Croak, Fight!

A faint smile appeared on his face. Though he did not know exactly what Shimura Danzō's plan was, he could more or less guess. Still, he had not done it—Shimura Danzō had acted in secret. He could simply claim he knew nothing.

"Itachi is a good child."

Hiruzen Sarutobi thought.

"This is bad, Lord Hokage! Something terrible has happened!"

At that moment, an Anbu ninja rushed in and shouted anxiously.

"What happened?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

"Hahaha, come on, come on, hahaha!!!"

Maniacal laughter echoed without end. The figure, like a demon god, continued attacking. Even a casual strike was a terrifying assault the ninjas could not withstand. Every Konoha Ninja who came as reinforcements was easily killed by Uchiha Yue.

It was getting colder and colder.

After killing those ninjas and absorbing the energy within them, his body grew ever larger and gradually became blurred. The area around him became increasingly frigid. Simply approaching him made one feel the heat and Chakra within their body slipping away uncontrollably.

"Damn it, what kind of monster is this?!"

In the distance, several Konoha ninjas stared fixedly at the increasingly blurry figure.

"Heh..."

Uchiha Yue looked down at Konoha, his smile fading. Then his gaze locked onto the distant ninjas. He raised a hand, and countless chains burst from his body, shooting toward them.

Boom!

At that moment, an enormous staff shot over from afar. He immediately reacted and raised his hand.

Boom!

The staff slammed directly into a translucent palm formed from energy. The immense force struck his body, making him slide half a step across the ground before he stopped completely. Meanwhile, Hiruzen Sarutobi at the other end was sent flying instead.

"Susanoo!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi stared grimly at the enormous figure in the distance. On his way here, he had already learned what had happened.

It was simple. Shimura Danzō had plotted to destroy the Uchiha Clan. Now, the Uchiha Clan had almost been wiped out, but for some unknown reason, such a massive upheaval had occurred. He guessed that someone from the Uchiha Clan had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan and, in a fit of rage, killed both Shimura Danzō and Uchiha Itachi.

"Danzo, Itachi, you've really caused a huge mess."

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke. The person before him was no ordinary Uchiha, but a true monster. He could withstand all kinds of ninjutsu attacks and possessed overwhelming strength. For an ordinary ninja, a single touch from him meant death.

So many had died, yet he showed no signs of weakening. Instead, he kept growing stronger and larger. What the hell was this thing?

"This is bad! Old friend, this guy is absorbing my Chakra! Aah!!!"

At that moment, a face appeared on the Adamantine Staff in Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand. Then, the staff tightly gripped by Uchiha Yue began shrinking, trying to slip free from his hand.

"Oh! Where do you think you're going?"

Uchiha Yue tilted his head. The hand gripping the staff suddenly tightened, clamping down on that portion of its body. After the Chakra in that section was absorbed, Enma's indestructible adamantine body immediately weakened, and excruciating pain flooded his mind.

Enma wailed in agony. His staff body instantly shrank and contracted frantically, finally breaking free from Uchiha Yue's hand.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi... hahaha, you've finally appeared. Now it's time for you to die!"

Uchiha Yue looked toward Hiruzen Sarutobi in the distance and grinned. Then he raised a hand, and dark crimson flames appeared in his palm, swiftly forming a fireball like a vortex.

As he continuously absorbed energy, Uchiha Yue discovered that his ability to control Chakra and his cognitive abilities were rapidly improving. Combined with the ninjutsu he had copied using the Mangekyō Sharingan when those Konoha ninjas attacked him earlier, he now knew how to cast ninjutsu.

Boom!

A massive fireball shot toward Hiruzen Sarutobi like a meteor.

"Old friend, are you all right?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the Adamantine Staff in his hand and asked.

"I'm fine. Be careful. This guy is extremely strange—he can directly absorb other people's Chakra!"

Enma's voice sounded from the Adamantine Staff.

The next moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi leaped into the air. The Adamantine Staff in his hand pierced the ground and rapidly extended, launching him upward. He then performed a backflip in midair, and the staff in his hand traced an arc before slamming down onto Uchiha Yue's shoulder with a boom.

Yet nothing happened. It did not even break through his defenses.

"How weak. Is this all the strength you have?"

Uchiha Yue abruptly raised his hand and reached for the Adamantine Staff pressing down on his shoulder. The instant he moved, the staff rapidly shrank, trying to repeat its earlier escape.

However, just as the Adamantine Staff withdrew, countless chains suddenly burst from Uchiha Yue's shoulder and surged directly into it.

"Aah!"

A pained scream came from the Adamantine Staff. Those chains were like leeches, crazily sucking the Chakra from Enma's body. As his Chakra vanished, the transformation on his body was undone. He changed from a staff back into an ape and slipped from Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand.

"Old friend! No!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately reacted upon seeing this, but it was too late. Countless chains burst directly out of Enma's body, and in the blink of an eye, he became a dried corpse.

"Old friend, don't touch that monster... aah!"

Enma's final wail echoed beside Hiruzen Sarutobi's ear. Just like that, the summoned beast that had accompanied Hiruzen Sarutobi his entire life died before he could even cancel the summoning contract.

Enma was not weak. His indestructible adamantine body, tremendous strength, and transformation ability were enough to place him at the pinnacle of summoned beasts. Unfortunately, all of that required Chakra to sustain it. He had happened to encounter the evil Susanoo, which fed specifically on energy and possessed absurdly high durability. Against almost any other opponent, he would never have died so quickly.

Thud!

Enma's shriveled corpse fell to the ground. Uchiha Yue looked toward Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Protect Lord Hokage!"

"Monster, die!"

At that moment, another group of ninjas arrived and launched an attack on Uchiha Yue.

All kinds of ninjutsu struck Uchiha Yue's body, bursting apart in an instant before being absorbed by him.

"Stop! Energy attacks are useless against this monster!"