Chapter 8 The Unraveling Conspiracy.

Timeskip to July

Currently, Hiruzen and Danzō were having a heated debate regarding the recent activities of the Uchiha clan and their impact on the village. Danzō, ever distrustful of the Uchiha, proposed a drastic measure: to quickly exterminate the entire clan. Hiruzen, however, had one last card left to play—Shisui Uchiha and his Mangekyō Sharingan, with the powerful ability known as Kotoamatsukami.

Danzō, realizing that Hiruzen's plan could derail his own, knew he had to act swiftly. He dispatched a skilled member of the Foundation from the Aburame clan to poison Shisui. The poison was designed to take effect precisely when Shisui met with Danzō, a meeting orchestrated by Danzō himself to finally get his hands on Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan for his own purposes.

At the Uchiha's Meeting Shrine

Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha were anxiously awaiting their son Itachi's arrival at a critical clan meeting. As they had feared, Itachi did not attend, despite the meeting's importance. His secret mission took precedence.

"Itachi isn't coming, is he?" Mikoto muttered sadly.

Fugaku frowned, his expression hardening at her words. "Let's go. It's no use waiting for him," he said, masking his concern with a stern resolve.

At the Meeting Place of Itachi and Shisui

Resting his head against a large stone, Itachi pondered the recent troubling activities of the Uchiha clan. These events filled him with a sense of displeasure and sadness, yet he felt powerless to change the course of events. He was bound by his duty, his hands tied until the right moment presented itself.

"He sure is late, that Shisui," Itachi muttered to himself. Just as he was about to flicker away, preparing to leave, he noticed a figure approaching. The person had striking blonde hair, an unusual sight that immediately caught his attention.

Seeing the sudden presence, Itachi smiled and engaged in conversation with the stranger. However, as the conversation unfolded, Itachi uncovered a critical piece of information. His heart sank as the realization dawned on him: Shisui was about to die, and the Uchiha clan would be next in line for Danzō's machinations.

Near Naka River

"Yes, what is it, Lord Danzō?" said Shisui, smiling at Shimura Danzō. "It's almost time for the assembly to start," he continued, indicating the urgency of his mission. After all, stopping a coup d'état was no trivial matter.

Danzō's expression turned unpleasant as he replied, "Even if you use your Dōjutsu on Fugaku to get the clan to cooperate, what if the village doesn't change?"

Shisui responded confidently, "Lord Hiruzen has promised to make it happen. Nothing can go wrong."

"Even if Hiruzen is satisfied, the distrust among the villagers won't simply vanish," Danzō exclaimed, his tone louder than before. He still pretended to cooperate with Shisui but inwardly couldn't wait for Shisui to retaliate so he could steal the Mangekyō Sharingan.

"I realize that. But with time..." Shisui attempted to reason with Danzō, but Danzō cut him off aggressively, "Besides, someone like me, who is always suspicious, will never change. What will you do then?"

Shisui fell silent, and Danzō thought, 'He's not refuting me. Does he intend to go against me after all? That's unexpected. I must act quickly.'

"When that time comes... will you use Kotoamatsukami on me too?" Danzō asked, his expression turning sinister. Shisui's thoughts raced, 'I can't believe it. So she was right after all.'

'Now's the moment to strike,' thought Danzō as he extended his hand to snatch Shisui's Sharingan, aiming for his right eye. Just as he was about to succeed, Shisui activated his Sharingan and used Genjutsu, making it seem like he moved away.

Suddenly, Shisui's Sharingan detected something. Danzō wasn't finished yet.

[Izanagi]

Using the Uchiha's forbidden technique, Izanagi, Danzō broke free from Shisui's Genjutsu. Then, using an Earth Style Jutsu, he sank into the ground and reappeared right in front of Shisui, throwing a punch at him.

But before it could reach him, Shisui anticipated the attack. He swiftly caught Danzō's hand and pushed it down. In this unexpected situation, Danzō thought, 'What!? How did he anticipate my moves? And he isn't poisoned yet? I see. That Aburame Root shinobi is already dead.'

"I never would have guessed things would lead to this, you bastard. And that Sharingan... It's Kagami Uchiha's, isn't it? My ancestor's," Shisui said angrily, glaring furiously at Danzō. The next moment, he pulled Danzō towards himself and punched him in the gut, sending Danzō flying a good twenty meters away, crashing into a tree.

"Uaargh! You!!! Root, get him!" Danzō groaned in pain, clutching his stomach.

