chapter 79 part 1
Chapter 79: Danzo: Look what I see with my Sharingan, a pair of wild Rinnegan!
"Still haven't found them? What exactly went wrong?! Even if our clansmen die, they should destroy their Sharingan, so why can't we even find their bodies or remains?"
Fugaku was furious.
People were celebrating the victory of the war, mourning fallen comrades, and basking in the post-war atmosphere of peace.
Normally, the surviving ninja would receive generous rewards, whether to enjoy themselves, purchase ninja tools, or exchange for ninjutsu to improve their strength. Various ninja clans were doing the same, honoring their deceased clansmen and identifying weaknesses and making up for them for the living, thereby enhancing the overall strength of their clan.
The Uchiha clan didn't need to do this; their tactical system was already very complete, and their educational model for the younger generation had not shown any problems. Moreover, they had a more important matter to deal with: several Uchiha clansmen's bodies were missing.
Fugaku's expression was grim. Kaedence their clan participated in the Second Great Ninja War and went to the western front, similar situations had occasionally occurred over the past few years.
Fugaku could understand if clansmen died in battle. Over the years of war, twenty-seven Uchiha clansmen had fallen, thirteen of whom had awakened the Sharingan. This was a heavy loss.
Their clan's total population was just over six hundred. Removing the elderly and children, and then the mediocre individuals who hadn't awakened their Sharingan, there were only a little over a hundred clansmen left who could activate the Sharingan and possessed excellent combat abilities. Losing thirteen in one go was indeed a severe blow.
There was no helping it; the Sharingan was something only a minority of the Uchiha clan could obtain, and clansmen liked to show off, genuinely charging into dangerous situations. Coupled with the absence of a Kage-level expert, participating in battles of ten thousand people, the death rate would inevitably increase little by little.
It wouldn't matter if ordinary clansmen died and their bodies vanished, but the problem was that out of the thirteen Sharingan-wielding clansmen who died, the bodies of three of them were inexplicably missing.
Not even the most basic remains were left; their bones were completely gone.
If they had been killed by enemies using Fire Release, Lightning Style, or other ninjutsu, leaving no remains, that would be understandable. But Fugaku worried that someone was secretly coveting the Uchiha clan's Kekkei Genkai.
This wasn't a baseless paranoia. Kaedemilar incidents were frequent, both in the Warring States Period and the ninja village era. As clan head, Fugaku had to ensure that the Uchiha's noble bloodline would not leak out and needed to pay close attention to the death of every clansman who had awakened the Sharingan.
Uchiha Setsuna said coldly, "There's no need to doubt. Someone is definitely targeting us in secret. Orochimaru has the capability, and Danzo has the motive. If these two are working closely, secretly taking clansmen's remains for research is a very normal thing. And there's Tsukasa Kaede; he even has the ability to make the remains disappear on their own."
"Stop talking about groundless rumors. We can't make such baseless conjectures simply because his Corpse Release has that ability."
Fugaku interrupted, "I've observed the scenes where he manipulates bodies to fight. He didn't have the opportunity to modify our deceased clansmen, let alone transport their remains away from a battlefield of that scale, past so many eyes. He is not from the Hokage Faction; he is not our political enemy."
Fugaku had also suspected this point, but there was no evidence, and he couldn't think of a reason why Tsukasa Kaede would do such a thing.
He said, "It's simple to verify this. There will certainly be many opportunities to fight alongside Tsukasa Kaede in the future. Just pay more attention to the living corpses he controls. If any living corpse fights using the power of the Sharingan and employs jutsu with our clan's characteristics, our clansmen will immediately recognize it."
At this moment, Uchiha Yashiro, Captain of the Konoha Military Police Force, returned to report: "Clan Head, we encountered an enemy attack while patrolling southwest of the village. I led my squad in pursuit of the enemy, but Uchiha Yuto disappeared in the Konoha forest. I have already contacted the patrol team, and they are searching for him everywhere."
"Damn it, who is it? If it's an enemy, why were they discovered so easily after managing to infiltrate the village? If Danzo did this, it's too insane. What exactly is he trying to do?!"
Fugaku couldn't believe his ears, smashing the table in front of him in anger.
Uchiha Yuto was a Three-Tomoe Sharingan user. Although his strength wasn't overwhelmingly powerful, he was at least a Special Jōnin. With a few more years of cultivation, he would be fully capable of becoming a Jōnin, a core strength of the Uchiha clan.
But Yuto, with his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, was missing? If you count carefully, among the previous three and Yuto, three were Three-Tomoe Sharingan users, and one was a One-Tomoe Sharingan user.
Was it a coincidence? Did Three-Tomoe Sharingan clansmen charge too recklessly due to overconfidence, leading to their tragic deaths? Fugaku's blood pressure soared. He felt that someone within the village was targeting his clan, but he couldn't find any evidence. Moreover, the act of luring and killing Yuto was too abstract, making Fugaku even more suspicious, thinking that even if Danzo, the Shadow of the Leaf, had made a move, he wouldn't handle things so sloppily.
The Uchiha clan could only report this matter to the Hokage, announcing to the clan that enemies had intensified their intelligence gathering on the Hidden Leaf Village, requiring clansmen to heighten their vigilance, never be alone, and give the enemy no opportunity.
In reality, however, this matter was indeed Danzo's doing.
Root Base.
Ryoma's emotional fluctuations were usually very low, but seeing Uchiha Yuto's body with his own eyes, and then looking at Terai, whose blade still bore fresh blood, his eye muscles eventually twitched.
"Lord Danzo, the war has ended. The best opportunity to make a move has passed. Why are you still taking the risk to kill Uchiha clansmen? Are you planning to reduce this clan's population base?" Ryoma asked.
"No, it's not like that."
Danzo emerged from the darkness, already dressed in his combat attire, which puzzled Ryoma even further.
"Lord Danzo, are you... going to battle?"
Even during the Second Great Ninja War, Danzo only participated in the early stages, mainly responsible for the war in the Land of Rain. At that time, the Hidden Leaf Village first used the Land of Rain as a third-party battlefield, fighting against forces from Sunagakure and Iwagakure.
Nagato's parents were killed by Konoha ninja during that period, a deeply painful memory for Nagato.
After that, Hanzo the Salamander's patience ran out, and he simultaneously declared war on Konoha, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure, personally engaging these invaders in the Land of Rain. After defeating the Three Sannin and solidifying his reputation, he decisively announced his withdrawal from the Second Great Ninja War, and only then did the Land of Rain experience a brief and fragile peace.
Ryoma knew that it was at that time that Danzo and Hanzo established a secret connection, exchanging intelligence privately.
Danzo tightened his cuffs and said coldly, "This old man needs to confirm some things. I must go to the Land of Rain myself."
"Because of Hanzo the Salamander?"
"Because of Jiraiya, and also because of Tsukasa Kaede. According to the intel provided by Hanzo, Jiraiya's whereabouts have constantly changed, clearly trying to evade detection with those three young ninja. This old man needs to go to the Land of Rain to see what exactly Jiraiya and Tsukasa Kaede encountered and what happened there!"