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***
"Do you know how great a potential threat that boy named Itachi Uchiha poses to the village?"
Danzo's grave voice echoed, his gaze fixed squarely on Hiruzen.
Clearly, the previous conversation had already placed Itachi on his radar as a dangerous individual.
In the eyes of Konoha's higher-ups, everything that had happened to Itachi thus far had posed a potential threat.
Itachi had always concealed his true strength, but in a previous mission, he had defeated Deidara, a disciple of the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure.
Furthermore, Itachi's logical thinking surpassed even that of the elder, a Konoha elder with decades of experience.
More than his strength, Itachi's inscrutable thoughts were the most formidable.
Upon hearing this, Hiruzen's expression changed slightly, and he glanced sideways.
From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Itachi, who was standing at the entrance to the hall, regaining his composure and glancing in his direction.
Itachi remained calm and nodded respectfully to Hiruzen.
At the same time, he also noticed the glint of fear in the old man's eyes.
If Danzo could consider these issues, how could the Third Hokage not have thought of them?
And Itachi could also understand the thinking of these politicians, because before his rebirth, at the age of seven, he had already learned to think through issues using the Hokage's mindset.
What is a clan, what is a village, what is a ninja?
The meaning of life.
Itachi asked himself if he were in the same position as Hiruzen and Danzo, would he make the same meaningful choices and measures as them?
In the past, he might have been as extreme as Danzo.
And Hiruzen's ability to handle the Uchiha to the extent he had now was already not easy.
Then, Itachi turned around and left with Izumi and the Root member beside him.
Hiruzen withdrew his gaze, looked at Danzo, and said, "The barriers accumulated by history need mutual trust to eliminate, and the situation in Konoha has been getting better and better in the past few years."
Danzo heard this, and a sneer appeared on his gloomy face.
"Sarutobi, when did you become so naive? Are you senile?"
"Maybe so, my thinking has not kept up with the times," Hiruzen said with a calm face, but in a very powerful voice.
"So I chose to hand over Konoha to the next generation. Since this is a decision I made myself, as a senior, I will choose to trust the current Hokage without hesitation!"
"Namikaze Minato? The ideas of that boy are so naive and ridiculous!"
"What kind of mutual understanding between people and hearts? You actually believe such nonsense?"
"Konoha will sooner or later be destroyed in the hands of the Fourth Hokage with unrealistic ideas!"
Danzo whispered.
He and Root had been greatly restricted over the years, not to mention that he opposed Minato's inheritance of the position of the Fourth Hokage.
"Have you forgotten? Minato's current ambitions are exactly what the First Hokage pursued back then," Hiruzen said.
He and Danzo had witnessed Konoha's founding until the present day.
"It was precisely because the First Hokage's ideas were unrealistic that he ultimately failed, because he blindly trusted others."
"And the person who initially rejected the First Hokage was the one he considered his closest companion."
"That person was from the Uchiha!"
"Do you want to see history repeat itself?"
"Sarutobi, don't forget how the First Hokage died!"
Danzo's words left Hiruzen speechless.
It was precisely these factors that had led to Konoha's high-ranking officials' fear of the Uchiha for decades.
"Alas," Hiruzen frowned and sighed.
He understood the sentiments of Danzo and the other two advisors.
"The history you describe is undeniable."
"However, ultimately, without the Uchiha, there would be no Konoha today."
"The mistakes of one Uchiha, Madara, should not be borne by all Uchiha clan members."
"I still haven't forgotten what the Second Hokage said."
"Furthermore, by saying this, you completely discredit our comrades who once fought alongside us."
"There are no longer any like Kagami in the Uchiha today."
Danzo also couldn't deny that there was once an Uchiha named Kagami who made contributions to Konoha.
"Is that really the case?"
Hiruzen said.
"Danzo, your thinking is too biased, and what you've done in the past few years has betrayed your original intentions!"
As he finished speaking, Hiruzen's eyes suddenly drooped.
