Chapter 65: Eye Extraction

Help?

Naruto watched Dan's retreating figure, puzzled. He was just a kid who didn't understand much, how could he be of any help?

However.

The approval from that man made Naruto quite happy.

Oh dear.

It wasn't until Dan disappeared at the end of the street that Naruto remembered he had forgotten to say thank you.

Just as he was feeling regretful, the BBQ restaurant employee from before came out with a food box.

"Kid, get going."

The employee handed the BBQ set to Naruto, urging him to leave, a hint of jealousy flashing across his face.

This deluxe set cost five thousand ryo, equivalent to an ordinary person's monthly salary. Not many in the Leaf Village could afford it.

This kid really lucked out.

Naruto took the heavy food box but didn't leave immediately. Instead, he curiously asked the employee:

"Um... could you tell me where Mr. Dan lives?"

From the employee, Naruto learned that Dan owned a gym and quietly memorized the address.

He was so lucky today, he met a kind person.

You know.

Ever since Naruto could remember, apart from the kindly old man who would occasionally visit him, no one had ever been so nice to him.

So, he must find time to visit and thank Mr. Dan.

Snap.

Naruto lifted the lid of the food box, the rich aroma of BBQ meat filled his nostrils, making him salivate.

Finally, no more instant ramen.

Naruto sniffed, moved to the point of tears.

Right, with such delicious BBQ, should he share it with a friend?

No, he didn't have any friends.

Thinking of this, Naruto's expression became gloomy again.

He carried the food box, walking alone towards his small apartment in the afterglow of the sunset.

Uchiha Clan District.

Dan, carrying a fruit basket, arrived at the entrance of the Police Force building. The guard on duty recognized him and quickly came to greet him.

Dan, at present, was a highly regarded figure in the Uchiha clan.

"Where is the infirmary? I came to see Itachi and Shisui," Dan asked.

Upon entering the building, Fugaku appeared after a few steps.

"I'll take you there."

He learned of Dan's purpose and said with a smile. Along the way, he also introduced the personnel and various departments of the Police Force to Dan as the captain.

Infirmary.

Itachi, who had recovered from his injuries, was sitting by the bedside, taking care of Shisui.

"Itachi, I'm sorry I disappointed you, I couldn't defeat Dan. He... is too strong."

Shisui lay on the bed, his face pale, full of regret.

"You did your best, Shisui. Rest and recover," Itachi comforted, not blaming Shisui.

Shisui sighed.

He looked at Itachi, thought for a moment, and then spoke again: "I've talked to the Hokage before and got permission to investigate the Uchiha's movements freely, apart from daily tasks. But now I can't report to him, so I have to ask you to do it."

During his bedridden period.

Shisui and Itachi also heard the rumors in the village, saying that the Uchiha with three Mangekyou Sharingan intended to plot something, which made both of them anxious.

This rumor was not entirely true.

At least, Shisui's stance was always firmly on the side of the village.

So Shisui hoped that Itachi could tell the Third Hokage his thoughts as soon as possible, explain the misunderstanding, and dispel the latter's doubts.

"I understand."

Itachi nodded solemnly, immediately stood up, and walked towards the door.

But he was stopped by Tetsuhi, who was guarding the door.

"The clan leader said that you and Shisui can't go anywhere for a while, please go back to your room."

Tetsuhi's expression was stern.

Itachi looked displeased, considering forcing his way through. But then he thought that this was the Police Force building, even if he knocked down Tetsuhi, he might not be able to get out of the building.

Helpless, Itachi had to temporarily give up and wait for a better opportunity.

After a while.

Creak.

The door to the infirmary was pushed open.

To the surprise of Itachi and Shisui, Dan, carrying a fruit basket, walked in with Fugaku.

The Uchiha's "three" Mangekyou Sharingan were gathered again.

"Yo, you're up so soon, worthy of being my nephew."

Dan glanced at Itachi, thinking he hadn't beaten him hard enough.

Itachi's face darkened, he remained silent.

"Itachi, why don't you greet your uncle?" Fugaku frowned, scolding his son for his lack of manners.

Upon hearing this, Itachi reluctantly said, "Hello, Uncle."

"Good boy."

Dan reached out and ruffled Itachi's hair, telling his nephew to cool off.

Then, he locked eyes with Shisui, who was lying on the bed.

After a few seconds of silence.

"Shisui, I ask you."

Dan cut to the chase, asking Shisui directly, "Do you think, with the power of the clan leader, you, and me, we could lead the Uchiha to overthrow the current Leaf Village leadership and take their place?"

Shisui was taken aback, he didn't expect Dan to be so direct.

He had actually considered this question, and the conclusion was... there was indeed a possibility.

Shisui's Mangekyou Sharingan technique, Kotoamatsukami, could control two of the Leaf Village's top leaders, such as the Third Hokage and Danzo, as long as the timing was right.

