Chapter 90: The Art of Persuasion

Hum. The power of time stop spread, and the world instantly lost its color.

At this moment the Uchiha clan members in the secret room were either busy dealing with the Spore Technique or rushing towards the door, joining Clan Leader Fugaku in chasing the escaping enemy.

Only Dan had discovered the real infiltrator in the first second after the time stop.

Whoosh.

With a single step, Dan arrived in front of the infiltrator, who still had a smug smile on his face, seemingly mocking the Uchiha clan in his mind.

In the second second.

Dan directly extended a large hand, his fingers spread out like a cage, covering the infiltrator's head.

Then, like pulling a radish, he yanked upwards.

The infiltrator, who had already sunk half of his body into the ground, was pulled up by Dan, forcing his way through the ground until his feet were off the ground.

That's enough.

Time resumed its flow.

"Huh?"

The smug smile on the infiltrator's face disappeared instantly as he found himself being held by the head and suspended in mid-air by Dan, revealing an expression of utter horror.

What... what's going on?!

Before he could react.

Whoosh.

Dan's eyes turned into the red three-tomoe Sharingan, releasing a genjutsu attack at close range, controlling the infiltrator on the spot.

The infiltrator, who had been disguised as a member of the Uchiha clan, finally revealed his true form.

As expected, it was White Zetsu.

After capturing the real infiltrator, Dan turned his head to look at the clan members.

White Zetsu's Spore Technique was indeed hard to defend against, but it didn't have much killing power. As long as one reacted in time, it wasn't hard to break free.

With the combined efforts of the Uchiha clan members, they quickly rescued those who had been attacked by the spores, and the ground was littered with shattered White Zetsu cell tissues.

Boom!

Outside the secret room, a sudden loud noise echoed, as if an explosion had occurred.

Everyone hurried to provide support, only to find that the enemy Fugaku and the others were chasing was just a clone.

After leading Fugaku out, the clone immediately self-destructed, leaving the clan leader covered in dust and somewhat embarrassed.

It wasn't until he saw the White Zetsu in Dan's hand that Fugaku finally understood and walked over, saying:

"Dan, I didn't expect this guy to be so cunning. Fortunately, you caught his real body."

Real body?

Dan shook his head, not necessarily agreeing.

White Zetsu was a human from ancient times who had been immersed in the Infinite Tsukuyomi, with countless clones. It was hard to say who was its real body.

In the original story, White Zetsu died many times. Even if the real body was burned to death by Sasuke's Amaterasu, new clones appeared later, becoming new real bodies.

However, what Dan could confirm was, the one he caught was at least a more advanced White Zetsu clone.

So in front of the Uchiha clan members, the three tomoe in his eyes slowly rotated, and he began to read the memories in White Zetsu's mind using his ocular powers.

Only a few seconds passed.

Dan's actions seemed to trigger some kind of seal in White Zetsu's brain, causing it to—"Ah!" Suddenly let out a scream, surprisingly breaking free from the control of the Sharingan and waking up from the genjutsu.

Then, with a bang in its struggle, this White Zetsu's head exploded like a watermelon, with white cell tissues and fluids splattering everywhere.

However, Dan had already obtained the information he wanted.

"Dan, did you find anything?" Fugaku was the first to ask, and all the clan members perked up their ears, ready to listen carefully.

Under the curious and expectant gazes of everyone, Dan opened his lips and slowly said four words:

"Mountain Graveyard."

Mountain... Graveyard?

"What is that, the enemy's lair? I don't know about this place."

"I've never heard of it either."

The clan members discussed among themselves, their faces filled with confusion.

Dan's explanation was: "It's normal that you haven't heard of it, because it's not near Konoha, or even within the borders of the Land of Fire. It's in a primitive forest in the north, thousands of miles away from here."

Upon hearing this, the clan members were even more surprised.

Fugaku's face was serious, and he asked again: "Dan, after reading the enemy's memory, did you figure out the enemy's true identity?"

He really wanted to know what this strange person who could use Wood Release was trying to do by infiltrating the Uchiha clan meeting from such a long distance.

It definitely wasn't anything good.

Upon hearing this, Dan didn't immediately respond, but lowered his head in thought, seemingly digesting the information he had just read.

During this process his expression was sometimes serious, sometimes surprised, as if he had learned something incredible.

In fact Dan was just putting on a show for the Uchiha clan members from White Zetsu's mind, he only got the approximate location of the Mountain Graveyard, and he didn't get any other information.

But he was a transmigrator, and he knew the story behind it.

So whatever Dan thought of, he could weave into the rest of the content.

Seeing that the atmosphere was just about right.

Dan finally raised his head, glanced at the clan members, and suddenly brought up a person to them:

"Do you remember how Uchiha Madara died?"

"Of course, everyone in the shinobi world knows. In the Battle of the Valley of the End, Uchiha Madara fought the First Hokage for a day and a night, and finally lost and died under the latter's blade."

Inohi said, not understanding why Dan brought this up.

