Before a storm, the sea is always deceptively calm.
Just like Konoha at this moment.
...
At this time, inside a dim basement.
An old man, with bandages wrapped around half his head and one arm, sat in an old wicker chair, resting with his eye closed.
He seemed to be waiting silently for something.
Just then,
A figure walked quickly in from outside the door, then knelt on one knee, bowed his head, and spoke in a very respectful, low voice:
"Danzo-sama,"
"Uchiha Itachi has decided to act tonight."
This old man was none other than the leader of "Root" within Konoha, Konoha's strongest Kage of conspiracy—Shimura Danzo.
As the figure's words fell,
Danzo's eyes slowly narrowed. After a moment, he said:
"Understood."
"Withdraw. Continue surveillance and report back at any time."
"—Yes!"
The figure quickly retreated, closing the basement door behind him.
But just a moment later,
In the air within the basement, a vortex-like Chakra signature suddenly appeared, and then a figure materialized out of thin air from the spiral.
He wore a loose black robe and a single-eyed orange spiral mask.
It was none other than Akatsuki's mysterious masked man.
"Well, well..."
"Shimura Danzo, you're unexpectedly... quite calm."
The moment he appeared,
The masked man spoke with a low laugh.
Danzo looked up, his gaze cold as if he had anticipated this, and said flatly:
"The very existence of the Uchiha Clan is the greatest hidden danger to Konoha today."
"Eliminating them is a necessary procedure."
"Everything I do is for the sake of Konoha."
As he spoke, Danzo stood up from the wicker chair, stared intently at the masked man, and continued:
"And besides, aren't you the same..."
"Regarding this operation to annihilate your own clan tonight, you now seem equally remarkably calm—"
"Uchiha Madara."
Danzo uttered the name almost word by word.
The masked man, upon hearing this, seemed to show no emotional fluctuation whatsoever, instead continuing to laugh lowly:
"Oh—for the sake of Konoha, is it?"
"That truly is an admirable and noble character..."
"Well then,"
"As for this clan you so detest,"
"You wouldn't need their Sharingan eyes either, would you?"
The masked man stared at Danzo, speaking these words in his low, ambiguous tone.
"..."
As his words fell,
Danzo's aged face stiffened instantly.
He never expected that in the middle of their conversation, this bastard masked man would suddenly steer the topic here...
'What did he mean by that?'
'Saying I don't need the Sharingan???'
'Was this guy suddenly thinking of hogging them all for himself?!'
'Although I dislike the Uchiha Clan, I never said I didn't want their Kekkei Genkai?!'
"Hmph!"
Danzo immediately snorted coldly, feigning anger as he narrowed his eye and said indignantly:
"Madara, are you trying to go back on our previous agreement?!"
The reason Danzo wanted to annihilate the Uchiha Clan,
Apart from those superficial justifications of Konoha's greater good, naturally also harbored some selfish motives.
That was... the Sharingan.
The exclusive Kekkei Genkai of the Uchiha Clan,
Possessing a power so strong it drove the entire Shinobi World crazy.
And Danzo had first truly felt its power because of one forbidden technique.
Izanagi.
A forbidden Genjutsu capable of freely switching between dream and reality.
The moment it was activated, within an extremely brief period, it could convert all disadvantageous factors the user suffered, including injury and even death, into a dream. Simultaneously, it would convert all actions advantageous to the user, such as attacks, into reality!
If used properly, one could perfectly avoid any form of death!
It could be called the power of immortality!
However,
Although this technique was very powerful, its cost was also enormous.
Once Izanagi was used, that eye would permanently lose its light and could never use any technique again.
For this very reason, it was classified as a forbidden technique by the Uchiha Clan.
But now, things were different.
Once the Uchiha Clan was annihilated, Danzo would be able to obtain a large number of Sharingan!
From then on, he would fundamentally no longer need to worry about the cost of losing light; he could repeatedly use Izanagi!
This meant he would become an absolute 'immortal being'.
And this,
Was Danzo's selfish motive for insisting on annihilating the Uchiha.
For the sake of Konoha was true.
For the sake of the Sharingan was equally true.
"..."
Seeing Danzo display such an agitated expression, the masked man couldn't help but sneer inwardly.
He naturally knew Danzo's real purpose.
Because,
His own purpose was almost the same.
"Rest assured, Shimura Danzo."
"Our agreement is still in effect, for now."
"After the operation is complete, I will give you the share you deserve."
The masked man said in a low voice.
Then, covering his right eye with his hand, he activated Kamui, gradually disappearing into the dark vortex.
The operation,
Was about to begin.