Hmm!
Shisui felt his vision go completely black. Even though he had tried hard to widen his eyes, there was nothing in his sight, no objects, no scenery.
Yet, he instinctively realized that he had crossed the line between life and death.
"You're awake?"
Kagetsu crouched down beside Shisui, looking into his eyes, observing not just his gaze but also the subtle expressions on his face.
"Did I survive?"
As soon as Shisui heard footsteps, his body tensed instinctively.
Though his physical condition wasn't great, he could tell he had regained a fair amount of strength.
The burden and pain from forcibly using the Mangekyō Sharingan were still there, but it was now within tolerable limits.
Even though he couldn't see, having lost both his Mangekyō Sharingan and his Sharingan's power, his ninja fundamentals were still intact.
From the rhythm of the footsteps, he recognized the familiar pattern. When Kagetsu spoke beside him, he completely relaxed.
"Be careful of Danzo and Madara."
Shisui had just given the warning, but then he suddenly realized that the person's target seemed to be only him. However, the information about Uchiha Madara being alive was something that needed to reach the village.
No one knew what Madara might do to Konoha, especially in the current war! If Madara intended to do something, Konoha didn't have the resources to stop him.
Especially since Danzo's Root seemed to have some connection and cooperation with Madara.
"This is something Orochimaru-sensei should be thinking about," Kagetsu replied, shaking his head after listening to Shisui's slightly urgent explanation.
This small team of theirs hasn't even earned the qualification to attend the higher-ups' meetings yet.
What they can do is report the intelligence from their side to Orochimaru and leave it to him to handle everything.
As the leading candidate for the Fourth Hokage, the attack on Shisui will force the Konoha higher-ups, represented by the Hokage and the Konoha Council, to give more authority to Orochimaru to calm things down.
Especially since it's the tense time of war, Orochimaru is still an essential leader holding the line against Onoki and the Jinchuriki on the Iwagakure front.
The Konoha Council isn't worried about Orochimaru's loyalty to Konoha, but they can't ignore his emotions either.
Orochimaru's recent thoughts are filled with research on the Hogyoku, showing a clear disinterest in the war achievements and even the Hokage position, which he no longer mentions at all.
However, Kagetsu believes Orochimaru won't let this opportunity slip by. He might even allocate some funds to the Technology Development Department.
Research always requires money.
Orochimaru has now turned his attention to the war funds.
…
"Is Tobi dead?"
In the dim underground space, Madara's body was connected to tubes that hung from a massive being, with life energy flowing through them, keeping his aging body alive and preventing his life from extinguishing.
"It's uncertain, Lord Madara. Uchiha Shisui used summoning jutsu to summon Tobi along with the Wooden Golem technique.
I waited there for a day, but I didn't see Tobi reappear. I also can't sense him. He must have been summoned to a space outside of the ninja world."
Black Zetsu spoke cautiously, reporting.
At the moment, they really couldn't confirm whether Tobi was alive or dead.
"What a pity."
Madara didn't care about the death of a White Zetsu. After all, in his view, all the White Zetsu were created to sacrifice themselves for him.
But as a unique individual among the White Zetsu, Madara had still poured quite a bit of his attention into Tobi. His disappearance caused Madara a momentary pain in his heart.
Now, trying to use the Gedo Statue's power to create another Tobi, he was somewhat struggling. After all, his Rinnegan had already been transplanted into Nagato, which greatly reduced his control over the Gedo statue.
To use it, he would need to expend more power. Yet, his current body was frail and weak to the extreme, and it was a miracle that he was still alive.
"The two test subjects sent from Root, one of them was possessed by Tobi and disappeared. Danzo is probably not pleased."
"But there's still one alive, isn't there? Some loss in the experiment is expected. Don't worry about his opinion."
Although Madara's tone was weak, he didn't care about Zetsu's words. His disdain and disregard for Danzo, the infamous leader of Konoha's Root, were clear.
The current shinobi world was becoming more and more tiresome and frustrating for him. The so-called Five Kage were never even in his eyes.
"What a pity, a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan…"
But regarding the disappearance of Uchiha Shisui, Madara's tone carried a hint of regret. At least this Uchiha, who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, was someone he could still give a high regard to.
Especially under Zetsu's portrayal, Shisui had no Eternal Mangekyō, yet he was already able to activate Susanoo to its final stage.
This talent was enough, even during the Warring States period when he and Hashirama were active, to qualify for a battle against them.
However, since it wasn't an Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, and he had already pushed Susanoo to its final stage, combined with his previous battle with Hanzo, the loss and consumption of his ocular power had doomed Shisui to lose his sight, even if he survived.
It was just like what happened to Madara himself.
Unless he received another Mangekyō Sharingan, one with a similar bloodline to his own, and awakened the Eternal Mangekyō, his strength would be sealed along with his blindness.
...
"Danzo!"
"Jiraiya!"
"You've had enough!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen slammed the smoking pipe on the desk, loudly scolding the two people arguing in his office.
"My love and contribution to Konoha are not something you can question! The one who should reflect is you! Jiraiya!"
Danzo slammed his cane heavily on the ground, his face dark and terrifying. "You should be on the battlefield! Not running back here because of an Uchiha to file complaints! You've let a baseless, unverified rumor make you lose your composure like this. You're unfit for the job!"
"Yahiko wouldn't lie to me!" Jiraiya glared at Danzo.
"A mere brat from the Land of Rain! He doesn't even dare to come back to Konoha to be questioned!" Danzo coldly snorted.
Inside, he was extremely angry. By the timeline, the Root members he had sent should've already brought back some intelligence. But no such reports had arrived.
Moreover, Jiraiya had exposed the collaboration between Root and the external forces during his report, which clearly meant something had gone wrong.
This deeply displeased Danzo.
Uchiha Madara?
Hmph!
If it weren't for Wood Release!
****
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