SWNOVELXO Chapter 33: Chapter 34
The leader of the Root squad understood all too well what losing an arm meant in this world.
It wasn't just a physical disability—it signified a loss of strength, status, and purpose. In Root, where only the useful survived, this meant he'd soon be stripped of his captaincy and deemed expendable. His fall from grace had already begun.
And Danzo, the mastermind of Root,
Had no time to linger in one place.
Although the theft of the Sharingan made Shimura Danzo furious enough to nearly cough up blood,
He had no choice but to respond to the summons from Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, on this cold Konoha night. As the Root's leader, he couldn't afford to ignore a direct order from the Hokage.
In the Hokage's office,
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat calmly, pipe between his lips,
Gazing at Danzo with sharp, tired eyes. His tone was calm but carried the weight of authority.
"Danzo, I know you've been collecting the Uchiha clan's Sharingan. But those eyes—no matter how you justify it—belong to Konoha. As Hokage, I must ask you to surrender them for safekeeping."
Was this an official order?
No—this felt more like a blatant power grab!
Danzo's blood boiled. He clenched his teeth and fists as a surge of fury coursed through him.
So that's why Sarutobi had previously claimed he would "stay out of it"—granting Danzo full autonomy to handle the Uchiha fallout. All along, this crafty old man had been waiting for Danzo to gather the eyes… just so he could seize them afterward under the guise of Hokage authority!
The hypocrisy was suffocating.
Danzo was already seething from the loss of the Sharingan,
Now his face darkened like a storm cloud ready to burst.
"Sarutobi, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed," Danzo growled. "The Sharingan eyes were stolen tonight. My operatives have searched all night but found no trace of the intruder."
Hiruzen's expression sharpened, his voice chilling, "Do you expect me to believe such a convenient excuse? Danzo… don't insult my intelligence."
Pffft—!
Danzo almost spat blood in rage!
How could this be an excuse? It was the truth!
The Sharingan had truly been stolen—silently, cleanly, without leaving a single clue. Whoever the thief was, their infiltration had been masterful.
"You don't believe me? You think I'm hoarding them for myself?" Danzo's voice rose, unable to conceal the injustice he felt. "I'm telling you—there's not a single eye left in my possession!"
Hiruzen's face darkened. He had tolerated Danzo's underhanded methods for too long. The line had been crossed. The Hokage could not ignore the erosion of his authority any longer.
"If your Root operatives can't even secure a high-priority asset like the Sharingan," Hiruzen said coldly, "then perhaps the entire organization has outlived its usefulness."
In that moment, the long-standing tension between Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzo
Exploded into open hostility.
---
Chapter 37: Intermediate Forging
Tian Yu had been active through the night.
After ensuring he was not being followed, he removed the concealment mask and walked through the village streets without worry.
Once he confirmed that Root's ninja had no leads, he returned home in broad daylight and fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.
If he had known that in the Hokage's office,
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo were locked in a political standoff—triggered entirely by his midnight heist of the Sharingan—he might've burst out laughing on the spot.
A few days after the Uchiha clan's extermination,
Word spread throughout Konoha that Uchiha Itachi, the clan's eldest son,
Had personally destroyed the entire clan under classified orders.
The news shocked the village.
Some were stunned. Some suspicious. Some mournful.
But in time, the story became nothing more than idle gossip—a grim tale retold over tea.
Meanwhile, security in Konoha had tightened significantly.
The duties of the disbanded Uchiha Police Force were handed over to ANBU,
And even during the day,
Tian Yu often saw masked ANBU operatives leaping across rooftops, scanning for anything—or anyone—out of place.
But Tian Yu remained unfazed.
Suspicious figures? That didn't concern him.
He was a rising star of the village, heir to the Will of Fire, a gifted boy who had forged his own legend.
The thought brought a smile to his lips. And of course, to avoid attracting attention, Tian Yu stored the stolen Sharingan safely within his system's collection ring and hadn't taken them out since.
A month passed.
Hiruzen and Danzo, having exhausted all options and leads, finally relented.
The village's elevated state of alert faded, and Konoha returned to its usual rhythm.
Another month slipped by.
Winter arrived.
The villagers lost interest in discussing the Uchiha massacre.
The once-feared Uchiha clan had been buried beneath the falling snow, fading from public memory.
Two more months passed.
The New Year arrived.
It was now the 58th Year of the Hidden Leaf.
Tian Yu had turned eleven.
During these past few months,
Tian Yu acquired several two-star and three-star forging blueprints through his system.
Small Enchantment Crystal Ball: Two stars. Creates a 5m² sealed space that blocks sound, light, and chakra detection.
Tracker: Two stars. When placed on a target, it reveals their real-time location for 30 days.
Silver Ice Bow: Three stars. Ice attribute. Fires arrows of frozen chakra, with an effective range of 500 meters.
But among all these tools,
The most critical to Tian Yu was the Eye of the Three Tomoe.
The moment he acquired the Sharingan, the system flagged the blueprint as unlocked.
As expected,
The Sharingan itself was a required forging material for the Eye of the Three Tomoe.
What shocked Tian Yu, however, was that the blueprint's difficulty was rated four stars!
A forging level he had never attempted before.
This was no ordinary endeavor.
Forging the Eye of the Three Tomoe required precision, knowledge, and absolute confidence.
Even though he now had several Sharingan in his possession, they were a finite resource. He couldn't afford mistakes.
So, Tian Yu spent an entire month preparing meticulously—reviewing every step, crafting specialized chakra-infused tools, and refining his focus and stamina.
When he finally began the forging process,
He realized the true complexity of a four-star blueprint.
There were over a hundred individual forging steps, each requiring flawless chakra control and physical dexterity.
Fortunately, Tian Yu had been diligently training—both physically and mentally—through constant weapon crafting and taijutsu practice.
Though the process was long and grueling, he endured.
He stayed at the forge, heart focused, mind steady.
And finally, after three sleepless days and nights—
A notification echoed in his mind:
"Ding! Forging complete: Eye of the Three Tomoe!"
A scarlet orb, the size of a real human eye, emerged from the table.
Three tomoe rotated gently on its surface.
Tian Yu's eyes lit up as he examined the system's details:
---
[Eye of the Three Tomoe]
Rank: Four-Star Weapon (Upgradeable)
Attribute: Illusion
Skill: Can release A-Rank Genjutsu
Cooldown: Once used three times, 1-day recharge
Contract Status: Unbound
---
A-Rank Genjutsu?
Tian Yu's heart skipped a beat.
Even a seasoned genjutsu master like Kurenai Yuhi typically released B-rank illusions at her peak.
Tobirama Senju's famed Bringer-of-Darkness Jutsu was only A-rank.
And the original Uchiha clan's most powerful Sharingan illusions?
Also A-rank.
This meant—his forged eye could now rival the most elite Uchiha techniques below the Mangekyō level!
This was a tremendous leap in power.
Of course, the one-day cooldown after three uses was a slight drawback.
But it was nothing compared to the strategic advantage this tool now gave him.
With a single drop of blood,
Tian Yu bound the Eye of the Three Tomoe to himself and stored it safely away.
He had just taken another powerful step forward on the road to reshaping the shinobi world.