Not to mention, the Mangekyou abilities of Dan and the clan leader that they hadn't shown yet, might be even stronger.

But, faced with Dan's tempting words, Shisui finally shook his head and gave his answer:

"I don't agree with the Uchiha launching a coup. I believe there must be a way to achieve peace between the clan and the village."

He stared at Dan, his gaze unwavering, as if the Will of Fire was burning in his eyes.

"Shisui, you..." Fugaku wanted to say something but stopped, in his view, Shisui's character was too stubborn.

Dan wasn't surprised.

When an Uchiha awakens the Mangekyou Sharingan, the abilities they often gain are very idealistic, related to the character or wishes of the one who opens the eye.

Awakening a technique like Kotoamatsukami meant that Shisui's will could never be changed by anyone or anything.

Unless.

Let Shisui die once, and let him live again, then there might be a chance for change.

Death, let's forget about it.

But Kotoamatsukami, Dan had to take it.

Thinking of this.

"Since that's the case, I have nothing more to say to you."

Dan said indifferently, then stretched out a hand towards Shisui's eyes.

Seeing Dan's action, Itachi was shocked and yelled

"Uncle, what are you doing?"

Shisui also sensed something wrong and instinctively wanted to activate his Mangekyou Sharingan.

At that moment.

Za Warudo!

Without hesitation, Dan activated The World, turning the entire infirmary into a black and white world where everything was frozen.

Swoosh. Swoosh.

During the five seconds of stopped time, he acted twice, forcibly removing Shisui's eyes from their sockets.

Time resumed.

"Ah!"

Shisui screamed, his eyes were now two dark bloody holes. He clutched his eye sockets, curling up in pain.

And in Dan's hand, there were two bloody eyeballs.

This happened so suddenly.

"Shisui!"

Itachi cried out, rushing to the bedside, helplessly watching Shisui curl up in pain.

Then.

He turned around sharply, glaring at Dan, angrily questioning:

"Uncle, how could you do such a thing?!"

Under the drive of anger, Itachi's black eyes also turned into the red of three tomoe, as if he was about to fight Dan the next second.

Dan calmly looked at his nephew's eyes and taunted:

"Seeing you so angry, I thought you were going to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan on the spot. It seems I thought too much. It looks like Shisui doesn't mean that much to you."

Upon hearing this, Itachi clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his flesh.

"Itachi, don't."

Shisui suddenly grabbed Itachi's arm, advising him not to oppose Dan for his sake.

That would be like asking for trouble.

Dan glanced at Shisui and said in a flat tone:

"Your Mangekyou Sharingan, from now on, will be temporarily kept by me, to prevent you from doing anything detrimental to the Uchiha. When you've thought things through, I'll consider giving them back."

After saying this, he took out a glass container filled with sterile organ preservation fluid.

Plop.

After placing Shisui's two eyeballs into the container, Dan put the container into a storage scroll and kept it close.

This scroll could only be opened with Dan's chakra.

Seeing this, Itachi felt desperate and could only turn his pleading eyes to his father.

"Sigh."

Fugaku sighed and said to Itachi, "Itachi, I think your uncle is doing the right thing."

In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures are necessary.

Shisui posed a threat to the survival of the Uchiha, but he, as the clan leader, couldn't take action, and in the end, Dan had to play the villain.

Fugaku was grateful to Dan and naturally wanted to protect him.

Itachi's despair hadn't reached its peak.

Until Dan spoke his next words.

"By the way, brother-in-law. I suggest you write a resignation letter to the Hokage's office, resigning Itachi from his position in the Anbu. Otherwise, the higher-ups of the Leaf Village will turn him sooner or later."

Dan patted Fugaku's shoulder, his tone serious, and offered to take Itachi under his wing. Fugaku agreed on the spot, happily saying:

"Dan, it would be great if the strongest Uchiha could personally guide Itachi's training."

After that, the two shared a smile. But Itachi was shocked, his face turning pale in an instant. At that moment, his father and uncle looked like two demons to him.

For Itachi, joining the Anbu was his first step towards becoming Hokage and eliminating the village's prejudice against the Uchiha clan.

Now, this step had just been taken, and his uncle and father each grabbed one of his hands and pulled him back, signifying the shattering of Itachi's dream. Leaving the two with heavy hearts, Dan and Fugaku exited the infirmary.

"Clan leader, what happened?"

Tetsuhi, standing at the door, looked puzzled. He had heard Shisui's scream from outside the room.

"Find someone to bandage Shisui's eyes immediately. And don't let word of this get out, understand?"

Fugaku ordered Tetsuhi sternly. Tetsuhi walked into the room and immediately saw the horrifying holes where Shisui's eyes used to be, and he gasped.

Was it... Dan's doing?

