Susanoo! Apprehension!

Danzo caught the scroll Hiruzen tossed over, and his face immediately darkened after reading it.

Damn it, that idiot Ryoma had never told him that Root's operation this time had been passed by Uchiha Chizakura to the Ninja Cat Clan!

He had actually ignored such crucial intelligence! He had dared to conceal it from him! He deserved to die!

"Senya, Root's attack on the Uchiha Clan's ninjas this time was likely Ryoma Aburame acting on his own without authorization."

"When I return, I will immediately throw Ryoma into prison and have Anbu ninjas interrogate him on your behalf."

"Root will definitely give the Uchiha Clan an explanation."

"The only question is, what should be done about you, Fugaku, and Itachi attacking Root's base?"

Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, Danzo decisively chose to sell out his ally for his own benefit. He directly betrayed Ryoma Aburame, dumped all the blame on him, and washed himself and Root clean of any responsibility.

With that maneuver, he could also conveniently pin the crime of attacking Root's base on them!

After listening to Danzo beside him, Hiruzen immediately understood what Danzo was thinking and chose to aid and abet him.

"Senya, Danzo is right. Ryoma Aburame betrayed the village and attacked his comrades. Once he is imprisoned, Konoha will naturally give the Uchiha Clan justice."

"However, it is also a fact that you attacked Root. Since Danzo was at fault first for mismanaging Root, the punishment for the Uchiha Clan will be appropriately reduced."

Danzo immediately panicked upon hearing that!

You thick-browed bastard, you were selling out your friend for glory too?!

"Senya, as long as you willingly accept my placing a cursed seal on you, I will let this matter slide."

Fuck! Danzo completely lost it after hearing that. Damn it, if Senya got controlled by him, how was his dream of putting Susanoo on the Buddha statue supposed to come true?!

Standing beside Senya, Fugaku's expression instantly turned grave when he heard Hiruzen's condition. He looked toward Senya at his side.

"Hahahahaha!"

Senya suddenly threw back his head and laughed wildly. That smile turned the original Uchiha Four Laughing Heroes into the Uchiha Five Laughing Heroes.

The laughter gradually subsided.

Senya glared furiously at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi, out of respect for your position as Hokage, I gave you face and called you Hokage."

"Do you really think you're so impressive?!"

The Mangekyō Sharingan spun rapidly, and his Chakra grew increasingly cold and sinister.

A pitch-black skeletal ribcage began to form, encasing Fugaku and Senya within it.

The skeleton continued growing upward and spreading until a complete upper-body skeleton had formed.

The skeletal frame of a giant dozens of meters tall stood before Danzo and Hiruzen. Pale golden pupils stared from its eye sockets, seeming to contain boundless fury.

As his ocular power poured forth, Senya felt as though needles were piercing his body. Fortunately, he had already replicated Hashirama Cells from Obito, and the pain was gradually easing. Not even bloody tears flowed from his eyes.

"Hiruzen, you had better think carefully! As the two great clans that founded Konoha, the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan are not people you can move just because you are Hokage!"

"When the Uchiha Police Force was established, it was granted law enforcement authority! We have the right to directly arrest those who resist law enforcement!"

"As a Root member, Itachi Uchiha reported under his real name that suspicious individuals had entered Root!"

"Root's ninjas refused to cooperate with the personal law enforcement of the Police Force's director and deputy director! They were executed on the spot, without exception! What part of that violated the rules?!"

The pressure of Susanoo erupted further. Senya continued increasing the output of his ocular power as veins and muscle lines began to appear over the skeletal frame.

In mere moments, the upper body of the skeletal giant transformed into another form. A completely black giant's upper body stood upon the ground, holding a nearly ten-meter-long ninja blade in its right hand.

Hiruzen stared at the enormous thing before him, and his heart began to tremble.

He had never expected Senya to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan at only sixteen years old, much less already master Susanoo!

The half-body giant Senya had displayed should be something he and Danzo could resist together. But what if Senya could use an even more powerful Susanoo?!

Moreover, Fugaku was still standing beside him.

But there were so many Root operatives and Hokage-direct Anbu around them. It was not as though they had no chance!

Just as Hiruzen made up his mind and raised his hand to give the order—

Senya's half-body giant suddenly began manifesting downward from its waist.

Senya continued to pour out even more ocular power!

The cells in his body began to wail as his Chakra was continuously wrung dry! Then, a Susanoo Giant over thirty meters tall stood upon the ground.

Even the powerful regenerative ability of Hashirama Cells could not lessen the side effects brought by the third stage of Susanoo.

Yet strangely, bloody tears still had not appeared. Instead, Susanoo was continuously draining away his Chakra.

With that, Senya came to a realization. He finally understood why Madara could activate Susanoo even without eyes—it was because Susanoo's greatest consumption was Chakra, while the Mangekyō's exclusive ocular techniques were the primary means of consuming ocular power!

Enduring the agonizing pain throughout his body, Senya looked arrogantly at Danzo and Hiruzen.

Surging Chakra poured forth without end, making his long hair flutter behind him!

"What? Does our Lord Hokage still want to forcibly take down me, the deputy director of the Police Force, and the director of the Police Force?!"

"I know Root and the Hokage-direct Anbu have already been lying in ambush all around us."

"I just wonder whether our Lord Hokage has the courage to give it a try!"

With that, Senya controlled the Susanoo Giant and directly swung the spirit blade in its right hand toward the Root ninjas hiding to one side.

The massive blade came hurtling straight at them, leaving them nowhere to hide!

"Quick, use ninjutsu to defend!"

"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"

"Earth Style: Earth Shore Return!"

More than a dozen Earth Style defensive ninjutsu were like toys before the massive blade and were all destroyed.

More than a dozen Root ninjas died on the spot.

Danzo trembled with rage. He had lost over a dozen more subordinates! The ones who had died this time were not trash like genin and chunin! They were all jonin-level Root members! Danzo's heart was bleeding.

Hiruzen silently lowered the arm he had just intended to raise. His eyes remained fixed on Senya, filled with apprehension, as fear began to spread through his heart.

"Enough! Senya Uchiha! What exactly do you want?!"

Gathering his courage, Hiruzen directly roared at Senya.

Senya merely controlled Susanoo, flicking its blade and shaking the blood from it.

"Hiruzen, I don't want anything."

"I only want you to understand that the Police Force's law enforcement authority is independent of your Hokage administration!"

"Those your Anbu do not dare kill, my Police Force dares to kill! Execute first, report later—the police authority has special permission!"

"Lord Hokage, do you understand now? Root's ninjas just tried to attack me, the deputy director of the Police Force, so I executed them on the spot. Do you have any objection, Lord Hokage?"

Hiruzen clenched his trembling fists. It was impossible to tell whether he was enraged by apprehension and fear, by the humiliation of having his status as Hokage belittled and scorned, or by both.

"Fine. Then this matter ends here. We summoned you two here at night for a discussion and disturbed your rest. We will take our leave first."

Hiruzen turned around and fled at once. Seeing this, Danzo hurried after him.

The Hokage-direct Anbu, who had yet to react, soon came to their senses and followed Hiruzen away in a panic.

As for Root, every one of those who had come was dead. The beasts of the Forest of Death would collect their corpses.