It's normal to get a kaleidoscope as a first deposit of six yuan, right?

However, this time the chains merely passed right through Obito, serving no purpose whatsoever, like a ghost.

Obito passed through the chains, grabbed both ends, and pulled hard towards the center. The two of them were immediately thrown away by the reaction force.

"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Song Technique!"

After rolling around on the ground a few times, Zhi Xue looked at the fire dragon flying towards her and quickly formed hand seals, using the Phoenix Immortal Fire Technique to neutralize it in mid-air.

"Earth Release: Earthquake Core!" The ground beneath Obito's feet shattered, causing him to lose his balance and fall. Kakashi, feeling severely depleted of his chakra, arrived breathlessly beside Zhixue.

"No, we have to retreat immediately. His abilities are too strange."

Zhi Xue shrugged helplessly. If she could really open this barrier so easily, she would have run away long ago. Danzo really played a good supporting role.

Pfft!

Suddenly, a splinter appeared on the ground around Zhixue, and as time passed, more splinters rose from the ground.

"This is Wood Release?" Kakashi's face showed astonishment and horror. He had really learned something new today.

The wooden spikes surrounding Zhixue and Kakashi gradually spread towards the center. The wildly growing trees supported the entire barrier space, and the thick branches gripped Zhixue's delicate limbs like strong arms.

"Zhixue!" Kakashi, whose chakra was already depleted, felt the branches around him becoming increasingly compact. He could only watch as Zhixue slowly disappeared from his sight. That feeling of helplessness, of being unable to resist and only being able to watch his loved ones or friends leave, surged into Kakashi's heart once again.

"Damn it! I can't do anything..."

Obito, using Wood Release, stood atop a tree branch, his hands forming hand seals to firmly bind Kakashi in place. A sense of pleasure rose within Obito as he watched Kakashi's powerless rage.

"Kakashi! Despair! This world has always been this cruel! Rather than living in a painful reality, return to the embrace of dreams. That is the only truly complete world..."

Just as Obito was about to use Wood Release to completely annihilate Shisue, a golden light flashed behind him.

With her Sharingan activated and in Sage Mode, Shizuku conjured a black sphere and struck Obito behind him, who had let his guard down. The violent power ravaged the surrounding trees, and Obito, along with the surrounding wood jutsu and the earth, disappeared from sight in a flash of white light.

Emerging from the Kamui dimension into the massive crater in the ground, Obito, feeling as if his body was about to fall apart, struggled to his feet, looking at Shiki, who had suddenly escaped, with some confusion.

How did you escape?

"Do you believe I can fly like the Thunder God?"

Obito subconsciously touched his back. He had once been taught the Flying Thunder God Technique by the Fourth Hokage, but this shouldn't be a universal technique. Besides, how could a member of the Uchiha clan possibly learn the Flying Thunder God Technique? Even if the Uchiha clan were willing to learn, would Konoha dare to teach it?

If the Second Hokage were to find out that the Uchiha clan had learned the Flying Thunder God Technique that he created, he would probably be so angry that he would crawl out of his coffin.

Zhi Xue looked up at Obito below and smiled slightly as she spoke.

"As expected, you only remember to speak after being beaten up. Hmm, but you want to incite conflict between the Uchiha clan and Konoha, right? Too bad you've chosen the wrong target. I'm not the little lamb you can easily manipulate." Zhi Xue conjured another black sphere in her hand, and the violent chakra fluctuations made Obito quite wary.

"You've seen things very clearly. I really didn't expect your intelligence to be hiding so much. And you probably know quite a few secrets as well."

Zhi Xue glanced at Kakashi, who had already fainted beside her, jumped down, walked in front of Obito, and looked him in the eye.

“Not only do I know your secret, but I also know that your organization is still short of people, right?” Zhi Xue put away the dumpling, snapped her fingers, and blinked as she spoke.

Obito's expression turned cold.

The fact that this kid knows their information shows that they have been keeping a low profile; even the Kage and Daimyo of various countries probably don't know about the Akatsuki's existence.

"What do you want to do?" Obito asked, looking at Shiseido.

"Isn't your organization short-staffed? What do you think I want to do?"

Upon hearing what Shiki said, Obito's expression instantly turned to utter astonishment.

"Aren't you from the Uchiha clan?"

