Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Hiruzen Sarutobi habitually said, "The Uchiha clan also has true Konoha ninjas, such as Shisui and Itachi."

Danzo's momentum surged immediately: "Uchiha Shisui is only 16 years old, and Uchiha Itachi is just a 13-year-old child. Can they really stop the Uchiha clan's coup?"

"We can no longer let the Uchiha clan run rampant!"

"Should we really wait for Fugaku Uchiha to launch a rebellion, causing Konoha to suffer unprecedented losses?"

"..."

Danzo Shimura got stuck, and an awkward silence fell over the office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't directly oppose Danzo Shimura, leaving Danzo unsure how to continue.

Shimura Danzo looked at his old classmate with a mournful gaze: Hiruzen, why don't you object to me?

If you don't object to me, how can I say, "Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"?

Without any prelude, I simply couldn't bring myself to say that line.

Suddenly, Danzo had a flash of inspiration and understood what Hiruzen Sarutobi's silence meant.

It was a deafening silence.

After all, the Hokage must protect every Konoha ninja, and as the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi absolutely could not order the execution of innocent Konoha ninjas.

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't say anything.

But in Shimura Danzo's mind, he said everything.

……

After causing quite a stir in Konoha, Xia Zuo did not stop practicing. He simply chose to practice under the walls of Konoha, where his speed would not be detected by the Konoha ninjas.

As Xia Zuo circled around the northeast corner of Konoha Village again, he suddenly smelled a faint scent of blood in the air.

So he stopped and followed the scent in the air, eventually finding his familiar Wood Release training ground. He then walked upstream along the stream for a short distance before smelling an even fresher and stronger stench of blood.

It was indeed human blood. The distinctive fishy and salty smell made Xia Zuo frown and instinctively prepare to walk away.

The situation in Konoha Village is becoming increasingly tense, with news of Uchiha clan ninjas going missing constantly, prompting the security forces to search frantically.

Under these circumstances, Xia Zuo felt that he should not cause any extra trouble, since the basic quality of a ninja is to restrain his curiosity.

The first rule of ninja secrecy: Don't look at what you shouldn't see, and don't listen to what you shouldn't listen to.

The best way to keep secrets is to not know.

However, Xia Zuo wanted to avoid trouble, but the ninja who was creating trouble wanted him dead, to guarantee the absolute secret with his death.

A flash of bright light appeared, like a bolt of lightning striking Xia Zuo's neck.

The blade suddenly split into three on its way, slashing towards Xia Zuo's neck, heart, and waist respectively.

【Dance of the Crescent Moon】

Xia Zuo's gaze was fixed on the ninja wielding the sword and the intricately patterned mask he wore, ignoring the three flashes of light from the sword.

So they were Root ninjas.

As is widely known, Root ninjas can be considered enemies of Konoha ninjas simply by wearing masks.

Moreover, this is not three days ago, and there are no other Konoha ninjas watching nearby.

Xia Zuo felt that he didn't need to be polite.

The Crescent Moon Dance is a high-level sword technique of the Konoha School that combines illusion, but it is not the best sword technique.

Because it was divided into three attacks.

When forces are divided, they scatter; when forces are focused, they become strong.

As long as you are not affected by illusions, you can easily defeat your enemies by launching a counterattack.

Xia Zuo is 188 centimeters tall with a wingspan of 190 centimeters, so he only slightly turned to the side and used the width of his shoulders to smash his fist into the mask faster and harder.

The mask was shattered into pieces, with fragments even embedded in the face.

The Root ninja died, and the three sword lights dissipated.

Having already committed murder, Xia Zuo absolutely cannot simply walk away.

He had to figure out what had happened, why the Root ninjas wanted to kill him, and try to avoid getting involved in unnecessary trouble.

After walking a few steps toward the stream from which the smell of blood was coming, Xia Zuo saw a person in the grass by the water. He was lying on his back, with most of his body submerged in the water.

Taking a few more steps closer, Xia Zuo saw that the man's eyes had been gouged out, and his face was as pale as a dead man's. However, his distinctive bulbous nose and the Uchiha clan's ninja uniform still proved his identity.

Uchiha Shisui.

Xia Zuo frowned; the time when Uchiha Shisui was ambushed had come sooner than expected!

He shouldn't have been attacked today, and he shouldn't have been here in the first place.

As we all know, after Uchiha Shisui gouged out his own eyes, he jumped into the Naka River to commit suicide. This unknown stream doesn't even flow into the Naka River, so how did he end up here?

There have been so many changes.

Should we save them?

In just a moment, Xia Zuo made a decision: of course he had to save people, as this was a secondary plan he and Namo had devised.

However, let's ask this guy who committed suicide if he wants to live.

If Uchiha Shisui wanted to live, then they could talk things out openly, and everything else would be much easier.

But if he really doesn't want to live anymore, Xia Zuo will have to prepare a way to make him sleep until the night of the Uchiha massacre.

Xia Zuo walked to Uchiha Shisui's side, kicked Shisui's head with his foot, and injected a wisp of Yang Release chakra, waking him from his near-death coma.

He cleared his throat and asked in a different voice, "Uchiha Shisui, do you still have the will to live?"

Uchiha Shisui's lips moved slightly: "I've lost my eyes, my internal organs are severely injured, I'm already a cripple, I have no value in living anymore."

Xia Zuo shrugged. "Fine, it's you who doesn't want to live, not me who wants to use underhanded methods."

He stood up and asked one last question: "Is there anything you'd like to say before you die?"

Uchiha Shisui murmured, "No, I have entrusted my hopes and dreams to a reliable successor. He will solve the problems of the clan and the village for me. I have no regrets."

Xia Zuo scoffed, "You really are blind."

"Your death spurred Itachi Uchiha to advance to the Mangekyou Sharingan, and he will indeed resolve the conflict between the Uchiha clan and Konoha Village."

Uchiha Shisui smiled as if in a final burst of energy: "Really? That's wonderful."

Xia Zuo chuckled: "It's just that Itachi Uchiha's method of solving problems was a bit extreme; he eliminated one of the two sides in the conflict."

"Now that the Uchiha clan is gone, their conflict with Konoha Village naturally no longer exists."

wow-

Like a zombie rising from the dead, Uchiha Shisui suddenly sat up in the water, startling Xia Zuo so much that he jumped back a great distance.

It's truly frightening to be startled awake from a terminal illness.

Uchiha Shisui stared at Xia Zuo with his bloodshot eyes, his voice hoarse and distorted as he asked, "Itachi killed the Uchiha clan? He... he was so kind, so gentle..."

"You're lying to me! Itachi wouldn't do that, absolutely not!"

Xia Zuo said lazily, "You're almost dead, why would I lie to you? You don't have a third kaleidoscope to give me."

Uchiha Shisui asked in horror, "Who are you? How did you know I awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan? This is a secret known only to a select few!"

"Wait, you just said Itachi will also awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan, how did you know that?"

Xia Zuo remained silent, letting Zhi Shui ask questions as she pleased.