Though he was old, a startling sense of oppression emanated from him.
This pressure carried a sense of majesty, shocking both Danzo before him and the Root members hiding in the shadows of the hall.
"What you did just now will only provoke disputes between the Uchiha and Konoha again. I advise you to take care of yourself!"
After saying that, Hiruzen turned around and slowly walked away.
Only after Hiruzen left the main hall did Danzo's tense body slowly relax.
Gritting his teeth, he gazed in the direction Hiruzen had left and said darkly, "Only my method is best for this village. Sarutobi, Minato Namikaze, you two, as Hokage, your ideas are too naive!"
"Wait," Itachi said to Izumi after leaving the Root headquarters, but he didn't leave immediately.
"Hmm."
Izumi lowered her head, her cheeks slightly flushed.
Her eyes fixed on Itachi's gripped hand, a mixture of joy and fear.
Itachi stared at the Root's exit, momentarily unaware of Izumi's current state.
Soon, the mechanism at the exit unlocked again, and a figure slowly emerged.
It was Hiruzen.
Hiruzen was slightly surprised to see Itachi and Izumi standing there, seemingly waiting for him.
But remembering Danzo's previous attitude toward Itachi, he quickly understood.
He didn't know the specifics of the conversation between Itachi, Izumi, and Danzo, but from his understanding of Danzo and his reactions, he could deduce the general idea.
Hiruzen looked at Itachi with a kind smile on his face.
In Itachi's memory, Hiruzen now seemed much younger than when he had seen him before his rebirth.
After all, at that time, the Fourth Hokage had died young, and the elderly Hiruzen had to step back out of retirement to take charge of Konoha.
Itachi had a deep respect for Hiruzen.
The old man before him had dedicated his entire life to protecting Konoha until his death.
"Judging from your reaction, I think I don't need to introduce myself anymore."
Hiruzen stood with his hands behind his back, while Izumi was observing him with some curiosity.
At this moment, Hiruzen suddenly spoke.
"Regarding what just happened, I apologize on behalf of Danzo."
...
"Lord Third, you…"
Izumi looked surprised.
After all, Hiruzen was a legendary figure in her mind.
Hiruzen's sudden apology left her somewhat bewildered.
"Third Hokage, there's no need for this."
Itachi shook his head slightly.
Danzo's actions were indeed somewhat despicable, but they were within his understanding.
Although Itachi had indeed harbored murderous intent toward Danzo when Izumi was involved, "I hope you can keep what happened just now a secret."
Hiruzen frowned slightly, his voice low.
Danzo had concealed his actions from the Fourth Hokage and the Uchiha clan leader and brought Itachi and Izumi to Root headquarters without their permission.
This was a violation of regulations.
If Fugaku learned of this, the trust built up over the years between Konoha's leaders and the Uchiha would inevitably be shattered.
Moreover, Itachi was not just any Uchiha, but the clan leader's son.
"I know."
Itachi had guessed Hiruzen's intentions and had therefore stopped here to await his arrival.
Although Itachi disliked Danzo, he also didn't want all his efforts over the years to go to waste.
"Don't worry, Lord Third," Izumi smiled.
She still didn't fully understand the whole story, but today's events had given her a vague sense of certainty.
The girl cautiously gazed at the boy's tightly clasped hand, a look of intense joy in her eyes.
"Thank you," Hiruzen said.
With decades of rich life experience, he could immediately discern Izumi's thoughts.
However, Hiruzen shared Danzo's feeling that he couldn't see through the boy before him.
"Third Hokage, I also don't wish to disrupt the current relationship between the Uchiha and Konoha. Please believe me on this."
Itachi couldn't tell the old man everything about himself, but the thoughts in his mind at that moment mirrored those of Hiruzen and Minato.
Hiruzen nodded and chuckled, "I trust Minato's judgment. I can assure you that Danzo will not bother you again."
Danzo had already violated the rules today.
If he persisted, even Hiruzen would be unable to protect him.
