's face turned dark.
He had no choice but to obey.
Moreover, he feared that if he continued to press, Hiruzen, who was deceptively gentle but sharp-minded, might force him to surrender Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan as well.
"Damit…" Danzo muttered, his expression bitter and eyes filled with malice.
No matter what, he wasn't Hokage.
"Lord Danzo…"
A Root ninja appeared, kneeling before him on one knee.
Suppressing his anger, Danzo asked, "Have you tallied up the corpses?"
"Many Sharingan were taken, including those of Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha," the Root ninja reported.
"Could it be Itachi's doing?" he speculated.
"What!?"
Danzo, who had marked those Sharingan as his own, was furious at the thought of someone daring to snatch them right under his nose.
"No… it couldn't have been Itachi. If he wanted to, he would have taken his parents' bodies with him," he concluded after a moment's analysis.
Grinding his teeth, he ordered, "Search! Don't miss any clues!"
"Understood—"
…
At the Ishikawa residence.
After dinner with Kurenai and Azumi, Kiyoshi saw Kurenai off, then returned to his room.
One by one, several white figures emerged silently through his wall, each placing a storage scroll in front of him.
Inside, they had sealed away substantial amounts of money, scrolls containing various jutsu… and even Sharingan.
"Amazing, the haul was immense…"
Kiyoshi sorted through the treasures, beyond the cash, there was a large quantity of gold and jewels.
While it wasn't the Uchiha clan's entire fortune—not even a tenth of their banked wealth—it was still considerable.
Much of it came from the homes of prominent Uchiha elders and high-ranking Uchiha Jonin.
"Genjutsu, ninjutsu, taijutsu…" he murmured with a smile.
"Not only did I gather techniques from individual Uchiha members, but the Uchiha clan's library contained a comprehensive selection of elemental jutsu for wind, lightning, water, fire, and earth.
From basic to advanced, even forbidden S-rank jutsu, and numerous advanced Genjutsu of the yin attribute… It truly lives up to its status as Konoha's most powerful clan."
"Not to mention, I've acquired a substantial number of Sharingan: 57 pairs with a single tomoe, 33 pairs with two tomoe, and 15 pairs with three tomoe…"
Looking at the blood-stained, red eyes, Kiyoshi was filled with excitement. "And… even one pair of Mangekyo Sharingan!"
"This is incredible."
He had to admit, it was all thanks to the White Zetsu clone's stealth abilities. Without it, taking such a risk would have been unthinkable.
Without White Zetsu's power, if he had tried to personally take action, he would've surely exposed himself. After all, the sensory ninjas in Konoha were not to be underestimated.
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