Three Mangekyo

"Our objective in this battle is to hunt down Root members, not to attack Konoha."

"I, Itachi, and the clan head will serve as the vanguard. We'll use our Susanoo to sweep away every Root member."

Other than the Great Elder, everyone below wore shocked expressions, and low murmurs of discussion even broke out.

Everyone understood what Senyo meant. Their clan head, the clan head's son, and the Fourth Elder were all experts who possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Fugaku was somewhat surprised that Senyo also had the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Itachi was equally astonished that Senyo knew his father possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan as well.

However, Senyo offered no further explanation.

Instead, he made a tactical hand signal and took the lead in heading outside.

Itachi released Izumi and whispered to her, "Move farther back in the group."

Izumi knew Itachi had serious matters to attend to, so she could only remind him, "Be careful, Itachi!"

Itachi nodded slightly, then caught up with Senyo.

The Great Elder glared coldly at Fugaku. Fugaku gritted his teeth and followed Senyo as well.

The Great Elder made a hand signal and led over a hundred people after them.

Hokage's Office.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura quickly arrived at the office.

Time was tight. The Anbu had already told them what had happened on the way.

"Hiruzen, why did Itachi turn to the Uchiha?"

Utatane Koharu, one of Danzo's cronies, spoke up as well.

She had previously been one of the higher-ups who played the bad cop and brainwashed Itachi.

She had thought that even if Itachi could not slaughter most of the Uchiha Clan, he would at least kill some of its higher-ups and throw the Uchiha Clan into chaos.

With Danzo's enormous Root organization, wiping out the Uchiha Clan should have been effortless. She had never expected things to turn out like this.

The Third Hokage's face was grim. "Now isn't the time to discuss that."

"We still don't know what the Uchiha Clan intends to do."

Utatane Koharu snorted. "Isn't it obvious? Itachi returned to the clan and attacked Danzo. Of course it's an Armed Coup."

The Third Hokage glanced at Mitokado Homura, who hesitated for a moment.

"The Uchiha probably wouldn't dare to fight, would they?"

The Third Hokage tapped his pipe. "I've already dispatched a large number of people to monitor the Uchiha Clan's movements."

"You two should go organize your own forces as well."

"I'll notify the other Ninja Clans."

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu had no choice but to leave and gather their forces first.

The Third Hokage instructed the Anbu personnel:

"Send word to Jiraiya immediately. Tell him to return at once!"

"Yes!" The Anbu below vanished immediately.

The Third Hokage took a puff of smoke and thought to himself, I wonder if we can get through today.

Outside the Uchiha Clan Compound.

"Rumble!"

"What is that?!"

"Ah!"

"Retreat! Quickly!"

Three Susanoo—orange-red, black, and purple-black—led the charge.

Only a few Root members had ever seen Shisui's Susanoo.

How could the others have ever seen such bulldozers? Blades could not cut through them, and ninjutsu could not penetrate them.

Even a Susanoo in its skeletal armor form would be smashed to pulp by a single punch.

The bloody mess would be unrecognizable even to its own mother.

Something this overpowered.

And there were three of them!

Already without anyone to command them, Root collapsed at the first blow and frantically retreated toward Konoha.

In truth, Senyo and the other two had only killed a dozen or so people with their Susanoo.

But the scene was far too shocking.

The Uchiha clan members behind them howled as they charged after Root with overwhelming momentum.

Though Root had seventy or eighty members, more than a hundred Uchiha bore down on them, leaving them no ability to resist.

They fled all the way, leaving corpses behind them.

Fugaku had long since activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, but over the years, he had practically never used it in front of others.

This was also the first time he had fought so freely and fiercely. Seeing his clan members charging with such unstoppable momentum stirred the heart that had long lain dormant within Fugaku.

We have three Mangekyō Sharingan. Could it be...

Senyo's gaze remained calm. Unlike Fugaku, he had not let his blood rush to his head.

This one-sided scene had long been part of his plan.

Using Susanoo as the vanguard to crush the enemy's morale and raise their own, they were fighting a group of Root members who had no idea what was going on.

If it hadn't turned out like this, they would be embarrassed to call themselves the Uchiha Clan.

Besides, he had no intention of openly turning against Konoha.

Although Itachi had followed his orders and used Susanoo to pursue the Root members.

Deep down, however, Itachi still did not want to go to war with Konoha.

He stood with his clan, but he did not want to slaughter civilians or spark a war.

As one side pursued and the other fled, Root finally caught sight of the personnel organized by the Third Hokage after leaving behind more than forty corpses.

Senyo raised both hands and signaled for the pursuit to stop.

Fugaku and Itachi also stopped beside him.

The clan members behind them gradually came to a halt as well. Most had blood rushing to their heads, their faces filled with killing intent.

For over a hundred Uchiha combatants, seventy or eighty Root members simply had not been enough to kill.

They still wanted to fight. They wanted to kill more!

The fighting spirit on everyone's faces was far too obvious, and a commotion broke out on Konoha's side as well.

The Great Elder stepped to the front of the formation and signaled for them to stop.

The clan members calmed down somewhat, and many took the opportunity to recover their stamina.

However, none of the clan members who had awakened their Sharingan deactivated them. Their crimson Sharingan remained fixed on Konoha's side.

"Senior Senyo?" Itachi asked Senyo.

Senyo turned and saw the hesitation and worry in Itachi's eyes.

He patted Itachi on the shoulder. "Don't worry. I didn't lie to you."

The tension in Itachi's heart eased slightly.

Senyo glanced at Fugaku, who seemed eager to make a move.

"Great Elder, come here for a moment."

Hearing Senyo's summons, the Great Elder strode forward with the bearing of a dragon and tiger.

Lowering his voice, Senyo said to Itachi and the Great Elder, "In a moment, you need to say this..."

"Great Elder, cooperate like this..."

He laid out his scheme to them in full. After hearing it, a thoughtful look flashed through the Great Elder's eyes.

Fugaku frowned and asked, "Senyo, wouldn't this give Konoha more time to prepare?"

Senyo shook his head slightly. "My mind is perfectly clear. I'll tell you about the follow-up plan later."

Fugaku wanted to say something, but when he turned and saw the Great Elder's stern gaze, he immediately fell silent.

Senyo held command tonight. Whatever Senyo arranged, he had to follow.

Sasuke's life was still in the Great Elder's hands.

The Great Elder agreed without hesitation. "I'll listen to you, Senyo."

The Uchiha clan grounds had long been moved to the outermost edge of Konoha.

They were now only a street away from Konoha's forces.

Though he did not understand why the Uchiha had stopped, the Third Hokage was happy to stall for more time.

At the very least, he needed to wait for the elites of the other Ninja Clans to arrive.

The Uchiha Clan's combat strength was terrifying. If he did not drag more people into this, the Third Hokage's own direct forces would suffer devastating losses.

Especially since the Root members who had just escaped back had brought new information.

Mangekyō Sharingan.

The Uchiha had three of them.

Itachi, Fugaku, and Senyo—all three had them!