"Which things must we take with us?"
Uchiha Mei suddenly asked.
At this moment, the palm of her hand, apart from some lingering bloodstains, showed no signs of injury.
"The plants and the books!"
Akira Sato immediately understood what she meant.
This was about moving things as quickly as possible—and if they couldn't move them, they'd need to destroy them.
The most precious data was stored in Akira's mind.
But the plants were something he had spent considerable time cultivating.
While not absolutely irreplaceable, if they were lost, he would have to start over, consuming vast amounts of time and effort. He couldn't afford that.
The books, on the other hand, were borrowed—naturally, they couldn't be damaged.
As for everything else?
All just odds and ends he had collected from part-time jobs and daily life—not worth mentioning.
Uchiha Mei lightly clapped her hands.
Whoosh!
Two figures in Uchiha clan uniforms appeared at the doorway.
"Lady Mei!" they called in unison.
Of course.
Uchiha Mei was, after all, the eldest daughter of the Uchiha main family—there was no way she wouldn't have protection.
Especially within the village, they were always on high alert.
Danzo's hostility toward the Uchiha was no secret, and no one dared let their guard down.
"Take all the plants and books back. Get rid of the rest," Uchiha Mei instructed before briskly leaving with Akira.
The next steps needed to happen fast—the longer they dragged this out, the more passive their position would become.
Hokage's Office
Sarutobi Hiruzen, busy handling village affairs, suddenly looked up sharply.
A document had appeared on his desk.
After reading its contents, his expression turned grim, and he immediately summoned an Anbu.
"Bring Danzo and the two elders here—now!"
"Yes, Lord Hokage!"
The masked Anbu agent vanished swiftly.
Not long after…
Tap, tap!
The sound of a cane striking the wooden floor echoed before the door was pushed open.
"Hiruzen, what do you want from me?" Danzo asked bluntly as he entered, showing no respect whatsoever for Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage.
And truthfully, why would he?
Danzo saw himself as Konoha's "root," believing himself on equal footing with the Hokage.
"Call me Lord Hokage," Sarutobi said coldly, tapping his pipe on the table.
Danzo's constant disrespect made it difficult for him to maintain authority. If he didn't push back regularly, who knew what Danzo might dare next?
Naturally, Danzo had no intention of backing down.
Just then, two more figures entered the office.
"Hiruzen, you called us…?" Mitokado Homura asked, glancing at the two men already facing off, a headache forming as he tried to change the subject. "Did something happen?"
He was used to their constant bickering and didn't bother asking for details.
"Danzo, I think you owe me an explanation!" Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly said, narrowing his eyes.
"What are you talking about?" Danzo replied, feigning ignorance.
Such a skilled actor.
Perhaps outsiders might be fooled, but everyone in this room had grown up together. There was no way they couldn't see through him.
"You know exactly what I mean! That healing potion is not something Root should be coveting!" Sarutobi snapped, slapping the document onto the table for the two elders to read.
"You've been spying on me, Hiruzen?!" Danzo roared in anger.
After all I've done for you, for Konoha, you're spying on me? Are you trying to split the village leadership?
Of course, he conveniently forgot that he had long embedded spies within the Anbu.
To him, that didn't count as spying—it was merely "protecting" the Hokage.
"Danzo, this matter belongs under the control of the Medical Corps," Koharu spoke up after reading the document.
If the contents were accurate, this was too important to leave to Root.
A potion capable of compensating for the shortage of medical ninjas? That would give Konoha a massive advantage on the battlefield.
As for the original creator of the potion?
Well…
To the elders, people like that were just pawns to be manipulated as they pleased.
After a quick internal discussion among Konoha's so-called "F4" (Hiruzen, Danzo, Homura, and Koharu), they settled on how to divide the spoils.
Next came the actual operation.
"Hiruzen, leave it to Root. I guarantee I'll bring the boy back," Danzo said, eyes glinting with greed.
Anyone capable of developing something like this healing potion was immensely valuable.
Sure, they had Orochimaru in the village—a genius researcher—but Danzo couldn't control him.
Now that someone new had appeared, how could Danzo possibly let them slip through his fingers?
From the start, Danzo wasn't interested in just the potion—he wanted everything.
"No," Sarutobi Hiruzen rejected firmly. "Koharu will handle the negotiations. Root is not allowed to interfere."
As childhood friends, Hiruzen knew exactly what Danzo was thinking. There was no way he would let Danzo succeed.
This kind of talent was a treasure for all of Konoha—not something that should fall under Root's private control.
Of course, his willingness to protect Akira Sato hinged on the young man's loyalty to the "Will of Fire." Without that, Hiruzen wouldn't be so determined.
Danzo, unsurprisingly, protested fiercely.
But in the end, he couldn't win against the combined front of the three.
With one sharp line, Hiruzen shattered his resistance.
"Danzo, I am the Hokage."
Yes—being Hokage meant he could do whatever he wanted, whether Danzo liked it or not.
"You'll regret this, Hiruzen!" Danzo snarled, slamming the door behind him as he stormed out.
Root couldn't act openly under the Hokage's protection.
But that was fine.
There would be opportunities later. After all, Danzo didn't really care about the potion.
What he wanted was the boy himself.
"Hiruzen, you need to be careful with Danzo," Homura warned, adjusting his glasses. Danzo had been growing more extreme lately.
"Don't worry," Sarutobi waved him off.
As long as he was Hokage, there was nothing to fear.
It was precisely this overconfidence that led him to never rein in Root, letting its power grow unchecked.
In his eyes, the stronger Root was, the better it could handle the dirty work he couldn't be seen doing.
Meanwhile
The Uchiha main family was holding a meeting.
Note: This was a small internal meeting of the "main branch"—not a full clan gathering, which would have taken place at the Naka Shrine.
The meeting venue was a courtyard shaded by two intertwined camphor trees.
The Uchiha clan had over a thousand members, divided internally into four branches.
The main branch (eldest line) was a staunch hawk faction; Uchiha Madara himself had come from this line. Its current head was Uchiha Mei.
The second branch was the dove faction; the yet-to-be-born Uchiha Shisui would belong to this line.
The third branch was the neutral faction, to which current clan head Uchiha Fugaku belonged.
The fourth branch played both sides. Their head's daughter, Uchiha Mikoto, had married Uchiha Fugaku, helping secure the third branch's hold on the clan leadership.
In the anime, none of this complex background was ever explored, but in the real world, clan politics were intricate and layered.
As the head of the main branch, Uchiha Mei wasn't officially the clan leader yet, but she had every right to call an internal meeting.
And importantly, everyone lived nearby, so gathering quickly was easy.
Once all the attendees arrived, it became clear just how deep the Uchiha clan's power ran.
More than six elite jōnin were present, all seated formally.
What did this mean?
Consider this: Konoha had only about a hundred jōnin total, and the Uchiha clan alone accounted for over twenty of them.
With such overwhelming representation, it was no wonder other clans felt the need to band together.
Without alliances, they wouldn't even have the qualifications to sit at the same table as the Uchiha.
Fortunately, the Uchiha only had abundant high-end combat power—not top-tier super-elite strength. They didn't even have anyone on par with the Legendary Sannin.
Otherwise, Sarutobi Hiruzen probably wouldn't be able to sleep at night.
Creak!
As the sliding door opened, the six assembled Uchiha main-branch jōnin—all seated formally—turned their attention to the two figures entering.