Ch.55 Why Are You So Late?

"Nothing? How could there be nothing!"

Uchiha Shinji furrowed his brows tightly, but after a moment of thought, he clapped his hands.

It made sense that there was nothing!

Those marked with names were clearly the Sharingan that had been removed from the bodies of those who perished on the night of the Uchiha Clan's massacre by the medical squad for identification purposes.

But Uchiha Naori lived in the era of the First and Second Hokages and had passed away long ago.

Even if her Mangekyo Sharingan had been preserved by the clan, it wouldn't have been specifically labeled with her name.

Realizing this, Uchiha Shinji turned to Coalball and asked, "In Danzo's secret vault, were there any Sharingan that weren't labeled?"

If the clan had indeed preserved Uchiha Naori's Mangekyo, those valuable family assets might have been confiscated by the village and ended up in Danzo's hands.

This time, Coalball didn't need to think, answering immediately, "Yes, there were some jars without any names on them."

Uchiha Shinji became excited and lifted Coalball up: "What did those jars look like?"

"Hey, what are you doing? What's going on with you?" Coalball was curious but still answered Uchiha Shinji's question seriously: "Those jars looked a bit old. The eyes inside might not be usable anymore."

"Old…"

That information further confirmed Uchiha Shinji's suspicions.

The Uchiha Clan had a habit of reclaiming Sharingan, as evidenced by Uchiha Madara, and how some members had suggested reclaiming Kakashi's Sharingan.

So, those older jars likely contained Sharingan that had been reclaimed by the Uchiha Clan.

However, this also made Uchiha Shinji worry.

As Coalball said, those eyes had been stored for a long time, and it was hard to say whether they were still usable. After all, Sharingan are living organs, and without the nourishment of their original user's chakra, it was difficult to say how long they could retain their vitality.

Moreover, the Uchiha Clan had always been focused on developing their dojutsu. No one in the clan had likely put much thought into biological preservation techniques.

So their preservation methods were probably nowhere near the level of someone like Uchiha Madara, who secretly studied the cells of the First Hokage, or Orochimaru, who developed various forbidden techniques.

I have to get them as soon as possible! Uchiha Shinji paused and then added with more intensity, I need to get them all!

There was no doubt that his goal wasn't just his grandmother's Mangekyo.

Because of his grandmother, he recalled a secret from the Uchiha Clan's past.

After Uchiha Madara left the clan in anger, a brief internal conflict erupted within the Uchiha Clan.

Several elite Uchiha, who had survived from the Warring States period, awakened their Mangekyo Sharingan during that time. Due to Madara's departure, the position of clan head was left vacant, leading to a bloody competition among those who sought power.

The forbidden technique Izanagi was overused during that time.

To quell the internal strife, Uchiha Naori painstakingly developed Izanami, a technique meant to counter Izanagi, and ultimately restored peace.

In other words…

Within the Uchiha Clan, aside from the brothers Madara and Izuna, there were other elites who had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan.

But because the First Hokage was so overwhelmingly powerful, even Uchiha with Mangekyo Sharingan paled in comparison to him. Therefore, those Uchiha elites did not dare to be too flamboyant, lest they draw the attention and suspicion of the First Hokage and the Second Hokage.

This caution was evident in the fact that Uchiha Naori's Mangekyo Sharingan awakening wasn't recorded in the family records.

The Uchiha were so wary of leaving any trace, despite the fact that the family records were not accessible to outsiders. This spoke volumes about their fear of the First and Second Hokages.

However, Uchiha Shinji suspected that the Second Hokage had likely seen through the Uchiha Clan's secrets to some extent. This could explain his cautious and sometimes contradictory approach to dealing with the Uchiha Clan—alternating between trying to recruit them and suppressing them.

In fact, Uchiha Shinji believed that the Second Hokage might have secretly taken action against the Uchiha.

Otherwise, how could one explain why Danzo, a disciple of the Second Hokage, had mastered Izanagi—a forbidden technique even among the Uchiha—before the clan's downfall, and used it to ambush Shisui, disrupting the balance of power between the village and the Uchiha Clan?

Where did Danzo learn Izanagi from?

From Shisui's reaction during the ambush, it was clear that he hadn't expected Danzo to use Izanagi, meaning the Uchiha Clan was unaware that Danzo knew the technique. This implied that Izanagi had likely been stolen.

This mutual suspicion between the Uchiha Clan and the village made Uchiha Shinji believe that those Uchiha elites who had awakened Mangekyo Sharingan might have preserved their Mangekyo for future use.

So, in those old jars Danzo had, there might be Mangekyo Sharingan—perhaps more than one!

"Damn it, I stole Uchiha Fugaku's Mangekyo Sharingan from Danzo last time. What if he becomes suspicious and starts checking all the Sharingan?"

At that thought, Uchiha Shinji felt a sudden sense of urgency.

He realized he had to seize the remaining Sharingan in Danzo's possession as soon as possible, before Danzo discovered the secret.

...

At the temple.

Uchiha Itachi, Zabuza, and Sasori slowly walked into the main hall.

Seeing Deidara sitting there, Sasori spoke in a hoarse, low voice: "Is this yellow-haired brat my new partner? He looks like he's got a short lifespan."

Clang.

Planting his Executioner's Blade into the floor, Zabuza leaned on the sword and chuckled: "Don't underestimate him. This guy is a frequent guest on the wanted lists of several nations."

Itachi stepped forward and looked at Deidara: "We are here to—"

Before Itachi could finish his sentence, Deidara impatiently picked his ear and said, "What took you guys so long?"

Even Itachi, who was usually emotionless, was momentarily taken aback.

Deidara glanced at the three of them, thinking to himself, "These three look like a bunch of misfits. No wonder they're in the outer circle. They're nowhere near as good as we in the inner circle! Hmm!"

Seeing this, Zabuza asked, "You know us?"

"Akatsuki, right?" Deidara stretched out his hand, "Where's my cloak and mask?"

Sasori asked in a deep voice, "You knew we came to recruit you?"

Deidara retorted, "What else would you be here for?"

Irritated, Sasori growled, "Brat, watch your tone if you don't want to die early."

Zabuza chuckled, "This kid's interesting. He saved us a lot of trouble. What do you think, Itachi?"

Without any extra words, Itachi tossed the prepared red cloud cloak to Deidara.

Catching the cloak, Deidara frowned and asked, "No mask?"