In a dim underground chamber, Sai knelt before Danzō, reporting everything that had happened at Tenchi Bridge.
As he listened, Danzō's perpetually stiff, corpse-like face finally cracked.
"What!? Uchiha Kaito is back again? And he's awakened the Mangekyō too!?"
Without lifting his head, Sai replied in a low voice,
"Yes."
"Damn it… the Uchiha. And this Uchiha Kaito… if he didn't die back then, why didn't he return to the village?"
Sai kept his head lowered. He didn't know the details of the past, so he couldn't answer.
Not that Danzō expected him to. His words were more like muttering to himself,
"So, Uchiha Kaito has awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan… well, that figures. He was considered a genius even among the Uchiha back then."
When he thought of the Mangekyō, greed flickered in Danzō's eyes. He understood its terrifying power even better than most of the Uchiha themselves.
Those eyes held limitless potential, capable of producing all sorts of incredible dōjutsu.
His own right eye was transplanted from Shisui's Mangekyō. Even without mentioning Kotoamatsukami—that broken, godlike jutsu—the sheer power stored within a single Mangekyō was already enough to astonish Danzō.
And that was only one Mangekyō!
Of course, if he had two, he doubted he could even handle them. After all, he wasn't an Uchiha. If not for the Hashirama cells implanted in his body, even a three-tomoe Sharingan might have been too much for him.
Kakashi's case was proof enough of that. His natural chakra reserves were already outstanding for a jōnin, but after receiving Obito's Sharingan, he'd practically turned into the "incomplete guy."
When he first tried using Kamui, he nearly hospitalized himself outright.
In fact, Kakashi was still lying in the hospital now, thanks to overusing Kamui.
After a moment of silence, Danzō asked again,
"Did Uchiha Kaito use any Mangekyō techniques? What sort of ability did he show?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't see him use any jutsu. He merely glanced at the berserk Naruto, and Naruto calmed down immediately."
"Is that so? Hmph… the Sharingan does have a natural restraining effect on tailed beasts. For Kaito to do that isn't too surprising. Still… the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki being so close to him is dangerous!"
To Danzō, if Kaito managed to control the Nine-Tails, it would spell disaster for Konoha—far worse than the Nine-Tails' Rampage years ago.
As he recalled the beast's destructive power, his face grew even darker. At that moment, Sai suddenly spoke up,
"Danzō-sama, I'd like to remain in Team 7."
"Hm?"
Danzō glanced at him in surprise. To him, Sai had always been nothing but a machine for carrying out orders, without a trace of personal will. A subordinate requesting something of his own accord—this was unheard of.
Beneath his bandages, Danzō's Mangekyō began to turn, checking whether Sai had been placed under Kaito's control.
Unaware of this scrutiny, Sai continued,
"Please grant me your approval, Danzō-sama."
When he confirmed that Sai was not under genjutsu, Danzō reached his conclusion: if Sai was acting out of character, it meant only one thing—he was growing disloyal.
Normally, Danzō would eliminate such subordinates on the spot. But Sai still had his uses.
Looking down at the kneeling figure, Danzō said coldly,
"So, you want to break away from Root? Do you have a death wish?"
Sai remained silent. He had already resolved himself before coming here.
On Earth, there was a saying:
"I can endure the darkness, as long as I've never seen the light."
But Naruto was Sai's light now—and he could no longer endure life in Root.
Danzō sneered.
"So you've made your choice. Very well, then—leave."
Sai's head snapped up, his face filled with shock and disbelief.
But Danzō turned his back, saying lightly,
"I'll allow it, but you must do one last thing for me. Uchiha Kaito has returned. As a member of Team 7, you'll have the chance to get close to him. Find out what his Mangekyō ability is. Understood?"
Sai instinctively wanted to resist, but before he could speak, Danzō activated the Curse Tongue Eradication Seal planted on him.
A wave of paralysis and agony struck him, dropping him to the floor.
Danzō walked deeper into the shadows, leaving only a cold order behind,
"This is your last chance. Think it over carefully."
...
On the streets of Konoha—
Kaito walked in front, with Sakura and Naruto following closely behind. Both of their expressions looked a little uneasy.
Naruto, carrying the unconscious Sasuke on his back, edged closer to Kaito and whispered behind his hand,
"Kaito-senpai, those two guards at the gate… they're not dead, right?"
Kaito gave him a sidelong glance and said flatly,
"Why? Planning to lecture me on their behalf?"
"N-no, nothing like that! I just don't want things to get messy if you went too far..."
"They're fine. Just unconscious."
Waving dismissively, Kaito kept walking forward.
Earlier, as they entered Konoha, the two chūnin on gate duty had blocked his path.
To them, Kaito's unfamiliar face—and his long, snowy-white hair—looked anything but ordinary.
Yamato had tried to step in and explain, but he was a step too late.
A red gleam flashed in Kaito's eyes, and both gatekeepers instantly rolled their eyes back, collapsing unconscious.
Without hesitation, Kaito stepped over their bodies and led the way into the village.
The sight had rattled Yamato badly. To prevent the situation from spiraling, he had already rushed off to report to Tsunade.
Now, passersby on the street couldn't help but stare at the unfamiliar figure leading the group. Some curious voices began to whisper:
"Hey, look at his back—that symbol looks really familiar."
"You idiot, that's the Uchiha clan crest!"
"Uchiha? But weren't they wiped out? Even Sasuke's whereabouts are unknown!"
"Who knows… but that's not a symbol you'd wear as decoration. That guy's probably a real Uchiha."
A few young kunoichi were already swooning.
"He must be Uchiha! Look at his face—he's so handsome!"
"Right? I saw Sasuke back in the Academy, and he was already good-looking. But this guy… he's way beyond Sasuke!"
"Wait… isn't that Naruto over there? And the person on his back… that looks like Sasuke, doesn't it...?"