Naruto Immersive Replay, The Curse of the Sharingan

Page 270

Only when you are sure that Sakura's figure has completely disappeared at the end of the street and you can no longer sense her chakra fluctuations do you turn around completely.

When you look up again at the Root leader and the menacing ninjas behind him, his black eyes have turned blood-red, and two jet-black tomoe spin rapidly in his pupils, eventually forming a three-tomoe Sharingan.

"Now..." Your voice remained calm, yet seemed to echo coldly in the street gradually shrouded in night, "...we can begin."

You didn't say another word, but your advanced Sharingan explained everything.

Sakura ran stumbling along, tears blurring her vision, fear and worry like cold vines tightly binding her heart.

You've been taken away by those terrifying ninjas! What should she do? Go find the Hokage? Is it even possible? Go find her parents? They're just ordinary Chunin; they're no match for those people!

Just as she was panicking and almost overwhelmed by despair, she accidentally bumped into someone.

"Ouch!" Sakura staggered backward from the impact and looked up.

It was a boy a few years older than her, wearing a dark blue turtleneck short-sleeved shirt with a striking flame fan clan emblem—the symbol of the Uchiha—embroidered on the back.

The boy had fair skin and delicate features, but his face was expressionless. His dark eyes, like yours, were calm and even somewhat indifferent, and he exuded a sense of aloofness that kept strangers at bay.

Normally, Sakura would never dare to provoke the Uchiha who looked so intimidating.

But at this moment, she was like a drowning person grasping at a last straw, and she couldn't care less about anything else!

She lunged forward, grabbed the boy's arm, and tears streamed down her face like broken beads. Her voice was broken and incoherent from crying and running.

"Big brother! Save Nagi! Please! She...she's been taken away by someone named Danzo! Taken away by lots of masked bad guys! Please save her!"

Uchiha Itachi, whose arm she had grabbed, stiffened almost imperceptibly for a moment.

He looked down at the girl with rare pink hair who was crying her eyes out, and immediately matched her with the "Haruno Sakura who adopted Uchiha Nagi" from the Anbu report.

Danzo? Has the Root organization made a move?

A sharp glint flashed across Itachi's eyes.

Danzo Shimura dared to openly defy the Hokage's will and directly attack Nagi? Was he planning to completely break ties with the Konoha leadership? Or... had he found some new trump card?

Countless thoughts flashed through Itachi's mind, and he quickly made a judgment.

The Root Base is fraught with danger; he needs support and someone to relay messages.

He gently grasped Sakura's trembling shoulders to calm her down, his voice still steady, "Listen, go to the Uchiha clan's territory right now and find a man named Uchiha Shisui. Tell him exactly what he just said to me. Go now."

"Uchiha... Shisui?" Sakura repeated the name, as if grasping at her only hope, nodding vigorously, tears still clinging to her eyelashes. "Okay! Okay! I'll go right now! Thank you, big brother! Thank you!"

She didn't even have time to ask who the boy in front of her was. She just firmly remembered the name Uchiha Shisui and the Uchiha clan's territory. She turned around and ran with all her might toward the clan that was controversial and even ostracized in Konoha.

Watching Sakura's retreating figure, Itachi's gaze instantly turned cold and sharp.

Without further hesitation, he flashed into the darkness and stealthily made his way towards the Root Base at top speed.

Deep within the root system, the cold, damp air seems to freeze the blood.

You stand in the center of the empty interrogation room, your feet on cold, rough stone slabs. Your large black cloak is slightly dusty, but otherwise intact.

His long, dark hair was a little messy, with a few strands sticking to his sweaty forehead, and his breathing was slightly more rapid than usual.

Clearly, the journey from the street to here was not entirely smooth.

But what's most unsettling is your current state.

You stood there quietly, like a demon who had just crawled back from hell, but your eyes were unusually calm, even more empty than usual, staring unblinkingly at Shimura Danzo, who sat high in the main seat in front of you.

It was as if all emotions and fluctuations had been compressed to the extreme, leaving only a chilling cold that could freeze a person.

From your pale lips, you clearly uttered two words: "Filthy."

Chapter 249: Shackles

Instead of getting angry, Danzo let out a nasty laugh. "Heh heh heh... For the benefit of Root, for Konoha to survive better in the shadows, all means are worthwhile! Dirty? That's just the lament of the weak and incompetent!"

Just then, Itachi silently slipped into the shadows of the ventilation duct above the interrogation room.

He held his breath and, through the narrow gap, clearly saw the standoff below.

When he saw the deep, almost overflowing, resentment and pain in your eyes beneath your forced calm, his heart sank.

Danzo seemed to enjoy that look in your eyes, a cruel and pleasure-seeking glint in his single eye. "Oh? What kind of look is that? Resentment? Pain? Do you still want to kill me like last time?"

