Outside the small grove.
Itachi watched Shisui's retreating back, his fingertips suddenly clenching, his knuckles turning pale.
With a soft poof and a puff of white mist, another one of Itachi's shadow clones solidified. It pushed off with its toes and chased after Shisui's main body.
He really couldn't rest easy about Makoto. The hem of his clothes swept over the accumulated snow, stirring up a fine snow mist.
Itachi's main body remained standing in the shadows outside the grove, his gaze locked onto the two small figures inside. His breathing was even more rapid than before.
Snow landed on his eyelashes, melting into droplets that slid down his cheeks, but Itachi remained oblivious.
His heart felt like it was suspended by a thin string, as Makoto's personality was always fearless. Although Shisui was strong, he was up against the Hokage Advisor, the leader of Root, Shimura Danzo.
'If they were truly cornered by Danzo-sama...'
His throat bobbed. He forced himself to shift his gaze back to Sasuke in the grove. His fingertips unconsciously picked at the ice chips on the roof tiles, the ice fragments rustling down.
He could only hope Shisui would keep a close watch...
…
This small grove was closest to Root. Information flowed like water seeping through ice cracks, reaching this dark underground first.
The Root's headquarters was hidden deep beneath Konoha, true to its name, roots burrowed into the village's flesh, tangled and gnarled, like a lurking shadow beast.
The labyrinthine passages had no light whatsoever, only glow-in-the-dark stones embedded in the walls, casting a bluish-green, will-o'-the-wisp-like radiance.
Anyone unfamiliar with Root would get lost quickly. Footsteps echoed in the empty corridors, as if being eavesdropped on by countless ears.
The deeper one went, the colder the air became, mixed with the smell of rust and blood, cold like a poisoned blade scraping across skin.
The Shinobi here all wore tight-fitting masks, revealing only their eyes, which is devoid of warmth, devoid of emotion, like kunai on a display rack, silently awaiting kill orders.
Danzo sat in the deepest part of the underground. The wooden desk before him was piled with scrolls half a person's height, making him seem much busier than Sandaime.
His withered fingers held a pen. The scratch of the nib on paper was the only sound in the deathly silence.
His black robe dragged on the floor, concealing the metal frame beneath the chair. Only when he turned would it emit a soft click, like the sound of bones grinding, carrying an indescribable gloom.
His eyelids were half-closed, his turbid single eye slowly scanning the various scrolls, occasionally pausing, the corner of his mouth hooking into a barely perceptible curve, as if calculating some shady scheme.
The substantial weight of the 'Darkness of the Shinobi World' was undeniable.
The oil lamp on the table flickered, casting his distorted shadow on the wall, like a snarling demon.
"Danzo-sama, members of the Uchiha Clan have made contact with the Kyubi's Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto."
The Root's member kneeling on one knee spoke in a voice as flat as an iron plate, his head constantly bowed, his expression beneath the mask unreadable, as if he were a weapon without emotion.
Hearing this, Danzo's hand holding the pen jolted. Ink spread into a black blob on the paper, like a drop of blood on a scroll.
Danzo's previously relaxed eyelids instantly tightened, his brows knitting into a knot, his knuckles turning white from gripping the pen.
'The inherently evil Uchiha Clan...'
These words rolled in his heart, carrying a bone-chilling cold, 'Were they trying to recreate the Kyubi Rampage?'
Thinking this, Danzo raised his hand and slammed it onto the desk. Half a stack of documents clattered to the floor, scrolls scattering everywhere with dull thuds.
"Send two teams to monitor them! Do not act rashly for now!"
Danzo's voice was as hoarse as sandpaper scraping wood, carrying an unquestionable command. His chair swiveled half a turn on the floor, the metal frame scraping against the ground with a piercing screech.
He was going to the Hokage Tower now, to let Hiruzen see clearly… this was the consequence of his indulgence towards the Uchiha Clan!
If he, Shimura Danzo, were Hokage, he would have long ago ordered the inherently evil Uchiha Clan to be completely eradicated. It was all Hiruzen's weakness that led to this situation.
Before stepping out, he suddenly paused. The bandages on the back of his head swayed with the movement. Without turning his head, he asked: "Which member of the Uchiha Clan is contacting the Kyubi's Jinchuriki?"
"It is the child of the Uchiha Clan's Clan Head," The Root's member's reply remained concise, as if carved with a knife.
Hearing this, Danzo's pupils sharply contracted. A fierce glint flashed in his turbid eye. The image of that sharp-tongued, inherently evil Uchiha brat instantly surfaced in his mind.
'Over half a year ago, that inherently evil Uchiha brat had caused me to lose dignity completely, tarnishing his reputation as the Darkness of the Shinobi World.'
Thinking of this, a surge of anger shot up from the soles of his feet, burning until his temples throbbed.
"I will go personally! That inherently evil Uchiha brat, I will send him on his way with my own hands!"
Danzo spat out these words through gritted teeth, each syllable seeming squeezed from between his teeth, carrying an icy chill.
Before the words finished, he strode out of Root first, two teams of Root's members following him like shadows.
The surrounding Root's members, hearing this, showed slight fluctuations in their expressions beneath their masks, 'Danzo-sama hadn't killed anyone with his own hands for a long time.'
In the shadows outside Root, a white-haired Anbu's member clung to the darkness like moss. He watched Danzo storm out with the Root's members in a formidable manner.
After they had gone some distance, the white-haired Anbu lightly pushed off with his toes on the frozen ground. The snow grains he stirred hadn't even landed before he transformed into a faint shadow, speeding towards the Hokage Tower.
The sound of his clothes brushing the snow was lighter than the wind, yet so fast it almost seemed to tear through the air.
…
Hokage Tower, Hokage's Office.
Shisui's shadow clone stood in the center of the office, the snowflakes on his clothes melting, staining a small dark patch.
Hiruzen sat in his large chair. The pipe in his hand made a soft tap, ashes falling onto the desk, accumulating into a small pile like a miniature grave.
After listening to Shisui's report, he tapped his pipe, his brows knitting into a knot.
The phrase 'Uchiha contacting the Kyubi' was like a rusty nail, stabbing deeply into his heart.
The scar from the Kyubi Rampage years ago hadn't fully healed yet. Elite Shinobi in the village would still instinctively tense up at the mention of 'Uchiha' and 'Kyubi'.
After all, the Sharingan that had flashed in the Kyubi's eyes that night was seen clearly by every elite Shinobi who participated and survived.
But upon hearing it was Makoto and his younger brother, just a few kids building a snowman in a grove, his tense shoulders relaxed slightly...
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FOR EVERY 50 POWER STONES, I'LL UPLOAD ONE CHAPTER