Chapter 82: Uchiha Shinichi

Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Uchiha Shinichi

Looking at the exhausted Shisui, Hyuga Kagami tried to reassure him.

"Don’t worry. Things are bound to take a turn for the better."

Shisui sighed.

"I hope so."

The fact that the village kept tightening the noose around the Uchiha was, in truth, also a reflection of Konoha’s own weakness.

And the one responsible for setting all of this in motion was none other than Uchiha Obito—the man who had been lurking in the shadows, watching Konoha and waiting for any opportunity to sink his teeth into it.

At this point, describing the Third Hokage as mentally and physically exhausted would not have been an exaggeration in the slightest.

As he grew older, the Third’s strength had already begun declining from its peak. Normally, that wouldn’t have been much of a problem. After all, he had carefully chosen the Fourth Hokage as his successor.

But then the young and powerful Fourth had unexpectedly died.

And with his death, everything changed.

Nearly every problem Konoha was facing now—whether it was Kumogakure outside the village or the Uchiha within it—could be traced back to the chain reaction caused by the Fourth’s untimely death.

If the Fourth Hokage were still alive, if Konoha still had its Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, Kumogakure would never have dared to make a move so recklessly, and the Uchiha would never have entertained such dangerous ambitions.

Perhaps the string of disasters that later befell Konoha would have simply vanished before they ever had the chance to begin.

And then the Fourth died, and Konoha descended into chaos.

Glancing behind him again, Hyuga Kagami lowered his voice.

"Someone’s following us."

Shisui nodded.

"Yeah. I noticed them on my way here."

After thinking for a moment, Kagami said, "It should be Danzo’s Root."

Team Eleven was an Anbu squad directly under the Hokage. They were the ones who followed and monitored others—no one was supposed to follow and monitor them.

If the Hokage didn’t trust them, he would simply revoke their status as Anbu rather than go through the unnecessary trouble of assigning another Anbu squad to keep watch over them.

Shisui didn’t seem particularly bothered. With a calm expression, he said, "I would never do anything to harm the village. I don’t care if they monitor me."

"You’re thinking about this too simply," Kagami replied.

Shisui looked at him curiously.

"Senpai, what do you mean?"

"Surveillance is a signal. It doesn’t just mean that Danzo doesn’t trust us—it means he isn’t afraid of us either."

Kagami paused, the corners of his lips curling upward slightly.

"He can distrust us.

"But he cannot afford to stop fearing us."

Shisui had always been under the mistaken impression that the strength Kagami had displayed while drawing upon the Giant Tenseigan’s chakra was Kagami’s normal level of power.

So, in Shisui’s eyes, Hyuga Kagami was unquestionably the strongest person in Konoha at present.

Even the Third Hokage—or Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin—was a step below him.

So when he heard Kagami say that, Shisui immediately grew worried.

"Senpai... you aren’t actually planning to make a move against Lord Danzo, are you?"

Seeing the apprehensive look on Shisui’s face, Kagami immediately understood that Shisui simply didn’t have it in him to raise a hand against Konoha’s higher-ups.

So he said, "You don’t need to do anything. Just keep this a secret for me."

When it came down to it, the people who truly feared Danzo were Konoha shinobi who were utterly devoted to the village and would never consider defecting.

But to a shinobi who had "defection" among their options, Danzo was nothing.

In a dense forest outside Konoha.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

After unleashing the Fire Style technique, Uchiha Shinichi dropped to his knees, panting heavily.

But it wasn’t long before he forced himself back to his feet and began hurling shuriken at the targets in the distance once again.

He had been training relentlessly for the entire morning.

Even though sweat had completely soaked through his clothes, he showed absolutely no intention of stopping.

Ever since his failed challenge against Hyuga Kagami, after which Shisui had carried him back, Shinichi had become the laughingstock of the Uchiha clan.

He had been subjected to endless ridicule and doubt from his clansmen.

The humiliation was driving him nearly insane!

From that day onward, he rarely returned to the Uchiha compound.

Whenever he had any free time, he would come here and bury himself in grueling training, using sheer exhaustion to numb his mind.

Some distance away—

A masked man sat cross-legged on a tree branch, staring at the furiously training Uchiha Shinichi.

He spoke indifferently.

"He’s the one you were talking about?"

Half of Zetsu’s body protruded from the trunk of the tree as he nodded.

"I can sense the hatred in his heart."

As the Akatsuki’s reconnaissance specialist, Zetsu’s sensory abilities were outstanding even by the standards of the entire shinobi world. Due to certain special circumstances, he could even perceive the emotions of his targets.

The masked man seemed to be reminded of something. His voice remained indifferent as he said,

"That level of hatred... is still nowhere near enough."

Zetsu replied, "He’s the closest match to your requirements that I’ve been able to find."

The vast majority of Uchiha shinobi who had awakened the Sharingan served in the Military Police Force. Because of that, under normal circumstances, members of the Uchiha clan rarely left the village.

Uchiha Shinichi was the sole exception!

On top of that, Shinichi possessed a three-tomoe Sharingan, had the strength of a Special Jonin, and his heart was filled with hatred.

So as soon as Zetsu discovered him, he immediately reported Shinichi’s information to the masked man.

The masked man hesitated briefly before finally nodding.

"He’ll do. Wait here. I’ll go meet him."

As soon as he finished speaking, the masked man’s entire body twisted into a vortex and silently vanished.

A short while later, he appeared behind Uchiha Shinichi.

Speaking in a hoarse, deep voice, he said,

"Young Uchiha... what a pathetic state you’re in."

Shinichi jolted in alarm.

He immediately spun around and leapt backward, shouting,

"Who are you?!"

The masked man chuckled.

"Who I am isn’t important.

"What matters is that I can give you what you want."

Uchiha Shinichi flew into a rage.

"You bastard, hiding your face like a coward! Who the hell do you think I am?! I’m Uchiha Shinichi!"

The masked man slowly spread his arms, his voice remaining completely calm and emotionless.

"You are nothing."

Feeling utterly humiliated, Shinichi could no longer restrain himself. He drew his short blade and lunged straight at the masked man.

Seeing the masked man simply standing there without dodging or moving aside, a vicious smile appeared on Shinichi’s face.

"Die!"

But the instant his blade struck the masked man—

It passed straight through his body!

The sensation transmitted through the hilt told Shinichi with absolute certainty that his blade had struck nothing at all.

"W-What...?!"

While Shinichi was still reeling in shock, the masked man drove a fist straight into his stomach.

Shinichi crashed to the ground.

Still staring at the masked man in disbelief, he stammered,

"I... I definitely cut you just now! So why did my blade...? Is this a genjutsu?!"

Believing he had figured out the truth, the three tomoe in Shinichi’s Sharingan began spinning rapidly.

The masked man said indifferently,

"You keep shouting ’Uchiha this, Uchiha that’ at the top of your lungs... Is this really all an Uchiha is capable of?"

Shinichi gritted his teeth.

"I’ve already broken your genjutsu!"

With that, Shinichi climbed back to his feet and rapidly formed a series of hand seals.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

In an instant, a massive fireball hurtled toward the masked man.

BOOM!

With a thunderous explosion, an entire row of trees was struck by the Great Fireball and burned to charcoal!

Shinichi carefully scanned his surroundings. Seeing no trace of the masked man anywhere, he muttered,

"Is he dead?"

Just then—

The masked man abruptly appeared behind him once again.

Before Shinichi could react, the masked man placed a hand on his shoulder and dragged him into the twisting vortex...