Chapter 56: The Rooftop

Hokage Building.

Tonight, the Third Hokage had come to the rooftop of the building.

With a puff, he kept his pipe in his mouth, blowing out smoke as he gazed at the distant night view.

At some point, the sound of a cane tapping on the ground came from behind him. The Third Hokage didn't need to turn around to know that it was Danzo who had arrived.

"What brings you here so late?" The Third Hokage asked, exhaling a ring of smoke.

Danzo walked up to the Third Hokage, standing shoulder to shoulder with him as they both overlooked the entirety of Konoha. After a while, he snorted coldly, "Hiruzen, why ask when you already know? The Uchiha are holding a clan meeting right now. You've sent someone to gather information, haven't you?"

Upon hearing this, the Third Hokage frowned, responding unhappily, "Danzo, call your man back immediately. I've already sent Shisui. He's the strongest Uchiha, and has enough power to handle the Uchiha issue."

Danzo responded coldly, "You better hope Shisui succeeds. If he fails, my people will take action."

"You..." The Third Hokage was about to lose his temper when he suddenly felt a shock in his heart. He quickly turned his gaze towards the edge of the village, in the direction of the Uchiha clan's territory.

From the forest there, a violent chakra fluctuation was emanating. What was happening? Had Shisui started fighting with the clan members?

The Third Hokage's expression was filled with uncertainty. Danzo, too, narrowed his eyes. He was waiting for Kakashi to use the signal scroll, waiting for the brilliant fireworks to bloom over the Uchiha clan's territory.

When that moment arrived, he could force the Third Hokage to make a decision, to use the Anbu or even the entire power of Konoha to eradicate the evil Uchiha clan.

Time passed by every second. The two old men on the rooftop seemed to be unaffected by the chill of the deep night, their eyes fixed on the direction of the Uchiha clan's territory.

After a while, the violent chakra fluctuation in the forest disappeared, as if the situation had settled down and reached a conclusion.

Hmm? The absence of the expected signal fireworks made Danzo gradually furrow his brows, his face becoming as still as water.

In contrast, the Third Hokage, who had been frowning, slowly relaxed. "It seems Shisui has done it. He truly is a worthy descendant of Kagami." The Third Hokage showed a relieved smile and contentedly took another puff from his pipe.

After a moment, "He's here." The Third Hokage saw a familiar figure approaching the Hokage Building at a very fast speed.

With a swoosh, Kakashi appeared in front of them, kneeling on one knee and bowing his head. "Kakashi, how did it go?" The Third Hokage glanced at Danzo, deliberately asking in front of him, waiting for Kakashi to deliver the good news.

However, "Lord Hokage, Shisui fought with Uchiha Dan and unfortunately lost. I was also discovered by the Uchiha..." As Kakashi truthfully recounted everything he had seen that night, the expressions of both the Third Hokage and Danzo became quite interesting.

If Kakashi's description wasn't vivid enough, "Lord Danzo," a voice devoid of emotion rang out as Aburame Tatsuma also arrived on the rooftop to report. He brought with him images captured by the Root ninja from their surveillance of the Uchiha clan's territory in the forest.

In the images, one could see from a distance Shisui's green Susanoo, and subsequently, the clan leader Fugaku's blue Susanoo. As for Dan's stand, due to its unique form, it wasn't captured by the surveillance.

But from Kakashi's account, it was confirmed that Dan also had a Susanoo. After viewing the surveillance images, the Third Hokage and Danzo exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes. The tremors in their hearts took a long time to settle.

Susanoo. They had seen this jutsu on the battlefield in their youth, when Uchiha Madara had used it. They knew its terrifying power. It was a power akin to that of a god.

Moreover, an Uchiha being able to use Susanoo meant that they had activated the Mangekyou Sharingan. That is to say, the Uchiha clan had revealed three pairs of Mangekyou Sharingan tonight. It was... frightening.

"Uchiha Dan..." Danzo muttered this name that filled him with dread, his gaze becoming increasingly sinister. He finally understood. No wonder Dan had the audacity to openly confront him. He had this kind of backing, just as arrogant as Madara had been.

At the same time, Danzo realized that his plan to annihilate the Uchiha clan was a bit too hasty. Indeed, the first thing the Third Hokage did after coming back to his senses was to sternly reprimand Danzo: "Listen, whatever plans you have, stop them immediately. Otherwise, you can quit your position as the Hokage's advisor!"

Three pairs of Mangekyou Sharingan. Even if Shisui was on the village's side, there were still two pairs of Mangekyou Sharingan to deal with. Especially Uchiha Dan, whose strength, according to Kakashi's description, was still an unknown quantity. If they were to fall out with the Uchiha clan at this time, the consequences would be immeasurable.

However, the Third Hokage also knew that the Uchiha letting Kakashi return unharmed and allowing him to reveal the information about the Mangekyou Sharingan was a signal to the village's higher-ups. The Uchiha didn't want trouble, but they weren't afraid of it either.

With this in mind, "We'll hold a high-level meeting tomorrow." The Third Hokage left these words for Danzo and turned to leave the rooftop.

"Kakashi..." Danzo looked at Kakashi, still trying to undermine him at this time. But as soon as he called Kakashi's name, the latter's face changed, he quickly bowed, and then disappeared in a flash.

"Hmph." Danzo left in a huff, his sleeve flicking in annoyance.

Dan was on his way home. Tonight's clan meeting. He had defeated Shisui, the leader of the moderate faction, and used Kakashi, a pawn of the Third Hokage, and the external enemy Root, to unite the Uchiha clan members. Now, the Uchiha, if not all becoming radicals, at least the majority of the clan members had unified their front, firmly standing on the side of the family.

Now, Shisui and Itachi were sent to the medical room by Dan, and Obito was defeated by Dan and lost both arms. The Uchiha clan members in the original story, one by one, all fell.

Things were looking up. Even if Konoha wanted to annihilate the Uchiha at this time, Fugaku could lead the clan members to bite back at Konoha, even without Dan's intervention. But to go down together with Konoha, or even to win, seemed very difficult at the moment.

However, that was not something Dan needed to worry about. As for how to increase their strength, let the Uchiha figure it out themselves.

Dan returned to the gym. He walked through the corridor, and when he passed Samui's room, he suddenly stopped and pricked up his ears. It was very quiet inside, with only the faint sound of breathing. It seemed Samui was already asleep.

Dan continued on his way, took a shower in the bathroom, and then went back to his room to rest.

The night passed without a word.

The next day, as the sun rose and the villagers began to leave their homes, the village gradually became lively. Today's Konoha was as usual, peaceful and tranquil as if nothing had happened.

On one hand, the Uchiha's police force was patrolling the streets as usual. On the other hand, there was no movement from Konoha's higher-ups in the Hokage Building.

However, only a very few people knew how dangerous the situation was last night, and how the village was on the verge of internal strife. Underneath the facade of tranquility, undercurrents were surging.