Back home, Yagami thought of the Kisame he saw at the Mist Village last time. Judging from the current plot, the Akatsuki organization is not particularly powerful yet—at least, Obito has not openly joined the Akatsuki organization.
In this way, he may not be able to find this guy in the Rain Village; on the contrary, he may face Nagato's Rinnegan.
To be honest, Yagami didn't want to provoke Nagato at this time, as he couldn't compete through sheer strength…
Since he wanted to unmask Obito, he at least needed to locate him. But where could he be?
Yagami guessed that Obito should be in Madara's base, but unfortunately, he didn't know where that place was, and Kishimoto never made it clear either.
"Since we can't find him, we can only force him to come out.
As long as the pressure is strong enough when he feels his strength is insufficient, retrieving his Sharingan will be his only choice.
In this way, he'll show up in Konoha, and then… Damn! I seem to have forgotten someone in the hospital."
It suddenly occurred to him that he was supposed to check on Kakashi's situation today. Isn't that unlucky guy still waiting in the hospital?
It's all Yūhi Kurenai's fault for causing trouble for no reason! I even forgot about the important matters…
Yagami originally planned to visit Kakashi the next day, but realizing he needed him as bait, he resigned and went out again.
At Konoha Hospital, Kakashi stared at the ceiling, feeling like a fool.
He wanted to see Yagami, not only because his eyes had issues but also because he was aware of what happened that night. If the Uchiha hadn't also followed the Third Hokage to confront Danzo, he might never have retrieved his troubled eye.
The Uchiha helped him, yet his first instinct had been to distrust them, and he wanted to apologize.
But things backfired. There was an issue with the Sharingan he retrieved. Obito's Sharingan had originally been implanted in him, but since he couldn't deactivate it, it constantly drained his chakra.
Fortunately, his strength allowed him to balance the chakra consumption and replenishment, but now, after retrieving it, not only had the chakra drain increased, but using the eye caused sharp pain, affecting his other eye as well.
Unable to see and physically weakened, he could only remain in the hospital. So when Jiraiya last visited him to ask about Yamato, he asked Jiraiya to pass a message to Yagami.
At first, Yagami hadn't responded at all. After waiting a long time, Kakashi grew disappointed. After all, the Third Hokage had reached out to Uchiha immediately after the incident, so it made sense they wouldn't be eager to see him.
But today, someone from the Uchiha clan mentioned that Yagami would visit him, and Kakashi eagerly waited until the sun was almost setting…
"Yo! Kakashi, do you have eye problems or diarrhoea? We haven't seen each other for half a month, and you're looking as skinny as Danzo."
Seeing Kakashi's miserable appearance, Yagami felt a twinge of guilt. But you can't blame me for this! God knows what that old b*****d Danzo did to the Sharingan.
And it wasn't like he deliberately ignored Kakashi; he simply forgot, and besides, he knew Jiraiya was unreliable, while Yūhi Kurenai kept distracting him with pointless troubles…
"Sorry, I made you rush over to see me, but I really can't go to the Uchiha with my condition."
Kakashi closed his eyes tightly and spoke in a weak tone.
"Tsk! Why do you insist on this? The Sharingan isn't helping you anymore; it's a burden. Just let it go!"
Looking at Kakashi's condition, Yagami realized his guess was correct. Even with the same three-tomoe pattern, each Sharingan's power varied based on quality and development.
When Obito gave his eye to Kakashi, it hadn't fully developed. Moreover, since Kakashi wasn't an Uchiha, his eye's growth was significantly slowed, balancing with his chakra.
Now, his eye was taken from Danzo. Beyond how far the original owner had developed it, Danzo had augmented it with Hashirama's cells, making it far stronger than Kakashi's original eye.
Strength comes with a cost. Replacing it with a high-power eye was like overloading a battery, and it was no wonder Kakashi was struggling.
"This is the last thing he left me, I…"
Kakashi murmured, clearly thinking of Obito.
Yagami couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Your good friend Obito isn't dead; he's prowling all over the ninja world right now!"
"Then I can't help it! To tell you the truth, the Sharingan has different development levels.
I can't guarantee whether Danzo has worked on developing it further after getting your eye.
