NOVEL NEXT Chapter 35: Shut Your Mouth.
He didn't like the feeling, he didn't like the feeling at all. Anxiety welled up inside him as he got off his bed and began pacing around his room.
A few minutes later, he ran back to the place where he found his teammate's head and saw a small tomb stone.
'So they buried him after I left.' he thought as he dug open the area around the tombstone and found the head. He stared at the emotionless face for a while before grabbing the jaw and forcibly opening it.
There was no tongue and there weren't any teeth either. Instead, there was a small slab of wood that replaced the tongue and carved wooden teeth to replace his actual teeth.
'Teeth and tongue to maintain the structure of the face. Were medical ninjas involved?' Kira thought, but he couldn't hold it in anymore and closed the mouth back.
He hurriedly placed the head on the ground before running to the side. With his hand placed on a tree for support, he emptied the contents of his stomach onto the ground.
After using water release to create water, he washed his mouth and went back to the head. This time, he took off the forehead protector, and stared at it in shock.
On Taka's forehead, was a familiar swastika symbol at the center with two lines moving outwards horizontally.
[A/N: In the anime, it's shown as an X but in the manga, it's shown as a swastika. Btw, please do not mistake the swastika for the nazi symbol as that one is a reverse swastika. Swastika is related to hinduism and buddism instead.]
A frown formed on his face as he stared at the cursed seal that the hyuga clan branded on their branch family members. But Kira, even for a second, did not think that it was done by the Hyuga clan.
The reason? It was because the seal would vanish the moment a person dies, and seeing it on Taka's head when his body was absent wasn't convincing.
Not knowing what to do next, he plucked off the large leaves of some of the trees nearby and used them to wrap the head. He then used some vines to secure the wrap in place before running back to the village.
'Should I go to sensei Raichi's house or should I go ask the Hyugas about this?' he asked himself as he sped forward, activating the second gate.
********
Root Headquarters
Danzo couldn't suppress his smile when he heard his subordinate's message.
"Now that they found that kid's head, they've already been trapped in my net. Let's see which path that Uchiha will choose."
A long haired, pale faced guy stood beside him with a sour expression on his face, "I wanted to experiment more on that guy. After all, this is the first time we've seen someone with a kekkei genkai that can alter their appearance."
Danzo waved his hand, dismissing his words, "There was no time to wait and even after more than two weeks, you did not come up with expected results. Orochimaru, why don't you just go back to the lab and see how yamato is doing?"
Snakeman glared at Danzo for not understanding that the result he got was way better than Danzo's so-called "expected results"
"Would you at least listen to what I found out? It's way better than just appearance change! Those cells from Shin... they accept almost everything. Like, you can use someone else's skeleton and organs to create another human being as long as we have enough of those cells.
I've found a way to cultivate them, but these cells are harder to cultivate compared to Hashirama cells. Now imagine using Taka's cells and merging them with Shin's. There was a chance of the experiment to succeed."
Danzo turned to look at him, this time interested in the results, "Like always, I'm assuming that this chance is extremely low. For now, just go back to the lab and stay there until I call you. There is a chance that Raichi Uchiha might come h-"
*Bam*
The door of the root headquarters broke open, revealing a single man standing at the entrance with two glowing red eyes staring at Danzo in rage.
"Well, looks like he's already here. It's easier for me this way, so Ex-anbu captain Raichi Uchiha, why are you attacking an elder of the village?" he asked, a smirk forming on his face as he walked towards the Uchiha.
"No one other than me and the hokage knew about Taka's shape shifting kekkei genkai. He was safe for five whole years, but a few months after I talked to the Hokage about him, he dies. Coincidentally, you were standing outside the office. Do you think that I'm dumb?" Raichi shouted as rage filled his heart.
Danzo silently stared at him for a few seconds before speaking, "You're already here. You're trapped. Since you came here, this is the best possible scenario for me.
Anyways, it looks like before that guy finds your student's head, you'll be long dead and I can frame you for conducting experiments on the Hyuga clan's cursed seal and spread news that you attacked me for no apparent reason.
What do you think will happen then? Your Uchiha clan will be hated by the hyuga and the entire village will shun them for trying to take over Konoha through assassinations and theft of various clans' hidden jutsus."
Just when he thought he had won, a familiar voice entered his ears.
"To think that so many things have been going on behind my back"
Danzo stared at man who used to be his teammate under Tobirama's mentorship.
"Hiruzen... as the leader of the root-"
"As the Hokage, I'm telling you to shut your mouth."