"Shisui was taken by Madara..."
Takeshi hesitated for a long moment, but in the end, he did not risk diving back down to attempt a rescue. Madara might be feeble, but Black Zetsu's abilities combined with Madara's genjutsu made him wary. Besides, his Flying Thunder God marker had already been destroyed.
If he wanted to go down there now, he'd have to rely on the Earth Release ninjutsu he had just acquired.
But that was Madara and Black Zetsu's domain. His greatest asset-speed-would be crippled in that environment. No matter how he looked at it, going down was a deal where the risk far outweighed the reward.
He mulled it over and finally decided to head back.
It wasn't that he didn't care about Shisui.
He simply felt Shisui was different from Obito. If this group had captured Obito, Takeshi would have had to seriously consider how to rescue him, because Obito was kind but stubborn to a fault. That kind of personality came with fatal, easily targeted weaknesses.
Shisui was different.
The kid had been influenced by Kura Uchiha since he was small, thoroughly steeped in the Will of Fire. Lately, he had been visiting the Ninja Cat Fortress frequently, Kanna and ninja cats had given him plenty of bright, progressive ideas.
Simply put, the kid looked young but was actually brimming with maturity. And Kura, the man tied to Shisui, was a Mangekyo Sharingan user. The difficulty of turning someone like Shisui to the dark side was incredibly high.
Taking Shisui as a successor? Takeshi could only hope Madara wouldn't be the one fooled by this deceptively innocent-looking brat, a brat whose development Takeshi himself had a small hand in.
The black cat used the Flying Thunder God to go home.
Madara's hideout was roughly in that area, but knowing that meant little. Madara needed the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to sustain his life, but that didn't mean he couldn't just take it and move elsewhere.
The only comforting part was that he had earned a lot of points from this trip.
After subtracting the points spent on the Hiding Like a Mole Jutsu, he still had nearly thirty thousand in his account. That meant from this single operation, Takeshi had gained a little less than twenty thousand points.
That definitely counted as a big haul.
Once back in Konoha, Takeshi did not seek out Minato. Instead, he jumped using Tsunade's location as his coordinate.
He was working through a problem.
Kura's son was gone. How was he supposed to explain that?
"Your son was grabbed by Madara to be his successor"
Obviously not.
Never mind that he hadn't actually seen Madara, even if he had, no one would believe him. He needed to leak the information in a controlled way. It was best to sync stories with Tsunade first.
However-
"Takeshi, how did it go?" Tsunade asked urgently the moment he appeared.
Takeshi reacted fast. He teleported to see Tsunade standing in the Uchiha compound. Most of the Uchiha had already scattered to search, but there was no way they could find Shisui.
Shisui had vanished right under Kura's nose. That alone proved the enemy had the ability to deceive a Mangekyo Sharingan user. How could an ordinary search party possibly find him? Their one real hope had been Takeshi-and seeing him return alone...
Fugaku let out a silent sigh. He knew the odds were bad.
"The enemy's concealment ability is extremely strong, and Shisui appeared to be under their control, unable to give me any useful information. I pursued them, but the enemy used Wood Release and a Mental Attack to obstruct me."
Takeshi quickly recounted half the truth.
What he left out was that he'd had a chance to force his way in and clash head-on with Madara and Black Zetsu, but given how lethal that could have been, he had chosen not to.
"Wood Release... and a mental attack?" Fugaku was stunned for a moment.
He recalled something Tsunade had mentioned earlier: those strange white creatures. According to reports submitted to the village elders, those beings possessed Hashirama Cells and the ability to use Wood Release.
"It was them?" Tsunade's expression tightened.
Ever since the first White Zetsu appeared, they had suspected some hidden hand moving behind the scenes. She hadn't expected them to surface so soon-or with methods this audacious. To take Shisui from the Uchiha compound without a trace...
"Fugaku, how talented is Shisui?"
"Exceptionally. At some point recently-no one knows exactly when-he awakened his Sharingan. We only discovered it ourselves not long ago. You could say he's the most gifted ninja in Uchiha history."
