Chapter 24: Framed

"Studying the transplantation of cells from the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju?" Mikoto stared at her husband, astonished.

She never imagined he would even consider something so extreme.

As the wife of the Uchiha clan leader, Mikoto herself was no weakling—she was a jonin of Konohagakure. She knew a bit about the lengths the village had gone in the past.

Years ago, Konoha had conducted extensive human experiments to revive the First Hokage's Wood Release. One failure followed another, resulting in many volunteers losing their lives. Eventually, after too many resources and lives had been spent with no success, the village leaders had no choice but to halt the research and lock away everything they'd gathered.

"Fugaku, this is too dangerous. We don't need to go to such extremes," Mikoto said gravely. "Minato has a high chance of becoming Hokage. There's no need for us to take such a risk now, right?"

In Konoha, experimenting with Hashirama's cells was absolutely forbidden. If discovered, the entire Uchiha clan would be implicated. Their thousand-year honor would be completely destroyed.

Hearing Mikoto's words, Fugaku's face showed a trace of hesitation. As things stood, Minato was likely to become the Fourth Hokage. Given the relationship between the Uchiha clan and Minato, it was only a matter of time before the Uchiha gained more influence within the village. Tampering with Konoha's forbidden knowledge now would be a reckless move.

"What's your opinion, Akira?" Fugaku asked after a brief silence, turning to Uchiha Akira.

Akira was determined to push this project forward. To perfect his Chimera Technique, a substantial investment in resources was required—whether it was Hashirama's cells, cloning technology, or organ-cloning techniques. He needed the Uchiha clan's financial backing.

"Clan leader, Mikoto, I believe this is something we should pursue," Akira replied.

"Go on, explain your reasoning," Fugaku said with a slow nod.

Mikoto also looked at Akira with a searching expression.

"Clan leader, you know that Danzo has been getting close to Orochimaru lately," Akira began, his tone pointed. "Not only is Orochimaru a formidable ninja, but he's also led many of Konoha's research initiatives, especially in biological studies."

"Danzo…" Fugaku murmured, a gleam of cold light in his eyes.

Everyone knew Danzo was no friend of the Uchiha clan. Fugaku, as clan head, knew him well enough. Some Uchiha jonin had even gone missing under suspicious circumstances, with all signs pointing to Danzo and his Root.

But with Danzo serving as the Hokage's advisor and commanding forces rivaling the Anbu, the Uchiha could only swallow their suspicions without evidence.

"So, you think this Wood Release user with the Mangekyo Sharingan was created through an alliance between Danzo and Orochimaru?" Fugaku asked thoughtfully.

"There's a strong possibility," Akira nodded, his lips curling in a cold smile. "Danzo is the type to stop at nothing to achieve his goals. His Root has some… interesting methods."

Fugaku's expression changed as he turned to Akira, his voice rising. "Wait, Akira, did you actually infiltrate Danzo's Root?"

Mikoto looked at Akira with worry. "That's too dangerous. Root is no ordinary place."

Akira chuckled. "Relax, clan leader, Mikoto—I'm not that reckless."

Fugaku and Mikoto let out a sigh of relief. The last thing they needed was Akira losing sight of his own limitations and charging into Root.

"Then what do you mean when you say Root is 'interesting'? What exactly are Danzo and Orochimaru up to? And how do you know this?" Fugaku asked, his brow furrowing as he studied Akira.

Seeing their puzzled looks, Akira smiled and pulled out a scroll, placing it on the table between them.

With a puff of smoke, a glass vial filled with a light green liquid appeared, revealing what was inside.

"A Byakugan?!" Fugaku exclaimed, eyes widening.

"Akira, how did you obtain a Byakugan?" Mikoto's eyes rounded with surprise.

In the ninja world, obtaining a complete Byakugan was harder than acquiring a Sharingan. With the Caged Bird Seal, Hyuga clan members' Byakugan were destroyed upon death, and members of the main family rarely ventured to the battlefield.

"You intercepted the Byakugan lost by the Hyuga on the battlefield?" Fugaku recalled the incident and quickly connected the dots.

"Yes," Akira confirmed. "I was lucky enough to track down a group of Kirigakure shinobi and recover it."

"That explains it." Mikoto nodded in realization, having also fought in the war as a jonin.

"So, you're saying you used this Byakugan to spy on Root?" Fugaku asked, his face clearing with understanding.

Akira hadn't actually used the Byakugan to infiltrate Root, of course. But letting Fugaku believe so would only reinforce his story and strengthen his resolve.

Mikoto's expression grew serious as she turned to Akira. "Akira, what exactly did you see?"

"Danzo and Orochimaru are conducting secret experiments in Wood Release transplantation, human cloning, and organ cloning," Akira said slowly.

Upon hearing Akira's report, Fugaku's face darkened.

This news was far from welcome for the Uchiha clan.

Danzo, an advisor to the Hokage with a force rivaling the Anbu. Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, Sarutobi's prized student, revered in Konoha with many loyal followers. The alliance between these two held considerable power.

The worst part? Were they acting under the Hokage's orders?

Experimenting with Wood Release and human cloning was one thing, but the idea of cloning specific organs meant one thing: they were eyeing dojutsu like the Sharingan and the Byakugan.

Seeing Fugaku's grim expression, Akira decided to add more fuel to the fire. "Clan leader, Danzo has already transplanted a Sharingan."

"What?!" Fugaku's face contorted with rage, his Sharingan flashing to life. "I'm going straight to the Third Hokage!"

"Are you sure the Hokage doesn't know about this?" Akira's question brought Fugaku back to his senses.

Whether or not Hiruzen Sarutobi knew wasn't the point. To Fugaku, Sarutobi's silence was as good as consent.

Grinding his teeth, Fugaku muttered, "How dare they…"

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