The World of Naruto in the Eyes of Reincarnation

Staring at the exhausted look on Shisui's face, Hyuga Kagami tried to comfort him, "Don't worry, things will eventually turn around."

Shisui replied, "Let's hope so."

The village's constant pressure on the Uchiha clan actually reflected the village's own weakness. 

And the true instigator of all this wasn't anyone else—it was Uchiha Obito, who had been lurking in the shadows, always ready to sink his teeth into Konoha.

At this point, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that the Third Hokage was mentally and physically exhausted.

Due to aging, his power was on a downward trend. Had his carefully chosen successor, the Fourth Hokage, not died unexpectedly in battle, things might have turned out differently.

But with the youthful and powerful Fourth Hokage gone, everything changed.

The problems now facing Konoha—external threats like the Cloud Village and internal unrest like the Uchiha—were all domino effects set in motion by the Fourth's untimely death.

If the Fourth were still alive, and if the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was still under control, Cloud wouldn't dare make any sudden moves, and the Uchiha wouldn't have had such wild ideas. Many of Konoha's subsequent misfortunes might never have happened.

But the Fourth died, and so Konoha fell into chaos.

Hyuga Kagami glanced over his shoulder and said in a low voice, "Someone's following us."

Shisui nodded, "Yeah, I noticed on the way here."

After a brief moment of thought, Kagami said, "It must be someone from Danzo's Root."

Squad Eleven was an ANBU team directly under the Hokage. They were always the ones surveilling others. No one should be surveilling them. If the Hokage didn't trust them, he would simply strip them of their ANBU status—he wouldn't bother sending others to spy on them.

Shisui appeared unconcerned. With a calm face, he said, "I'm not doing anything against the village. I don't care if they watch me."

Hyuga Kagami replied, "You're oversimplifying it."

Curious, Shisui asked, "What do you mean, senpai?"

"Surveillance is a message. It not only shows that Danzo doesn't trust us, it shows he doesn't fear us either." Kagami paused, then smirked, "He can choose not to trust us—but he cannot afford not to fear us."

Shisui had always mistakenly believed that Kagami's immense power while using the Tenseigan chakra mode was his standard strength. In Shisui's eyes, Hyuga Kagami was unquestionably Konoha's strongest shinobi—even stronger than the Third Hokage or one of the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya.

So when Kagami said that, Shisui immediately grew concerned. "Senpai, you're not actually planning to make a move on Lord Danzo, are you?"

Seeing the anxious look on Shisui's face, Hyuga Kagami knew that Shisui wouldn't dare act against a Konoha elder. So he said, "You don't need to do anything. Just keep it a secret for me."

Truth be told, those who truly feared Danzo were the loyal shinobi who would never think of defecting. For those who saw defection as a viable option, Danzo was nothing.

Meanwhile, in a dense forest outside Konoha—

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

After performing the fire technique, Uchiha Shinichi collapsed to his knees, panting heavily. But soon he stood up again and resumed throwing shuriken at distant targets.

All morning, he'd been training relentlessly. Even though his clothes were soaked with sweat, he refused to stop.

Ever since his defeat in the challenge against Hyuga Kagami and being carried back by Shisui, he had become a laughingstock among the Uchiha. His clan's endless mockery and questioning nearly drove him insane.

From that day on, he rarely returned to the Uchiha compound. Whenever he had free time, he came here to numb himself with grueling training.

From a distance, the masked man sitting cross-legged on a tree branch watched the intense training session with a calm gaze. "He's the one you're talking about?"

Half of Zetsu's body emerged from a tree trunk and nodded. "I can feel the hatred in his heart."

As a scout for the Akatsuki, Zetsu had exceptional sensory abilities, possibly the best in the ninja world. Due to some unique traits, he could even sense emotions.

The masked man seemed to recall something as he spoke with indifference, "That level of hatred isn't nearly enough."

Zetsu replied, "He's the best match for your criteria that I could find."

Most of the Uchiha who had awakened their Sharingan worked in the police force. Under normal circumstances, they rarely left the village.

Uchiha Shinichi was the rare exception.

Not only did he have a fully evolved three-tomoe Sharingan and Special Jonin strength, but he was also consumed by hatred. So when Zetsu discovered him, he immediately reported it to the masked man.

After a moment's thought, the masked man nodded. "He'll do. Wait here—I'll go talk to him."

With that, his body twisted into a swirling vortex and vanished without a sound.

Moments later, he reappeared behind Shinichi and spoke in a deep, raspy voice, "Young Uchiha, what a sorry state you're in."

Startled, Uchiha Shinichi quickly turned and leapt back, demanding, "Who are you!?"

The masked man chuckled. "Who I am isn't important. What matters is—I can give you what you desire."

Furious, Shinichi shouted, "You cowardly sneak! Do you know who you're talking to? I'm Uchiha Shinichi!"

The masked man slowly opened his arms, still calm. "You're nothing."

Feeling deeply insulted, Shinichi snapped. He drew a short blade and charged.

Seeing the masked man standing motionless, Shinichi grinned with a feral look on his face.

"Die!"

But as his blade cut through the masked man's body, it passed through with no resistance. The feel of the handle told him—he hadn't hit anything.

"What...!?"

In his stunned moment, the masked man punched him hard in the stomach.

Lying on the ground, Shinichi stared up in disbelief. "I-I clearly struck you... Why... Was it genjutsu?"

Thinking he'd figured it out, the three tomoe in Shinichi's Sharingan began to spin rapidly.

The masked man said coolly, "You keep shouting about being Uchiha this and Uchiha that... Is that all you've got?"

Shinichi gritted his teeth. "I've broken your genjutsu!"

He quickly formed hand signs and shouted, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

A massive fireball shot toward the masked man.

Boom!

With a loud explosion, an entire row of trees was reduced to charcoal.

Surveying the area and seeing no sign of the masked man, Shinichi muttered, "Did I kill him...?"

Just then, the masked man appeared silently behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder, dragging him into a swirling vortex...