Yuto Uchiha was stunned speechless. He had no idea there were so many secrets involved, nor did he expect Danzo to claim that they were the only ones capable of saving Konoha and the Uchiha clan.
Danzo spoke solemnly to Yuto Uchiha: "Yuto, think carefully about your future. You've already been pushed to the margins. Despite being members of the same clan, you're treated like thieves under surveillance. Are you really okay with this? Fugaku Uchiha has betrayed the pride and dignity of the Uchiha clan. Now the future of our clan rests in your hands!
"If you're willing to just sink into oblivion, then the Uchiha clan will be beyond salvation. Therefore, I sincerely invite you to join my faction—to restore order, to save the Uchiha clan, and to save Konoha. We shall become the savior of Konoha!"
Yuto Uchiha became instantly fired up by these words. He knelt down on both knees before Danzo: "I, Yuto Uchiha, am willing to devote myself to the Uchiha clan and Konoha. Please command me as you see fit, Lord Danzo!"
A slight smirk appeared at the corner of Danzo's mouth: "Good. I believe in your abilities, which is why I approached you first. However, we must be patient for now. Minato Namikaze is at his peak in Konoha—this isn't our time yet. Our comrades are few as well; even if we make plans, it'll be difficult to move forward.
"Moving forward, I hope you can persuade other Uchiha clansmen who share your situation to join us, so together we may save the Uchiha clan and Konoha.
"I'm currently under Minato's surveillance, so I cannot reveal my existence yet. Therefore, I hope to imprint you with the Tongue Calamity Root Seal. Don't worry—it won't affect you in any way, except to prevent you from revealing my existence. Everything must remain secret for now. Do you agree?"
At this point, Yuto Uchiha would never dare oppose Danzo—he'd already bought into his words.
All the unfair treatment he had suffered recently had finally driven him past his limit. Rather than going on like this, he might as well take a chance.
Thus, Yuto Uchiha immediately accepted Danzo's offer.
After imprinting Yuto Uchiha with the Tongue Calamity Root Seal, Danzo warned him: "When persuading others, don't mention my name. Once they agree, discreetly bring them here to meet me."
"I understand, Lord Danzo."
After Yuto Uchiha left, Danzo sneered slightly: "What an utter fool. But people like him are the easiest to manipulate."
After the Root ninja were reassigned by Minato Namikaze into a separate department, Danzo had nearly no one else to rely on besides Tatsuma Aburame.
Therefore, Danzo needed to replenish his forces—but available options were extremely limited.
The only viable candidates are those marginalized Uchiha clansmen.
Danzo asked: "How is the research on the Caged Bird Cursed Seal progressing?"
Tatsuma Aburame answered, "It's still ongoing. After all, the current researchers have all been integrated into the Science Division, whose director is Orochimaru. Orochimaru recognizes those former Root researchers, so if we directly conducted research on the Caged Bird Cursed Seal, it would likely draw attention and lead to suspicion against Danzo. Therefore, all studies are being carried out secretly."
"Fine then. We can only wait for now."
Danzo wasn't just targeting the marginalized Uchiha clansmen; he also had his sights set on the branch members of the Hyuga clan.
The longstanding conflict between the Main House and Branch House of the Hyuga clan, combined with the close relationship between the Main House and the Hokage, provided Danzo with an opportunity to manipulate the situation.
However, this plan required first removing the Caged Bird Cursed Seal from the Hyuga Branch House members as a foundation for recruiting them.
Although acquiring both the Uchiha and Hyuga defectors wouldn't easily allow him to overthrow Minato Namikaze, if external forces appeared, leveraging those forces could greatly increase the likelihood of success.
Tatsuma continued reporting, "[Eight Trigrams Sealing Array], according to intelligence reports, in addition to transferring the Chakra of those imprinted, it can also control their minds."
Danzo's eyes lit up, "Oh? Control minds? Is this information accurate?"
"It should be reliable. My insects overheard it directly from Fugaku Uchiha."
Hearing about the [Eight Trigrams Sealing Array]'s mind control ability, Danzo immediately became excited.
If he could control people's minds, wouldn't obtaining Hikaru Uchiha's Mangekyo Sharingan allow him to imprint and mentally control Minato Namikaze and others, turning them into his puppets?
Danzo instantly made a decision—he must obtain Hikaru Uchiha's Mangekyo Sharingan.
However, Danzo hadn't lost his head; he remained calm. Hikaru was extremely powerful. Previously, it was thanks to Hikaru's Susanoo that the Nine-Tails was suppressed, allowing Minato Namikaze to successfully seal it.
Therefore, for now they couldn't touch Hikaru Uchiha. He needed to wait until his own forces grew stronger before pursuing Hikaru's Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Tatsuma, go monitor Yuto Uchiha for a while and confirm whether he's properly recruiting those Uchiha."
"Yes, Lord Danzo."
...
Two months later, Shindai finally completed the first set of Ninjutsu cards. Although it was slightly thick, it still represented progress, and further research would definitely lead to improvements.
In a special room within the Science Division designated for testing Ninjutsu, Shindai wore scientific ninja equipment on his arm and inserted a Ninjutsu card into the card slot.
A mechanical female voice announced:
"Identification successful: Fire Release - Great Fireball Jutsu."
Shindai pressed the button on his armguard, instantly releasing a fireball that struck the reinforced test wall.
Shindai's face shone with an exceptionally bright smile—finally, he had made some phased progress.
The original number of jutsu scrolls he carried had been quite limited, allowing for only a few ninjutsu techniques.
But now, as long as he carried enough jutsu cards, he could keep releasing techniques nonstop. This was the Ninja-Ware Shindai had imagined—a portable combat platform.
At the same time, the Ninja Knowledge Cards gave Shindai a fresh idea for making money.
That is—creating a card game. Shindai believed this would definitely be extremely profitable.
He had already begun carefully planning it out, starting naturally with designing his own special cards.
Rubbing his chin, Shindai muttered to himself, "Hmm, my card effects need to be incredibly rare and uniquely powerful—top tier, of course. It'll nullify all of the opponent's card abilities outright and force them to discard their entire hand. If they have no cards left, I win automatically. That should do nicely."
Before they knew it, Naruto had turned six years old—old enough to start attending the Ninja Academy.
On the day Naruto started school, Kushina Uzumaki, Shindai, Pakura, and Hikaku Uchiha all came to send him off.
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