Chapter 438: This Old Man Is Seriously Devious

Chapter 438: Chapter 438: This Old Man Is Seriously Devious

After two months away, Kagami returned to the village.

Once home, he dispelled the Shadow Clone that had been carrying out his duties with ANBU Team Seven in his place. In an instant, a massive flood of jumbled and chaotic memories surged into his mind.

It took Kagami quite a while to sort through everything and piece together what his Shadow Clone had experienced over the past two months.

During those two months, everything in the village had appeared calm and peaceful on the surface, but behind the scenes, security had been steadily tightening.

The ANBU in particular had been given increasingly heavier workloads with each passing day. Kagami’s Shadow Clone had only managed to earn a single day off after serving on continuous duty for seven straight days and sweeping more than a dozen suspicious locations around Konoha.

Only then had it finally been able to return home and rest.

Sitting cross-legged on his bed, Kagami rubbed his chin and thought to himself, "Huh? Could the Third have some other source of intelligence?"

All the signs indicated that the Third Hokage was planning something.

Logically speaking, with the Akatsuki having remained silent for so long, the village should have gradually begun relaxing its guard.

Yet instead, the Third Hokage had been quietly strengthening Konoha’s defenses.

Such abnormal behavior undoubtedly meant that the Third Hokage was absolutely convinced the Akatsuki would launch a retaliatory attack against the village.

And judging from the increasing level of security, that attack was probably drawing closer and closer.

But what exactly gave the Third Hokage such confidence?

Kagami frowned slightly and sank into thought.

Ever since the previous joint assault operation, Kagami had lost contact with Shinichi, who was still undercover within the Akatsuki.

And as more time passed, Kagami had grown increasingly worried about Shinichi’s safety.

There were only two possible explanations for the current situation.

Either Shinichi’s identity had been exposed and the Akatsuki had eliminated him...

Or Shinichi was now under twenty-four-hour surveillance and had no opportunity to transmit any information.

Of course, Kagami hoped it was the latter.

But if that truly was the case, then it meant the Akatsuki had abandoned its previously loose management of its members and had begun placing every member under strict surveillance.

At the same time, it would also mean that the Akatsuki members were no longer operating separately in two-man teams as they had in the past.

Instead, every member of the organization had gathered together in one place.

"Why are they all staying together?"

That question made Kagami suspect that the Akatsuki was indeed preparing for a major operation.

After all, every single member of the Akatsuki was arrogant and unruly. Without a compelling reason, there was no way they would obediently remain gathered in one place.

Leaving his house, Kagami headed toward the Uchiha clan compound while thinking to himself, "The Third definitely knows something!"

Ever since the joint assault operation ended in failure, the Third Hokage had become increasingly secretive in the way he handled matters.

Even the ANBU, which had always been well-informed in the past, could no longer uncover the details of the Third Hokage’s various arrangements.

If Kagami hadn’t formerly been a member of ANBU Team Eleven and maintained a close relationship with Kakashi, allowing him to learn about Kakashi’s attack, and if he hadn’t secretly taken control of Kirigakure and thereby learned that the Third Hokage was secretly convening a Five Kage Summit, he might not have noticed anything unusual at all.

"The Third suppressed the news of Kakashi’s attack and the attack on the patrol squad without making any public announcement. He’s clearly trying to maintain the appearance of peace and deceive the other four Great Shinobi Villages into believing Konoha is relatively safe..."

"At the same time, the Third secretly contacted the other four Great Shinobi Villages to convene a Five Kage Summit—and the summit is going to be held right here in the village. Obviously, he wants to gather all four of the other Kage in Konoha..."

"On one hand, he’s covering up signs of Akatsuki activity inside the village. On the other, he’s gathering the other four Kage here..."

"Hiss... Why does it feel like the Third already knows something is going to happen in the village and is deliberately calling the other four Kage here so they can help Konoha take the hit!?"

Even Kagami was startled by his own speculation.

If his speculation was correct, then the Third Hokage wasn’t merely scheming against the Akatsuki—he was probably scheming against the other four Great Shinobi Villages as well.

And two months was more than enough time for the other four Kage to decide whether they would attend the Five Kage Summit and secretly plan their routes to Konoha.

So whether Kagami’s speculation was correct or not, he believed the answer would reveal itself soon enough.

Kagami chuckled mischievously.

"This old man is seriously devious!"

Before long, Kagami arrived at the Uchiha clan compound and found Shisui and Itachi at one of the training grounds.

After exchanging greetings, Kagami asked, "How’s your recovery?"

Shisui smiled. "My body’s completely adapted!"

After a full two months of recovery, Shisui’s body had completely adapted to the First Hokage’s cells.

At this point, not only had his ocular power increased, but his physical strength and chakra reserves had also improved to varying degrees.

Kagami said, "Good. Then let’s begin the eye transplant."

Shisui hurriedly nodded.

In order to suppress the First Hokage’s cells within his body, Shisui had kept the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan implanted in his eye sockets throughout this period.

Now that his body had fully adapted to the First Hokage’s cells, he could finally switch back to his own Mangekyo Sharingan.

The operation was once again carried out in the surgical room located within the Forest of Death.

Since it was merely a straightforward eye transplant, the entire procedure took only a short while.

With practiced ease, Kagami removed the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan from Shisui’s eye sockets and transplanted Shisui’s own Mangekyo Sharingan—which had been preserved in nutrient solution all this time—back into his eyes.

After completing the transplant, Kagami checked the instruments surrounding the operating table and asked Shisui,

"How does it feel?"

Covering his eyes, Shisui shook his head. After a long while, he suddenly exclaimed in delight,

"Senpai, I... I think the vision in my Mangekyo Sharingan has recovered quite a bit!"

Kagami replied, "After transplanting the First Hokage’s cells, your own ocular power increased. Naturally, the ocular power your Mangekyo Sharingan had previously lost will gradually recover as well."

After getting off the operating table, Shisui bowed deeply to Kagami.

"Senpai, it’s all thanks to your help that I was able to regain my vision!"

Kagami waved his hand dismissively. "There’s no need to be so formal between us. Oh, right. I estimate it’ll take another two or three days for your vision to recover completely, so during that time, you’d better avoid using your ocular power. Otherwise, you might interfere with the recovery of your Mangekyo Sharingan."

Shisui nodded. "Understood."

Kagami then placed the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan he had removed from Shisui’s eye sockets into a small nutrient tank.

Kagami hadn’t come away empty-handed from transplanting the First Hokage’s cells into Shisui.

Aside from the surgical experience he had gained, his greatest harvest was that after being nourished by the Yang Release chakra contained within the First Hokage’s cells, the ocular power of this Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan had clearly increased by a considerable amount.

Looking at the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan that Kagami had placed inside the small nutrient tank—the very pair of eyes that had helped him survive his ordeal—Shisui immediately said,

"Because of me, En has been without her eyes for so long. It must have caused her a great deal of inconvenience during this time!"

Kagami smiled and thought to himself,

"It’s fine. She’s been soaking in a tank this whole time anyway..."