"Can't the Uchiha clan join Akatsuki?"

Obito:......

Zhi Xue understood perfectly well that the Uchiha clan had never treated her well, otherwise the memories she inherited from the original owner wouldn't have been so tragic. So she didn't want to get involved in what was going to happen or what wasn't going to happen. All she wanted was for Zhi Shui to live safely, and that was enough.

Chapter 60, Still Water's Melancholy

Outside the barrier...

Obito's figure gradually emerged from the vortex, covered in a thick layer of dust, but the long sword hanging at his waist was free of bloodstains.

"Is it resolved?" Zetsu asked, approaching Obito as he came out.

"The intelligence was wrong. The plan is temporarily suspended. The people from Konoha should be here soon. We need to retreat immediately."

Absolutely: "???"

"If we just leave like this, Uchiha Shisui will be here soon, and then all of our efforts will be in vain..." Zetsu said somewhat unwillingly, but Obito ignored him and left first using Kamui.

Absolute: ...

After Zetsu and Obito left, the barrier here gradually crumbled, revealing the brutal traces of the battle inside.

Shiyuki lifted Kakashi, who was lying on the ground, just as Shisui arrived.

"What happened?" Shisui had just turned a corner with the unfamiliar ninja when he saw that the residential area had been reduced to ruins. A dozen or so Root members were lying scattered around the rubble. More importantly, Shisui was also there!

Zhi Xue shook her head as she looked at Zhi Shui, who had a blank expression on her face.

……

As the matter gradually came to light, Fugaku's security force quickly surrounded the area, and several Root ninjas were sent to Konoha's hospital. Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Danzo Shimura, who had been waiting there for a long time.

"Danzo, I need an explanation from you." Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at his old friend, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.

"Sarutobi, I admit I was a little too hasty, but I didn't kill the Anbu. Someone framed me!" Danzo said, somewhat agitated.

"Whether you killed the Anbu or not, we'll investigate first. Regardless of the severity of your crime, you must be dismissed and investigated." Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a breath of turbid air, seemingly somewhat melancholy.

"Sarutobi, what do you mean by this?" Danzo looked at his old friend with some disbelief.

"You are temporarily removed from your position as an assistant elder of Konoha, and the Root organization will be temporarily placed under the supervision of the Anbu," Hiruzen Sarutobi said irritably, ignoring Danzo's anger, and turned to leave.

This matter has far-reaching implications and extremely negative consequences. It will affect not only the Uchiha clan and the Anbu, but also his authority as Hokage. He will not only have to compensate the families of the deceased Anbu members, but more importantly, he will have to give Uchiha Shisui an answer.

His younger sister had barely survived the danger, but not long after returning to the village, she was assassinated and surrounded by her own people. If she hadn't actually died in the dangerous mission, but instead died inexplicably at the hands of her own people, even someone as kind-hearted as Shisui might have done something irrational.

As expected, Shisui quickly returned to Hiruzen Sarutobi's place after settling Shisui in, buying her some good food and entrusting it to the Uchiha Fugaku family.

As soon as he stepped inside, Hiruzen Sarutobi sensed a sense of oppression emanating from Shisui.

"Hokage-sama." Uchiha Shisui bowed to Sarutobi Hiruzen, but before Shisui could speak, Hiruzen said, "You want to talk about what happened today, right?"

Shisui nodded, and Hiruzen Sarutobi also sighed.

“You and Zhixue are descendants of Uchiha Kagami, a bond filled with the Will of Fire. Logically speaking, it wouldn’t be a problem for you to call me Grandpa, but I never expected that such a terrible thing would happen in Root.”

"Due to Danzo's excessive leniency towards Root, several Root ninjas took some extreme actions against someone they considered suspicious, namely your sister, Uchiha Shiyuki, without authorization."

“I have dealt with this issue seriously, but don’t take it too seriously. There are many suspicious points in this matter, and because the barrier of Konoha Village was recently invaded, it is very likely that external forces have infiltrated the area. There may be outsiders involved in this matter.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi had already been very tactful, giving Shisui plenty of face. In addition, Shisui had not suffered any real harm, so he did not intend to go directly to Danzo to settle scores. After all, the future of the Uchiha clan and Konoha needed to be maintained.

However, Shisui still asked Hiruzen Sarutobi about the people from the outside world.

