Chapter 239: Script, Actors, Audience—are You All Ready?
Deep in the Konoha Root Base, the coldness and damp air seemed to have solidified.
The flickering torchlight cast distorted, swaying shadows on the rough stone walls, yet it could not dispel the bone-chilling coldness.
Kabuto Yakushi knelt on one knee on the cold ground, head bowed low, reporting to Shimura Danzō who sat solemnly in the shadows.
His voice was steady and clear, devoid of any emotional fluctuations.
“…In summary, the Star Ninja Academy in the Land of Stars currently implements a five-year education system, expanding enrollment each year. The student sources mainly come from domestic war orphans and talented commoner children, and recently it has also absorbed some descendants of ninja clans from the newly annexed territories. Its outstanding graduates, such as Kimimaro Kaguya and Shita Junhito, have strengths reaching chunin and even special jonin levels, with astonishing potential.”
As the new generation of Star Ninja, Kimimaro and others often carried out missions outside, having some contact with ninjas from the Stone Village and Sand Village, so it was not much of a secret.
Even Kabuto Yakushi’s report on the intelligence that the Kaguya Clan and Uzumaki Clan orphans lived in the Land of Stars somewhat satisfied Danzō.
“At the jonin level of the Star Ninja, the currently known core figures include: Commander Uchiha Hikari, whose strength is immeasurable, suspected to possess the Mangekyo Sharingan; Minister of Internal Affairs Uzumaki Kushina, a Uzumaki remnant, skilled in sealing jutsu and administrative management; Minister of Land and Construction Gōta, an earth style expert; the couple Natsuhi and Hotaru under the Defense Department, former Star Ninja Village jonin, both with elite jonin strength… As for the Star Ninja’s Anbu, sorry, my level is insufficient.”
“On the military side, after annexing the Land of Swamps, Land of Shadows, and Land of Snow, the Land of Stars’ land area and population have greatly increased, strategic depth expanded, and national power significantly enhanced. Its regular ninja force scale has exceeded five hundred people…”
Kabuto detailed his observations over the past year, from education to military, from economy to internal affairs, clear and comprehensive.
However, Danzō, seated above, showed no satisfaction on his wrinkled face; instead, a flicker of impatience flashed in his one eye.
“I’m not interested in these superficial things.” Danzō’s cold voice interrupted him, like a dull knife scraping over stone.
“What about Shura? What have you found out about him? His true identity? His purpose? The source of his power?”
Kabuto’s heart sank slightly, but his face remained respectful: “I’m very sorry, Lord Danzō. Shura’s whereabouts are extremely secretive; he rarely appears publicly even in the Star Capital. Daily governance is mostly handled by Uchiha Hikari, Uzumaki Kushina, and others. At the level I can currently access, I fundamentally cannot approach his core circle. Intelligence on him… is scant.”
Danzō’s one eye stared fixedly at Kabuto, as if trying to see through him from inside out.
Silence descended like an immense pressure enveloping Kabuto.
After a long while, Danzō spoke again, his voice betraying no emotion: “Then, regarding the Stone Village, has the Land of Stars had any special movements recently? Signs of large-scale military mobilization?”
Kabuto carefully recalled, then cautiously answered: “During my stealth period, I did not observe any large-scale military action plans targeting the Stone Village from the Land of Stars. There have indeed been increases in small-scale conflicts and friction along the new borderline where they border, but they all fall within the scope of routine confrontations by border patrol teams and have not escalated.”
Another suffocating silence followed.
Danzō’s fingers lightly tapped the chair’s armrest, producing a monotonous tapping sound.
He clearly had not gotten the information he most wanted to confirm, or that would reassure him, from Kabuto.
“Never mind.” Danzō finally waved his hand, his tone carrying a barely perceptible irritation: “You’re dismissed. You’ve worked hard on this mission; take a vacation and rest well for a while. Until new orders, stay in the village on standby.”
“…Yes, Lord Danzō.” Kabuto lowered his head, concealing a glint of cold light in his eyes.
A vacation?
On standby?
This was undoubtedly a disguised form of house arrest.
This old fox Danzō had ultimately grown suspicious of him and could not fully trust him.
He respectfully saluted, retreated, and turned to leave the oppressive room.
When he exited the Root Base and felt the not-so-warm sunlight on Konoha’s streets again, he already understood that he had temporarily lost his freedom, which meant Danzō was likely planning something he did not want him to know about or interfere with.
The next morning, in the Uchiha Compound.
The morning light was faint, and the grass and trees in the courtyard still carried dew.
Sasuke Uchiha had already been practicing taijutsu in the courtyard for a long time, his movements swift and fierce, carrying a relentless, unyielding vigor.
Sweat soaked his black hair, sticking it to his forehead.
Itachi Uchiha quietly stood on the corridor, dressed in Anbu attire, watching his brother’s diligent figure, complex and indescribable emotions flowing in his black eyes.
There was gratification, affection, and a deeply buried, unspeakable heaviness.
“Brother!” After finishing a set of practice, Sasuke spotted Itachi and immediately ran over, his face full of excitement and expectation: “Are you free today? Practice with me! There’s a practical combat class at school today; I have to beat that Menma!”
Hearing the name “Menma,” Itachi’s eyebrow twitched slightly.
He had heard this name from Sasuke more than once; it seemed to be the rival and target Sasuke had set in class.
For his proud and arrogant brother to care so much, even repeatedly challenging and failing without discouragement, this child named Menma was probably not simple.
