Once Again!

"Enough!"

The Third Hokage shouted sharply, saying coldly, "I've said it before: the Uchiha are members of the village too. As long as they haven't betrayed the village, the village will not betray them."

Whoosh!

With that, the Third Hokage vanished from the office.

Outside, more than a dozen Anbu were already prepared.

The Third Hokage appeared before them.

"Move!"

"Yes!"

They all used the Body Flicker Technique and left.

"That Hiruzen is far too stubborn!" Mitokado Homura said angrily. "Those are the Uchiha! The Uchiha!"

"Don't be so hasty, Homura!"

Utatane Koharu remained calm. "It will take quite some time to get from here to the Death Forest. That should be enough time for Danzo's subordinates to clean everything up, right, Danzo?"

Faced with Utatane Koharu's gaze, Danzo merely snorted and walked away without answering.

Self-righteous fools!

Did they really think Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't think of what they could?

What did he mean by, as long as the Uchiha didn't betray the village, the village wouldn't betray the Uchiha?

By that logic, what did that make Danzo's actions this time?

Wouldn't it mean he had betrayed the village?

Was Hiruzen Sarutobi planning to sacrifice Danzo for the sake of a single Uchiha?

He would have to be insane!

They couldn't even figure out something so simple, yet they were still putting on airs!

That was why Hiruzen Sarutobi was Hokage, while the two of them could only become elders through his appointment. Their fates were entirely in Hiruzen's hands.

If he became displeased, they would lose everything!

I'm different. I've already broken free of Hiruzen and gained power of my own.

Even if I lose the conflict with the Uchiha, Hiruzen will still do everything he can to protect me!

Hiruzen and I—we cannot afford to lose each other!

Hm?

Danzo's steps paused slightly.

Why did I think about losing a conflict with the Uchiha?

How could I possibly lose!

And lose to the Uchiha, of all people?

Tap, tap, tap!

The sound of his cane striking the ground became disordered, no longer carrying its earlier steady rhythm.

Eerie flames burned within the Death Forest.

Sensor Ninja were the first to discover the scene, and they reported it to the Hokage.

The other ninja clans gradually noticed as well.

The Uchiha in particular erupted into an uproar.

Blood Flame?

Kazuna!

Their Vice Clan Leader, the head of the Konoha Military Police Force, was fighting!

No one needed to rally them. One Uchiha after another gathered, brimming with murderous intent.

Whether they belonged to the Hawk Faction, the Dove Faction, or the clan head's faction, they would gather first and worry about the rest later.

Kazuna was now the Uchiha's public face. Attacking him was a provocation against the entire Uchiha clan.

After Kazuna's work over the past few days, the already single-minded Uchiha were fired up.

Fugaku watched the gathering Uchiha with a deeply furrowed brow.

He knew how popular Kazuna was among the Uchiha, but the clan was now like a powder keg, ready to explode at the slightest spark.

This was absolutely not a good thing!

"Clan Head!"

An Uchiha spotted Fugaku and immediately called out to him.

Whoosh!

The Uchiha all turned to look.

Clearly, they were waiting for Fugaku to give the order.

At a time like this, it was most appropriate for the clan head to lead them.

Kazuna had been attacked. Under their clan head's command, these Uchiha should raise hell!

Fugaku gave a bitter smile and said, "This many people? Do you think... Ahem. Inabi, Tekka, Yashiro, Kuroko, Ikkaku, and Genya—you come with me. Everyone else, disperse where you are."

The Uchiha had no shortage of experts. The six people Fugaku had just named were all Jonin.

Moreover, they were very close to Elite Jonin level.

Fugaku himself was a powerful Hokage-level ninja. With this group going, unless Konoha truly intended to move against the Uchiha, there was practically nothing they could not handle.

Whoosh!

An Anbu appeared and said to Fugaku, "Clan Head Fugaku, Lord Danzo orders the Uchiha not to leave the clan grounds."

Those words darkened Fugaku's expression.

The Uchiha immediately stirred in agitation.

"Danzo?" Fugaku said indifferently. "Who the hell does he think he is? What gives him the right to order me around?"

Danzo was the Hokage Assistant, and his status was high.

But!

The Uchiha were Konoha's strongest clan. Fugaku Uchiha had also been the former commander of the Konoha Military Police Force, the Ruling Clan Head, and the Uchiha possessed immense authority personally granted to them by the Second Hokage. The Hokage Assistant had no standing whatsoever to command them.

The Anbu ninja's voice remained steady. "Lord Danzo said that if Clan Head Fugaku insists on having his way, he will bear the consequences himself!"

One figure after another appeared, locking their eyes tightly onto the Uchiha.

Their presence was intimidating, and battle could erupt at any moment.

A blaze ignited within Fugaku's heart.

This scene was all too familiar!

The Night of the Nine-Tails—the night that had changed the Uchiha—had been exactly like this.

A fierce battle had clearly been raging elsewhere, yet Danzo had pinned them down here.

They had not been allowed to take a single step out of the clan grounds. They could only stand there obediently as spectators.

Afterward, it had been proven just how wrong Fugaku's choice had been.

On the Night of the Nine-Tails, the Fourth Hokage, who had intended to ease the relationship between the Uchiha and the village, died in battle, and the blame had been shifted onto the Uchiha.

No one ever mentioned the Third Hokage's orders again.

The Uchiha had been forced to relocate their clan grounds and suffered massive losses of resources.

The clan members had groaned and complained. Their morale had plummeted to rock bottom, and they had been filled with rage and resentment toward him.

Wasn't Kazuna's easy rise to power this time precisely the result of what had fermented since that night?

And now, they were doing it again!

And Kazuna was very likely being besieged by Danzo!

This was simply...

Too much!

You besiege our Vice Clan Leader, yet expect us to stand by and do nothing!

What did you take the Uchiha for?!

Meat on your chopping block?

Fugaku recalled the question Kazuna had once asked him "out of curiosity": Why had the Hokage at the time clearly been the Fourth, yet they had obeyed the Third Hokage's orders? Could it be that the clan head had conflicts with the Fourth Hokage and wanted to support the Third's return to power?

That sentence shattered Fugaku's final restraint!

Scarlet Three Tomoe appeared in Fugaku's eyes. His voice was icy and brimming with killing intent as he said, "Is that so? Then I truly want to find out what these consequences are!"

"You..."

Though the man wore a mask, it was obvious that the Anbu had been stunned.

Was this really Fugaku Uchiha?

He had been forceful in the past as well, but he had always held certain reservations. That had made Fugaku like a tiger chained by the neck.

As long as they kept their distance, they could toy with him however they pleased!

But now, the tiger's chain had been undone?

Not just them—even the Uchiha began to mutter among themselves as they sensed the soaring killing intent around Fugaku.

Had the clan head taken the wrong medicine?

Why was he so unyielding today?!

Had Vice Clan Leader Kazuna's rise to power infected him?

But this was a good thing!

At once, pairs of red eyes fixed on the Anbu with ill intent.

As long as Fugaku gave the order, these Uchiha, who had long wanted to test the Anbu's mettle, would swarm them and tear them apart.

"Cough, cough!"

A burst of dry coughing rang out.

Tap, tap, tap!

The sound of a cane striking the ground followed.