He paused, then waved to the Root member beside him, his tone laced with malicious mockery, "Go, take off that cumbersome cloak she's wearing, so our 'weapon' can properly identify... which faction she truly belongs to!"

Two Root ninjas immediately stepped forward and roughly ripped off your large black cloak!

Beneath the cloak, a cold, black metal ring was seen around your slender neck, tightly fastened to your skin, and covered with complex and eerie sealing incantations!

Two chains of the same material are connected, wrapped around your arms, and finally locked to special shackles on your wrists.

These restraint devices are ingeniously and viciously designed. They do not excessively affect daily activities, yet they constantly emit suppressed chakra fluctuations, clearly made for extreme suppression.

When Itachi, who was hiding in the shadows, saw the restraint device belonging to the highest-ranking prisoners and controlled individuals of Root, his pupils suddenly contracted!

He knew you were connected to the Roots, but he never expected... it would be in this form.

Danzo stared at the glaring metal ring around your neck, a sinister grin spreading across his face. "Uchiha Nagi! Do you think you can hide the fact that you once carried out missions for us in Root just by putting on a cloak?"

"You think that being adopted by that ridiculous little girl will allow you to completely escape your past and pretend to be a normal person? The marks on you are already ingrained in your bones! You can't escape them for the rest of your life!"

Faced with this blatant humiliation and the reopening of old wounds, the calm on your face finally shattered completely.

You suddenly raised your head, your dark eyes surging with overwhelming hatred and madness, while the corners of your mouth were pulled apart in an extremely eerie way.

"You'd better pray that this thing they've put on me really does limit my chakra for the rest of my life!"

"Otherwise... you'll be the first person I skin and gouge out."

An undisguised, chilling killing intent emanating from the depths of his soul assaulted the entire interrogation room as if it were a tangible force, even startling Danzo with the sudden outburst of hatred.

This monster... is indeed difficult to control.

A fierce killing intent flashed in Danzo's single eye, but he quickly suppressed it, waving his hand with a cold laugh, "Sharp tongue! Too bad, I won't give you, monster, any chance to turn the tables! Take her away! Keep her under close guard!"

Two Root ninjas stepped forward, took you to the interrogation room, and locked you in a specially made cage deep inside the Root base, where the defenses were the most stringent.

Danzo looked at the empty interrogation room, pondered for a moment, and then coldly ordered his trusted subordinate, "That little girl named Haruno Sakura, she knows too much. Get rid of her, make it clean, and pretend it was an accident. We absolutely cannot let this get back to Hiruzen."

"Yes!" The Root ninja accepted the order and silently withdrew.

After everyone left, the interrogation room fell silent again.

A dark shadow fell silently from the ventilation duct like a falling leaf, without making a sound.

Uchiha Itachi precisely avoided all traps and patrol routes, and silently opened the door of the specially made cage according to the order and hand seals he had memorized when the ninja who escorted him unlocked the door.

Inside the cage, you are sitting against the cold wall, head down, long black hair hanging down, obscuring your expression.

Hearing the very slight sound of the door opening, you looked up, and when you saw who it was, a clear look of surprise flashed in your eyes, "...Itachi?"

Itachi didn't say anything, but quickly walked to your side.

His gaze quickly swept over the oppressive restraints on your neck and wrists, finally settling on your ankles.

You were also bound with a heavy, specially made chain, which was obviously added by Danzo to prevent you from escaping easily.

Time is of the essence; there's no time to unlock it slowly.

Without the slightest hesitation, Itachi turned around in front of you and crouched down slightly. "I'll carry you on my back and we'll get out of here first."

You looked at the boy's back, which wasn't particularly broad but was exceptionally firm, and remained silent for a moment.

Now is not the time to question the reasons or hesitate; escaping this disgusting abyss is the top priority.

You did not refuse, but stretched out your shackled hands and gently wrapped them around the weasel's neck.

Itachi steadily supported you, feeling the excessively light weight behind you and the cold touch of the shackles, his eyes growing even colder.

In the dark passageway, only your faint, almost inaudible breathing and the occasional soft clanging of cold chains could be heard.

Sakura had no idea how she got to the Uchiha clan's territory. Her lungs felt like they were on fire, her legs felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead, and her throat was filled with the taste of blood.

She was sustained almost entirely by instinct and a tremendous fear, which kept her from collapsing halfway.

When she finally saw the iconic flame fan emblem, tears welled up uncontrollably again.

She staggered forward, disregarding her fear, and grabbed a young ninja who was walking out of the clan's gate. Her voice was broken and fragmented due to extreme panting and crying.

"Find Shisui! Quick... quick, find Shisui! Nagi... Nagi has been taken away by someone named Danzo! Please... save her!"

The person she grabbed was the Eighth Hokage of Uchiha. He was taken aback by the little girl who suddenly rushed out, but when he heard the names Nagi and Danzo, his expression instantly became serious.

