Of course, these are human powers, since the Naruto world is centered on humans.
Among nonhumans, the three great summoning sanctuaries lead the way.
Setting Ryuchi Cave and Shikkotsu Forest aside for now, something significant recently happened at Mount Myoboku.
The Great Toad Sage, hailed as a sage, awakened once again and spoke of a major change in the future, and specifically summoned Jiraiya to come. That was also why Jiraiya left Konoha earlier.
And, by the way, a rare thing happened this time: the Great Toad Sage didn't get Jiraiya's name wrong.
"Fukasaku-sensei, what exactly did the Great Toad Sage see? Why is he injured?" Amid the scenic, pleasant Mount Myoboku, Jiraiya cast a worried glance at where the Great Toad Sage had been.
Yes—this time, the Great Toad Sage was actually injured while seeing the future in his sleep. Badly, too. No one knew how. Even Fukasaku and Shima, likewise called sages, didn't. Strictly speaking, those two aren't really "sages." In the Naruto world, the only true "sage" is the Sage of Six Paths. At most, the Great Toad Sage counts as half a sage.
"Hey, little Jiraiya, stop pacing circles around me—you're making me dizzy." Fukasaku eyed Jiraiya, who was anxiously circling him and making his old eyes spin.
"I don't know what the Great Sage saw either. He suddenly woke up that day and said the sky was about to change, and soon after fell unconscious. Before passing out, he told us to fetch you quickly. That's all I know. In several thousand years, this is the first time we've seen this."
"The sky is changing, the sky is changing... What could it be?" Jiraiya glanced uneasily at the sky, a nameless anxiety rising in his heart.
What could it be? Could something be wrong with the Child of Prophecy? Nagato, Yahiko, Konan...
"Hmph, Danzo can't hold back any longer, can he. Back then, our Uchiha clan didn't know exactly who was targeting us. Add in the clan's numbers and arrogance, and our reputation among Konoha's clans was abysmal, so you could stir things up in the dark. We were fooled by appearances, even gave rise to the notion of a coup, and fell into your trap. But now it's perfectly clear you, Danzo, are the enemy of our Uchiha. And we've completely changed. It's hard to force us with your old methods. On the contrary, Tsunade is in power now. She's nothing like the old, indecisive Third. She's hot-tempered. Heh—our population isn't enough to stage a coup now. Who'd have thought being few would become an advantage—what you did back then is now the shackle tying your hands."
"And you can no longer steer public opinion—because that's in my hands now."
No one knew when it started, but a rumor spread through Konoha: the Third and Fourth didn't simply die—they died in a conspiracy.
In truth, they were betrayed by one of their own. This person colluded with shinobi from other villages and, for his own ends, unleashed the Nine-Tails, then incited the higher-ups to pull the Uchiha Police Force off duty.
He even masterminded the Uchiha clan massacre, using the general public's disgust—stoked by him—at the Uchiha's supposed inaction during the Nine-Tails incident. In truth, pulling the Uchiha away back then was laying the groundwork for the massacre, so people would accept it more easily. Think about it—how could Itachi alone kill so many elite Uchiha? The clan had many experts. Itachi is human, not a god.
Why plan such a massacre? Because the Uchiha stood in the way of his ambition, and most importantly, they had discovered his scheme back then.
Most tellingly, when Konoha was attacked by the Sand and Orochimaru, he did nothing—because he wanted to slowly seize Konoha. And the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, was his next target. After removing her, he would vie for the Hokage's seat. No one could stop him then, and he would start a war.
That's also why, during the attack, the ANBU who should have been guarding Konoha barely appeared. Where did the rest go? There's only one answer—they were under his control.
It even laid out in detail why he would do this—his thinking, political motives, and so on—well reasoned, compellingly so.
It also hinted that this person had once cooperated with Orochimaru, who conducted live human experiments—and even had his own body modified. What's more, after the Uchiha massacre, he gouged the eyes from the Uchiha dead and embedded them into his own body. Most importantly, he'd tainted himself with the First Hokage's cells and had them implanted. He used curse seals to control subordinates, forbidding them from having emotions—violate that, and they were erased.
The cruelty was outrageous, and the scheming too deep. Such an extremely dangerous person was in Konoha.
Once this spread, it swept through the village like the wind. If such matters remained buried, that would be one thing—every village has its darkness.
But once exposed to the public, a storm would be inevitable.
Since when did peaceful, happy Konoha harbor such a madman?
Soon, a secret followed. Everyone who heard it would pass it along with: "I'll tell you a secret—don't tell anyone." Once more than three people know a "secret," it's no longer a secret.
This secret was that the madman in Konoha was the Third Hokage's former comrade—Danzo Shimura.
He commanded a secret force outside the Hokage's control, often opposed the Hokage, and was ready at any time to spark war.
Who was Danzo Shimura? Most villagers had that question. Indeed, his name wasn't illustrious—especially compared to the Sannin, the White Fang, the Fourth—but not everyone knew nothing. As long as you'd lived in the village—and the old generation weren't all dead—it was easy for motivated villagers to dig up information. All the more when someone was already pushing the waves from behind.
So information about Danzo quickly ricocheted across Konoha again.
On this, Tsunade flew into a rage—slamming tables and cursing. She ruined ten desks over it. But anger aside, she had the same doubt: was the news true? She couldn't say—there was too much substance in those accusations.
Especially since it implicated her own grandfather, the First Hokage. Whatever else Danzo had done—even grafting Uchiha eyes onto himself—Tsunade could stomach it. But grafting the First's cells into his body? In other words, human experiments on the First? Did he think the Senju were all dead? The Senju clan isn't extinct—how dare he desecrate their founder's remains.
Most importantly, Danzo was utterly silent this time. Faced with all these rumors, he said nothing! What did silence mean? A guilty conscience? If you didn't do these things, step out and clarify them.
You had the guts to steal men—cough, cough—you had the guts to perform live experiments, but not to admit it?
The simple reason Danzo didn't clarify was that he didn't dare let anyone examine his body. Because over ninety percent of the "rumors" were true.
Never mind Tsunade—Konoha's great houses were all on edge. Especially the Hyuga, Konoha's other great clan. If these rumors were true, who knew if Danzo would one day snap and target them as well?
Everyone covets the Byakugan.
How did it spread across Konoha in just a few days? Don't forget another Sharingan ability—hypnosis.
Elite-jonin-level members can likely see through a three-tomoe hypnotic eye, but ordinary civilians cannot.
And to avoid the Yamanaka discovering people under hypnosis and tracing the source of the rumors, the Uchiha used a method that was more like psychological suggestion than outright hypnosis.
Combined with the hypnotic eye, even the Yamanaka would struggle to find the "culprit" behind the rumors.
But others not knowing who spread it doesn't mean Danzo couldn't guess. His first suspect was the Uchiha. And he was right—it was the Uchiha.
Who told you to screw them during the Nine-Tails incident, then plan their massacre? As if your hands are clean. Which of your deeds can stand the light?
You relied on seniority and the banner of "for Konoha."
Was it Konoha that told you to sew Sharingan onto your arm? Konoha that told you to graft First Hokage cells into your body? Konoha that told you to play dead before the Sand–Sound coalition? Or Konoha that told you to keep silent during the Nine-Tails' attack? As if the Uchiha did nothing—only your forces stayed out of sight. And why didn't the Uchiha mobilize back then? Because you colluded with the higher-ups and ordered them off the streets, didn't you?
Fine—cards on the table, then. Let's see who's afraid of whom!
(End of Chapter)
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