Naruto: Starting with Snatching the Mangekyō Sharingan

"Why don't we take this chance to deal with Orochimaru?" A cold glint flashed in Fugaku's eyes.

"I'd like to see how he plans to run for Hokage after being exposed for human experiments."

"Probably not feasible," Akira replied, shaking his head. "Orochimaru's lab is located within the Root."

Root, which operates under Danzo, is essentially an extension of the Hokage's Anbu, with authority surpassing the police force. Under normal circumstances, the Police Force has no right to interfere with Root's affairs.

However, it's not entirely impossible for the police to get involved. For instance, if there were clues suggesting a missing person's trail led back to Root, it would give them an opening. But such a move would surely provoke a fallout, and this tactic should be saved for a moment when it would yield the greatest benefit.

Fugaku's face shifted between uncertainty and determination. Finally, he sighed and said,

"I guess we'll leave it for now. I was hoping we could deal with Orochimaru right away, clearing the path for Minato to become Hokage."

"I think we should keep this as a card to play at a critical moment, striking both Danzo and Orochimaru with a decisive blow when the time is right," Akira suggested.

Fugaku nodded. "That's reasonable. As long as the Third Hokage is in power, there's no guarantee this would significantly impact Danzo."

...

Back at home, Akira summoned the ninja cats, entrusting them with the task of locating Karin and Jugo. With the project on cloning now moving forward, it was time to search for them to prepare for the Chimera Technique.

The ninja cats serve as a valuable source of intelligence for the Uchiha clan. Scattered across the world, they naturally gather information. If they pay attention, they can uncover many things that aren't heavily concealed.

Akira has confidence in the ninja cats' capabilities. After all, the people he's searching for are not within the Five Great Shinobi Villages, so finding them should be within the cats' abilities.

Although Karin hasn't been born yet, her mother likely has already settled in Kusagakure. Akira plans to wait patiently until she surfaces. Jugo, however, poses more of a challenge to locate. His unique transformation trait might not be exclusive to him but could be a bloodline trait. Since Akira doesn't know which village Jugo originated from, he has only been able to describe Jugo's characteristics post-transformation to the cats, hoping they'll come across any clan with similar traits.

Time passed swiftly. Three months later, it was already August. During this period, the Uchiha clan's newly acquired company, ShinTen Biotech, established its base on the outskirts of Konoha, officially kicking off its research operations.

The Uchiha clan, renowned across the shinobi world, quickly attracted a wave of talent once it opened applications. Both Konoha's name and the Uchiha reputation brought in a large number of qualified researchers in no time.

Konoha is currently one of the safest places in the ninja world. With three wars fought over the past few decades, rogue ninjas have become common. Ordinary people are naturally inclined to settle somewhere secure. However, entering Konoha is no small feat—it isn't a place just anyone can move into.

Now, with the Uchiha setting up their company headquarters here, civilians see it as a rare opportunity. ShinTen Biotech is now advancing three major projects: cloning, directed cloning, and the secret Senju Hashirama cell transplant project, cleverly disguised under the title "Organ Transplant Rejection Research."

Aside from these three core projects, the company has retained its original pharmaceutical research line. However, with its expanded recruitment, the focus has shifted slightly, developing medicines aimed more at shinobi than civilians. Ninja-oriented products, after all, have a higher potential for profit. That said, research on civilian-targeted drugs hasn't ceased either.

To Akira's surprise, Yakushi Nono displayed a remarkable depth of knowledge in biological cloning. Although she claimed to have only a basic understanding, she quickly won over her project team within a month and became the leading figure in the cloning initiative.

Meanwhile, news spread throughout Konoha that the Third Hokage was preparing to step down, paving the way for the Fourth Hokage election. Surprisingly, only two candidates had been nominated: Orochimaru of the Legendary Sannin and the Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze. To the surprise of many villagers, Jiraiya of the Sannin chose not to participate in the election.

With this announcement, Konoha was abuzz with activity, as preparations for the Fourth Hokage election took over the village's atmosphere. Although minor skirmishes continued along the Fire Country's border, the war had mostly subsided, and peace seemed imminent.

As Konoha eagerly prepared for a new Hokage, a new dawn was breaking for the Akatsuki organization in the Land of Rain.

On a high cliff overlooking a canyon, Danzo observed the scene below with a cold gleam in his eyes and a brief, smug smile. After months of scheming, he had finally set things into motion and now planned to reap the rewards.

"Now, let's see the power of the Rinnegan," Danzo thought with a sinister smirk.

Three months earlier, he had come to the Land of Rain to disrupt peace negotiations, sending his Root operatives to pose as rogue shinobi from other villages and cause chaos across the countryside.

To his surprise, Hanzo hadn't sent his forces to stop the chaos, leaving the Root members free to continue. Instead, a rising organization known as Akatsuki emerged, mobilizing to protect the citizens of the Land of Rain. During an ambush, Danzo had made a startling discovery: one of the leaders of Akatsuki possessed the legendary Rinnegan, the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths.

After witnessing the monstrous summons of the Rinnegan, Danzo conceived a new plan: to incite conflict between Akatsuki and Hanzo's Hidden Rain Village, hoping to eliminate either Hanzo or the wielder of the Rinnegan.

For two months, he worked toward this goal, first bribing Hanzo's deputy Kanza, then having Root agents attack Hidden Rain shinobi, finally arriving in person to frame Akatsuki.

Everything had gone so smoothly, Danzo could hardly believe it. Hanzo, that old fool, had bought it all without a second thought.

In the pouring rain, down in the canyon, Yahiko and Nagato stood facing each other, both weary yet resolute. High above, on an elevated platform, Hanzo held Konan in his grip, his eyes icy as he looked down at them.

Hanzo's voice cut through the downpour, his gaze fixed on the red-haired youth surrounded by Rain shinobi.

"You, with the red hair—kill Yahiko, and I'll spare you and release the girl."

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