"Damn it. Those damn Uchiha, they seem to really hate us!"
Shimura Danzo muttered as he walked away, still grumbling,"They're even protecting that Konoha assassin!"
He was furious. When they faced the black-clad assassin, the Uchiha members just watched, doing nothing while they made fools of themselves.
It was outrageous!
The Uchiha were truly evil. Yes, they were always evil!
"Hmph, they probably already know that we were the ones secretly behind the extermination plan!" Sarutobi Hiruzen sneered. But even in his aged eyes, there was anger and some regret.
This extermination plan was his mistake. It was clear that relying solely on Uchiha Itachi could not have been enough to finish the job.
And that Konoha assassin, threatening Sarutobi Hiruzen, was definitely connected to the Uchiha clan. Now, destroying the Uchiha would be more difficult than ever.
They had missed their best opportunity!
If they were to carry out the plan again in the future, they'd have to recall Uchiha Itachi and the Legendary Sannins from outside. Wasn't Orochimaru also interested in the Uchiha clan? Perhaps they could involve him as well!
The old fox was indeed a fox—his first plan had failed, but he was already plotting the next one!
But his disciples… they never listened.
"Hiruzen, do you think the Uchiha know that the Root ninjas were the ones who slaughtered their clan?" Danzo asked again.
"Don't ask if you already know the answer," Hiruzen glanced at Danzo. "I know you've used the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal on your Root ninjas, so they won't reveal the mission's secrets. But do you really think the Uchiha are fools?"
"They probably haven't turned against us because they have their concerns!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen could sense murderous intent in the eyes of Uchiha Shin and other important Uchiha members today.
It was clear that they had already figured out that the Root ninjas, led by Itachi, had wiped out their own people, and Hiruzen had been involved as well.
"Hmph, even if they know, what can they do?" Danzo's arrogance returned as he spoke, "If the Uchiha clan dares to make a move against us, we'll gather the entire village's strength and wipe them out!"
Even if they did know, with the current strength of the Uchiha, they wouldn't dare face Konoha. As for the elite Root ninjas lost in the process, they'd get their revenge someday.
"Let's leave the Uchiha clan's compound for now," Sarutobi Hiruzen said as they continued to fly. "Starting tomorrow, the Uchiha clan will become our true enemy!"
Having witnessed the slaughter of their clan, the two sides were now at their final confrontation. The one to control the Uchiha clan in the future will surely be Uchiha Kinya, someone even more difficult to deal with than Fugaku.
"I understand," Danzo nodded. However, in his view, as long as Sarutobi Hiruzen remained Hokage, the Uchiha clan wouldn't stir up any trouble.
Even if they knew it was them, what could they do? Wouldn't they still be forced to let it go?
The Uchiha clan of today was no longer the same as when Madara was around.
"The mission is over. Let's head back!" Sarutobi Hiruzen glared at Sarutobi Eisuke but didn't say anything else. He turned and headed toward the Hokage office. Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.
He needed to think about how to handle this tomorrow.
Sarutobi Eisuke wanted to say something, but seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen walk away so decisively, he didn't speak and followed behind.
"Has the group that went with me returned yet? We should retreat now!" Shimura Danzo said as he watched Sarutobi Hiruzen's back and addressed the remaining people.
"Huh? They didn't stay with the leader?" Someone asked in surprise.
What?
Stay with him?
Hearing this, Shimura Danzo's heart skipped a beat.
The people who followed him hadn't returned?
He had told them to grab a few sets of eyes and come back quickly. If things went according to plan, they should've been back by now. But from the looks of it, they must have been trapped inside!
"Damn it!"
Thinking this, Danzo kicked the object in front of him away in anger, his mind filled with fury!
This operation had been a total disaster. He had lost both the battle and his men.
Half of the elite Root ninjas were lost, and he didn't get even a single pair of Sharingan eyes. Worse, he even lost one of the Sharingan during the battle with that assassin!
Damn, damn it!
These evil Uchiha, they all deserve to die!
"Leader, what should we do next?" someone asked. So much had happened this night.
"Let's go back." Danzo turned to glance back at the Uchiha clan's land, then shouted angrily, leading the group away. As for the Root ninjas who hadn't made it out? Would they survive under the Uchiha's attack?
Outside Konoha Village, in a dense forest, two figures emerged from the ground. The surroundings were quiet.
It was the masked Obito and Uchiha Itachi who had just left.
At this moment, Uchiha Itachi appeared somewhat disheveled, especially his eyes, which looked a bit grayish and had some double vision. He was nearsighted. This was a sign of overuse of his eyes.
It was also a side effect of the Sharingan… no, the Mangekyō Sharingan!
He wiped the blood off the corner of his eye, trying to see more clearly, but the double vision remained.
"This overuse has drained my eyes' power. To fully recover, I need at least a few days of rest!" Uchiha Itachi checked his condition before turning to Obito. "Thank you."
(Itachi wouldn't go blind in the short term. This was just a side effect from severely exhausting his dojutsu!)
"Heh... You promised you'd join my organization. What I saved was my future comrade!" Masked Obito looked at Uchiha Itachi, responding calmly.
As for why Uchiha Itachi wiped out his clan, Obito didn't ask. Even if he did, Itachi wouldn't answer.
But no matter the reason, once Itachi slaughtered his clan, he was abandoned by both Konoha and the Uchiha clan. He had nowhere else to go.
Obito didn't care about Itachi's other motives. If he could work for the Akatsuki, that was all that mattered. Besides, Itachi's strength wasn't weak.
The reason he had been suppressed by the black-clad assassin was simply because Genjutsu and Amaterasu were countered.
When watching the fight, Obito even thought that the masked assassin was Itachi's natural enemy!
As he thought about this, Obito suddenly recalled something and turned to Itachi, asking curiously, "Did you recognize the face of the black-clad person? Did you figure out who they are?"
When asking this question, his visible eye was filled with curiosity, waiting for Itachi's answer!
He was very curious about that black-clad ninja. What made him even more curious was that the person seemed to know his identity, which made him even more eager to know the face behind that mask.
Who were they?
But now that he thought about it, from Itachi's shocked expression when he recognized the black-clad person, that person must be very special.
****
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