"Lord Hokage, what do you mean by outsider involvement?" Shisui's expression was somewhat strange. As members of the Anbu who frequently went out on missions through barriers, they naturally had a good understanding of Konoha's defense system.

It would be very difficult for the enemy to infiltrate unless they were a master of barrier techniques or knew the hand seals of Konoha's barrier.

"This is also what I find strange. According to the Barrier Team's investigation, the enemy appears in Konoha very frequently, and the places they come and go are also very concentrated. I have sent the Anbu and Ichido-Seven to investigate several times, but there have been no effective results."

"Did Itachi also go to investigate?" Shisui was taken aback. He had never heard Itachi mention it.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and explained, "Most of the areas that the enemy frequently detects are within your clan's territory. These are autonomous areas, and it's inconvenient for the Anbu to intervene, so we leave it to Ichido-Seven."

Shisui was startled when he heard that half of them came from the Uchiha clan's territory.

Given the Uchiha clan's character, they would disdain joining forces with outsiders to bring down Konoha, this towering tree. However, if the enemy's goal is to arouse suspicion and frame them, then it's somewhat possible. It seems I should inform the clan head to strengthen patrols and security within the clan soon.

After receiving the answer, Shisui walked out of the Hokage Building and looked at the starless night sky, feeling somewhat depressed.

His family, village, and loved ones are all things he must protect. Although he bears the title of genius, he cannot withstand such turmoil.

……

While Shisui was still sitting on the rooftop, lost in his own melancholy, Shisuke was at Fugaku's house, playing with shuriken with young Sasuke.

In fact, if she hadn't cared about anything, Sasuke would likely have followed the original storyline and become a complete avenger. He lived in the shadow of his clan's annihilation in his childhood, and as an adult, he sought various power boosts without asking for any price. He was beaten and grew step by step, only to end up with a ridiculous answer.

"Sister Zhixue, look! I hit the bullseye with all three shots!" Erzhuzi's eyes lit up as he tugged at Zhixue's sleeve and pointed to the three targets in the distance that were perfectly centered, as if he really wanted to be praised.

"Hmm, Erzhuzi threw really well, here's a pat on the head as a reward."

"Don't call me Erzhuzi, it's such an awful name!" Zhixue still placed her hand on the hair of the proud little boy in front of her, who was not happy and somewhat resistant to being patted on the head.

Ouch~ It's a bit prickly.

Chapter 61, Discounts Appear

"Sarutobi, aren't you going a bit too far?"

"Yes, no matter what, Danzo is the second-in-command elder of Konoha. It's not appropriate to dismiss him because of an Uchiha clansman."

In the Hokage's office, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu sat in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi, trying to persuade him about Danzo and the terrible incident.

"Sigh, I know what you're saying, but this time the situation is different from the past. The Uchiha clan is restless. If Shisui, as our last string in the Uchiha clan, also breaks, then the loss will be more than what we see on the surface. Dealing with Danzo is only temporary. Once this is over, I will restore his position and power as the leader of Root."

As elders of Konoha, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane should listen to Hiruzen Sarutobi's advice. However, even if Danzo's power is restored, it should be reduced, at least until the Uchiha clan is stabilized.

The two elders of Konoha nodded in agreement upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's reply.

"That's not bad, but is it true that there might be outsiders involved in this matter?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi wiped the ash from his cigarette, sighed, and said, "The Barrier Team did report the abnormal reaction, but due to geographical limitations, we are unable to conduct a thorough and effective tracking and search."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was also having a headache. Given the current atmosphere within the Uchiha clan, let alone Konoha's search teams, even ordinary Jonin would likely be glared at by Sharingan before coming out. Moreover, it was inconvenient to search for many of the clan's hidden locations.

However, directly telling the Uchiha clan might provoke some extremists to act irrationally, thinking they are accusing the Uchiha clan of making false accusations, which would inevitably cause a lot of trouble.

For now, all we can do is ask Itachi and Shisui to keep an eye on things...

Uchiha clan territory...

After bringing Shisui back from Fugaku's house, Shisui closed the windows and doors tightly and set up a barrier to completely cut off all external contact.

Zhi Xue was puzzled by Zhi Shui's series of confusing actions.

What is Onii-chan doing?