Chapter 115: Plunder and Pursuit

Chapter 115: Chapter 115: Plunder and Pursuit

At first glance, discovering such a large number of Sharingan inside Root’s secret vault was rather unexpected.

But after thinking it over, Hyuga Kagami realized that it actually made perfect sense.

Danzo’s cooperation with Orochimaru had begun a long time ago.

In a sense, Danzo could even be considered one of Orochimaru’s sponsors and supporters. Naturally, that meant he had also benefited from many of the results produced by Orochimaru’s research.

Perhaps it was during this process that Danzo came to understand the true power of the Sharingan, further solidifying his determination to completely eradicate the Uchiha Clan and seize even more—and even better—Sharingan for himself!

At that moment, Obito’s gaze also shifted toward the containers holding the Sharingan. In a deep voice, he said, "The Sharingan are mine. The cell culture dishes are yours!"

Hearing this, Kagami fell into thought.

If these were Mangekyo Sharingan, there was no way he would hand them over to Obito. Doing so would be no different from strengthening an enemy.

But if they were merely ordinary three-tomoe Sharingan, then letting Obito have them wasn’t much of a problem.

Moreover, in terms of sheer value alone—

For Hyuga Kagami, these ordinary three-tomoe Sharingan might genuinely not be as valuable as the cell culture dishes sitting beside them.

So after pondering for a moment, he nodded.

"Fine. We’ll do it that way."

Having reached an agreement, the two immediately got to work.

Kagami quickly walked over to the shelves lined with cell culture dishes and carefully examined them. Then, from the ninja tool pouch at his waist, he took out a storage scroll he had prepared beforehand.

Just by looking at them, he had no way of determining exactly what kinds of cells were contained within these culture dishes.

Therefore, his only option was to pack up the entire lot and take them with him. Once he returned, he could find the proper equipment and identify them one by one.

However, considering that Danzo had never stopped researching the First Hokage’s cells from beginning to end, Kagami was fairly certain that among this enormous collection of cell cultures, there had to be some containing the First Hokage’s cells.

One by one, Kagami removed the culture dishes from the shelves and carefully arranged them atop the storage scroll.

Then he formed a hand seal and softly shouted,

"Seal!"

Poof...

A cloud of smoke burst forth, and every cell culture dish placed atop the storage scroll was sealed inside.

On the other side of the vault, Obito was doing exactly the same thing.

The two shared an unspoken understanding. Neither made any attempt to interfere with the other.

Instead, each simply continued plundering whatever items had caught his eye...

...

Uchiha Clan Compound

After Shisui revealed his Mangekyo Sharingan, Clan Head Fugaku’s ambitions immediately began to swell.

However, Fugaku also understood that Shisui’s current stance clearly leaned toward the village, while Uchiha Shinichi’s whereabouts were still unknown.

This was simply not a good time to launch a rebellion.

Even if they were going to rebel, they would first have to persuade Shisui and recover Uchiha Shinichi.

Only then could the Uchiha unite the power of three pairs of Mangekyo Sharingan, crush the village leadership in a single decisive strike, and seize control of the village before the other ninja clans even had time to react!

Having made up his mind, Fugaku overruled the objections of the others and instructed Shisui,

"Go. Bring Shinichi back safely!"

Shisui nodded excitedly.

Receiving the clan head’s support made him extremely happy, and he finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

After bowing once more to everyone in the room, Shisui promised,

"Please rest assured. I will definitely bring Shinichi back."

Just then, an Uchiha jonin suddenly rushed into the room with a panicked expression.

"Something terrible has happened! The Third Hokage brought his men and surrounded us!"

"What!?"

Everyone in the room was stunned.

Shisui immediately stepped forward and grabbed the messenger by the collar, demanding emotionally,

"What nonsense are you talking about!? How could the Hokage personally lead a force to surround us!?"

The Uchiha jonin forcefully broke free from Shisui’s grip and roared,

"Go see for yourself! The entire clan compound is surrounded by ANBU!"

"Is the village finally making its move against the Uchiha?"

"Then what are we waiting for!?"

"Exactly! Let’s fight! We’ll take them head-on!"

"The Third Hokage isn’t anything special! It’s not like we have no chance of winning!"

The room, which had only just settled down, instantly erupted into an overwhelming clamor once again.

The vast majority of the clansmen inside had fallen into an almost indescribable state of fervor and excitement.

As the clan head, Fugaku remained standing there with his arms crossed over his chest, his expression gloomy as he sank into thought.

Perhaps because he had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, Fugaku was different from the clansmen currently clamoring for rebellion.

At this moment, his state of mind was exceptionally calm.

And it was precisely because of this calmness that he quickly figured out the Third Hokage’s intentions.

If the village leadership truly intended to make a move against the Uchiha Clan, then the fighting would have already begun.

They wouldn’t be giving the Uchiha time to excitedly sit around inside the clan head’s residence discussing whether or not they should rebel.

"Looks like the Third only wants to intimidate us and stabilize the situation."

After reaching this conclusion, Fugaku slowly rose to his feet.

The moment he stood up, every Uchiha in the room turned their gaze toward him, waiting for his command.

Shisui looked toward him as well.

By now, his palms were drenched in sweat, and his heart was practically lodged in his throat.

Shisui had already made up his mind.

The moment Fugaku gave the order to rebel, he would immediately use Kotoamatsukami on him and manipulate Fugaku into rescinding the order.

Under everyone’s expectant gaze, Fugaku spoke in a deep voice.

"Come. Follow me. Let’s go meet the Third."

Before long, Fugaku led the gathered Uchiha clansmen to the outskirts of the clan compound.

At this moment, several hundred Konoha shinobi had assembled outside the Uchiha compound, along with at least fifteen ANBU squads.

The Konoha shinobi had practically surrounded the entire Uchiha compound.

It seemed that all it would take was a single command from the Third Hokage, and they would immediately storm into the Uchiha district!

"You all stay here. Shisui, come with me."

After giving the order to the clansmen behind him, Fugaku took only Shisui and walked toward the Third Hokage, who was surrounded by numerous ANBU.

Once they approached, Fugaku questioned him,

"Lord Hokage, what is the meaning of this?"

The Third’s hawk-like, piercing gaze swept across Fugaku and Shisui before he said,

"You should have received the news as well. Uchiha Shinichi has defected from the village."

Shisui hurriedly stepped forward.

"Lord Hokage, please rest assured. I’ll leave immediately and bring Shinichi back."

The Third shook his head.

"These are extraordinary circumstances. Until further notice, no member of the Uchiha Clan is permitted to leave the clan compound!"

Fugaku’s gaze sharpened.

"It seems the village also knows that Shinichi has awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan."

For the Third Hokage to mobilize such a massive force merely to intimidate and contain the Uchiha Clan, it was obvious that the village had somehow learned about Uchiha Shinichi awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Otherwise, the defection of an ordinary Uchiha would never have caused the village leadership to make such an enormous show of force.

Shisui hurriedly explained,

"Lord Hokage, I’m the only one who can bring Shinichi back!"

The Third took out his pipe and drew a long breath before replying unhurriedly,

"I’ve already dispatched ANBU to pursue him.

He’ll be brought back soon enough."