Fugaku invited Dan to his office.

"Dan, you and Shisui aren't blood-related. If you rashly transplant his Mangekyou Sharingan, the failure rate is high. Be careful."

Fugaku warned Dan seriously as soon as he entered the office. Clearly, he believed that Dan's true purpose in taking Shisui's eyes was to obtain the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan.

"What are you talking about, brother-in-law?"

Dan shook his head, denying it. "I have no intention of transplanting Shisui's eyes. Didn't I say that I would return his eyes once he comes around?"

In reality, he didn't have the conditions to transplant even if he wanted to. His own Mangekyou hadn't been awakened yet.

Fugaku was taken aback by his words.

"But speaking of which, do we have any spare Sharingan in the clan?" Dan suddenly asked. He had obtained Shisui's Mangekyou and was now thinking about how to perform a transplant operation for Kakashi's eye.

"Well... of course we do."

Fugaku hesitated for a moment, then explained to Dan. Unlike the Hyuga, the Uchiha didn't have a branch family system or a Caged Bird Seal.

After all, the Uchiha were a clan of love (metaphorically speaking).

So, when Uchiha ninjas died on the battlefield, their Sharingan wouldn't be destroyed by seals or the like, and would usually be recovered by clan members.

Even if the Sharingan were stolen by others, non-Uchiha bodies would find it hard to utilize the power of the Sharingan.

Instead, the Sharingan would become a burden to the body. Geniuses like Kakashi who could adapt to the Sharingan were few and far between.

Over the years, the Uchiha clan's vault had accumulated over twenty pairs of Sharingan, ranging from one tomoe to three tomoe.

"Dan, are you planning to temporarily replace Shisui's eyes with a pair of Sharingan?"

Fugaku misunderstood again. Dan shook his head:

"Brother-in-law, you handle Shisui's eye replacement surgery. Just prepare a three-tomoe Sharingan for me, please."

After saying this, he prepared to leave.

"Wait."

Fugaku stopped Dan, inviting him to attend the clan meeting that evening to discuss how to deal with the recent rumors against the Uchiha in the village.

"I'm not available tonight, so I won't be going."

Dan made up an excuse and slipped away under Fugaku's helpless gaze.

As night fell, Obito stood halfway up a hill, overlooking the Leaf Village below. The recombined White Zetsu and Black Zetsu, with their Venus flytrap-like appearance, emerged from the ground.

"Obito, in order to better deal with the Uchiha clan, it's time to take back your left eye," Black Zetsu suggested in a deep voice.

Kakashi, who was supposed to be monitoring the Uchiha clan, had become a prisoner and almost had his Sharingan taken away. This incident had been relayed to Obito in detail by White Zetsu.

White Zetsu chimed in with a frivolous tone:

"Yeah, yeah, Kakashi, who awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan with Tobi, has been using it to copy ninjutsu all the time. It's such a waste."

Obito snorted disdainfully at their words, mocking, "Kakashi is nothing more than a counterfeit."

However, he then changed his tone, saying he didn't plan to take back his left eye for the time being.

"Why?" Black and White Zetsu asked in unison.

They had been puzzled for a long time. Logically, Obito should have killed Kakashi and taken back his left eye after slaughtering the Mist Anbu on the night he awakened the Mangekyou years ago. But he let Kakashi go and allowed him to continue using his Sharingan.

Obito didn't feel like explaining, but he couldn't stand their constant questioning, so he coldly said:

"Hmph, because I want Kakashi to suffer for the rest of his life. As long as the Sharingan is in his body, he won't forget me, and he won't forget that night when he killed Rin with his own hands. I want him to spend the rest of his life in painful self-blame."

White Zetsu clapped his hands in admiration: "That's just like you, Obito."

Black Zetsu, however, had a flash in his eyes. He saw that beneath Obito's cruel and cold exterior, there was a soft spot in his heart for Kakashi. Obito's will wasn't as firm as Madara's after all.

"But the problem is, what if the Uchiha regret it one day and decide to take back Kakashi's eye, and find out that it's a Mangekyou? What will we do then?" Black Zetsu expressed his concern.

"Don't worry, the Uchiha won't live to see that day," Obito sneered, revealing his plan. "I'm going to incite a full-scale war between the Uchiha and the Leaf, using the Leaf as a knife to eliminate the Uchiha."

He had done this once before on the night of the Nine-Tails attack years ago, but the timing wasn't right then. If necessary, he could do it again.

Just as they were talking, there was a sudden explosion in the distance, followed by a rising fire.

"That's... the direction of the Police Force

prison, it seems like a riot has broken out?" Black Zetsu, with his sharp eyes, exclaimed in surprise.

"Heh, it seems I won't even need to lift a finger. The Leaf and the Uchiha are already at each other's throats."

Obito sneered again, knowing there was a good show to watch.