Chapter 200: Chapter 197 : The Deterrence of Uchiha Itachi
[A/N: Hey guys. I am updating the conditions of bonus chapter. Read them at the bottom.]
As Danzo was contemplating his options, two Root ninjas flickered next to him and began reporting all their findings to him. They began moving towards a root base.
Suddenly, one of the Root ninjas said, "Lord Danzo, while we were inspecting the Uchiha clan compound, we found a secret message. We wanted to let you know first."
That attracted Danzo's attention. He asked, "What is the message?"
The Root ninjas spoke. However, his voice was now different. And there was no reverence or respect for Danzo in the voice. He said, "If any of the Uchiha children end up in Root, I will sell all the secret information I know about Konoha to enemy villages."
Danzo's eyes widened as he saw the Root ninja turn into crows while speaking. A frown formed on his face when the other Root ninja spoke in the same voice, "And if anything happens to Sasuke, I will act myself."
He too dispersed into crows leaving Danzo all alone. He muttered, "Damn Uchiha!"
While Hiruzen and Danzo were busy handling the situation, Fujin was inscribing a seal on his right forearm. He inscribed it right on the part that would be covered by his bracers.
After completing it, Fujin inspected it as he thought, 'Good. This seal is completed. Though inscribing storage seals on your own body isn't recommended, it isn't really difficult to do. Anyways, I have sealed the Sharingan eyes in Sora's storage scroll as well. I'll hide this scroll in the seal. So there is no way anyone would find it. In the event that someone somehow understands about this seal and suspects something, I can always destroy the seal with a mere thought.'
He stored the scroll in the seal on his forearm and made a hand sign. Soon, the seal disappeared. Fujin wondered, 'I wonder how the space that stores Tailed Beasts is created. And if I can store other things, like this scroll, there.'
Itachi stayed in the village until he saw Hiruzen was alone. He approached him and had a discussion with him. After getting assurance from Hiruzen that his brother and other Uchiha orphans will be looked after, he left the Hidden Leaf village and became a rogue ninja.
Hiruzen put Konoha under maximum security. The next day, news spread throughout Konoha that shocked everyone to the core! Uchiha Itachi had slaughtered his entire clan! Only a few dozen young children were left alive!
When the news spread throughout the world, every single ninja village was shocked. After the death of Senju Tobirama, the Senju clan declined in power. The Uchiha clan was estimated to be the strongest clan among all 5 major villages. And yet, such a clan was annihilated by a 13-year-old boy. Both minor and major villages began having meetings to ensure that their village's security was up to the mark and discussed countermeasures in case Uchiha Itachi showed up in their village.
Only one village thought about more than just defense. That village was Kumogakure. In the Raikage's office, most of Kumogakure's strategists and elders were present. All were considering whether they should take any action against Konoha. After all, the sudden loss of their strongest clan would have shaken Konoha.
After some time, one old man said, "Lord Raikage, I don't think it's in our best interest to attack Konoha right now. Though they lost the Uchiha clan, their overall strength is much higher than when Orochimaru left the village. Most of their Chunins who survived the 3rd Great War have been promoted to Jounins. And they have raised thousands of new ninjas.
Besides, though the Uchiha clan had a lot of Jounins, they didn't have any S rank battle power. If we go to war, the two Sannins would return to Konoha."
The fourth Raikage said, "Though their strength has increased, ours has increased even more."
However, his viewpoint was opposed by another elder, "And so have the strengths of other villages. If we go to war, Iwagakure will wait until we exhaust our strength and jump in at the worst time."
The Raikage frowned. At that time, one of the younger advisors spoke, "We need to probe them to see what their response will be. If they cower like last time, then this might be a good opportunity for us to attack quickly and with full force."
The Raikage looked at him and asked, "Hari, do you have a target for probing Konoha?"
The advisor, Hari, grinned and said, "I have just the perfect target for it."
He opened up a map and explained the plan to everyone in the room. The people in the room were first shocked due to the information he provided. However, soon greed could be seen on everyone's face.
One of the elders said, "Great work. If we can get this, we don't even need to attack Konoha for now. After all, the profits from this would be mind-boggling."
However, Hari said, "No, this doesn't compare to what we can gain from Konoha. However, since this is so valuable, Konoha's response will tell us about their current capability and morale. If it is strong, we can dispatch more forces to secure this and negotiate another deal with them like the last time. If they let us have it, then we will use this place as a base for our future assault."
The Raikage said, "Alright, it's decided. We will go with this plan. Darui, you will lead a team of 50 ninjas and claim this. Hari, you will accompany them as the advisor."
