---Third POV---
Staring at the horrifying scene before him, Hiruzen closed his eyes, slightly tilted his head back, and gritted his teeth.
"They even went as far as to harm children… Danzō, Orochimaru, just how insatiable is your ambition?"
It wasn't just him who felt deeply pained; due to humans' innate empathy toward children, the ANBU who had co with him shared the sa grief.
For most ninjas, there would be no hesitation in killing enemy genin around that age encountered on the battlefield. But in other situations, when faced with innocent children who had suffered misfortune, they couldn't help but feel genuine compassion.
Humans were often full of such contradictions.
Temporarily suppressing his excess emotions, he gave a command.
"Begin the search. After you leave, bring so people to give these children a proper burial."
"Yes."
Thanks to the efficiency of the ANBU, the information at the scene was quickly collected, organized, and docunted.
Suddenly, an excited voice ca from a corner.
"There's a child here who's still breathing!"
Several nearby ANBU imdiately rushed over upon hearing that.
"Really? Let see."
"Whoa, he's right! That's great!"
"Don't just look, let's get him out first."
One plump ANBU ninja prepared to smash the glass tank in front of him with his fist.
"Wait!" Hiruzen hurriedly stepped over and reprimanded, "You're ANBU, you should be among the best. Don't always try to solve everything with brute force."
After scolding them, he pressed a few buttons on the control panel in front of the large glass tank.
However, nothing happened… An awkward silence fell over the group as they waited.
Aside from the boy inside seemingly sensing soone outside and banging on the glass a few tis, nothing else occurred.
Hiruzen found it odd. He rembered that the storage tanks for preserved specins at Konoha Hospital were opened this way. Was this a different model?
"Um, Sandai-sama…"
The plump ANBU he had just scolded raised his hand timidly and said in a small voice, "This base has been abandoned… There's no power supply…"
"Ahem." Hiruzen cleared his throat. "Then there's no choice. Go ahead and break the glass, but be careful not to harm the child inside."
"Got it."
Crash!
The glass tank was smashed by brute force, and the green nutrient fluid spilled all over the ground.
"Haaah… haaah… cough cough cough…"
The boy inside was lifted out, gasping deeply for air.
Seeing how weak the child was, Hiruzen called over an ANBU and instructed, "Take him to the hospital imdiately for treatnt."
"Yes."
After the ANBU carried the boy away, he took the search report from a nearby subordinate.
"As expected, it's more experintation on Wood Release."
He felt a deep sadness. Wood Release was originally a power the First Hokage used to bring peace to the chaotic world, yet now it had beco a death sentence for these children.
The first Wood Release research project had originally been initiated by the Second Hokage. After his death, the project was passed on to Danzō. If it had remained just a research project, it wouldn't have been a big issue, after all, it had the First Hokage's own approval.
But Danzō's thods were far too extre. Not only did they drain massive resources, but they also grossly violated human decency.
Back then, a young Hiruzen had used his authority as Hokage to issue a direct order banning any further research involving the First Hokage's cells.
But to his shock, the people he trusted most, his closest friend and his most brilliant student, had conspired behind his back, secretly carrying out years of Wood Release experints on human subjects.
Taking a deep breath, he stored away the report in his hand.
"Keep searching. I want to know, what else in this village has been hidden from ?"
---
Today marked the second day since Ryouma returned to Konoha, but Hiruzen's investigation was still ongoing.
"Tsk, the Third Hokage's stamina is honestly unbelievable. Feels like he could keep being Hokage for several more years without any issue. Don't you think so, Shiori?"
As Ryouma sighed in admiration, he picked up his bowl and loudly slurped the steaming hot ran.
"Maybe," Shiori replied flatly, pointing to Ryouma's left. "Pass that bottle of wasabi."
Ryouma slid the wasabi bottle over, watching as Shiori aggressively dumped a generous amount onto her ran. He couldn't help say, "When I visited your house last ti, your father said you had a sweet tooth. I always thought you only liked spicy food."
