Danzō’s eye lit up as a sinister smile spread across his face.
“Only surveillance?” “Only surveillance.” Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at him and spoke each word slowly.
“Without my orders, you are absolutely forbidden from provoking them, stepping into the Uchiha compound, or starting any conflict.
I want you to watch their every move.
If anything unusual happens, report it to me immediately.
Is that clear?” The smile on Danzō’s face faded slightly, but he still let out a cold snort.
“Understood.” He turned and walked out of the office, his hand beneath the bandages clenched tightly into a fist.
Hiruzen’s concerns meant nothing to him.
He had waited for this opportunity for years.
At last, he had a legitimate reason to surround the Uchiha.
No matter what Hiruzen intended, this time he would make sure the Uchiha disappeared from Konoha forever.
Meanwhile, inside the Uchiha Clan Head’s residence, Fugaku put down the bounty notice in his hand and looked at Shinsuke with a helpless smile.
“That move of yours completely sealed Hiruzen’s mouth shut.
No matter how angry he is, he can’t find a single fault with it.” Shinsuke calmly picked up his teacup and took a sip, a cold glint flashing across his eyes.
“That was only the appetizer.” He looked out the window.
Around the outer perimeter of the clan compound, the black clad Root shinobi could already be seen silently taking up defensive positions.
“Just two more days.
After that, he’ll realize all the surveillance he’s putting in place now is nothing more than decoration.” The moment Danzō stepped out of the Hokage Building, the late autumn night wind swept dead maple leaves across his face, yet he didn’t even blink.
The lone eye beneath his bandages narrowed slightly, filled with the malice and killing intent he had suppressed for decades, like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows that had finally seen its prey expose an opening.
Instead of returning to his residence, he turned into a secluded alley behind the Hokage Building.
Following a hidden passage, he descended dozens of yards beneath Konoha to Root Headquarters.
Unlike the brightly lit Hokage Building, this place was illuminated only by eerie blue lights embedded in the stone walls, casting a deathly chill over the entire passage.
Root shinobi wearing all kinds of animal masks moved silently through the corridors.
There were no conversations, no footsteps, and even their breathing was kept to the bare minimum.
The entire base resembled a perfectly engineered killing machine, and Danzō was its sole master.
He walked all the way to the deepest command room.
The moment he pushed open the door, the six Root squad captains waiting inside immediately dropped to one knee.
Dressed in identical black combat uniforms, their masks concealed every trace of emotion.
Only their exposed eyes remained, devoid of any feeling a living person should possess.
There was only absolute obedience.
These were all loyal death soldiers he had personally trained.
In their eyes, only his orders existed.
The Will of Fire meant nothing to them, nor did Konoha’s rules.
“Rise.” Danzō sat down at the head seat, his hoarse voice dripping with undisguised cruelty.
“Lord Hokage has finally run out of patience with those Uchiha scum.” He lightly tapped the table.
Beneath the bandages, the muscles in his arm tensed, revealing the grotesque outline of the Sharingan embedded beneath the cloth.
“Hiruzen has spent his entire life shackled by that ridiculous Will of Fire.
Hesitant.
Soft hearted.
He saw the Uchiha’s rebellious intentions long ago, yet he kept clinging to the so called greater good instead of finishing them off.” Danzō let out a cold laugh, the hostility in his lone eye nearly overflowing.
“But things are different now.
He personally ordered Root to surround the Uchiha and not let even a fly escape.” “That’s all I need.” He leaned forward slightly, his gaze sweeping across the six squad captains before him as he delivered his orders one word at a time, every syllable carrying a bone chilling coldness.
“Pass down my orders.
Every member of Root is to enter the highest state of alert immediately.” “Double every guard post surrounding the Uchiha compound.
Set up three layers of blockade at all four entrances.
The outer ring will be the combat teams, the middle ring the sensory teams, and the inner ring the barrier teams.
I want sensory barriers covering even the ground over thirty feet below the surface.
Not even a rat from the Uchiha is allowed to slip out.” “Maintain surveillance twenty four hours a day.
Any abnormal chakra fluctuations inside the compound, any gathering of personnel, or any activity beyond their normal routine is to be treated as suspicious.” “The moment you discover anything unusual, you are not to report to the Hokage Building or wait for further orders.
Activate the encirclement plan immediately and seal off the entire Uchiha compound.” At that point, his voice suddenly stopped, and a trace of madness flashed through his lone eye.
“Once the encirclement is complete, you are authorized to attack immediately.
Any armed Uchiha who resists, regardless of age or gender, is to be killed without exception.” “Priority targets are Uchiha Fugaku, Uchiha Ye, and every elite Jonin with a Three Tomoe Sharingan.
Kill them first.
Leave no survivors.” The command room fell deathly silent, broken only by the faint hum of the lights.
The six squad captains didn’t hesitate for even a moment.
They bowed in unison, their voices perfectly synchronized and completely emotionless.
“Yes!
We will carry out Lord Danzō’s orders!” “And one more thing.” Danzō raised a hand to stop them before they turned to leave.
“Keep Naka Shrine under constant watch.
The instant anything happens there, storm inside.
Every Ninjutsu scroll, every forbidden technique inheritance, and the Sage of Six Paths’ stone tablet must be brought back to me.” “Especially the underground chamber.
Dig three feet into the ground if you have to.
Don’t leave a single thing behind.” He had waited for this day for far too long.
Ever since the Second Hokage’s era, he had believed that the cursed Uchiha would one day become Konoha’s greatest threat.
For decades, he had watched them become increasingly isolated, slowly driven to the edge, while quietly laying the groundwork for his own plans.
He had already obtained one of Shisui’s Mangekyō Sharingan.
Soon, every Sharingan in the Uchiha Clan and the thousand year legacy they had accumulated would belong to him.
He would become Konoha’s shadow, eliminating every threat to the village with the harshest methods imaginable.
Even if his hands were stained with blood.
Even if history condemned him forever.
He would never regret it.
The squad captains silently withdrew, and Danzō’s orders spread throughout Root Headquarters like ripples across water.
Root shinobi who had been hidden in the darkness poured out like a tide, gathering around the Uchiha compound.
What had once been a single layer of surveillance posts became an airtight fortress overnight.
Countless pairs of eyes watched every corner of the Uchiha compound from the shadows.
Kunai were already drawn, waiting only for a single order before tearing the entire Uchiha Clan apart.
Standing before the command room’s floor to ceiling window, Danzō gazed toward the distant lights of the Uchiha compound through dozens of yards of earth.
A sinister, greedy smile slowly spread across his lips beneath the bandages.
The Uchiha’s end had arrived.
The moment they showed even the slightest sign of rebellion, he would erase those cursed people from this world forever.