Dan, however, shook his head and dropped a bombshell: "Madara didn't die at that time. Moreover, he bit off a piece of flesh from the First Hokage during their battle, used a feigned death to deceive the world, and hid in the Mountain Graveyard. Later, Madara used the cells of the First Hokage to cultivate artificial humans who could use Wood Release, which is this guy named White Zetsu that I caught."

This statement, like the ringing of a large bell, shook everyone's minds.

It took them a while to recover.

If what Dan said was true, it would be astonishing.

After Fugaku and the others had somewhat recovered, Dan continued to drop bombshells:

"According to the information I read, Madara is indeed dead now, but he has cultivated a successor. Madara believed that both Konoha and the Uchiha had betrayed him, so he ordered his successor to take revenge on both. The Nine-Tails' Night a few years ago, when the Nine-Tails was manipulated to wreak havoc on Konoha and the blame was placed on the Uchiha, was the work of the successor."

After saying all this in one breath, Dan felt it was about enough.

Upon hearing this, the Uchiha clan members looked at each other, once again falling into shock.

Especially Shisui among the crowd.

He had always thought that the person who manipulated the Nine-Tails with the Mangekyō Sharingan back then was either Clan Leader Fugaku or Dan.

Now he realized that he might have wronged both of them.

After a while.

"So, who is Uchiha Madara's successor?"

Fugaku asked his brother-in-law, which was what he wanted to know the most right now.

As soon as he finished speaking.

"I've met that person."

Hachida suddenly raised his voice, telling all the clan members, "The person is a mysterious man in a mask who calls himself Uchiha Madara. He once approached me under the guise of helping the Uchiha take revenge on the village. Fortunately, Dan saw through the man's false identity, which allowed me to wake up in time."

He never missed a chance to flatter Dan.

Itachi also chimed in, "Uncle Dan has fought with the man in the mask and tore off his two arms, which are the pair of arms you saw yesterday."

The successive statements of the two confirmed what Dan had just said.

"I never thought that over the years, there has been such an enemy, lurking in the shadows and plotting against the Uchiha."

"Thanks to Dan for seeing through the enemy's plot, first breaking his arms, and now catching the enemy's spy."

"Although Dan moved out of the clan, he has been silently protecting the Uchiha, hasn't he?"

"..."

The clan members discussed among themselves, once again elevating Dan to a new height.

After the recent series of events.

At this point, in their eyes, Dan was almost becoming the great savior of the Uchiha.

Even Fugaku, the clan leader, subconsciously sought advice from Dan: "Dan, what do you think we should do now?"

"Of course, we should take the initiative to attack. Otherwise, we would just be waiting for death, wouldn't we?" Dan looked at his brother-in-law.

"You mean..." Fugaku's gaze sharpened.

Dan looked at the clan members again and said: "When Uchiha Madara left, he not only stole a large number of historical books and Uchiha secret techniques from the clan, but even the clan's heirloom and symbol of the clan leader's identity and authority, the Gunbai, was taken by him. These things are now in the Mountain Graveyard. Shouldn't we take them back?"

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up, and they became even more excited. That's right. The decline of the Uchiha clan began when Madara left.

"Dan is right, we need to take back what rightfully belongs to the Uchiha from the traitor, Uchiha Madara."

"Haha, I just resigned from the Police Force and was getting bored. Now that the enemy has come to the door, I can't wait to start fighting."

Under Dan's instigation, everyone was eager to fight and very excited.

Dan watched these Uchiha without any change in his expression.

He spoke of high-sounding words, persuading these Uchiha to fight for the revival of the clan, but what he really wanted was the Hashirama cells in the Mountain Graveyard.

Seeing the excited clan members, Fugaku's eyes flashed with worry.

He wanted to say that it might be too rash to take action now when the number and strength of the enemy are still unclear.

But under the strong atmosphere of eagerness to fight and the pressure of public opinion, his fence-sitting nature was exposed, and the words he wanted to say turned into:

"Dan, when do we start?"

"The sooner the better, before the enemy reacts. That's the only way to catch them off guard and win," Dan looked at his brother-in-law.

"You mean..." Fugaku's gaze sharpened.

Dan looked at the clan members again and said:

"Everyone, go back and prepare. We'll meet at the Naka Shrine tomorrow night and head straight for the Mountain Graveyard."

They were going to act so soon? That was indeed decisive. It was Dan's style.

Fugaku thought for a moment, then made a decision on the spot, ordering the clan members in a serious tone: "You all heard Dan's words. From now on, no one is allowed to leave the clan grounds. You must be ready to fight at a moment's notice."

"Yes!" The clan members responded in unison.

Then they dispersed, each going back to prepare for battle.

After everyone had left Fugaku hesitated, but finally spoke to Dan, expressing his concern: "Dan, do you know more about the Mountain Graveyard? Since it's Uchiha Madara's lair that he's been painstakingly operating for decades, the defense force there must be very strong..."

"Brother-in-law." Dan interrupted Fugaku's words, his gaze burning, "You should have confidence in the Uchiha clan. This time, the Uchiha's elite will be fully mobilized, and it will definitely be a great victory."

Fugaku wanted to say something, but in the end, he could only silently pray in his heart. Let's hope so.