Then, in the next moment, six Root Shinobi emerged from the bushes. They threw various kunai and shuriken at Shisui, which he easily deflected with his own kunai. By then, the Root Shinobi had completed weaving the hand signs for their Jutsu. As they all yelled in unison,

[ Water Style: Raging Waves! ]

Shisui countered swiftly, weaving the necessary hand signs and then shouting,

[ Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder! ]

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The clash of the Jutsus caused a massive explosion, with powerful winds blowing away from the epicenter. In the next moment, Shisui threw some shuriken and kunai at one of the Root Shinobi, who barely managed to deflect them due to the chaos created by the earlier clash.

"As I recall, you could use Lightning Jutsu as well, couldn't you? Shisui of the Teleportation," said Danzou, as he stood up and signaled the Root Shinobi to continue their operation. In the next moment, the Root used the Body Flicker Technique to engage in a taijutsu match, surrounding Shisui.

Shisui activated his Mangekyo Sharingan, and upon seeing it, Danzou frowned deeply. As the three Root Shinobi attacked Shisui, he reacted with incredible speed. Before they could anticipate his movements, Shisui kicked one of them away. Using his tanto, he slashed the neck of another, decapitating him instantly. In the next moment, he parried the attack of the last remaining shinobi with his tanto.

Clang!

"Sharingan: Genjutsu," Shisui muttered, placing the Root Shinobi in a simple Genjutsu that caused him to freeze in his tracks. With a fierce glance, Shisui beheaded the immobilized shinobi with his tanto. In the next moment, with a cold voice, he muttered,

[ Body Flicker Jutsu. ]

Suddenly, multiple Shisui clones appeared out of nowhere. With ease, Shisui stabbed and slashed the vital parts of the remaining four Root Shinobi, one by one. Then, with a cold glare, he looked at Danzou and said, "Your end has come, Danzou."

"You mean your end. ROOT!!!" yelled Danzou, calling his Root Shinobi to appear out of nowhere on the battlefield. Around 150 shinobi surrounded Shisui. "Hmph! It would be in your best interest to surrender immediately, Shisui. You can't do anything against these numbers," Danzou continued, urging Shisui to give up.

'Fortunately, since the Aburame Root hasn't responded yet, I called out all my Root just in case. It turns out that it was really necessary for this objective,' thought Danzou as he ordered the Root to proceed. Suddenly, another figure appeared out of nowhere with 75 shinobi ranging from Elite Chunin to Elite Jounin.

"What are you doing here, Hiashi? What's your objective?" Danzou said in a louder voice, clearly not expecting this newcomer to join the battle. The newcomer was none other than Hiashi Hyuga, the current Clan Head of the Hyuga clan.

"The same goes for you, Elder Danzou. What were you thinking, attacking a Shinobi of the Leaf? Also, that sure is quite the collection you've acquired, eh? Multiple Sharingan and Hashirama cells," said Hiashi as he activated his Byakugan to see and confirm what he had once witnessed with his own eyes.

"I don't know why or how you're here, but it seems that Sharingan isn't the only thing I possess now. Root! Get them," said Danzou, revealing his malicious intentions as he ordered the Root to finish them off.

'I see. So the ones who disrupted my plans were the Hyugas. And that expression... He didn't seem shocked to see my Sharingan and Hashirama cells. Just who is the bastard that orchestrated all this?' thought Danzou, pondering over the mysterious person who had united the Hyuga clan against him.

Just moments before Danzou's encounter with Shisui:

Deep within the forest, a particular Root Shinobi named Aburame Sugaru lay in wait for Uchiha Shisui, intending to carry out his mission of infecting him with a deadly poison. This poison, once administered, would ensure an easy victory for Danzou. Suddenly, Sugaru spotted a kunai hurtling towards him.

"A kunai? And is that an explosive tag? No good. I mustn't block it with my kunai," Sugaru thought quickly as he utilized the Body Flicker Technique to evade the attack. As he dodged, a massive explosion erupted, far more powerful than a standard explosive tag.

BOOM!

"The one responsible for this... He must be a highly skilled Fuinjutsu user," Sugaru mused as he hovered in mid-air. Without warning, a figure materialized beside him, launching a lethal kunai strike. Sugaru deftly parried the assault with his own kunai, but the attacker swiftly followed up with a forceful front kick, sending Sugaru sprawling to the ground.

"Who are you?" Sugaru inquired in a cold, emotionless tone.

