đ¨Insert Some Funny Memes or GIFđ¨
----------------
Uchiha Hikaru and Itachi searched through the intelligence stored in the hidden chamber once more.
As they pored over the documents, they meticulously recorded all of Danzo's crimes.
Assassinating nobles of the Land of Fire. Attacking a caravan from Iwagakure. Raiding a storage facility in Sunagakure. Swapping Iwagakure's spy intel. Sowing discord within Kirigakure.
He didn't just wreak havoc internally â as Hikaru read deeper, he realized Danzo had left his mark across the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars.
If not for Danzo, those two wars might've dragged on even longer. No wonder people called him a shadow in the dark corners of the ninja world. The man had a real talent for chaos.
But when Hikaru reached the final two scrolls, his expression darkened.
[Deploy to Mount Kikyo in support of Orochimaru's troops. Priority objective: eliminate as many Uchiha clan members as possible.]
[Infiltrate the Kannabi Bridge operation. Interfere with Minato Namikaze's movements. Priority objective: eliminate Uchiha combatants.]
As soon as those words reached Hikaru's eyes, his pupils turned scarlet.
His Three Tomoe Sharingan activated instantly. Until now, Hikaru had always wondered how both his parents â elite Uchiha Jonin, both wielding the Three Tomoe Sharingan â could have died so easily on the battlefield.
He'd thought they were simply overwhelmed in the chaos of war.
Now he understood.
Danzo had orchestrated it all. The entire thing had been a setup â a ploy to exterminate the Uchiha from within.
Hikaru's chakra flared, colder and sharper than ice. Itachi, standing behind him, sensed the shift immediately. When he saw the MangekyĹ Sharingan in Hikaru's eyes and the scroll unfurled in his hands, he approached and silently read over his shoulder.
Neither of them spoke for a long time.
Eventually, Hikaru closed the scroll and reined in his fury.
Itachi handed him a second scroll without a word.
Hikaru opened it.
It detailed intelligence assets embedded by Root within the other four great ninja villages. One section caught his eye â two spies stationed in Iwagakure.
The names: Kabuto Yakushi and Nono Yakushi.
Hikaru paused to think.
According to the timeline of the original events, Kabuto would accidentally kill his caretaker, Nono, about half a year from now.
But Danzo was already dead. Root's network was unraveling. These spies no longer had anyone to report to.
This was something he needed to handle personally.
Both Kabuto and Nono were worth saving â or perhaps even recruiting.
Kabuto Yakushi was a scientific genius, on par with Orochimaru. A pity that in the Boruto timeline, he became nothing more than the director of an orphanage, abandoning his research entirely.
Hikaru wouldn't allow that kind of talent to go to waste.
As for Nono Yakushi, she was not only one of Konoha's most skilled intelligence operatives, but also a master of medical ninjutsu â and a woman who deeply cared for children.
If she could be brought back to the village, Hikaru could both protect the orphans and have her teach medical ninjutsu within the Uchiha clan.
Konoha's lack of medical-nin had always been a glaring weakness in the Uchiha. This could fix it.
The Uchiha would fund the orphanage. In exchange, Nono would train new medics and help reshape the clan's image in the eyes of the village.
A win-win.
Hikaru rolled the scroll shut, already considering how to retrieve the remaining Root agents scattered throughout the ninja world and tap their knowledge before it was lost.
But this wasn't something that could be rushed. First, he needed to bring back Tsunade and solidify her position as the Fifth Hokage.
There was still time. The handover of intel among Root operatives wouldn't occur for several months.
Itachi handed him a third scroll.
"This one contains records of Danzo's dealings with Orochimaru. It also lists several of Orochimaru's hideouts. It looks like Orochimaru has joined a larger organization."
Hikaru unrolled it and scanned through the entries.
As expected, Orochimaru had already become a member of the Akatsuki.
Most of the scroll detailed a long, transactional history: Danzo supplying Orochimaru with children to conduct Wood Release experiments. Orochimaru constantly complaining about a lack of proper facilities and demanding more money.
And Danzo, in his arrogance, funding it all.
Of course, all those "investments" had gone to waste. Orochimaru likely used the money for other secret experiments.
Thinking of how much village funding had been funneled into Orochimaru's hands â stolen from Konoha's coffers under Danzo's orders â Hikaru felt his stomach churn.
That was all my money!
No â bah, forget it â that was Konoha's money.
Danzo truly deserved to die. Hikaru almost wished he could drag his soul out of the Totsuka Blade's seal and kill him again. That might be enough to finally avenge his parents.
He tossed the scroll back to Itachi.
"Orochimaru's bases are marked. Use that information to find him."
"But listen carefully â if you come across anyone wearing a black cloak with red clouds⌠turn around and leave. No hesitation."
Itachi frowned, confused. He had the MangekyĹ now. Did he really need to retreat?
But Hikaru remembered â the deal between Obito and Itachi no longer existed.
Thanks to his interference, Obito had been misled and thrown off course. When he'd last met Itachi, he hadn't even worn the Akatsuki cloak.
The original plot was beginning to unravel.
The further Hikaru deviated from canon, the less reliable his future knowledge became.
After some thought, he decided to reveal the truth.
"The organization Orochimaru joined is called Akatsuki. They wear black cloaks with red clouds. Every member is an S-rank rogue ninja â monsters on Orochimaru's level."
"Maybe you can handle one of them. But if they're traveling in pairs â which they usually are â even you might not make it out alive."
Itachi fell silent, absorbing the warning.
He understood now â any group powerful enough to make Orochimaru submit had to be something truly terrifying.
He nodded.
Once they finished scanning the last scrolls, the two left the hidden chamber and returned to the Uchiha compound.
As they walked, Hikaru threw an arm around Itachi's shoulder.
"Go home and spend a good night with your little brother. Say goodbye properly. The road ahead's about to get rough â another long mission."
Itachi sighed.
"Yeah. I should. But Sasuke's been acting out lately. Keeps talking to me like he's my father or something."
Hikaru laughed.
He hadn't expected his butterfly effect to reach even Sasuke.
So, he offered some brotherly advice.
"If your little brother's acting up⌠it probably means he needs a good whooping. Nothing brutal, just a wake-up call."
"A proper shinobi grows up under pressure. You're his brother â if your father's busy, that means it's your job to whip him into shape."
--------
Send Power Stones
Bonus Chapter at 150 Power Stone
---------------------
Join my Patreon and get access to 50+ early chapters before anyone else! đĽ
https://www.patreon.com/UK21