In short, your current situation is that this Sharingan's power exceeds your body's limit. If you don't remove it, it will eventually drag you to death."
"Of course, if you want to keep carrying it, you'll need to make yourself stronger. For starters, you'd need at least double your current chakra capacity. Your choice!"
Yagami spread his hands and continued. Truth be told, there was no need for Kakashi to cling to the Sharingan. The Hatake clan's swordsmanship wasn't weak. If he chose to inherit his father's swordsmanship, his strength wouldn't be weaker than it is now—perhaps it would even be stronger.
After all, the Sharingan belongs to the Uchiha. You're a Hatake; focusing on both swordsmanship and the Sharingan is only making things harder for yourself.
"Is it because I don't deserve his eye... By the way, Yagami, since the Sharingan's power is the reason, why is my other eye affected as well?"
After understanding the cause of the Sharingan's abnormality, Kakashi didn't dwell on it and instead asked about his physical condition.
"I'm not a medical ninja, so how should I know? Since the hospital can't help you, you'd better ask Lady Tsunade! She might have a solution."
Yagami patted Kakashi on the shoulder and left the mark of the Flying Thunder God.
Though he didn't know if this poor guy would choose to keep the eye, judging by Kakashi's loyalty to Obito, even if he didn't, he'd probably still keep it with him somehow, making him excellent bait.
For now, there was no harm to Kakashi before Obito was exposed. Having Kakashi discover Obito's identity himself would be far more impactful.
As for any concerns that Obito's strength might skyrocket after recovering his Sharingan, there was no need to worry—his Kamui Sharingan was still in Yagami's possession.
*
But looking at Kakashi's unfortunate situation, even if left alone, he wouldn't last long. Hopefully, he makes the right choice! Otherwise, I'll have to take matters into my own hands.
Then there's Tsunade to find. Illnesses are best treated early. We have only four Mangekyō in the family; the clan head can't be exposed easily, and Itachi can't afford any accidents.
Though it might be more effective to seek out Orochimaru to resolve Itachi's condition, Yagami didn't want to go to him unless it was the last resort—mainly because Orochimaru had his hands in too many things.
As the only person in the ninja world with advanced technological expertise, underestimating him would be foolish. So, first find Tsunade, then possibly Orochimaru.
Trading one Distinguished Heavenly Gods for a technical asset? That would be a profitable exchange.
As Yagami considered finding Tsunade, the Third Hokage had the same thought, though it wasn't due to any personal or close associate's health concerns.
The Third Hokage wanted to find Tsunade primarily to ask the daimyo for funding.
*****
Although the daimyo had allocated funds this time, the amount was far less than before. It was just enough to keep Konoha running. As for the elite families, not only were they unable to recoup their own resources, there was no source of extra funds for them to drain.
On the other hand, while the daimyo had provided funding, it was only partial. It seemed as though he might be taking inspiration from Sunagakure.
Repeatedly sending the Hokage to the daimyo's mansion to ask for funds was undesirable, so he turned his focus to Tsunade.
The title of "Princess of Konoha" wasn't just because she was the First Hokage's granddaughter; only a daimyo, the lord of a country, could bestow such a title.
If Tsunade intervened, the relationship between the daimyo and Konoha would certainly ease.
"Why do I have to worry about all of them?"
Sending Jiraiya to find Tsunade would be ideal, but thinking about Jiraiya's recent attitude toward him, the Third Hokage couldn't help but sigh as a trace of sadness crept into his heart.
Of the three disciples he had trained, one defected, another refused to meet him, and the only one who still supported him, Jiraiya, was now at odds with him.
Remembering Jiraiya's words from that day, the Third Hokage once again cursed Danzo's name.
Despite his belief that concealing Naruto's identity was for the best, Danzo spread rumours in the village that he was the son of a fox demon. By the time he realized it, it was too late to stop it.
Now, he was stuck in an unwinnable position. Naruto was clearly closer to the Uchiha. He used to greet him politely as "Third Hokage Grandpa," but now he just ran away whenever he saw him, leaving no chance to instil the Will of Fire.
If Danzo hadn't made Naruto's life so miserable, would it have been so easy for the Uchiha to draw him in?
Jiraiya also clashed with the Hokage because of this—damn Danzo!
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