In a way, Itachi was even somewhat grateful for this person’s existence; he had become an external motivator urging Sasuke to grow stronger.
However, he was destined to disappoint his brother today.
Itachi gently shook his head, his face showing just the right amount of apology: “Sorry, Sasuke. Anbu has many tasks to handle today. Next time, okay?”
Sasuke’s bright eyes dimmed instantly, his small mouth pouting slightly, but he nodded understandingly: “…Alright. Go ahead with your work, Brother. I’ll definitely beat him on my own!”
At that moment, his mother Uchiha Mikoto’s gentle voice came from inside the house: “Itachi, Sasuke, breakfast is ready!”
At the dining table, the atmosphere seemed warm but faintly oppressive.
Fugaku had already left early; clan affairs had been numerous lately, and he was always out early and back late.
While eating a rice ball, Sasuke curiously asked: “Mom, what exactly has Dad been busy with lately? I never see him.”
Mikoto smiled gently, wiping rice grains from the corner of his mouth: “There are many things in the clan that Dad needs to handle. Sasuke, be good and don’t distract Dad, okay?”
Sasuke said “oh” and turned to the silently eating Itachi: “Brother, are Anbu missions that busy?”
Itachi’s hand holding the chopsticks paused almost imperceptibly, then returned to normal, softly humming in acknowledgment without saying more.
He simply ate his meal in silence, as if swallowing all his emotions.
After breakfast, the two brothers left under their mother’s watchful gaze.
At the compound entrance, they parted ways; Sasuke headed toward the Ninja Academy, while Itachi went the other direction.
However, Itachi did not leave immediately.
He turned into an alley, confirmed no one was around, and his figure quietly vanished.
The next moment, he had silently appeared on a big tree beside the path to the Ninja Academy, its dense branches perfectly concealing his form.
Wearing his Anbu mask, his gaze pierced through the mask’s eye holes, following his little brother’s small, gradually receding back.
He watched Sasuke enter the school, join his classmates on the practice field, bicker with that blond-haired Naruto Uzumaki, then defiantly approach the black-haired, spiky-haired boy with a lazy expression and loudly challenge him.
‘Is that Menma?’ Itachi’s gaze lingered on the boy for a moment.
He appeared unremarkable at first glance, with ordinary chakra presence.
But for some reason, when the boy occasionally lifted his eyes to look around, Itachi always felt there was a calmness in those eyes’ depths that did not match his age?
Just then, Menma on the practice field seemed to casually turn his head, his gaze precisely sweeping toward the general direction where Itachi was hidden.
Though far away, Itachi under the mask instinctively held his breath, a flash of surprise in his heart: ‘An illusion?’
Mission time was approaching; he could not linger.
Itachi gave Sasuke one last deep look, then his figure quietly vanished from the tree, speeding toward the Hokage Building.
Shortly after Itachi disappeared, Menma on the practice field slightly furrowed his brow, subconsciously touching the back of his right hand.
In that instant, he had indeed sensed an extremely subtle gaze carrying complex emotions.
At the same time, the engraving on the back of his hand grew slightly warm.
It was Kabuto Yakushi transmitting urgent information through the engraving’s chakra network.
Menma’s consciousness connected to the engraving network: ‘Kabuto? What’s up?’
His current response naturally registered as “Lord Shura” in Kabuto’s perception.
Kabuto Yakushi’s message was quick and clear: ‘Lord Shura, I have returned to Konoha and reported to Danzō. But Danzō does not fully trust me and has placed me under disguised house arrest and surveillance under the pretext of a vacation.’
‘Danzō is naturally suspicious; this is not unexpected.’ Menma’s conscious response was calm.
Kabuto Yakushi continued his analysis: ‘I speculate that this move by Danzō likely means he has major actions planned soon and does not want me, this potential unstable factor, to know or interfere. He will probably send other more secretive spy channels to infiltrate the Land of Stars. We need to strengthen internal screening.’
Menma was silent for a moment, his consciousness quickly flashing through the original timeline and the recent abnormal atmosphere in Konoha, especially the oppressive sense over the Uchiha Clan like an impending storm.
‘Mm, continue stealth, observe Root’s movements, and report to me anytime.’ Menma added: ‘If there’s danger, don’t force it; withdraw immediately, and I’ll arrange for someone to pick you up.’
Kabuto Yakushi hadn’t expected such a promise, instinctively refusing: ‘My lord, I’ll do my best…’
‘I promised Menma I would keep you safe.’ Menma’s voice was steady, carrying an irresistible authority, yet it made Kabuto Yakushi’s heart tremble, feeling a surge of warmth.
He very much wanted to go see Menma and everyone at the orphanage right now, but his current identity… no!
‘Understood, my lord; I’ll be careful.’ After saying this, Kabuto Yakushi cut off the connection.
In the Konoha Ninja Academy, watching Sasuke bicker with Naruto, Menma’s thoughts had drifted to the Uchiha Compound.
‘It’s Konoha 58 now; the Night of the Uchiha Clan Downfall is this year. It seems that rat Danzō can’t hold back anymore.’
‘Danzō and Hiruzen Sarutobi have prepared the script and actors for this “Night of the Uchiha Clan Downfall”; then I should notify the audience to take their seats.’ Menma narrowed his eyes, already looking forward to it.
【PS: Finished Blood Moon, no Infinite Tsukuyomi, no eerie descent, no aliens, disappointed, going to sleep, there’s another update during the day!】