Fugaku's tone was bitter.
Four years old and he had already awakened his eyes, he had outstanding talent in genjutsu, taijutsu, and ninjutsu. Their expectations for Shisui had been sky-high. They had practically decided to raise him as the next clan head, perhaps even a future Hokage candidate-and then this happened.
Tsunade's breath hitched.
"The most gifted"-that wasn't a casual evaluation.
"Meow~ I have some questions. If they targeted Shisui for his talent, that means they're confident they can make him defect, and that they have the ability to fully develop his potential, right? If that's the case..."
Takeshi glanced over at Fugaku.
Fugaku quickly shook his head. "The Uchiha have no need to stage something like this. Yes, there were some internal issues before, but they've already been cleared out. I can stake my life that this has nothing to do with us."
"No, I understand what Takeshi means," Tsunade said, drawing in a deep breath.
To have access to Hashirama Cells, to know how to grow Uchiha power, and to be confident Shisui could be brought to their side-there was only one answer that fit all the criteria.
Fugaku froze, his mind going blank.
No way. He stared wide-eyed at Takeshi and Tsunade in shock. No one said the name out loud, but none of them were stupid. Especially now that, with Kura serving as a village elder, a great deal of classified intel had been shared with the Uchiha.
Tsunade nodded heavily.
It sounded impossible-but it was the only explanation with the highest probability of being true.
"But, back then, didn't he..."
Fugaku trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
"That's a question you'd have to answer, meow," Takeshi said.
"Me? I wasn't even born back then!" Fugaku was frustrated. When Madara fought Hashirama Senju, he didn't even exist.
Even if you went back to his father's generation... his father hadn't exactly been front-row for that god-tier battle. Back then, the Uchiha had been as obedient as scolded children, terrified of retaliation from the Senju brothers, doing whatever they were told without a peep.
And now they were going to pin this on the Uchiha?
Absolutely ridiculous.
He cursed silently but only let his expression darken, not daring to say more.
"Ahem, that's not what Takeshi meant," Tsunade said with a small cough. "We're just wondering if the Uchiha have any... special ocular jutsu."
"Special ocular jutsu?"
Some of Fugaku's anger faded. He thought for a moment, and his expression slowly turned grave.
He had thought of one.
"Izanagi. It can, to some extent, overturn life and death. The price is permanent blindness in one eye."
"What?"
Tsunade was stunned.
There really was a technique like that? She genuinely hadn't known. The village's data on Uchiha forbidden techniques was still incomplete. In recent years, as they worked to integrate with the Uchiha, they had avoided digging too deeply into sensitive areas.
And yet... of all things, these seemingly straightforward, proud people had something this absurd.
To alter life and death. That had to be it.
She drew in a sharp breath and met Takeshi's eyes, then said to Fugaku, "I recommend convening a full village council to discuss what happened today and come up with countermeasures-to prevent them from taking anyone else."
An enemy who could abduct people without a sound was a nightmare.
Thinking back, the Mizukage, Chiyo, and the Raikage had probably felt exactly as she did now. The thought almost made Tsunade laugh-but the victims this time were right in front of her, and relations between the Uchiha and the village were currently excellent. Laughing would be wildly inappropriate.
Besides...
Uchiha Madara.
A man like that being alive was a terrifying prospect for all of Konoha.
"Then let's hold the meeting."
"Meow~ I think I need to step out for a bit. You can hold it without me," Takeshi said, eyeing them.
There was a Rinnegan back at his fortress. There was no way he could relax.
"Alright," Tsunade said after a moment's thought, giving a small nod to let him go.
===============
Dear Readers and Fans,
For those eager to dive into next chapters earlier before others, I invite you to join us on Patreon. By becoming our Patron, you not only gain access to exclusive advanced chapters but also help us continue this endeavour and expand it further.
https://www.pat reon.com/8Ashes8
(no space)
You can read upto 7 Chapters in advance.