Mitsuro stared at Daiki's unconscious body.
Anger and confusion gripped him for a moment.
Without looking at Gekko Hayate, he said, "You continue the exam. I'll take the Takigakure ninja to the hospital."
He then scooped up Daiki and vanished with a Shunshin.
None of the Konoha Jonin stopped him; they reasoned that Mitsuro must be the most shaken up, and at the same time, the most entitled to deal with the young ninja—he was an Uchiha himself, after all.
..
The Third Hokage sighed deeply.
An unexpected event had unfolded right before his eyes.
The good news: Orochimaru hadn't coveted or targeted Sasuke.
The bad news: the one he'd placed the Cursed Seal on was an Uchiha from another village.
This was far more dangerous; it wasn't something they could simply overlook.
The Uchiha clan was one of Konoha's oldest, a symbol of the village since its founding. Their bloodline and Kekkei Genkai were classified, top-secret village assets, and they had never been seen outside of Konoha—until now.
A young ninja from Takigakure had just shown signs of Uchiha blood. This discovery was not just a diplomatic threat; it could jeopardize Konoha's security.
If Orochimaru could find an Uchiha outside Konoha, then who else knew about the survival of the clan outside the village? How many others with Uchiha roots were secretly living in other villages?
The Hokage turned to an Anbu and commanded, "Summon Danzō and the two Elders to my office. We must discuss a critical matter."
He had to act immediately. They needed to review the Uchiha documents and gather intelligence on Takigakure's internal situation.
..
Mitsuro knew perfectly well that if he did nothing,
things wouldn't go well for him. He suspected that now that Daiki was exposed, Danzō's operatives would infiltrate Takigakure and ultimately destroy everything he had built. He couldn't allow Konoha the time to even look in that direction.
Shibuki, who had just arrived at Daiki's bedside, glanced sideways at Mitsuro. He was still afraid to speak, thinking they were probably being monitored.
Mitsuro rose from the bedside and walked past Shibuki. He calmly exited the room, closing the door behind him.
That, of course, was what anyone observing would see. The truth was, in one short moment, he had slipped a message to Shibuki.
..
Outside the ward where Daiki was admitted, Sasuke waited for Mitsuro.
He hadn't been allowed inside. The entire area was monitored by several Anbu. Sasuke frowned deeply upon seeing Mitsuro.
They hadn't spoken in a long time.
Mitsuro ignored him and started to walk past. Sasuke spoke up loudly, "I thought you and I were the only Uchiha left..."
Mitsuro stopped and said, "You forgot about Itachi too easily!"
Hearing Itachi's name filled Sasuke with rage. "Is he why you've ignored me all this time?"
Mitsuro turned back and looked at Sasuke. "Ignored you? Tell me, what exactly was I supposed to do?"
Sasuke was taken aback.
Mitsuro sighed. "Sasuke, tell me what you expected of me? To take you into my arms and comfort you because you were the clan leader's son? To tell you it's okay that your brother did this to our clan?"
Sasuke said with cold anger, "You know that's not what I meant..."
Mitsuro cut him off. "Sasuke... I didn't ignore you... I just think you're too weak to take revenge on your brother!"
Sasuke was shocked for a moment, then rage overtook him. "You!"
He lunged toward Mitsuro.
Mitsuro grabbed Sasuke's collar, slammed him to the ground, and held his head down. "Kid! This spectacle just proves I'm right! If you truly want to prove me wrong, the first step is to cool your rage! Rage that's shouted without thought is like a flame that quickly fades... Rage that's coupled with cold blood and strategy swallows the enemy whole! If you truly want to bring justice for our clan, first learn to become strong!"
He then released Sasuke and shoved him forward. "Don't think that just because another Uchiha exists... your brother's burden of guilt is lessened... If you truly want to bring justice for our clan, first learn to become strong."
"You tell me I need to become strong and avenge our clan! But I don't see you going after Itachi either!"
Mitsuro glanced at Sasuke. "I admit I'm too weak to kill Itachi! But rest assured, unlike you, if I ever get the chance, I won't let your brother live... Besides, that's your duty! You're the son of our clan's former head, after all! I'm just a pawn."
He then left Sasuke alone.
..
He saw Kakashi behind the wall. "You're being too hard on him,"
Kakashi said.
Mitsuro looked at Kakashi. "I think you're being too easy on him, Kakashi-san... Sasuke's duty is to kill the traitor... If you truly care about him, you shouldn't take his goal away! Instead, you should train him well... Besides, the Third Exam isn't something Sasuke can handle with this skill level."
He then walked away.
Kakashi sighed and then went toward Sasuke. "Sasuke."
Sasuke replied, "Kakashi."
Kakashi said with a calm gaze, "Pack your things. We're going on a trip tomorrow."
"What?"
"I want to train you during this one month until the Third Exam."
..
Orochimaru was leaning against a pillar. "Kabuto, I really didn't expect something this interesting to escape your notice."
"Forgive me, Orochimaru-sama. All my attention was focused on Sasuke. I didn't think there would be another one."
Orochimaru looked into the distance and said, "I didn't think so either, but it's truly fascinating. When he faced me, I kept wondering why he was interfering with my work... But once I discovered his identity, everything became clear."
He turned and looked at Kabuto. "But do you know what the most interesting thing about him was?"
Kabuto stared at Orochimaru.
Orochimaru answered his own question with a sneer. "He fought like an Uchiha. It doesn't matter how much one is of a bloodline; without proper training, you can't use it, and that boy was using it."
Kabuto seemed to understand Orochimaru's implication. "So you mean someone trained him?" "Yes. He definitely has a master—a master who is either an Uchiha themselves or at least knows Uchiha techniques."
Kabuto held his hand to his face. "This could disrupt our plans."
Orochimaru sneered. "No, no plans are disrupted. I still want to kill the old man and start a war. I've just found myself a bigger prize than I thought."
..
When Shibuki returned to his room,
he carefully opened the message Mitsuro had given him.
The sentence was very short:
"To Karin... Tonight at eleven PM... Operation begin."