"You can call me Kiyotaka. Ayanokouji Kiyotaka," the mysterious figure introduced himself. With brown hair and a masked visage unrelated to any Anbu or similar unit, Kiyotaka intrigued Sugaru. 'No good. I don't recognize any shinobi like him. Judging by his kicking prowess and Fuinjutsu expertise, he's at least an Elite Jounin. Today, only one of us will survive,' Sugaru contemplated.

In an instant, Sugaru surged forward, and Kiyotaka mirrored his movements. Their kunai clashed, producing a resounding clang. Then, in a swift motion, various kunai and shuriken materialized in Kiyotaka's left hand, launching towards Sugaru.

"I see. A storage seal of that caliber. My assumption was correct," Sugaru acknowledged as he deftly evaded and blocked the onslaught. Suddenly, Kiyotaka flickered to Sugaru's right side, delivering a powerful uppercut that Sugaru struggled to block. Following up with a swift calf kick, Kiyotaka brought Sugaru crashing to the ground, landing a punishing knee strike.

"Aargh!" Sugaru cried out, writhing in pain.

"With this, it should be more than enough," Sugaru thought as he rose to his feet, creating distance between them. However, Kiyotaka fell to the ground, wracked with pain. Observing his opponent's weakened state, Sugaru declared, "It's futile. I've drained nearly 75% of your chakra during our exchange. Now, meet your end."

With a burst of speed, Sugaru charged towards Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, moving even faster than before. Observing Sugaru's approach, Kiyotaka calmly thought, 'Explode!' as he raised a single finger.

Boom!

"You really thought I wouldn't be aware of your traps? Too naive," Sugaru remarked, swiftly retreating just in time to avoid the explosion. 'That was close. If I had been caught in that landmine-type explosion seal tag, it would have spelled my demise,' he acknowledged inwardly.

Despite his injuries, Kiyotaka managed to stand, his dark, emotionless eyes fixed on Sugaru. Retrieving a handful of kunai and shuriken, Kiyotaka hurled them at Sugaru, who effortlessly deflected the projectiles. "As I said, it's futile. I will emerge victorious, and within moments, your chakra will be completely drained," Sugaru asserted.

Poof!

In an instant, Kiyotaka dissipated into smoke, leaving behind only one clear message.

"What?" Sugaru muttered in disbelief, realizing, 'He was a shadow clone. How did my insects fail to detect it? Then that means...'

Suddenly, the shuriken near him transformed into Kiyotaka, executing a spinning low kick. Sugaru evaded by leaping away, prompting Kiyotaka to follow up with a hook that Sugaru blocked with his knees, eliciting a slight hint of surprise from Kiyotaka. Counterattacking, Sugaru delivered a roundhouse kick, which Kiyotaka blocked skillfully.

Once again, they distanced themselves from each other.

"So, you feigned weakness to deplete my chakra, didn't you? Too bad, that was just a shadow clone," Kiyotaka remarked coolly, maintaining his stance. Without a word in response, Sugaru decided to unleash his full power.

[Signature Technique: Insect Wave]

As countless insects swarmed out from every direction, aiming to catch Ayanokouji Kiyotaka off guard, he remained composed, analyzing the situation. "I can't see some of the insects properly," he thought, spotting the blind spots. "It's time to use that." With a swift motion, he summoned kunais into each hand using storage seals and hurled them in six different directions.

"Hmph. You can't finish all of my insects," Sugaru boasted, continuing to spread his swarm confidently. But Ayanokouji had a trick up his sleeve. As the kunais approached, he calmly muttered, "Explode."

Boom! Boom! Boom!

"What!? How's this possible?" Sugaru exclaimed in disbelief, realizing his insects had been obliterated. "So you were hiding your monstrous range capabilities from the very beginning? You got me," he muttered, acknowledging Ayanokouji's prowess. "This guy, just who is he!?" he pondered, impressed by the young shinobi's skills. 'From the looks of it, he seemed to be around 16. Also his proficiency in Fuinjutsu at this age. It's tremendous. After all, who can make an explosive tag to this level? To think it had a range of 58 meters. Damn, he took away all my insects in one go. It seems I have to do it now.'

"Yeah, you're correct. So what now?" Ayanokouji inquired, his gaze shifting towards a tree nearby. "If you give up, I can spare your life. It's not like I have to kill you; I just want you to stop sabotaging the Uchihas."

Meanwhile, a mysterious white creature lurked in the shadows, observing the battle unfold. "What? Just who's that shinobi?" it wondered, perplexed by Ayanokouji's abilities. "He seemed to have noticed me. Also, why can't I get a single clue on his chakra?" With that, it retreated further into the darkness, its curiosity piqued.