Chapter 92: Sneaking Out of the Village

Chapter 92: Chapter 92: Sneaking Out of the Village

After resting for two days, Hyuga Kagami finally recovered completely. It just went to show that spending an entire night engraving sealing formulas was no easy task.

The artificial tailed beast’s shell had now been fully shaped. The next problem facing Kagami was how to slip out of the village without anyone noticing.

If it were merely a matter of sneaking out of the village, it wouldn’t be difficult for Kagami, an ANBU.

The real problem was that this trip wasn’t something he could finish in just a day or two. After all, Konoha was over a thousand miles away from the ruins of Roran, and the journey alone would take quite some time. Therefore, Kagami needed to leave a shadow clone at home to deal with any trouble that might arise while he was gone.

But more than half of his chakra was already being consumed maintaining the Third Kazekage human puppet.

If he divided his remaining chakra in half again to leave behind a shadow clone, his real body wouldn’t have enough chakra to break the seal the Fourth Hokage had placed on the Dragon Vein.

Thus, after thinking it over, Kagami invited Shisui to his home.

Shisui asked curiously, "Senpai, what did you call me over for?"

Kagami nodded. "There is indeed something I need your help with, but before that, there’s something else I want to ask you."

"What is it?"

"Didn’t I mention before that during the Nine-Tails’ attack, the Nine-Tails was being controlled by the Sharingan?" Kagami paused, carefully considering his wording before continuing, "Recently, have you noticed any strange people appearing around the Uchiha clan compound?"

Shisui thought back carefully, then shook his head.

Kagami pressed, "Nothing unusual at all?"

Shisui gave a helpless, bitter smile. "Aside from the Root shinobi keeping watch on the Uchiha clan, no suspicious individuals have appeared near the compound."

The Uchiha clan compound was already situated on the outskirts of the village. And ever since the Nine-Tails’ attack, the rift between the Uchiha and the village had only continued to deepen, so ordinary villagers almost never went anywhere near the Uchiha compound.

As he spoke, Shisui suddenly stopped, a thoughtful look appearing on his face.

"Did you remember something?"

Shisui said uncertainly, "Come to think of it, something strange really did happen in the clan."

Kagami asked curiously, "What happened?"

"You should still remember Shinichi, right?" Shisui said as he thought back. "He’s been acting a little strange lately. Every day, he goes outside the village to train."

Kagami rubbed his chin. "That doesn’t sound particularly strange, does it?"

Kagami didn’t have much of an impression of Uchiha Shinichi. After all, during their spar, Kagami had tricked him and defeated him almost instantly. The whole thing had ended so quickly that Shinichi naturally hadn’t left much of an impression on him.

Shisui said worriedly, "The strange part is that the Root shinobi assigned to monitor him disappeared for no apparent reason. Lord Danzo and the clan head have been at each other’s throats over it these past few days. If the Third hadn’t stepped in, the consequences might have been..."

"No wonder Danzo hasn’t sent anyone to bother me these past few days."

Kagami had been wondering why Danzo hadn’t sent anyone else to monitor him. After hearing Shisui’s explanation, he finally realized that something had happened to Root’s shinobi yet again.

However, since Danzo hadn’t done anything to Uchiha Shinichi, that meant the Root shinobi’s disappearance either had nothing to do with Shinichi, or there simply wasn’t any evidence proving that Shinichi was responsible.

With only these few scraps of information from Shisui, Kagami couldn’t deduce much. Still, he made a mental note of the matter.

After getting a general idea of the Uchiha clan’s recent situation, Kagami shifted the conversation back to his own business.

"Shisui, there’s something I need your help with."

Shisui hurriedly replied, "Senpai, there’s no need to be so polite. Whatever you need, just say the word."

Kagami said with a serious expression, "I need to leave the village to take care of something, but I don’t want anyone else to know about it. So I’m hoping you can create a shadow clone and leave it at my house to cover for me."

The reason Kagami had sought out Shisui was because only Shisui, with his Mangekyo Sharingan, could transform his shadow clone into Kagami’s appearance perfectly enough that it might even pass for the real thing in front of the Third Hokage.

Shisui looked astonished after hearing this. "Senpai, what exactly are you planning to do?"

Kagami replied, "Don’t worry. What I’m going to do has nothing to do with the village, nor will it harm the village’s interests. It’s just a personal matter."

Kagami knew exactly what Shisui was worried about, so he had no choice but to make things clear.

After all, Shisui was the kind of Konoha shinobi who, even after being betrayed by the village’s higher-ups, would rather meekly take his own life than ever defect from the village. So if Kagami didn’t explain himself clearly, then no matter how close they were personally, Shisui might still refuse to help him.

After hesitating for a moment, Shisui finally nodded in agreement. "If that’s the case... then all right!"

Kagami smiled. "I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble you quite a bit this time. I won’t be able to make it back anytime soon."

Shisui cautiously asked, "Senpai, exactly how many days will you be gone this time?"

After thinking for a moment, Kagami said, "If everything goes smoothly, I should be back within half a month. But if something unexpected happens, there’s no telling how long it might take!"

Shisui immediately shot to his feet. "What!?"

Even for Shisui, maintaining a shadow clone for an entire half month was no easy task.

More importantly, there was a very real possibility that the Third would summon Team Eleven sometime during those two weeks. Shisui really didn’t have the nerve to use a shadow clone to deceive the Third Hokage.

Kagami patted Shisui on the shoulder and pushed him back into his seat, then said with a smile, "You already agreed to help me, remember? No backing out now!"

Shisui protested, "But..."

Kagami cut off his complaints. "Don’t worry. Help me out this once, and I’ll do everything I can to help you resolve the conflict between the Uchiha and the village."

Clearly tempted by the offer, Shisui lowered his head and thought for a moment before saying, "Senpai, twenty days is the absolute longest I can maintain it. Any longer than that, and I can’t guarantee anything."

"Twenty days should be enough... right?" Kagami thought.

Although he wouldn’t have the Third Kazekage human puppet with him, Kagami could still travel by flying in Tenseigan Chakra Mode. In fact, his flight speed in Tenseigan Chakra Mode was far greater than what he could achieve with the Third Kazekage human puppet.

Once the two had settled everything, Shisui left behind a shadow clone that looked almost identical to Kagami before departing.

With the decoy covering for him, Kagami wasted no time and slipped out of the village.

During his previous travels, he had already scouted out a secluded route that was rarely traveled. So after sneaking out of the village, he immediately entered Tenseigan Chakra Mode and flew toward the Land of Wind.

And to avoid being accidentally spotted, he even kept his flight altitude below the forest canopy. Like a spirit flitting through the woods, his figure sped through the dense forest at incredible speed...