The white snake in Orochimaru's hand slowly vanished.
But everyone present knew— it hadn't disappeared.
It had gone invisible.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression instantly turned ugly.
He understood what this meant.
If Orochimaru had revealed this white snake now, then during all the years Hiruzen had been Hokage, that snake had likely been lurking near him the entire time.
At this moment, Tsunade also fully realized that Orochimaru was telling the truth.
Her eyes dimmed as she looked at Hiruzen.
"Sensei… take care of yourself."
With that, she turned and walked away.
Tsunade could not bring herself to kill Sarutobi Hiruzen— the only thing she could do was escape.
Orochimaru let out a cold, sinister chuckle and said slowly,
"Sensei… take care of yourself."
Then he turned and left as well.
A cold wind swept across the open ground, rolling a few dead leaves along the surface like a silent sigh.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood there alone.
His back looked suddenly aged and lonely, as if all his strength had been drained in an instant.
By the time Wen Lan came out, no one was left outside.
He bought some food supplies and wandered over to Might Duy's house, only to find no one home— they were probably out on a mission.
He left the food inside and departed.
Wen Lan headed toward the Uchiha clan district, but while passing through the marketplace, he was drawn by a loud commotion.
Several Uchiha clan members were arguing with a merchant.
As the Konoha Police Force, the Uchiha were responsible for patrols and maintaining order.
The merchant shouted that the Uchiha were abusing their authority.
One of the clan members' eyes flickered with the faint appearance of the Sharingan as he angrily rebuked the accusation.
The crowd grew larger, and the air filled with tension.
Wen Lan was about to step in when he saw Yūhi Kurenai approach together with a middle-aged man.
In just a few words, the matter was resolved.
As the crowd dispersed, Yūhi Kurenai turned back, spotted Wen Lan, and waved.
"Wen Lan!"
He walked over and nodded.
"Senior Yūhi, Kurenai. Long time no see."
Yūhi Shinku smiled and shook his head.
"I don't dare accept that 'senior' anymore. You're the Hokage's Aide now—second only to the Hokage himself."
Wen Lan opened his mouth, wanting to say that he didn't want this scapegoat position at all, but saying it again felt awkward.
In the end, he just smiled and shook his head.
Yūhi Shinku noticed the trace of helplessness in his eyes and smiled lightly.
"Seems the Hokage's Aide isn't very satisfied with his post."
"Satisfied? That'd be strange," Wen Lan replied, then looked at Yūhi Shinku.
"Kurenai might not know, but you do.
"This position exists to offend people, so the Hokage can stay the good guy.
"If this keeps up, the Uchiha reputation is only going to get worse."
Yūhi Shinku burst out laughing.
"When has the Uchiha reputation ever been good?"
"Hey, hey! You can speak the truth, but don't stab me that hard!" Wen Lan said with a dark expression.
Yūhi Shinku patted his shoulder, his tone turning gentler.
"But the fact you can think this way means power hasn't blinded you.
"If the Uchiha truly want to change their situation, it won't be by fighting for authority—but by doing real things."
"The Uchiha have done plenty," Wen Lan replied coldly.
"It's just that the Third Hokage, that old dog, covered it all up."
Yūhi Shinku frowned slightly.
"Careful with your words. If that spreads, it could bring serious trouble."
"Trouble?" Wen Lan scoffed.
"The Fourth Hokage is in power now. I'm the Hokage's Aide.
"He's nothing more than a grasshopper after autumn—he won't jump around much longer."
Yūhi Shinku sighed and said nothing more.
At that moment, Yūhi Kurenai suddenly spoke.
"Wen Lan, I'm a genjutsu-type ninja. I'd like to ask you to guide me."
"You?" Wen Lan looked at her in surprise.
"I do have the Sharingan, but Sharingan abilities fall into genjutsu, ninjutsu, and taijutsu types.
"I'm not a genjutsu specialist."
Yūhi Shinku shook his head beside her.
"As long as it's the Sharingan, its suppression of genjutsu is extremely strong.
"I want you to use your Sharingan to help identify flaws in Kurenai's genjutsu, so she can fix and strengthen them.
"At least then, she'll have better self-defense."
Wen Lan understood.
Yūhi Shinku wanted to use the Sharingan to expose weaknesses in Kurenai's techniques, allowing her to refine them.
After a brief moment of thought, Wen Lan nodded.
"Since you trust me, senior, I'll do my best.
"But I have a mission the day after tomorrow. Let's do it when I get back."
Kurenai's face lit up with joy, and she quickly nodded.
"Thank you!"
"No need. We're all from the same village."
After exchanging a few more words, they parted ways.
When Wen Lan returned home, he found that Tsunade and Shizune were gone.
According to Pakura, they had gone to Kushina's house.
He didn't think much of it.
At that moment, Hikari walked over and asked softly,
"Do you want Tsukuyomi, Yatsuka no Yari, Kagutsuchi, and Amaterasu?"
Wen Lan looked at her in confusion.
"Why bring this up all of a sudden?"
"I can use Transcription Seal to store these four techniques inside your Sharingan.
"As long as you continuously nurture them with your ocular power, you can keep them permanently."
Wen Lan understood.
Hikari's own innate dōjutsu was only Yatsuka no Yari.
As for Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, and Kagutsuchi, they had all been transplanted using Transcription Seal.
This was the same technique Itachi used in the original story to seal Amaterasu into Sasuke's eye.
Unfortunately, Sasuke was an idiot—
after witnessing Amaterasu's power, he grew obsessed with it, causing his eyes to naturally manifest Amaterasu later.
Otherwise, Sasuke could have possessed three dōjutsu.
Similarly, during the Valley of the End battle, Uchiha Madara had sealed Izanagi into his right eye in advance, allowing him to resurrect after death.
Many people misunderstood Izanagi.
In truth, Izanagi is an active technique, not a passive one.
The user must predict their own death and activate it beforehand.
If they are killed without anticipating it, Izanagi cannot activate.
Wen Lan thought for a moment and asked,
"Will this affect you?"
"No," Hikari replied softly.
"These dōjutsu have been nurtured in my eyes for many years. They're already considered my own."
"Alright. Then do it—except for Yatsuka no Yari."
Wen Lan's chakra was already self-sustaining.
Although Yatsuka no Yari allowed long-distance mental control, for him it was less reliable than crushing enemies with raw force and fear.
Hikari nodded lightly.
She opened her Sharingan, which began spinning violently.
In the next instant, Wen Lan felt a sharp pain in his eyes.
Soon after, he sensed a change in his dōjutsu.
Left eye: Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi
Right eye: Tsukuyomi
Wen Lan suddenly wondered—
Should he also trick Shisui's Kotoamatsukami and Kakashi's Kamui out of them?
True to his nature, once the thought appeared, he acted immediately.
He stood up and headed straight for Shisui's residence.
Shisui's home belonged to the Uchiha Kagami line—after all, Shisui was Kagami's grandson.
He knocked on the gate.
From inside came the dense cawing of crows, so loud it sent chills down the spine.
Wen Lan had no aversion to crows.
In ancient Huaxia, crows were revered as the Sun Bird, the Golden Crow.
They fed on pests and carrion, often appearing during times of disaster.
Over time, people mistakenly believed crows brought calamity, when in truth, it was calamity that attracted the crows.
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