Sasuke secured the Scroll of Seals firmly to his back.
In the next instant, he vanished.
A Body Flicker Technique.
By the time the surrounding Konoha shinobi reacted, he was already gone.
They stared at the empty space where he had stood just seconds ago.
"Move! Split up!" one of them shouted. "Some of you with me—check the Hokage Building!"
Moments later, they rushed back inside—only to find the guards collapsed in the corridors, eyes vacant, trapped in genjutsu.
"Damn it… It's genjutsu."
"He neutralized every guard without raising an alarm…"
"Search the building! Confirm what was taken! And inform Lady Tsunade immediately!"
The Hokage Building housed countless classified documents and forbidden techniques. An intrusion here was no minor offense—it was a direct violation of the village's core security.
But Sasuke had no intention of fleeing Konoha.
Instead of heading toward the gates, he abruptly changed direction.
His destination lay elsewhere.
The underground base of the former Root organization.
Without hesitation, he slipped inside.
The shinobi pursuing him faltered for a split second.
"He ran into the old Root base?"
"Is he insane? That's basically walking into a trap!"
Regardless, they had no choice but to continue the pursuit.
When they entered the base, however, what greeted them wasn't resistance—
—but silence.
Root operatives lay unconscious across the corridors.
"What…?"
"How is that possible? Even if Root was dissolved, their operatives aren't weak!"
"Forget that—keep chasing! He must be after something specific. Otherwise, he wouldn't risk entering here after being exposed!"
They pressed forward.
But Sasuke moved unimpeded.
Mizuki and Jūgo had acted first, clearing the path ahead of him. Following the subtle marks they left behind, Sasuke advanced directly toward the deepest chamber—
The private storage room once used by Shimura Danzō.
He pushed the door open.
Inside, Mizuki and Jūgo stood in silence.
Their expressions were grim.
Sasuke's gaze sharpened.
"…Did you find it?"
The two exchanged a glance.
"You'd better see it yourself, Sasuke."
A faint unease stirred in his chest.
He stepped forward, passing rows of shelves—
—and then he saw it.
An entire wall.
Carved into it were countless compartments.
Inside each compartment—
A single Sharingan.
Pair after pair.
Dozens of them.
In that instant, Sasuke's own Sharingan spun violently to life.
"…Danzō."
His voice was low. Trembling.
The sheer number was sickening.
One or two pairs might have been dismissed as trophies of war.
But this—
This was systematic harvesting.
Nearly every Uchiha who had awakened the Sharingan… their eyes had been taken.
The Uchiha Massacre had never been a tragic accident spiraling out of control.
It had been a calculated purge.
A conspiracy.
A scheme aimed at eradicating the clan while preserving its power for exploitation.
And his brother—
Uchiha Itachi—
had chosen to stand with the village.
Sasuke's fists clenched slowly. Veins bulged across the back of his hands.
He opened a storage scroll.
One by one, he carefully removed the Sharingan from the wall and sealed them inside.
With each eye stored away, the chamber grew emptier—
—but the weight in his chest only grew heavier.
This scroll now carried nearly the entire legacy of the Uchiha clan.
Outside the chamber, the sounds of battle erupted.
Steel clashed.
Ninjutsu detonated in the corridors.
Konoha shinobi had engaged Mizuki and Jūgo.
If this dragged on, reinforcements would arrive in overwhelming numbers.
Sasuke's expression turned icy.
He sealed the final Sharingan and closed the scroll.
Meanwhile—
Far from the underground base—
Konoha shinobi were already racing toward the Valley of the End.
And at the riverbank—
Shigure was still sitting calmly across from Tsunade, as if none of this concerned him at all.
There was clearly more to be said.
Shigure had almost finished speaking—but he had no intention of leaving just yet.
Tsunade couldn't quite grasp what he was planning. And as long as he remained seated there, calm and unreadable, she couldn't simply turn her back and walk away either.
So the conversation dragged on.
Then—
A Konoha shinobi rushed forward from behind, panic written across his face.
"Lady Tsunade—something terrible has happened!"
The sudden shout stunned everyone present.
Tsunade's expression hardened instantly. Even before the shinobi explained, her eyes had already locked onto Shigure.
"…What did you do?"
Shigure smiled faintly.
"I've been sitting right here in front of you the whole time," he said mildly. "What could I possibly have done?"
Tsunade turned sharply to the messenger.
"Report. Now."
The shinobi swallowed.
"The Hokage Building has been breached! Someone broke in and stole the Scroll of Seals!"
The moment those words fell—
Tsunade shot to her feet.
Her chakra flared unconsciously, cracking the ground beneath her sandals.
Her gaze snapped back to Shigure.
"So this was your purpose in coming to Konoha?"
Shigure neither denied it—
nor confirmed it.
He simply continued smiling.
Nara Shikaku stepped forward quickly.
"Lady Tsunade, we should return to the village immediately."
The theft of the Scroll of Seals was no small matter. It contained countless forbidden techniques—kinjutsu that could not be allowed to fall into the wrong hands.
But Shikaku's mind was racing ahead.
Right now, there was no evidence linking Shigure directly to the incident.
And more importantly—
They could not afford to tear relations apart here.
If the culprit was merely a rogue shinobi, Konoha could capture and deal with them accordingly.
But if this escalated into an open confrontation with Kirigakure…
The consequences would be catastrophic.
Tsunade understood that in an instant.
She took a steadying breath and nodded.
"…We're returning to Konoha."
She turned to leave—
"Lady Hokage."
Shigure's voice stopped her.
He coughed lightly, almost politely.
"We're still in the middle of discussions. Is it proper to abandon your guest like this?"
Tsunade froze.
He wasn't going to let her go?
That only deepened her suspicion.
So it really was connected to him.
"There's an emergency in Konoha," she said coldly. "I'm returning immediately. Mizukage, we'll schedule formal negotiations another time."
She took another step—
—but in the next instant, several figures moved.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist blocked the path.
Kisame stepped forward, Samehada resting heavily on his shoulder, his grin sharp and predatory.
"Lord Mizukage hasn't declared the meeting over," he said lazily. "No one leaves."
Behind him, Haku and the others shifted into position, weapons drawn. The intent was unmistakable.
If Konoha forced its way through—
There would be blood.
The Konoha shinobi immediately tensed, hands hovering near their weapons.
The air grew thick with killing intent.
Tsunade's eyes flashed dangerously.
"Mizukage," she said, voice low, "are you trying to detain the Hokage of Konoha?"
Shigure remained seated on his throne of flowing water, posture relaxed, as if the mounting hostility did not concern him in the slightest.
He smiled.
"Detain you? Of course not."
His eyes swept calmly across the gathered shinobi.
"It's simply that I haven't declared the meeting concluded."
His tone remained gentle.
"But before I say it's over—no one leaves."
The river behind him churned softly, as though responding to his will.
And in that quiet moment—
The line between diplomacy and war had never felt thinner.
(End of Chapter)
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