Chapter 169: Uchiha Madara Makes a Move!

Chapter 169: Chapter 169: Uchiha Madara Makes a Move!

"Shūichi, for now, don't reveal this matter to anyone."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was grim. "This involves the front lines and must be handled with caution."

If it weren't wartime, this wouldn't be such a delicate issue.

Shūichi looked up at Hiruzen and said, "Handling it this way is unwise. The relationship between the Uchiha and the village might deteriorate further."

"Moreover, Orochimaru-sama probably had deeper intentions in revealing this information to me."

Hiruzen nodded. "I will give orders regarding Danzo."

Hearing this, Shūichi couldn't help but feel disappointed, even though he had already expected this outcome before coming.

Sadly, Hiruzen no longer had the decisiveness he once had.

Danzo's actions, which could destroy the very foundation of Konoha, were enough to ruin his reputation and bring him to a disgraceful end!

...

After leaving the Hokage Tower, Shūichi felt a sense of calm.

It was better that Hiruzen wasn't punishing Danzo now.

In the future, Shūichi could take Danzo down openly, ensuring his complete disgrace and downfall.

If things were suppressed now, it would be easier to settle scores later.

Exposing it now, only to have Danzo face minor consequences, would make it harder to take action in the future.

Let the situation simmer for a while longer!

...

Not long after Shūichi left, Hiruzen Sarutobi, accompanied by four ANBU ninjas, arrived at the Root headquarters.

Danzo, upon hearing the news, felt a moment of panic, but quickly calmed down, putting away his documents before strolling out.

"Hiruzen, what brings you here?"

"Is there an important mission?"

Danzo appeared relaxed and at ease.

Hiruzen, however, got straight to the point. "The experiments involving Hashirama's cells and the Sharingan—stop them!"

Cold sweat instantly broke out on Danzo's forehead.

Hiruzen's tone was stern. "Are you trying to cause a collapse on the front lines and tear Konoha apart from within?"

Danzo opened his mouth to speak but couldn't find any way to refute the accusation.

"Hand over the documents," Hiruzen commanded. "Recently, Iwagakure has been making bold moves in the Land of Rain. You'll personally lead the operations there."

Danzo nodded. "Understood."

Hiruzen gave a slight nod before turning to leave.

However, Chihiro and the other three ANBU stayed behind, confiscating the documents Danzo had just started reviewing but hadn't finished.

Watching the ANBU leave, Danzo's expression darkened. "Orochimaru was too careless."

"And that wicked brat, Shūichi, how infuriating..."

Danzo had once seen Shūichi as a useful pawn, but now, his fists clenched in anger.

After calming down, Danzo left the Root base and headed to Orochimaru's lab.

The experiments may have stopped, but the results must still be used!

"Though it's a bit risky right now, protecting Konoha makes it all worthwhile!"

Danzo's steps grew firmer, and his back straightened with resolve.

The Uchiha's sacrifice was justified!

As part of the village, their sacrifice was necessary!

...

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had passed since Shūichi returned to Konoha.

The Third Shinobi War was still ongoing, but its scale had reduced significantly.

During his time in the village, Shūichi frequently heard people discussing the impressive achievements of his teacher, Minato Namikaze.

One day, Minato repelled an Iwa shinobi offensive. A few days later, he pushed back an attack from the Kirigakure forces. Soon after that, he thwarted the resurgence of the duo known as the "A-B Combo."

Both Minato's accomplishments and his reputation were soaring at an incredible pace.

Meanwhile, Shūichi was enjoying a leisurely lifestyle, spending his days training, researching jutsu, and conducting experiments.

One day, while modifying small animals in Orochimaru's lab, Shūichi noticed a new person by Orochimaru's side.

"Shūichi-kun, this is Anko Mitarashi. I've just taken her on as my student," Orochimaru said with a smile, introducing the small girl next to him.

Anko bowed politely, "Shūichi-senpai, I am Anko Mitarashi. Please take care of me."

Shūichi smiled warmly and nodded, "Hello, feel free to ask me anything if you ever need help."

Anko's eyes lit up with excitement. "Thank you, Shūichi-senpai!"

With that, they were formally introduced.

"Shūichi-kun, carry on with your work," Orochimaru said as he led Anko away.

Anko waved back at Shūichi, who smiled and waved in return.

"She's so adorable!" Shūichi thought to himself.

"It looks like Hayate Gekkō and the others are probably close to graduating too," he mused, before turning back to modifying the animals. His thoughts, however, remained on Hayate.

"His talent with kenjutsu isn't bad... which sword would suit him best?"

"If I modify his body to add a set of gills, maybe he could use Samehada?"

