"Danzo... what an interesting man."
After confirming through Tracking Humanoids that Torune had left, Allen stared at the eye soaking in the test tube, a playful smile on his face. In his eyes, this "Hidden Hokage" was no different from Hiruzen Sarutobi, both were ambitious men who would do anything to achieve their goals. It was just that the latter had superior political finesse and maintained a "nice guy" facade.
The former, however, foolishly kept doing things that offended people while feeling quite good about himself, believing only he was fit to sit in the Hokage's seat and lead Konoha to unify the world.
Of course, none of this mattered to Allen. He would be happy to see these two scheming old men fight even more fiercely; it would be best if they tore each other apart so he could reap more benefits. Specifically, Danzo's right arm, infused with Hashirama Senju's cells and numerous Sharingans, and Shisui's Mangekyo in his right eye were both excellent "nutrients."
With that thought, Allen took the eye out of the glass container and tossed it to Vaelastrasz, who swallowed it whole.
Two or three seconds later, he immediately felt something completely different being slowly injected into his body, flowing through his veins.
"Are you performing genetic modification on me?" Allen asked, his tone uncertain.
"No, it's not a simple modification; it's a screening. Specifically, filtering out the harmful parts and retaining only the beneficial ones. I must say, keeping a portion of the Chimera Ant genes was a stroke of genius. Otherwise, embedding other genes now would not be easy. Also, hang on tight; your eyes might undergo some changes..."
Following Vaelastrasz's explanation, a wave of intense pain suddenly hit. Allen collapsed to his knees, gritting his teeth to prevent any scream from escaping. It was the middle of the night; any sound would instantly attract the attention of patrols.
Fortunately, the pain didn't last too long. It subsided after about a minute. A large amount of bloody tears dripped from his eyelids onto the floor. When he opened his eyes again and looked into the mirror, he found that he now possessed a pair of two-tomoe Sharingan.
"Interesting! So this is the Uchiha clan's Sharingan? No wonder these 'red-eyed' folks are so arrogant and self-important; this is their capital," Allen mused, touching the corners of his eyes which still throbbed with pain.
Exceptional kinetic vision! The ability to observe the flow of chakra to see through and copy jutsus! And the ability to use sight to manipulate chakra and create Genjutsu! Once the Sharingan is awakened, one sees a completely different world. It could even give someone the illusion that nothing can deceive these eyes.
"It truly is an incredible gene! But for now, this is the limit. If you want it to evolve further, it would be best for me to devour more and higher-grade Sharingans. If possible, find a living Uchiha for me to consume."
As she spoke, two scarlet Sharingan appeared on the sides of the heads extending from Vaelastrasz's necklace. It was obvious she had performed some modifications and fusions on herself as well.
"Getting higher-grade eyes isn't hard, but a living Uchiha... as far as I know, there are only three left," Allen said, looking quite troubled.
There was nothing he could do about it. When he crossed the Dark Portal into this world, the Uchiha Massacre had already happened. The only three survivors were Sasuke, Itachi, and Obito. As for the "Shinobi Ghost," Madara, he was currently a dead man waiting for resurrection.
Among these three, Sasuke was undoubtedly the easiest to get. But Allen wasn't sure if Hagoromo Otsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths, would jump out to fight him if he killed Sasuke. By comparison, Itachi and Obito were actually easier targets.
"It doesn't matter. As you often say, we can take it slow. Time is on our side," Vaelastrasz replied casually.
"True. Now, let's study the Lightning Release jutsus recorded in this scroll. I see quite a few interesting things; maybe they can provide some inspiration for the further development of Thunderbird."
With that, Allen teleported directly into a dungeon and began a new round of learning, research, and improvement. At this moment, he was like a sponge, continuously absorbing power from knowledge and transforming it into his own.
Unlike Nen abilities, Ninjutsu exists as an objective system similar to science. No matter how complex a jutsu is, once learned, it is never forgotten. With a ten-to-one time ratio and near-eternal life, learning every jutsu in the world wasn't just an empty boast, as long as he wasn't a hopeless idiot.
…
Two days passed quickly.
When the special mission scroll was handed to Allen, he looked up and asked the Third Hokage in a disturbing tone, "If I die, will you feel guilt or unease?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately frowned. "What did Torune Aburame say to you?"
"Nothing. He just told me some hidden truths. My apologies for asking a question that made the Hokage uncomfortable. But please rest assured, from this day forward, you won't hear any more questions from me."
As the last word left his lips, the smile Allen usually wore vanished, replaced by an icy indifference, a coldness that pushed people a thousand miles away.
This sudden change caught Hiruzen off guard, and even the two advisors beside him exchanged looks of dismay. Just minutes ago, they were discussing how to compensate this young man after he returned from this dangerous mission, how to instill the Will of Fire in him and groom him into a powerhouse for the village.
But now, all of that was in vain. It was clear from his attitude that Root had said something they shouldn't have, causing this drastic shift. This terrifying rift of distrust was almost impossible to repair.
They were now left with two choices: either use the Iwa ninja's hands to permanently remove this unstable element, or allow him to fall completely into the embrace of Danzo and Root.
Thinking about how his painstaking plans had been ruined, the Third Hokage, who always maintained the image of a kind old man, finally exploded with unprecedented rage.
"Danzo! You bastard!"
Unfortunately, other than this impotent fury, he was powerless against his old partner. He could only watch as Danzo swung his shovel and dug away the most promising member of the new generation.
On the other side, when Danzo received the news, he burst into a hearty laugh. This was the only time he had scored such a resounding victory in his countless clashes with the Third Hokage. Allen's public declaration to cut ties with the Hokage's faction meant he had no second home other than Root.
For Danzo, nothing brought more peace of mind than this. Consequently, he immediately dispatched his elite subordinates, ordering them to ensure Allen survived the Iwa ambush at all costs. If necessary, they were to break the five-minute promise and move in early to secure him.