"Go on, tell me—where did you find this Uchiha?"
Having vented his anger, Danzō finally had the patience to hear Takeshi explain himself.
By this time, under Danzō's signal, Yamato had already led Nanashi to the backyard to look at the small hut built entirely with Wood Release.
From structure to style, it was completed by Yamato alone.
Even the furniture inside was made with Wood Release.
"How did you know she was an Uchiha?"
Takeshi thought to himself that he hadn't even introduced her identity yet—so how did his old man already know so clearly?
"Hmph, I'm not so old that I can't recognize what an Uchiha looks like."
Danzō let out a cold snort. He had no intention of explaining further and instead urged Takeshi to speak.
Receiving no answer, Takeshi had no choice but to recount the entire sequence of events truthfully.
After hearing everything, Danzō fell into silence. He stood stiffly in the courtyard, his single eye half-closed, lost in thought.
After a long while, Danzō finally spoke faintly:
"Uchiha Nanashi… I didn't expect those records to be real. The Uchiha clan's war weapon actually exists, and it was sealed away by the Senju clan together with the Sarutobi clan."
"What are you talking about, old man?"
Hearing Danzō's words, Takeshi asked uncertainly.
What war weapon? What joint sealing? Where did you even see this?
"You've released something you shouldn't have."
Danzō gave Takeshi a sidelong glance, displeased with his reckless behavior.
Fortunately, Nanashi had no intention of rampaging for now, so he still had time to establish enough restrictions.
"Listen carefully, this Nanashi..."
Danzō revealed a secret he had once read. The last time he saw its contents, his teacher Tobirama was still alive. The original record was still stored in the deepest section of Konoha's archives.
"In the era she lived in, Uchiha Madara hadn't even been born yet. The Uchiha clan, using advanced techniques, sealed several ocular powers into the eyes of a young girl who had awakened her Sharingan..."
The story was long—so long that Takeshi forgot to keep holding his swollen cheek.
When he returned to his room, Danzō's voice still echoed in his ears.
Although he had finally learned her identity, Takeshi still rejected Danzō's plan to set up restrictions.
In Takeshi's view, Nanashi wasn't dangerous right now. Besides, the village still had many powerful shinobi—if she really did rampage, they could suppress her quickly.
Moreover, judging from her hatred levels, Nanashi's greatest resentment was still toward the Uchiha clan.
So even if she went berserk, the only ones to get hurt would be Fugaku and his people.
Fugaku: Are you serious?
Thinking about Fugaku's current combat strength, Takeshi figured it was unlikely he'd be killed by Nanashi so quickly.
Meanwhile, inside the Uchiha clan's archive chamber, where he was searching through texts, Fugaku suddenly sneezed. A dangerous feeling spread in his heart.
"That doesn't make sense. I'm in the village—there shouldn't be any danger."
Frowning, he glanced around, not understanding why he felt this way.
...
The next day.
Early in the morning, Hiruzen and Fugaku came to deliver the information they had obtained to Takeshi.
The matter was of grave importance. Both had spent the entire night gathering materials, while Takeshi alone had slept soundly without a care.
The intel they found was exactly the same as Danzō's account: Nanashi was indeed the Uchiha clan's war weapon.
As for why she bore such hatred for her own clan—it was because the Uchiha, in order to refine their weapon, used every possible method, including brainwashing and isolation, to turn her into an emotionless tool.
"Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu—those were ocular techniques transplanted into her eyes through forbidden arts. What Nanashi herself possessed was a terrifying dōjutsu called 'Yachihoko.'"
Yachihoko allowed her to brand marks on others. Through those marks, she could control the target's spirit and chakra regardless of distance.
"Huh? That scary? Then how exactly does one get branded with this mark?"
Hearing she had such a terrifying ability, Takeshi broke into a cold sweat.
Thankfully, he didn't seem to have been marked—otherwise, she would've defeated him back at their very first meeting.
"Not clear. There's no specific record. But I suspect it requires either eye contact or physical touch."
Fugaku shook his head. The texts didn't state the trigger condition. But judging from his knowledge of the Mangekyō Sharingan, there were only a few likely methods.
"Nani?"
Takeshi's face instantly went pale.
Didn't that mean he might have already been marked by her?
Takeshi: Isobu, Isobu!
Isobu: Hm?
Takeshi: Hurry and check me—did that crazy woman leave some weird mark on me?!
Isobu: ???
Inside his mental space, after Takeshi explained, Isobu finally understood the situation. Annoyed, he turned his head away.
"How would I know? If it were genjutsu, I could help. But this kind of mark—you'll have to ask the caster herself."
As Takeshi was kicked out of his mental space, realizing even Isobu couldn't help him, his face turned grim.
"What's wrong?"
Noticing his disciple's abnormal look, Hiruzen asked with concern.
"If—just if—I were controlled by Nanashi and attacked the Uchiha clan... could you stop me?"
Takeshi asked cautiously.
Now it was Hiruzen and Fugaku's turn for their faces to pale.
Especially Fugaku—he knew Takeshi's strength all too well. They had once fought together during the Third Shinobi World War against Kirigakure forces.
Back then, Takeshi was even younger, yet he had used his Great Combination Ninjutsu of the Five Elements to shatter Kirigakure's encirclement.
If Takeshi, with his current chakra reserves, repeated that inside the Uchiha compound...
"Well... please do your best not to get controlled."
Fugaku's expression was darker than ever.
"I'll try." Takeshi answered, not sounding very confident.
...
That evening.
In the Uchiha compound, Nanashi was once again spotted on top of an electric pole. Takeshi immediately flickered to the rooftop closest to her.
"Still hesitating about making a move? Even though you already promised me you wouldn't attack them."
Seeing that she wasn't crying this time, Takeshi decided to probe her real intentions.
"What if I want to tear up that agreement?"
Nanashi said without turning around, pointing toward a young Uchiha child who had dawdled on the way home and was now late.
"You're not that kind of person. I believe in you."
Takeshi sat down on a relatively clean spot, his gaze following the direction of her finger.
"Believe? And what do you even know about me?"
Nanashi's disdainful voice carried undertones of other emotions.
"I know now. I know which era you come from, what you went through, and why you were sealed away..."