CHARLES 34
Meanwhile, Danzo himself had another pressing matter to attend to.
Although the loss of the stolen Sharingan left him seething with rage—his suppressed fury almost making him physically ill—it was overshadowed by an urgent summons from Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage. As the head of Root, he had no choice but to comply.
In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk, pipe in hand, exhaling a trail of smoke as he scrutinized Danzo with narrowed eyes.
"Danzo, I know the Sharingan stolen from the Uchiha clan's remains is in your possession," he stated slowly. "But those Sharingan belong to the village. I believe you should hand them over to me, the Hokage, for safekeeping."
Was this extortion? No, this was outright robbery!
Danzo clenched his fists, barely restraining his rage.
So this was why Hiruzen had turned a blind eye, allowing him free rein in the aftermath of the Uchiha massacre. The old schemer had been waiting for this moment, using his authority to corner him.
That hypocrite!
Already fuming over the theft of the Sharingan, Danzo's expression darkened further, his face resembling an ink wash of fury. He spat out his words with barely contained venom:
"Sarutobi, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. The Sharingan was stolen by an intruder. My forces at Root have searched tirelessly but found no trace of them."
Hiruzen's gaze turned steely, his tone carrying a quiet menace. "Do you expect me to believe that excuse, Danzo? You take me for a fool."
Danzo's heart clenched, and he felt as if he had been struck in the chest.
This wasn't an excuse—it was the absolute truth!
But Hiruzen didn't believe him. Did he think Danzo had simply hoarded the Sharingan for himself? The injustice burned deep.
Yet, no matter how much Danzo wanted to argue, he had no proof. The thief had covered their tracks perfectly, leaving nothing behind—not even the faintest chakra signature.
"Believe what you want," Danzo growled. "I don't have a single Sharingan in my possession."
Hiruzen's expression hardened.
For too long, Danzo had acted outside of his authority, challenging his leadership at every turn. And now, the arrogance to withhold something as valuable as the Uchiha's dojutsu?
It was time to remind Danzo of who truly held power.
"If your subordinates are so incompetent that they can't even handle such a minor matter," Hiruzen said, voice dripping with finality, "then perhaps there is no need for your organization to exist at all."
The tension in the room reached a breaking point.
For a moment, neither man spoke.
The long-standing power struggle between Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo had finally escalated into open hostility…
---
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the village, the thief responsible—Kazuki—moved through Konoha's streets, now wearing a concealment mask. After confirming that Root's operatives had failed to track him, he strolled home without a care, ready to sleep soundly.
If only he knew that, at this very moment, the Hokage and Danzo were locked in a vicious political battle over the very Sharingan he had stolen.
The chaos he had left in his wake was unfolding exactly as planned.
Days later, news of the Uchiha massacre—perpetrated by none other than Uchiha Itachi—spread through Konoha like wildfire, shaking the village to its core.
The streets buzzed with hushed conversations. Some whispered in shock, others wore grim expressions, and many sighed at the tragedy.
The annihilation of the Uchiha clan had become the latest topic of discussion at every gathering.
At the same time, the village's security force had noticeably strengthened, an unspoken tension hanging in the air.
After the Uchiha clan's massacre, the duties of the Konoha Military Police Force were absorbed by the Anbu, including both the standard division and the disbanded Root faction.
Even under the blue sky and daylight,
Kazuki could occasionally spot Anbu operatives wearing animal-themed porcelain masks, their figures darting across Konoha's rooftops like phantoms.
They moved with precise, silent agility, their presence a reminder of the village's heightened surveillance, likely searching for any remnants of Uchiha secrets.
However, Kazuki remained unconcerned.
Suspicious individuals?
What did that have to do with him?
He was a gifted shinobi of Konoha, an heir to the Will of Fire, with deep roots in the village's legacy.
The thought of his own potential filled him with confidence rather than anxiety.
Of course, to avoid suspicion, Kazuki had stored the Sharingan he obtained in a secure compartment of his collection ring and had never revealed it.
A month passed.
Perhaps Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura had concluded that recovering the stolen Sharingan was futile, as Anbu patrols and Konoha's heightened security measures began to relax.
Another month.
Winter arrived.
The villagers gradually lost interest in discussing the Uchiha clan's downfall.
The most prestigious clan in Konoha had vanished, buried alongside the drifting snow.
Their legacy, once a source of both pride and fear, faded from public discourse, spoken of only in hushed whispers.
Two more months passed.
After the New Year, Konoha entered its 58th year.
Kazuki turned eight.
During these months, he acquired multiple two-star and three-star forging blueprints.
Small Enchantment Crystal Ball (Two-Star): Creates a five-square-meter isolated space, blocking sound and light.
Tracker (Two-Star): Attaches to a target and allows location tracking for 30 days.
Silver Ice Bow (Three-Star): A weapon imbued with an ice attribute, capable of launching ice arrows with a range of 500 meters.
...
Yet, for Kazuki, the most significant acquisition was the blueprint for the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
The moment he obtained the stolen Sharingan, his system had confirmed the task's completion and revealed the intricate forging requirements for evolving the eye.
As expected, the Sharingan itself was the core component in crafting the Three-Tomoe version.
What surprised him was the blueprint's complexity—classified as a four-star difficulty level.
Given the rarity of the Sharingan and its irreplaceable nature, Kazuki exercised extreme caution.
Despite possessing multiple eyes, he sought to maximize his success rate, spending an entire month meticulously preparing for the forging process.
Once confident in his mastery of every detail, he began forging.
Four-star difficulty was significantly more intricate than any of his previous endeavors.
Hundreds of precise steps were required, far surpassing anything he had encountered before.
Thus, he devoted himself entirely to the task, maintaining unwavering focus with each movement.
His extensive experience in forging lesser-tiered weapons, combined with his rigorous physical training, provided him with both the endurance and precision needed to execute the process flawlessly.
Days and nights passed.
On the forging table,
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan gradually took shape...
Ding! Forging successful!
A crimson sphere, the size of a human eyeball, rested in Kazuki's palm, adorned with three distinct comma-like tomoe.
A triumphant gleam flickered in his eyes as he checked his system.
[Three-Tomoe Sharingan]
Rank: Four-Star Weapon (Upgradeable)
Attribute: Genjutsu Affinity
Skill: Casts A-rank illusions (usable thrice per day, 24-hour cooldown).
Kazuki's pulse quickened.
He hadn't expected a four-star Sharingan to wield such potent Genjutsu.
Illusions were notoriously difficult to master, even for elite Jōnin like Kurenai Yuhi, whose strongest techniques barely reached B-rank.
Even the legendary Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, had only developed the A-rank Bringer-of-Darkness Genjutsu.
As for the Uchiha clan, their Three-Tomoe Sharingan allowed them to perform illusions of similar caliber.
This meant that his newly forged Sharingan was among the strongest in its category—second only to the fearsome Mangekyō Sharingan.
With this power, Kazuki's strength had undergone a drastic transformation.
The only drawback?
A cooldown period after three uses.
Without hesitation, he pricked his finger, letting a drop of his own blood bind to the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
As the contract was sealed, he secured his new prize, knowing that his path to power had only just begun.
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