"There's a lot you don't know."
"Oh?" Ryouma leaned in with curiosity. "Like what?"
Shiori shifted her chair slightly and leaned close to whisper in Ryouma's ear: "Like why I chose this exact ti to make a move on Danzō."
Then she sat upright again and continued eating her ran.
"Wasn't it like Orochimaru said? Don't tell your eye gave you another vision?" Ryouma's curiosity was fully piqued.
"That's right. That guy was planning to steal Shisui's eye and use his dōjutsu on you."
"Kotoamatsukami, huh? So it's finally been exposed." Ryouma furrowed his brows, clearly surprised by the news.
But it wasn't really Shisui's fault, White Zetsu's information-gathering abilities were just too powerful. He had been on White Zetsu's list of potential Mangekyō Sharingan users, and even though he'd only used Kotoamatsukami a few short tis on the Kiri battlefield, that had already been enough to raise suspicion.
Shiori's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise when Ryouma said the na of Shisui's dōjutsu, but she didn't ask further.
She wasn't the overly curious type, if it were sothing she needed to know, she trusted that Ryouma would tell her.
After chatting with Shiori and confirming that she was fine, Ryouma quickly finished his ran in a few big bites and stood up.
"I'm going to talk with Shisui about sothing. Gotta go."
Shiori watched his hurried back with a bit of exasperation. He was the one who invited her out, but sohow she ended up paying.
"n."
---
Ryouma lightly sensed Shisui's location and began leaping swiftly across the rooftops of Konoha.
At that mont, Shisui was at a training ground with a group of children.
"This is the guy you said is the best at throwing shuriken in the entire village? Is he really gonna help pass the shuriken throwing exam?"
Hidan looked skeptically at the kind-looking man in front of him, who didn't seem particularly strong.
"Haha." Shisui wasn't bothered by Hidan's words and simply smiled. "There are plenty of shuriken masters in Konoha. I'm just a little more skilled than average. But don't worry, helping you get a good score on your Academy shuriken test won't be a problem."
Itachi was a little annoyed, and said, "You're being so rude, Hidan. Didn't I tell you to call him Shisui-nii?"
"No way I'm doing that." Hidan crossed his arms and lifted his chin proudly.
Faced with Hidan's skepticism, Shisui simply smiled and turned his hands over, a few kunai appearing between his fingers…
---
"Shisui-nii, please teach , I'm begging you!"
Hidan swore he had never seen such an incredible shuriken-throwing technique before, it made his scalp tingle.
If he could learn it, not only would he easily pass the shuriken test, he might even beco the most popular student in his year, just like Itachi.
Then, wouldn't it be a piece of cake to rope a few followers into the Jashin cult?
He could already imagine his boss patting him on the shoulder, eyes full of admiration, promoting him to High Priest of Jashin in the near future.
Shisui had no intention of keeping anything to himself. He cheerfully agreed to Hidan's request and began explaining the details of the technique.
But when Ryouma arrived, what he saw was Hidan kneeling on the ground, blankly staring at his own hands.
"N-No way... How could soone as great as be defeated here...?"
Itachi shook his head at the sight of Hidan's despair, then walked behind the target to pick up the kunai scattered on the ground.
"Your fundantals are too poor. I think you should start with the basic throwing stance."
"But the test is at the end of the month! Can I really make it in ti?"
In Hidan's mind, if extra practice wasn't for the sake of showing off during the exam, then there was no point in doing it at all.
Wham!
Ryouma instantly appeared behind Hidan and smacked him on the head.
"Is that really the problem here?"
"Ow! Who the hell—"
Hidan jumped up, clutching his head, but stopped mid-sentence when he saw who it was. He quickly switched to a smile.
"You're finally back! I was just looking for you the other day, but that big turtle in your courtyard said you were out on a mission."
