Thank You

"I see, so that's what happened." Hiruzen closed the scroll containing all the details of the Kannabi Bridge mission.

He leaned back in his chair, gazing at the three ninjas who had completed the S-rank mission. "You had it rough, huh? I'm sorry for your loss."

Hiruzen keenly observed that Obito's death had deeply affected Kakashi and Rin. He knew they weren't in the right state of mind to be sent on missions right now; pushing them could lead to disastrous results.

"In a few days, there will be a memorial to honor the shinobi who sacrificed their lives for Konoha. Obito's name will be carved into the memorial stone as one of Konoha's heroes," Hiruzen said.

"Thank you, Lord Hokage!" Kakashi and Rin responded in unison.

Meanwhile, Yami kept his hands in his pockets, silently observing. He didn't bother using soul perception to gauge Hiruzen's emotions because, frankly, he didn't care whether the Hokage was being genuine or just putting on an act.

Kakashi then asked if there were any other missions for him to take on, probably hoping to distract himself from the loss of his friend. But Hiruzen refused, advising him to wait until Minato returned.

After comforting them with a few more kind words, Hiruzen dismissed them, but Yami stayed behind.

Once the others left, Yami stretched out his hand, confusing Hiruzen.

"What is it?" Hiruzen asked.

"My reward," Yami replied bluntly.

Hiruzen blinked, surprised.

Yami continued, "You've read the report, right? Stopping an elite squad almost got me killed. I used up all my tools and explosive tags to stop them. Now I'm probably the poorest ninja in Konoha. Shouldn't I be compensated?"

Yami didn't report the events exactly the way they happened. He only mentioned that he used explosive tags to ambush the enemy and shadow clone to misdirect them.

As for why he did not hand over the bodies he had in the scroll, it is because he didn't know whatever Yamanaka clan mind technique could be used on corpses. If he handed them Takeshi's corpse, they'd surely try to extract information from his mind as he was an elite Jonin and must know a lot of Iwa village secrets. But he also witnessed Yami's Kekkei Genkai, so he opted not to hand him over, and he simply mentioned that he tricked most of the enemy squad and did not completely annihilate them.

Hiruzen didn't know what to say about Yami's direct yet shameless request.

"Indeed, you have a point," he finally conceded.

Hiruzen couldn't deny that stopping an elite squad, as mentioned in the report, was an impressive feat—especially for a Chunin who had just been promoted. But he wasn't about to let himself be blackmailed by the same kid again.

"Your mission is already classified as S-rank, the highest tier. You'll receive the appropriate compensation for completing such a mission. You can't seriously expect more," Hiruzen said, his tone firm.

"Who said I was talking about money?" Yami replied with a smirk.

Money and weapons weren't what Yami sought; he could easily steal those using his stealth mode. His aim was higher.

"Konoha is in dire need of funds, right? So instead of giving me money, how about Jutsu?"

Hiruzen looked surprised, though not entirely. He knew many shinobi used similar tactics to gain more powerful techniques.

"Is there a specific Jutsu you're looking for?" Hiruzen asked cautiously.

"Hmm, not really…," Yami said, crossing his arms and pretending to think. "Just give me a few S-rank Jutsus, maybe some high-level techniques sealed inside scrolls, or perhaps…"

Hiruzen's eye twitched at Yami's exaggerated demands. This was simply outrageous. Just how shameless could he be?

Hiruzen cleared his throat loudly, cutting Yami off before he could continue his endless list of requests. "It's impossible to give you an S-rank Jutsu for completing just one S-rank mission. You'd need to complete at least ten for that to even be considered."

Yami sighed. "Fine."

After a moment of thought, he added, "I was just kidding. What I really want is a Jutsu that allows me to gather chakra and store it in a seal."

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow, immediately understanding Yami's intentions. "I see, so you want to compensate for your low chakra reserves."

There were a few seals with that function, the most prominent being Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred Seal. But it was incredibly difficult to master, and only a few could handle the rigorous training it required.

"I understand," Hiruzen said thoughtfully. "I'll personally look for an appropriate seal for you."

"Thank you very much!" Yami replied with a smile.

After discussing for a while—mostly Yami asking Hiruzen for advice on how to mix different chakra affinities to create variant Jutsu—he finally left the office.

He treated himself to a delicious barbecue, filling his stomach before heading back to his apartment. Once there, he immediately collapsed into bed, falling into a deep slumber.

***

Meanwhile, in an underground room, a Root ninja wearing a mask knelt before Danzo, reporting what he had witnessed.

"My lord, while observing the Hokage Tower, I saw a few ninjas leaving—Hatake Kakashi, Nohara Rin, and…" The Root ninja hesitated.

"And?" Danzo prompted, his tone sharp.

"Using the Byakugan, I managed to see through Kakashi… he has a Sharingan."

"What?!" Danzo exclaimed, his eyes narrowing. "How did that happen?"

Danzo was certain that Kakashi had no Uchiha bloodline. He had detailed information on Kakashi's entire family—his father, Sakumo, had married a civilian ninja, making it impossible for Kakashi to possess a Sharingan. Unless…

"Bring me the mission reports on Kakashi and his teammates," Danzo instructed.

"Yes, Lord Danzo!" The Root ninja disappeared in a puff of smoke, returning a short while later with a stack of papers.

"As I suspected…" Danzo muttered as he sifted through the documents, pulling out a file with Uchiha Obito's picture. The pieces fell into place. "The Sharingan must have come from this brat."

The Root ninja had already informed him that Kakashi had only one Sharingan, and with Obito absent from the team when they left the Hokage's office, it was clear—Obito had died on the mission.

"What a lucky bastard…" Danzo grumbled.

According to the report, Obito had not yet awakened his Sharingan before this mission. He must have done so during the mission, and something catastrophic must have led to Kakashi obtaining the Sharingan.

Danzo couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. The Uchiha clan typically implanted a seal on anyone who awakened the Sharingan, ensuring that no one could steal it. The seal activated either upon the host's death or if a Uchiha willingly triggered it.

Danzo knew this well, having tried and failed multiple times to steal a Sharingan. Each time, the Uchiha involved would activate the seal when cornered, destroying the Sharingan in the process.

"But this is very valuable information," Danzo murmured, a calculating look in his eyes.

Kakashi's possession of the Sharingan suggested that implanting it wasn't as difficult or dangerous as he had once thought. More importantly, it gave him a new idea on how to acquire the Sharingan without triggering that troublesome seal.

"Bring me the profiles of every Uchiha who has yet to awaken their Sharingan," Danzo instructed the Root ninja.

The ninja nodded and quickly returned with a stack of reports. Danzo meticulously sifted through them, focusing on young Uchiha who had close-knit families or strong bonds with friends—individuals who could be emotionally manipulated.

"If I place them on the same mission and something… unexpected happens, it should stimulate them enough, right?" Danzo muttered, a smirk creeping across his face as his plan began to take shape.

He could already see the possibilities. By engineering situations that pushed these young Uchiha to awaken their Sharingan, he could then ensure their demise under controlled circumstances, thereby acquiring the coveted eyes without the seal activating.

"Thank you… Sakumo's brat," Danzo whispered to himself, the smirk widening. "You've been more helpful than you know."

With that, Danzo began to carefully plan the futures of these ordinary Uchiha.

****

Danzo's method for acquiring the Sharingan and creating an arm using Hashirama cells wasn't detailed in the series. So, I'm planning to have him start these experiments during the Third Ninja War. Additionally, I doubt Orochimaru was involved in the development, as he would have likely taken the opportunity to acquire the Sharingan for himself.