Chapter 196 : Aftermath & Survivors?

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After entering the basement, Fujin sat down in meditation to analyze his actions, 'Alright, almost everything went as I planned. My honey badger clones didn't leave any traces behind. However, if anyone still picks up on their trail somehow, they will be led to the Akimichi, Nara and Senju clans. So the suspicion will be cast on them and there wouldn't be any clue to reach me.

Even if they speculate that those clans were being set up, they would suspect that the ones who meddled left the village from the spots my last two clones dispelled themselves. And as a precaution, I did the same with my Wind clones. So I should be safe.'

Fujin opened the scroll and summoned two items. One was the scroll with Zankoku's dead body while the other was the equipment that had Akihiko's eyes. Fujin first focused on Zankoku's dead body, 'Impressive. The storage seal Sora used stops his body's condition from deteriorating. I was worried that stealing the body won't help me much if I can't use it soon. But with this, I can work on this even after a few years. That's good as I have no means to extract information from this dead body right now.'

Fujin shifted his attention to Akihiko's eyes, 'I didn't make any plans to steal Sharingan. After all, I can't use them. I guess my clone just couldn't resist after seeing that they were available so easily. Now, what do I do with them?'

Fujin began analyzing. After a few minutes, he concluded, 'Directly implanting them is out of the question. I won't be able to hide this and it would draw too much attention. The only way to use it would be if Hiruzen gives me permission. But considering what Itachi sacrificed to do this, I doubt Hiruzen would go around giving permissions to implant Sharingans. Not to mention, that I can't tell him that I have a pair of Sharingans and instead will have to ask him to give me another.

So, the only viable way I can use one of these is if I lose one of my eyes in a mission. Once one of my eyes is blinded, I won't draw any suspicion from putting on an eye patch. After some time, I can implant Sharingan secretly. But, is it worth doing it?'

Almost immediately, Fujin shook his head, 'The only advantage a Sharingan can provide me is allowing me to copy jutsus. And since I'll have to keep my Sharingan a secret, there won't be much opportunity to use them for that purpose. Not to mention, fighting with just one eye will be tougher. Considering the fast pace nature of battles, it could even be lethal. I'll have to keep my chakra field active in all battles which would drain my chakra.

And, there is also the matter of Kakashi. 12 years old Kakashi was a monster. His talent was almost unmatched. One could easily compare his talent with the Sannins and Minato. Yet, when he became a Jounin sensei at around the age of 26, he wasn't an S rank ninja. Despite learning a thousand jutsu, he still couldn't create a jutsu stronger than Chidori. And he could only use Chidori 4 times a day.

So there is a big question on how much strain a Sharingan will put on chakra reserves. If Kakashi not living up to his potential was caused due to the Sharingan, then it's a big no for me to have. That said, there were other factors involved with Kakashi too. Like him being depressed and spending hours in front of that stone. So the drop in his training time due to those factors could also be a reason why his strength wasn't that high.

So I'm not sure how much of a role Sharingan had in restricting his growth, but I don't want to try it right now. In the future, when the growth in my chakra reserves stagnates, I could consider this option.'

Having made his decision, Fujin looked at the two items thinking, 'Now, the main question is where and how do I hide these two items?'

Around 8 minutes after Fujin's clones left the Uchiha clan compound, Hiruzen led a team of his Anbu ninjas and entered the Uchiha clan compound. Danzo joined him as well along with some of his Root ninjas. However, as soon as they entered the clan, they stopped. The Anbu and the Root ninjas had performed many shady missions. But seeing the entire street littered with the dead bodies and blood of the members of the strongest clan in the village shocked them.

One of the Anbu asked, "How could something like this happen in Konoha?"

Hiruzen frowned and said, "Scatter and quickly check everyone. Find the survivors and give them proper treatment or take them to the hospital."

Both the Anbu and the Root ninjas scattered and began checking, leaving just Hiruzen and Danzo standing.

