"Uchiha???"
In the Hokage's Office, after listening to Shikamaru's quick report, which detailed how his team had completed their diplomatic mission and, upon returning to the village, keenly noticed that Izumo and Kotetsu were under a genjutsu, Tsunade's pupils slightly contracted. She looked at the still-recovering gate guards and asked:
"Are you certain it's the Uchiha?"
Izumo nodded heavily, his voice slightly weak, "A group of more than ten, each with the Uchiha clan emblem on their cloaks. The one who activated the Sharingan and put us under the genjutsu... I recognized him now-it was Uchiha Sasuke!"
"Uchiha Sasuke, along with more than ten other Uchiha shinobi."
Tsunade's expression turned exceptionally serious after hearing this new intel.
After the mission to Jomae Village, she had learned from Yamato that some Uchiha had survived.
She had thought the number wouldn't be too high-after all, the death register of Konoha's Uchiha clan was there.
But now, it turned out that there were ten of them.
This many was already quite significant for a smaller shinobi clan.
'How many Uchiha were really sent away back then?' Tsunade wondered.
And then, she grew increasingly furious at the Third Hokage and Danzo, who had orchestrated the Uchiha's current fate.
If those two weren't already dead, she would have liked to punch them right now.
Look at the mess you left for me!
At that moment, after learning from Shizune that there was a battle at Naka Shrine and that multiple Konoha teams had fallen there, Shikamaru quickly analyzed:
"Most likely, Sasuke and his group are currently inside Naka Shrine. The chance of infighting is slim. There were no Konoha shinobi there initially, so their enemy must be someone else."
"If Sasuke and these Uchiha shinobi are willing to expose themselves, regardless of Konoha being so close, to fight inside Naka Shrine, then their enemy must be formidable. The only one I can think of is..."
Shikamaru looked up at Tsunade.
Tsunade picked up where he left off, saying:
"Itachi."
"So, the current situation is that two groups of Uchiha are fighting at Naka Shrine. Sasuke and the others are doing this for revenge. But why did Itachi come to Konoha willingly?" Shizune pondered, a bit puzzled.
At that moment, a new voice chimed in: "For the Sharingan."
With the kanji for "oil" on his forehead protector and long white hair reaching his waist, Jiraiya walked in with a serious expression.
"Jiraiya-sama."
Shizune, Shikamaru, Izumo, and the others immediately greeted him.
Jiraiya nodded casually and continued, "The Mangekyō Sharingan needs to evolve further by merging with the eyes of a close relative. I think Itachi spared Sasuke back then precisely because he was his brother."
Because of the recent re-emergence of Gensou, Jiraiya had been delving into information about the Warring States Period over the past two years, hoping to learn more about Gensou.
By chance, while reading an old book, instead of finding information about Gensou, he stumbled upon a hidden story about the Uchiha.
The author seemed to know a lot about the Uchiha.
The book recounted how Uchiha Madara had taken his younger brother Izuna's eyes to evolve his Sharingan.
It wasn't clear whether this version was mistaken or intentionally disparaged Madara. Nevertheless, after reading it, Jiraiya immediately thought of Itachi and Sasuke. Unaware of the truth of the night of the massacre, he voiced his earlier assertion.
"Someone once said that the Uchiha are a cursed clan. Now it seems that might be true."
The idea of brothers killing each other for power was incredible to Shikamaru.
But now wasn't the time to delve into that topic.
"We must not let Itachi obtain Sasuke's eyes, nor let Sasuke get Itachi's!"
If taking a brother's eyes could lead to evolution, then the reverse would also be true.
Both Itachi and Sasuke were S-rank rogue shinobi from Konoha.
Unlike Naruto, who would be emotionally involved, Shikamaru quickly suggested to Tsunade: "Hokage-sama, we must send a large force immediately to blockade Naka Shrine and take down both Itachi and Sasuke."
Tsunade nodded, adding, "One more thing."
She looked at Izumo and Kotetsu, asking each word with emphasis: "In the Uchiha group, was Gensou there?"
The moment the name "Gensou" was mentioned, silence fell upon the Hokage's office.
Compared to the rest of the shinobi world, who had only heard of Gensou's reputation in books or stories, the shinobi of Konoha had a much deeper impression of him-especially after seeing Root annihilated right under their noses.
Izumo and Kotetsu swallowed nervously, carefully recalling, and then shook their heads:
"No...we're not sure. Sasuke moved too quickly, and we didn't get a clear look at everyone before we fell under the genjutsu."
Not receiving accurate intel, Tsunade frowned.
After thinking quickly, she made a decision.
"Asuma, Shizune, gather all the available chūnin and jonin in the village immediately. I will personally lead this mission!" Tsunade commanded.
The Uchiha were formidable, but only a dozen of them-daring to act right under Konoha's nose-seemed overly bold to Tsunade.
Unless they had other guarantees.
What she could think of was that, besides Sasuke, the other Mangekyō Sharingan user who had appeared at the Fire Temple and Katsuragi Mountain, or even...Gensou himself had
arrived.
With such formidable foes, including Itachi, Sasuke, and others, Tsunade knew she had to go herself, not sit in her office like the Third Hokage had done, doing nothing.
"Yes, Hokage-sama!" Asuma and Shizune immediately took action upon receiving the order.
"I'll go too." Jiraiya, recalling the person he had encountered while escaping after his failed peeping attempt, spoke gravely, deciding to accompany them.
Tsunade did not refuse.
Soon, the available chūnin and jōnin in the village gathered, and Tsunade and Jiraiya, without delay, led the group swiftly towards the long-deserted Uchiha grounds.
Still recovering from the genjutsu, Izumo and Kotetsu stayed behind.
The two looked at each other, understanding the same thought reflected in each other's eyes.
If Gensou had indeed been among the Uchiha, wouldn't that mean they had survived an
encounter with him?
No, that wasn't quite right!
It would mean that they were shinobi who had faced Gensou, a figure said to rival the gods,
and had survived.
However, thinking about their colleagues currently heading towards Naka Shrine...
Izumo and Kotetsu still felt that having such a record wasn't necessarily a good thing.
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