"What's wrong?"
Uchiha Raizen came to sit beside Inori.
Inori spoke urgently,
"I saw in his mind the orders that Danzo gave. Besides sending him and that guy called Tatsuma to assassinate Raizen, Danzo also sent Aburame Torune and others to attack Sister Hikari in the Land of Water, and they want to take Sister Hikari's Sharingan!"
"What!"
Uchiha Raizen's pupils shrank, anger rising fiercely. He could hardly stay calm.
Damn Danzo.
Was it because he lost two Sharingan eyes that he wanted to steal Sister Hikari's?
But why did he also want to kill me?
Could it be because he found out about the last time I played a trick on Danzo?
No, that's unlikely.
If Danzo really found out, with his vengeful nature, he wouldn't send only two people to kill Uchiha Raizen.
As for helping Yamanaka Ren take revenge, that's just a joke.
Danzo would never care about the small Yamanaka Ren. He's just using him as a tool against the Uchiha clan.
But now is not the time to think deeply about this. Sister is in danger. I must hurry to the Land of Water.
"Raizen, I haven't finished yet."
Inori grabbed Uchiha Raizen's hand, her eyes full of worry. She tried hard to comfort him.
"I mean that we were tricked by Danzo. The letter Sister Hikari wrote, which you saw in the Intelligence Department, was indeed written by her, but it was under Danzo's threat."
Uchiha Raizen's breathing grew a little heavy. So from that moment, had Danzo been manipulating him?
Good. Very good. He had underestimated just how cunning Danzo really was.
"Why was sister forced to obey? Was it only Danzo, or did the entire Konoha leadership take part?"
Though anxious, Uchiha Raizen grasped the most crucial and sensitive question.
If the whole Konoha leadership was involved in threatening his sister, then damn it, there'd be no point in returning to Konoha at all!
Inori shook her head.
"I didn't see anyone else from the leadership, only Danzo. But Yamanaka Ren doesn't know much about this either. I'll search through another Root ninja's memories."
She placed her hand on the head of the dead Tatsuma and invaded his mind.
Minutes later, she exhaled and opened her eyes.
"Raizen-kun, this Root ninja named Tatsuma happened to follow Danzo to meet your sister that day. Danzo used the excuse of collecting a loan from the Land of Fire Bank to force Sister Hikari to obey him."
A loan from the Land of Fire Bank?
Uchiha Raizen's mouth twitched.
Such a threat might not work on others. To him, it was even more contemptible.
But his sister was very honest and trustworthy.
To pay off the loan quickly, she often took on A-rank missions and even dangerous S-rank missions.
Danzo had perfectly exploited his sister's weakness.
His anger and murderous intent grew stronger.
Uchiha Raizen took a deep breath and forced himself to stay calm.
"But with just that, sister shouldn't have listened to Danzo so obediently and written letters to deceive me, right?"
"Indeed." Inori nodded, her eyes clear like water as she looked at Raizen, biting her lower lip.
"So, Danzo used another threat that Sister Hikari couldn't resist, forcing her to obey him."
"What was it?"
"It was your safety, Raizen-kun."
Uchiha Raizen's body trembled.
In an instant, everything became clear to him.
Because the Uchiha clan's territory was monitored by Danzo twenty-four hours a day.
Danzo had secretly been watching Sister Hikari, who had awakened the Three Tomoe Sharingan and had good talent, wanting to use her.
He used loans from the Land of Fire Bank and threatened the safety of Uchiha Raizen.
Before gaining the Azure Dragon Curse Mark, Raizen had shown no special talent and had remained a Genin for many years.
Hikari, who deeply loved her brother, could not be unaware of the growing tension between the Uchiha clan and the village's leadership.
She could not help but worry about her brother's safety, who had no means to protect himself.
So, she had no choice but to accept Danzo's threat and obey his orders.
Even if Danzo did not mention it, the letter sent back to Konoha was likely written by Hikari herself, as she did not want her brother to worry.
This was the whole truth!
It was the belief of a sister who, after losing their parents, was willing to bear everything to protect her brother!
Perhaps this was why the Uchiha were called the clan of love.
The Kekkei Genkai inside Uchiha Raizen began to stir again.
His cerebral cortex was shocked by waves of electricity.
The three-tomoe Sharingan glowed blood-red.
His killing intent was nearly uncontrollable.
He wanted to rush back to Konoha immediately and tear Danzo apart!
"Raizen-kun, Raizen-kun."
A soft voice called gently in his ear.
Then a delicate body wrapped around him.
"No matter what you want to do, I will always be by your side."
The gentle voice was like a clear spring washing away the endless anger inside Uchiha Raizen.
"But right now, we must go to the Land of Water to save Sister Hikari. That is the most important."
Uchiha Raizen's eyes cleared up instantly.
He gasped and hugged the girl in his arms tightly.
After a moment, he let go, his emotions calm again.
He glanced sideways at Hidan, who was still rolling on the ground in pain, freed from the curse seal's control.
"Alright, get up quickly and deal with the bodies."
After saying this, he grabbed Inori's hand and ran swiftly toward the Land of Water.
Behind them suddenly came a crazed, hateful curse:
"Ha ha, ah ha ha! Uchiha Raizen, you won't die a good death! You and your sister will soon die at Lord Danzo's hands! The whole Uchiha clan will be buried with you sooner or later!"
The curse came from Yamanaka Ren, who was still alive.
Hidan got up from the ground and with one slash of his scythe cut Yamanaka Ren in two, cursing loudly:
"What do you mean calling out? Do you think you can call Lord Raizen's name? Foolish. I will tear you apart for the evil god... no, for Lord Barabara!"
Yamanaka Ren was torn apart, dying a tragic death.
Inori glanced back slightly, a faint sigh passing through her heart.
After all, they were clanspeople who had known each other since childhood.
She couldn't help but feel some sadness and regret that he had fallen so far.
But the real cause of this tragedy, the one who manipulated the darkness in Yamanaka Ren's heart, was Danzo!
That root of Konoha, the one who silently guards Konoha in the shadows, was too ruthless!
Don't be fooled by Inori's gentle words earlier — they were mainly to comfort Raizen, but inside, she was also angry.
The village could have darkness, but darkness had to have limits and be controlled.
Didn't the Third Hokage know what Danzo was doing?
Inori felt very uneasy. She thought maybe the village was sick.
Raizen's question brought her back to reality.
"Inori, Danzo instructed sister to go to the Land of Water for some mission. It's definitely not just a simple meeting, right?"
"It's a dangerous spy mission to gather intelligence on Kirigakure. It will last a very long time, and she can't return to Konoha without Danzo's orders."
Uchiha Raizen's expression didn't change much, but his eyes grew colder.
He vaguely felt this scene was familiar.
He remembered — it was similar to what happened with Yakushi Nono. Both involved close people threatened by Danzo and sent as spies to other countries.
Over time, they were separated, and when their use ended, Danzo would get rid of them both.
That method was really skilled, wasn't it, Danzo?
So it turns out I've been following Kabuto Yakushi's script all along!
Feeling tricked, Uchiha Raizen turned his anger into strength.
Suddenly, he transformed into his beast form.
He picked up Inori in his arms and sped forward like the wind.
From behind, Hidan's heavy breathing and shouting came from far away:
"Wait for me, Lord Uchiha Raizen!"
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**********
Support me on my patreon and read upto 30 early chapters.
patreon.com/PirateKing24