"True... Eye of the King?"
Itachi's breathing momentarily faltered as he repeated the words in disbelief.
Juzo didn't seem to notice his surprise, just nodded and continued walking, still speaking in a casual tone:
"That's right."
"I heard it from Kakuzu too."
"You must have noticed his golden pupils, right?"
"It's said that when he uses his Dojutsu, white flames-like currents appear burning within his pupils."
"Then, he can freely release various elemental techniques, even Genjutsu, without hand seals."
"As for the power—"
"Let me put it this way, both Kakuzu and Orochimaru have lost to these eyes, almost powerless to fight back."
"...?!"
Itachi's pupils slightly constricted.
Undoubtedly, Juzo's words did surprise him somewhat.
He didn't expect that in the Akatsuki, besides the leader Pain who possessed the Rinnegan, there was actually another Dojutsu user!
'And... the burning pupils of the golden eyes?'
'Never heard of it...'
'What is this?'
'A completely new, unknown Kekkei Genkai?!'
"..."
Itachi was silent, his expression unexpectedly grave.
While following Juzo forward, his mind was racing with thoughts.
It seemed that in the future...
Among the Akatsuki, he would have one more person to closely monitor.
As a spy from Konoha,
Itachi suddenly felt the burden on his shoulders become even heavier.
...
In the blink of an eye.
Night fell.
Outside Amegakure, in the distant Land of Fire's Konoha,
The moon was bright, stars were few, crows flew south.
Konoha Village, which had just experienced the Uchiha Clan annihilation incident not long ago, seemed as if nothing had happened at all.
Except for the absence of patrols by the Uchiha Police Force's members, everything was as usual.
Almost everyone tacitly avoided discussing the matter.
Even those who were usually close to the Uchiha Clan now completely avoided talking about it.
Everyone knew,
This incident would undoubtedly become a watershed moment for Konoha.
As for the news of the Uchiha Clan's annihilation,
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, quickly ordered the entire village to be sealed off to prevent information from leaking.
This move confused and dissatisfied many civilians and merchants.
But Konoha's Shinobi all understood its meaning.
The extinction of the Uchiha Clan could be said to have instantly left Konoha badly weakened.
At this moment, once the news leaked, Konoha would likely be attacked by various hostile forces looking to take advantage of the situation.
Such things had happened countless times in the past.
For example, after the Nine-Tails Rampage, Konoha was attacked by those taking advantage of the chaos.
Therefore this time,
Hiruzen's speed of action and lockdown intensity were strengthened like never before.
Although Konoha seemed unchanged on the surface,
It was constantly shrouded in an atmosphere of solemn killing intent.
At this moment,
In an ordinary teahouse,
The Root's leader, Shimura Danzo was sitting face to face with an elderly woman, drinking some unknown tea.
The old woman raised her teacup and said quietly:
"Danzo, how is your health?"
"My visit today shouldn't affect your rest, should it?"
"...No major issues."
Hearing this, Danzo just said flatly, also raising his cup for a sip.
The old woman before him was naturally one of Konoha's two advisors, Utatane Koharu.
Back in the day, she, along with Danzo, Hiruzen, Mitokado Homura, Uchiha Kagami, and Akimichi Torifu, were all six disciples of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.
However, after the Second Hokage passed away,
Hiruzen, following Tobirama's orders, succeeded as the Third Hokage, leading Konoha, while Kagami and Torifu, unwilling to contend for power, voluntarily withdrew from the leadership.
The remaining three naturally became the advisors, Homura and Koharu, and Konoha's Root leader, Danzo.
Although their interactions were not as close as before,
They were still old friends.
Upon learning that Danzo had suddenly coughed up blood yesterday, Koharu immediately took time to visit him.
As a result, when she saw Danzo,
Koharu immediately discovered that this guy seemed to have aged another ten years overnight, his complexion very pale and haggard.
As if he had suffered some great blow recently...
After hesitating for a moment,
Koharu couldn't suppress her curiosity and asked:
"What... exactly happened last night?"
"What could have agitated you, who is always so calm and steady, to this state?"
Koharu's expression was gloomy.
She certainly knew about the Uchiha Clan annihilation incident, after all, she was considered one of the behind-the-scenes promoters.
However, she vaguely felt that something must have gone wrong in the middle, causing this originally very healthy Danzo to suddenly become so listless.
Hearing this,
Danzo slightly raised his eyes to look over, then raised his hand and waved it lightly, saying nothing.
He naturally didn't want to mention it anymore.
After all that painstaking planning,
Finally successfully facilitating the Uchiha Clan annihilation, only to end up... not getting a single Sharingan in the end!
This often made Danzo feel as if he had been fed shit, extremely uncomfortable!
If he ever saw that masked man again, he would definitely confront him face to face!
And by the way, use some means to snatch back all the Sharingan in that guy's possession!
Danzo slightly lowered his eye.
A fierce look quickly flashed in his pupil.
But just then,
Suddenly, a sudden change occurred!
A black vortex appeared out of thin air in the corner of the teahouse!
Immediately after, a low and angry voice suddenly sounded from within:
"Shimura... Danzo!"
"Ready to face the wrath of me, Uchiha Madara...?!"
"!!"