Chapter 34: The Fall of a Genius
All of Uchiha Keisuke's thoughts occurred in just an instant. But before he could even execute the first step—throwing the kunai attached to steel wires—
In a flash, his entire vision turned white.
Rumble!
Lightning danced like a roaming dragon, surging and cracking through the mist-filled trap pit.
Uchiha Keisuke, caught in the center of it, had no time to react.
In the face of such light-speed attacks, all he could do was instinctively channel chakra to protect his vital points.
But this reflexive chakra defense did little.
The terrifying current pierced through his body, and the intense heat instantly vaporized the moisture in his outer skin cells, carbonizing them into a blackened, tar-like crust.
At the same time, the high-voltage shock struck his brain. Even with chakra protection, Keisuke couldn't endure it—his mind was crushed as though a mountain had fallen upon him. His Sharingan, wide open, shimmered with unwillingness and disbelief.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
"How can a Lightning Style attack be this powerful?!"
"Wait… that's… iron dust!"
"Damn it!"
In the final moment, Keisuke noticed the faintly glimmering particles in the air—he realized what they were. They were iron filings—shrapnel from the earlier kunai explosions.
These metal fragments had mixed into the mist, enhancing what had been a basic B-rank Lightning Style: Ground Walk into an A+ level thunder jutsu.
Taking a direct hit from an A+ level lightning technique without proper defenses—Keisuke knew he was done.
It was obvious. The enemy not only knew he was Uchiha, but also knew that his strongest suit, as a genius of the Uchiha clan, was Water Style ninjutsu.
This ambush was built on the prediction that he would instinctively use Water Style to respond in a crisis. From there, they had designed a plan: kunai explosions producing shrapnel, shrapnel mixed with mist, then a lightning attack that would be vastly amplified.
The enemy knew him too well—whether it was using the mist to suppress his Sharingan's visual acuity, or choosing an instant-cast, high-speed lightning jutsu to prevent any reaction, every step directly countered his strengths.
Such a perfectly tailored tactical strike couldn't have come from Kumogakure ninja alone.
After all, during his mission in the Land of Lightning, Keisuke had never once revealed his fighting style.
He was convinced—this ambush wasn't the work of enemy village shinobi.
Though he was a well-known Uchiha genius, he had never attended the ninja academy. He had been raised entirely within the Uchiha clan, trained as a clan ninja.
Given how few Uchiha even took public missions, and that he had never officially represented Konoha, the chances of his information being exposed were nearly zero.
Let alone a detailed, customized strategy like this.
Keisuke was certain—besides his own clan, only Konoha's high-ranking officials, who had long been targeting the Uchiha, could've obtained such detailed intelligence on him.
And they definitely knew far more than outsiders.
Only they could have crafted such a precise assassination plan.
At this realization, Keisuke was furious.
But in ninja battles, one misstep could mean total defeat. And he hadn't just made one—he had been exposed completely. There was no shame in losing.
Still filled with unwillingness and the fury of understanding, Uchiha Keisuke finally lost consciousness.
Thud!
His scorched body dropped from the air and slammed onto the equally charred ground.
By now, all the mist in the trap had vanished—the intense heat of the lightning had evaporated it completely.
Step.
Suddenly, a figure dropped from above and landed beside the blackened corpse of Uchiha Keisuke.
"Such dangerous eyes…"
Though Keisuke's body was charred, his eyes were still wide open—untouched. His three-tomoe Sharingan still glowed ominously with crimson light, showcasing their terrible power.
Danzo couldn't help but sigh in awe, his eyes filled with burning desire.
As someone who had witnessed Uchiha Madara's might and experienced the Mangekyō Sharingan of Uchiha Kagami up close, Danzo knew just how terrifying the Sharingan was.
In his view, the two most powerful forces in this world were Hashirama's Wood Release and the Uchiha's Sharingan.
And now, with the Wood Release revival project as good as dead, the Sharingan… would be his.
Danzo crouched down and pulled a small vial from his robe. It was filled with nutrient fluid, perfect for preserving the Sharingan's vitality for long periods.
With his own hands, Danzo gouged out Uchiha Keisuke's eyes and placed them into the vial.
Staring at the twin three-tomoe Sharingan floating in the transparent liquid, Danzo felt completely at ease.
"With these eyes, I can finally cast that jutsu—the one that alters reality itself."
Thinking of the fearsome forbidden technique tied to the Uchiha's Sharingan, Danzo's heart blazed. He could hardly wait to implant them.
But the Sharingan wasn't something one could control so easily.
He'd have to return and plan carefully.
"Dispose of him."
Danzo stored the vial and gave the order to eliminate the body.
This was the border. Though they had ensured the patrol team was far from this location, one could never be too cautious.
The best solution was to disappear quickly.
Keisuke wasn't dead yet, but completely incapacitated, he may as well have been.
Among the four-man Root squad accompanying Danzo was a member of the Aburame clan—specializing in highly corrosive venomous insects, perfect for body disposal.
Under the influence of these insects, Uchiha Keisuke quickly died. His body melted into a pool of pus.
One final Fire Style jutsu turned the residue to ash. Even if ninja came later, they would find no usable clues.
And so, Uchiha Keisuke—the Uchiha clan's genius—fell.
The entire assassination had taken less than ten seconds.
Yes, even counting the time Danzo spent harvesting the eyes, it hadn't taken ten seconds.
In the world of ninja combat, power was essential—but intel was equally critical.
Soon after, Danzo and his squad crossed the border canyon and headed toward the Land of Lightning.
Shortly after their departure, Konoha's border patrol, having detected intense chakra activity, arrived.
But all they found were ashes and a clearly cleaned-up battleground—no useful intel.
They knew someone had died, but not who.
However, they did learn that the perpetrator had escaped across the border.
A three-man pursuit team was dispatched.
Someone had been killed within the Land of Fire—it was obviously a matter that concerned Konoha. They had to find out who the intruder was.
Following faint traces, the team tracked the killer to the Land of Lightning's border—then stopped.
They didn't need to guess. They already believed it was a Kumogakure shinobi.
They returned and filed a report.
Five days later, with the border team's report and additional intel regarding unusual Kumogakure activity, the Third Hokage informed the Uchiha clan that their genius, Uchiha Keisuke, had failed and died during his mission.
Two days later, Danzo and his Root squad returned to Konoha—silently, unnoticed.
No one knew they had ever left.
(END CHAPTER)
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