Crack!
Shisui crushed the wooden armrest of his wheelchair in an instant.
He snapped his head up toward Kai, fury appearing on his usually gloomy, handsome face for the first time.
"Kai—how can you desecrate the bodies of our clansmen?!"
Bang!
"Desecrate?"
Hearing that, Kai looked like he'd just heard the biggest joke in the world. He slapped the already-ruined wheelchair and shot back,
"You're saying I desecrated them?"
"You're not ignorant enough to not know what happens to the Uchiha after the clan is wiped out, are you?"
"Danzo's coveted the Sharingan for decades. Do you really expect that old monkey who never shuts up about the Will of Fire to stop him?"
"Or maybe that 'trusted friend' you keep talking about will help preserve the bodies?"
"Oh—right. I almost forgot."
Kai's voice turned sharp.
"Maybe that so-called trusted friend of yours will be the biggest culprit when it comes to desecrating Uchiha corpses."
Crack!
Whether it was because Kai used too much force or the chair had already reached its limit—
The wooden wheelchair finally collapsed completely.
Pieces scattered across the floor.
Shisui was thrown onto the cold ground, stunned and helpless.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Neither of them even breathed.
Only the faint sound of dew dripping near the doorway echoed softly.
After a long time, Shisui seemed to lose all strength. His voice was hoarse as he said,
"…I understand. I'll think about it…"
"No."
Kai cut him off coldly.
"You don't have the right to think anymore."
"You can only—let me arrange you."
He reached out again, tapped Shisui's forehead, then casually tossed the eyeball in his palm toward him.
"Put it in. And don't let Danzo steal it again this time."
"And hurry up and recover."
"For certain reasons… the village probably won't wait much longer."
With that, Kai turned and walked toward the exit.
Shisui paused, then asked in confusion,
"Why?"
Logically speaking, with the coup postponed and him injured, the village should slow things down.
Even if action was inevitable, they should still wait.
"Because…"
Kai laughed loudly as he turned his head.
"…me, of course. Hahahaha!"
In his open palm, crimson, ominous chakra surged forth, forcibly driving away the darkness!
No one could have imagined it—
Just as the Uchiha compound was about to be completely swallowed by night, a demonic red light forced its way outward!
Of course, Shisui couldn't see it.
He could only vaguely sense an overwhelming power.
Moments later, as he touched the eye that now felt like bone and flesh once more, the dead stillness in his heart began to stir restlessly.
Dying and coming back to life.
Losing and then regaining something precious.
The buffs were stacked to the max.
After a long while, a quiet sigh echoed through the night.
"…This guy. If you're giving me an eye, just give it. Was it really necessary to smash my wheelchair too?"
"…Damn tsundere."
Naka Riverbank
"Danzo-sama!"
Kakashi felt his heart sink and immediately stood to salute.
Beside him, Yamato struggled a few times but failed to get up.
Even with partial First Hokage cells granting him some regenerative ability, he was still far too weak.
The injuries caused by Kai's use of Nine-Tails chakra were simply too severe.
All he could do was lie there and weakly say,
"Danzo-sama…"
"Oh? Kakashi, you're here too."
Danzo touched the bandages on his right arm and turned slightly toward Yamato, his voice low.
"Kinoe. Your mission has failed."
Kuh-thump.
Both of their hearts jumped.
Was he here to… hold them accountable?
But Danzo suddenly changed the subject.
"What did you mean earlier by 'Nine-Tails' power'?"
He leaned forward slightly.
"Don't tell me you two were injured by that Nine-Tails brat?"
As he spoke, the single eye hidden in shadow gleamed with excitement, twitching faintly.
Could it be… the Nine-Tails brat is causing trouble?
Good.
Excellent!
After all this time, a chance had finally appeared!
If he could seize the boy before the monkey did, the power of the Nine-Tails would be his!
In this moment, Danzo felt unusually spirited.
Even the scar on his chin seemed a little smoother.
"I'm sorry, Danzo-sama," Kakashi said after a brief hesitation.
"But this matter… can't be reported to you yet."
He'd decided to hide the truth about Kai possessing Nine-Tails chakra.
The implications were far too serious.
Serious enough to completely overturn Konoha's balance of power.
Unfortunately—
Danzo didn't believe him at all.
He waved his hand.
Instantly, Root operatives wearing vividly colored masks surrounded the area.
Long blades in hand, they stared coldly at the two men in the pit.
Danzo smiled disdainfully.
"Tell me—"
"Or you both die here."
"Kakashi," he added calmly,
"That eye of yours should be returned to my friend's clan."
With that, he gave the order to attack.
Danzo's aged eye rotated slowly, greed flashing within it.
He coveted Kakashi's eye.
And he coveted Kinoe's Wood Release as well.
Using his own Wood Release cost him an eye each time—an unacceptable expense.
Collecting these eyes had always been far too difficult.
Tap.
Tap tap tap.
Just as Danzo's greed reached its peak, a much denser set of footsteps suddenly echoed from outside the pit.
"Stop right there, Danzo!"
The Third Hokage arrived at last, leading a large contingent of ANBU.
Seeing that Kakashi and Yamato were still alive, he let out a small sigh of relief.
Then he turned to Danzo, his expression darkening instantly.
"Danzo! They are both vital assets of the village—how could you do this?!"
The accusation was absolute.
So absolute that Danzo was momentarily stunned.
He raised the hand gripping his cane and pointed at his own nose.
"…Me?"
"If not you, then who?!" the Third Hokage snapped.
"You injured them to this extent!"
"Do you even have me, the Hokage, in your eyes anymore?!"
This time, the Third Hokage was genuinely furious.
If he'd arrived any later, Kakashi would have been completely ruined by Danzo.
"No—wait, I didn't injure them. I was just—"
Danzo felt utterly wronged and tried to explain.
But the things he'd done couldn't exactly be said out loud.
Was he supposed to admit he planned to kidnap the Uchiha clan head's second son to provoke the Uchiha?
Humiliating.
Absolutely humiliating.
And worse—
This whole situation felt oddly familiar.
Like something that had happened not long ago.
"Explain?" the Third Hokage interrupted sharply.
"Danzo, I told you—you need to behave yourself for a while!"
Another wave of scolding followed.
Anyone could tell the Hokage was furious.
So furious that he had to light his pipe several times before it finally caught.
After being thoroughly chewed out, Danzo's eyes suddenly flickered as a key phrase clicked into place.
"The Nine-Tails' power!"
"I sent people because I discovered the Nine-Tails' power was leaking!"
Kuh-thump.
One sentence—
And the Third Hokage's pipe went out.
"The Nine-Tails' power… leaked?"
He forced his eyes open wider.
Unfortunately, with a face full of wrinkles, that was about as wide as they could go.
"They won't open. They just won't open."
"The Nine-Tails' power, I—" Danzo started again—
But was immediately cut off.
"Kakashi," the Third Hokage said firmly.
"You explain."
Danzo: "???"
You damn monkey.
So now you don't even trust me anymore?
His expression darkened, deeply displeased.
It felt like betrayal.
Yet at the same time, he was curious.
Just what exactly were these two hiding?
When Kinoe hadn't returned for so long, he'd assumed the man had defected and came to capture him.
Who would've thought he'd stumble onto a secret instead?
Swish!
In an instant, dozens of gazes locked onto Kakashi.
He fell silent.
If he spoke, Kai's fate would likely become… very complicated.
Once again, destiny seemed to be playing a cruel joke—
This time, tying the fate of a clan to his own hands.
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