"It wasn't lying. I am a very busy person," Ryouma replied without missing a beat.
Itachi walked over and gave a polite bow, a requirent from Fugaku: no matter the situation, Uchiha clan mbers must always observe proper etiquette toward their superior.
Ryouma reached out and flicked Itachi's forehead.
"No need for all that formal stuff with . I told you before, didn't I? Look at those deep frown lines, you must be under constant stress."
Rubbing his forehead, Itachi replied, "That's Father's teaching. I must follow it."
"Is that so? Then it seems he completely ignored my advice to him."
"May I ask what you spoke to my father about?"
"Oh, that? Not sothing a child should know."
Itachi really wanted to say that he wasn't a child anymore, if not for the Academy holding him back, his skills were already good enough to graduate early.
Shisui saw right through his thoughts and ruffled his hair.
"Ryouma's right, Itachi. You really do keep yourself under too much pressure. If you stay in that state all the ti, you'll eventually break."
"I... I'm actually doing fine."
Itachi knew they were worried about him, but as the son of the Uchiha clan leader, he had to ensure he was always the best, he couldn't afford to fall short of expectations.
"Don't worry."
Hidan grinned as he wrapped his arm around Itachi's shoulder.
"With around, I'll keep an eye on this guy and make sure he doesn't overdo it."
As Itachi raised a hand to pull his arm off, he sighed helplessly. "If you stopped causing trouble for , I'd already feel a lot better."
"What's that supposed to an? Fine, I'll just leave!"
"That would be great."
---
After so playful banter, Ryouma found a chance to send Itachi and Hidan off to practice the basics of shuriken throwing.
Shisui, seeing that Ryouma had co specifically to talk to him, took the initiative to ask, "Did sothing happen?"
Thanks to Minato's swift handling, very few people knew about Danzō being killed by Shiori. The information was successfully kept under tight wraps.
Ryouma, of course, had no doubt about Shisui's Will of Fire.
"Shisui, what I'm about to say, don't panic, ok?"
Seeing the seriousness on Ryouma's face, Shisui took a deep breath and nodded solemnly.
Satisfied that he was ready, Ryouma continued.
"Danzō tried to steal Shiori's Mangekyō Sharingan, but she discovered his plan and killed him instead."
"What?!"
Shisui had expected that whatever Ryouma was about to say would be shocking, but not this shocking.
Anyone in the Uchiha clan with a bit of rank or access to intelligence absolutely loathed Danzō.
But because of Danzō's position as the Hokage's advisor, even the most hardline elders in the Uchiha clan could only swallow their anger and say nothing. And now, the man who had oppressed the Uchiha for decades had actually been killed by Shiori, just like that.
He quickly considered the aftermath of Danzō's death and asked urgently, "Does the Hokage know? And what about Shiori...?"
He had initially wanted to ask if Shiori was okay, as an old teammate, but given that Ryouma had still been relaxed enough to joke around earlier, she was probably fine and didn't need his concern.
"Of course the Hokage knows. This happened two days ago. You get what I'm saying, right?"
Shisui nodded. Since he hadn't noticed anything in the past two days, it was obvious the Hokage had locked down the news.
"But then, why are you telling all this?"
"Well, that's a long story. The truth is, this whole incident isn't so simple. Not long ago, Danzō got intel on your Mangekyō ability from a mysterious person. He planned to take your eyes and use them against . But Shiori found out about his plan through her own sources, so she took preemptive action and killed him. Of course, only Shiori and I know this truth."
"Everyone else believes Danzō was only after Shiori's eyes."
After hearing Ryouma's explanation, Shisui fell into deep thought, head lowered, seemingly caught in an intense inner struggle.
Ryouma was just wondering what he was thinking about, when Shisui finally looked up. His eyes were filled with unprecedented resolve.
"Ryouma," Shisui said, calm but firm, "I'm going to destroy my eyes."
"…Huh?"
40 advance chapters!
/Malphegor
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