Darui and Hari nodded and were about to leave when another old elder asked, "Lord Raikage, what do you think about kidnapping some Uchiha orphans? With their clan dead, there won't be anyone to protect them. The task will be a lot easier than kidnapping the Hyuga princess."
A fell into thought. After some time, he said, "No, even though the task might be easier, it's full of hidden risks. We don't know why Uchiha Itachi massacred his clan. Nor do we know why he left the kids alive. If he intends to hunt them later, then all our efforts will be wasted and instead, we would have pointless casualties.
Considering what he has done, it's safe to say that he has the Mangekyou Sharingan that Uchiha Madara had. If we attract his attention in the middle of a war, our casualties will go up several times."
The mention of Uchiha Itachi lowered the excitement in the room. Hari said with a grim face, "Lord Raikage, we need to find a way to kill him. After all, he slaughtered the entire Uchiha clan and is only 13 years old. If we give him time to grow further, he'd become an even bigger threat. He might become a menace for the entire ninja world."
However, Raikage dismissed his concern, "Right now Konoha would be the most pressed to kill him. Hiruzen should have sent all his Anbu and Jiraiya after him. Let them exhaust their strength on him while we make our moves."
Hari nodded and left with Darui.
Back in Konoha, Hoka and Teru showed up at Fujin's house the morning after the massacre. The news of the Uchiha massacre shocked them. Fujin invited them in with a sad expression. They all sat in a room without speaking.
Finally, Hoka asked, "Did you go to the Uchiha clan compound?"
Fujin replied, "I did, but they have barricaded the whole area. And they didn't answer any questions."
Teru replied, "Same here, but I got some news from my parents."
Hoka said with a dejected voice, "Yeah. Most Uchihas were killed. It probably also includes Mieko as there was no news about her. Only a few dozen children survived."
Fujin was surprised. Though he didn't show anything on his face, he looked at Hoka and asked, "Some children survived?"
Hoka nodded. Teru said, "From what I heard, only those who hadn't entered the academy were left alive. Lord Hokage will make an announcement in the afternoon."
Fujin said, "I see."
However, he was in shock, 'Sasuke isn't the only survivor? Shit, did I somehow change the future?'
Fujin went quiet and began thinking. Hoka and Teru assumed that he was sad and stopped talking as well. After thinking about every possibility, Fujin concluded, 'No, none of my actions should have any impact on Itachi's, Obito's or Danzo's actions. Even assuming Itachi saw me being shameless in front of Hiruzen, I doubt I'd be the most shameless or selfish person he saw. So it shouldn't have any impact on his actions. Regardless, how will this affect the future?'
Fujin kept analyzing, 'The biggest impact should be a sense of responsibility on Sasuke's shoulder. Since he is in the 2nd year of the Academy, he should be the eldest and the strongest Uchiha in the village. So he will have to take responsibility for the other Uchiha orphans and lead them. And, the question that this raises is whether he would still go rogue and train under Orochimaru?'
Fujin thought for a bit before realizing, 'Wait, I recall that Sasuke had two goals. One was to restore the Uchiha clan and the other was to kill Itachi. But, since there are other orphans alive, Sasuke wouldn't have to worry that his death would cause the Uchiha clan to go extinct. He can completely focus on taking his revenge and restoring the honor of his clan by killing Itachi. From this perspective, the future shouldn't change.
The only complication that could arise is if the sense of responsibility somehow changes him. Though that might not be a bad change. After all, Shippuden Sasuke was an asshole. Even assuming that he doesn't accept Orochimaru's offer and doesn't get strong enough, Itachi will still die at his hands. And if he does go to Orochimaru, then he can't possibly get worse as compared to what I remember.
Sigh, leave it. There is no point in trying to speculate so much. I always expected that things might not go down as I remember. I'll just act according to what happens in the future.'
While Fujin, Hoka and Teru were sitting together in silence, there was another meeting happening in Konoha. It was between Hiruzen and the elders who were discussing how to handle this event.
[A/N : Hey everyone. This will be the new system of bonus chapters -
1. If the fanfic gets 1,000 power stones, then a chapter will be uploaded on Sunday (right after the power stones reset).
2. If the fanfic gets 2,000 power stones, then a chapter will also be released on the next Saturday (meaning, if fanfic reaches 2,000 power stones today, then a chapter will be uploaded on the next Saturday, i.e., 6-7 days from now).
Monday to Friday releases and sponsored chapters stay the same. Released a bonus chapter today because we should end up crossing 2000 Power stones for the first time today. Thanks for the support everyone. Have a nice Weekend.]
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