Danzo said, "It's unfortunate, but Itachi did what had to be done. Now our village won't plunge into chaos."

Hiruzen looked back at his old friend and said, "You went around me and did this without consulting or even informing me."

Danzo didn't like the tone Hiruzen was speaking in. He said, "Hiruzen…"

However, Hiruzen interrupted him, "No need to say anything. As of this moment, I am officially dissolving Root. The Root shinobi will be placed under my command in the Anbu. The foundation system of recruiting and training orphans will be abolished as well."

Hiruzen's words shocked Danzo. He realized that this would mean the end of any influence he had in Konoha. Even if he managed to keep some core Root ninjas under his command, he would be left with a very limited force if he couldn't train more Root ninjas.

He quickly protested, "Hiruzen, Konoha needs Root to survive. We are the unseen ones who support the great tree of Konoha from the depths of the earth. Without the Root, Konoha would face a lot of issues without any means of handling them."

Hiruzen replied, "Your actions cost Konoha its strongest clan."

Hiruzen looked at Danzo and stared at his bandaged right eye and said, "And it cost us two loyal and patriotic youngsters with the Mangekyou. They could have kept the village safe for the next few decades. Unfortunately, due to your actions, we no longer have them."

Danzo was about to argue back, when Hiruzen said, "Say no more. My decision is final."

The Anbu began returning. The first one to return was Kakashi. He was carrying Sasuke. He said, "Lord Hokage, I found him. He is still breathing but is unconscious."

Hiruzen looked at Sasuke and realized, 'It looks like he was placed under a strong Genjutsu. Did Itachi also gain a strong Genjutsu like Shisui?'

He said, "Take him to the hospital and have the doctors look after him. Ensure that he stays safe."

Kakashi nodded. However, he couldn't help but ask, "Lord Hokage, who killed all the Uchihas?"

Hiruzen replied, "We will have to investigate. I'll let you know when we find the culprit."

Kakashi wanted to ask more but knew that it wasn't the right time. He nodded and left with Sasuke.

After a few minutes, more Anbu returned. One of them stepped forward and said, "Lord Hokage, in the area we investigated, all Uchiha except small children have been killed. On investigating, we realized that all Uchiha who were ninjas or academy students were killed. Only the ones who haven't enrolled in the academy are alive. But they have been knocked unconscious."

Hiruzen frowned and said, "I see. Take all the kids away from here. It's best if they don't see any of this. You investigate and tell me the total number of survivors."

The Anbu ninja nodded and got to work. Hiruzen gazed at Danzo. Danzo looked back at him thinking, 'As long as I can eliminate Itachi, I would have been able to integrate all the Uchiha orphans into Root. So the threat of the Uchiha clan would forever be neutralized and instead, they would be the most loyal and patriotic in the village.

In addition, by using the death of their family, I could easily awaken Sharingan in most of them. In a decade, I would have had the strongest special force among all the 5 villages. But, it looks like he figured out my plan and hence decided to disband Root.'

The Anbu and the Root ninjas sent all the kids to the hospital. The Anbu that had been tasked by Hiruzen reported, "Lord Hokage, in all 34 children are still alive. 19 are girls and 15 are boys."

Hiruzen replied, "Good work. I'll leave the safety of the Uchiha children to you. Ensure that they stay safe in the hospital."

The Anbu nodded and flickered away.

With just the two of them together, Hiruzen asked, "Did you have to kill the ones in the academy?"

Danzo replied, "In a war, we send students from the Academy to the battlefield. It's unknown if some of the Uchiha families decided to train the academy students and have them participate in the coup. If they know about the truth, then it will only result in another Uchiha Coup after they grow up. So I wanted to get rid of all of them. Unfortunately, Itachi was insistent on letting his brother and the children alive."

Hiruzen snorted at Danzo's reply and left. Danzo saw him leaving and had a headache. He thought with a frown, 'Now, how do I still keep the Root with me? Hiruzen seems determined to take it down. I don't think words would change his mind.'

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