Hiruzen knew that given Minato's temperament, if he hadn't uncovered any concrete evidence, Root would have been forcibly disbanded long ago.
If Minato had done so, it would undoubtedly have drawn the ire of the village elders.
After all, those three had held high positions for decades.
Hiruzen had always maintained this balance, and even now, he didn't want to see a rift between the current village leaders.
Itachi and Izumi exchanged a glance, then bowed respectfully to Hiruzen.
"Haha, old man, I won't bother you anymore."
With Itachi and Izumi's assurances, Hiruzen's expression instantly lost its sternness, becoming that of a highly enlightened elder.
He glanced at the clasped hands of the young man and young woman and smiled softly.
Swish!
As soon as he finished speaking, Hiruzen vanished.
Though old, he had once been a mighty ninja who commanded the ninja world, his influence still lingered.
After Hiruzen's reminder, Itachi finally noticed that he had been holding Izumi's hand tightly.
However, his expression was much calmer than before.
Slowly releasing Izumi's grip, he gazed into the girl's clear, jewel-like eyes, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Is your family home available right now?"
"Huh?"
Izumi paused.
"You just said your mother hasn't been well, and I never knew about this."
"So, since I have nothing else to do, I wanted to visit her."
"Well, Mom's home today, but…"
Izumi's expression immediately became flustered, her index fingers intertwined, her head bowed.
"You took such good care of me during those two years I was comatose in Konoha Hospital. It would be so unfair to you, and even impolite, if I didn't go visit," Itachi added.
"Oh."
After learning Itachi's reason for visiting her mother, Izumi suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.
However, Itachi's reason was very convincing, so there was no problem.
"Then let's go," Izumi said.
"Yes," Itachi replied, and the two of them immediately set off and left.
A week later, in the Uchiha forest training ground.
Swish!
Under the cover of night, a figure swiftly flew over, leaping onto the treetops, and then, with a few flashes, landed on the top of a tree in the middle of the forest.
"Are you healed?"
Itachi looked toward the top of another tree across from him.
Shisui still wore his ANBU sword.
But now, tightly clasped in his palm was a severely damaged weapon, only half of it remaining.
The ninjas who had fallen in Shisui's previous ANBU team had been secretly buried.
This was the only relic left to him by his companions.
No, that wasn't quite right.
There was something else.
It was on Shisui's person.
"Yes."
Shisui nodded, his eyes fixed on the direction east of Konoha.
From there, a thick fog drifted in from the sky, blurring his vision.
But as Shisui looked there, his eyes were filled with an unprecedented clarity.
"Have you already told Minato about that plan?"
Shisui looked at Itachi beside him.
"So, you accepted it, right?"
Itachi said, gazing at Shisui.
Shisui nodded and said, "Since my power can be used in this way, as a ninja of Konoha, I certainly have no reason to refuse."
"What's more…"
Chi!
Halfway through his words, Shisui's eyes turned blood red, and three magatama spun and linked together.
The power of his left eye had also been restored.
Itachi saw two clear tears streaming down Shisui's cheeks.
"This is the power my companions have given me with their lives. I will use it to protect Konoha and thwart the enemy's plot!"
Every evolution of the Sharingan is accompanied by pain and sorrow.
Those who can open their eyes to the Mangekyō hold memories that can never be erased.
"So, I would like to ask you to help me familiarize myself with the power of these eyes as soon as possible."
Shisui stared at Itachi.
From their previous battle, he already knew that Itachi also possessed the Mangekyō and could harness its power to its full potential.
Sensing the determination and urgency in Shisui's words, Itachi's heart stirred slightly, and his mind suddenly recalled some past events.
"I will do my best," Itachi replied solemnly, looking at Shisui.
His eyes gradually changed, a Mangekyō emerging.
Within those blood-red pupils, something was reflected.
"Shisui, this power is also the power you, once a close friend, entrusted to me to protect Konoha."
"This time, let us fight side by side!"
....
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