---

Two days later.

Madara arrived at Kirigakure and effortlessly controlled one of its high-ranking officials with genjutsu.

The next day, a high-level meeting was held in Kirigakure, as usual, to discuss how to counterattack Konoha.

Kirigakure had suffered heavy losses at the hands of Konoha, and no one was willing to let it go.

They believed that as Konoha was still embroiled in battles with Iwa and Kumo, now was the best chance to launch a successful counteroffensive.

If Konoha managed to reach a peace agreement with Iwa, the opportunity would disappear.

Unfortunately, despite the heated arguments in the meeting room, no one could come up with a viable strategy.

Facing both Shūichi and Minato seemed like an unsolvable problem.

Should they send the aging Third Mizukage? But the death of the Third Raikage in the Land of Earth was a sobering warning!

"Why not use a tailed beast?" the Kirigakure official controlled by Madara suddenly proposed.

The room fell silent. Then someone hesitantly asked, "The Three-Tails?"

"Would that even work?"

"That Shūichi already captured the One-Tail and Four-Tails. It's said he almost caught the Eight-Tails as well."

The Kirigakure official, still under Madara's control, calmly explained, "Capture a Konoha ninja, implant the Three-Tails into them, and control them with a curse mark. At the right moment, we can release the seal and let the Three-Tails rampage."

"It could either break through Konoha's defenses... or we could directly control the Konoha ninja to detonate the Three-Tails inside Konoha, teaching them a painful lesson."

"We could even use this to demand the return of the Seven Ninja Swords, or even have them hand over Shūichi to us for punishment, just like they did with Pakura of the Scorch Release."

The suggestion was met with nods of agreement from several people.

However, one person objected, "This plan seems viable, but wouldn't we lose the Three-Tails in the process?"

Before the controlled official could respond, someone else countered, "We could prepare a curse mark in advance. Once the Jinchūriki dies and the Three-Tails is extracted, we can simply take some time to recapture it."

"If Konoha doesn't want us to use the Six-Tails against them in the same way, they'll return the ninja swords and hand over Shūichi and Pakura."

The Third Mizukage, who had been sitting quietly with his eyes closed, finally spoke, "It's settled then."

He turned to the official who had first made the suggestion. "Yūma, you and the Anbu will handle this matter."

The Kirigakure official under Madara's control immediately nodded, "Understood!"

---

"Shūichi!"

Chihiro's figure appeared at the window.

Inside the study, Shūichi looked up with a smile. "Chihiro-san, what's the matter?"

Chihiro quickly replied, "A critical mission. The Mist has brought the Three-Tails to the southern battlefield and seems to be planning to release it."

Shūichi raised an eyebrow at the news and walked over to the window. "Where's Minato-sensei?"

Chihiro quickly explained, "Minato-senpai is still in the Land of Rain. The Five-Tails has appeared on the Iwa front."

Shūichi frowned slightly. "The Five-Tails... If I remember correctly, the Jinchūriki of the Five-Tails from Iwa is still quite young, right?"

Chihiro nodded. "According to intel, they should be a year or two younger than you."

Shūichi nodded, "Got it. I'll leave right away."

"Thank you for handling this!" Chihiro said before disappearing.

Shūichi returned to his desk, looking at the incomplete jutsu formulas scattered about. He sighed softly.

Barely a month of peace.

"But... has Madara made his move?"

Shūichi muttered to himself before swiftly packing up his scrolls and gear. Leaving behind a shadow clone, he disappeared from Konoha Village.

---

At the southern border of the Land of Fire, in a forest.

Pakura's eyes snapped open as she sensed someone approaching. She turned and smiled in surprise. "Lord Shūichi, what brings you here?"

Seeing Pakura still wearing her mask, Shūichi smiled. "I heard that Kirigakure deployed a tailed beast, so I came to check it out."

Pakura nodded. "A few days ago, I sensed the presence of a tailed beast, but Kirigakure hasn't released it yet. I'm not sure what they're waiting for."

"Could it be they're trying to lure you here?"

Shūichi shook his head, "I doubt it."

"You go inform the commander. I'll deal with the tailed beast from Kirigakure."

Pakura quickly responded, "Lord Shūichi, please let me accompany you!"

"There's no need. Just do as I said."

With that, Shūichi vanished.

Pakura stood there feeling a sense of loss.

Without Shūichi by her side, she felt lonely, unable to fully integrate into the Konoha forces—like a wandering soul on the battlefield.

Steeling herself, Pakura performed the Body Flicker Technique to carry out the task Shūichi had assigned her.

(End of Chapter)

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