Ever since the absurd story of the forbidden Uchiha orphan being adopted by a commoner girl spread, almost every member of the elite of Konoha's major clans knew the name Uchiha Nagi and the complex power struggles that might be involved behind it.

Uchiha Hachimoku was naturally aware of the seriousness of the situation.

He quickly helped Sakura up, who was almost collapsing to the ground, and said in a gentle tone, "Don't worry, tell me slowly. Shisui should be at the clan leader's house reporting on his mission right now. I'll take you to him right away! Don't worry, we'll figure something out!"

As he spoke, he half-supported and half-carried the nearly exhausted Sakura, and quickly walked towards the residence of clan leader Uchiha Fugaku.

Inside Fugaku Uchiha's residence, the atmosphere remained as somber as ever.

Uchiha Shisui had just finished a long-term overseas mission and was giving Fugaku a brief report on the situation.

Fugaku sat upright, listening expressionlessly, his fingers unconsciously tapping his knees.

Just then, there was a rather urgent knock on the door.

"Come in," Fugaku said in a deep voice.

Uchiha Hachiro brought Sakura in, her eyes red and swollen from crying, and she was still sobbing slightly.

"Clan leader, Shisui, I apologize for disturbing you." Yashiro bowed first, then immediately pointed to Sakura, his tone urgent, "This girl is Haruno Sakura, who adopted Nagi! She just ran to deliver the news that Nagi was taken away by Shimura Danzo's men!"

"What?!"

The gentleness on Shisui's face vanished instantly, replaced by an extreme coldness and sharpness. He didn't even wait for Yashiro to finish speaking, nor for Fugaku to give any instructions; his body reacted as if by reflex—

With a barely audible ripple in the air, Shisui's figure vanished from the spot, leaving only a lingering echo of his voice, "I'll go check it out!"

It was so fast that it didn't even leave an afterimage!

Sakura and Yatsushiro Uchiha were both stunned, looking at each other blankly, unable to react for a moment.

Sitting upright, Fugaku Uchiha looked in the direction where Shisui had disappeared, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly, but he said nothing.

His gaze then fell on the pink-haired girl standing at the door, who looked particularly small and helpless.

Compared to Hiashi Hyuga's arrogant scrutiny, Fugaku's gaze, though equally deep and dignified, appeared much calmer, even carrying a hint of subtle, complex emotion.

"You are... Sakura Haruno?" Fugaku asked, his voice low.

Sakura was intimidated by the Uchiha clan leader's imposing presence. She instinctively straightened up, nervously twisting her fingers, and obediently nodded, "Yes, yes, hello Uncle Uchiha."

Looking at her frightened yet feigned composure, Fugaku sighed inwardly. This ordinary little girl had been unwittingly drawn into the vortex of power struggles between the higher-ups and the Uchiha clan...

Just then, another figure appeared silently beside Fugaku. It was Uchiha Tetsuka, who was in charge of clan intelligence and secret guards. He leaned close to Fugaku's ear and quickly reported a few words in a very low voice.

As Fugaku listened, his expression grew increasingly grave. He waved his hand, signaling Tetsuya to leave.

Then, he looked at Sakura again and said in a serious tone, "Haruno Sakura, you will stay in the Uchiha clan territory tonight and do not leave."

Sakura was taken aback, her emerald green eyes filled with confusion and unease. "W-why?"

Fugaku's gaze swept across the deep night outside the window, his voice tinged with coldness, "I just received news that Danzo's Root ninjas are searching for you outside. Their purpose... is probably not as simple as just finding you."

Fugaku didn't explicitly say the words "silence," but the chilling meaning was clear enough.

Sakura's heart sank, and her face turned deathly pale!

Danzo...sent people to find her? To kill her?

And...and what about you? You've been kidnapped...Will you encounter something even worse? Will they hurt you?

Overwhelmed by fear and anxiety once again, her body trembled slightly, and she bit her lower lip so hard it almost bled.

At this moment, she felt an intense hatred for her own weakness and incompetence.

At this moment, the only thing that could give her a faint sense of security was the Uchiha clan, who were always ostracized by the villagers and were rumored to be arrogant and aloof.

The irony of fate could not be more profound.

Uchiha Shisui pushed his movement technique to its limit, using the renowned Body Flicker Technique to speed past, delivering the urgent message that you had been forcibly taken away by Danzo to the Hokage's office at top speed.

Kakashi Hatake, having already detected the anomaly through his independent intelligence network, was on his way to the Root base.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was more solemn than ever before. He immediately issued an order to urgently summon all Konoha's high-ranking advisors and department heads who remained in the village.

The Hokage Building was brightly lit late at night, a stark contrast to the silent night outside the window. The atmosphere inside the conference room was so oppressive it was almost palpable.