You're the Prey!

"Qianyu, you can't!"

Qianyu merely shook his head.

"However, Lord Hokage, I have one condition."

"What condition?!"

"Release the clan head."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression turned utterly grim, his fists clenched tightly.

Shimura Danzō, standing beside him, stepped forward and whispered in his ear.

"We can't release Fugaku Uchiha!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was still hesitating when another figure finally arrived late.

It was Uchiha Shisui.

He suddenly let out a slight sigh of relief.

"Fine, I can agree to that!"

Shimura Danzō's expression changed. "Hiruzen, you..."

But Hiruzen Sarutobi ignored him and coldly ordered, "Anbu, take Uchiha Qianyu into custody!"

"Yes, Lord Hokage!"

Several elite Anbu ninja immediately approached him cautiously.

Their gazes were filled with coldness, yet when it came time to actually act, they all hesitated.

This was the man who had just killed Anbu Commander Shinnosuke Sarutobi in full view of everyone!

Who would dare be careless?!

Yet Qianyu did not resist, allowing them to surround him completely.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded heavily.

The Anbu ninja holding Fugaku Uchiha released him and undid the sealing barrier that suppressed his Chakra, restoring his freedom.

Watching this scene, Qianyu seemed lost in thought as a faint blood-red glow emerged from his left eye...

Fugaku Uchiha stared at his back, unable to keep from frowning deeply.

"Qianyu, you..."

Qianyu did not turn around. He merely paused his steps for the moment.

"Clan Head, I'll leave my subordinates in your care."

After saying that, Qianyu left alongside the Anbu ninja surrounding him.

Hiruzen Sarutobi gave the Anbu beside him a look. The man immediately nodded and flashed away, personally taking charge of escorting Qianyu. He even gave Kakashi Hatake a slight signal.

Kakashi Hatake understood and likewise led his squad forward.

Just to escort Uchiha Qianyu, they had deployed nearly half of the Anbu's forces.

This included the squad formerly under Shinnosuke Sarutobi, Kakashi Hatake's squad, and the elite personal Anbu guard beside the Hokage, the man codenamed "Elephant."

It was clear just how wary and serious Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Anbu were about Qianyu.

Only then did Hiruzen Sarutobi personally step forward and lift his son's body. Under the exceedingly complicated gazes of the crowd, he left alone in sorrow.

The other Anbu ninja followed him away as well.

Uchiha Shisui hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he followed Hiruzen Sarutobi.

This bloody battle came to an abrupt halt once more.

Shimura Danzō coldly glanced at Qianyu's departing back, then cast a deep look at Fugaku Uchiha. Snorting, he led the Root Organization members away as well.

The remaining Uchiha clan members all gathered around Fugaku Uchiha.

"Clan Head, are you all right?"

Yashiro Uchiha hurriedly asked with concern.

Fugaku shook his head. "I told you, I went alone. The Anbu wouldn't dare do anything to me..."

"It's just..."

"Qianyu really turned everything upside down this time..."

Yashiro Uchiha nodded silently.

Yakumi Uchiha sighed. "He killed Shinnosuke Sarutobi and so many Anbu ninja, yet he voluntarily chose to let himself be locked in the Anbu prison. Clan Head, we absolutely can't just sit by and watch Qianyu go to his death!"

"No, I'm afraid the torture he'll suffer in the Anbu prison will be worse than death!"

Yashiro Uchiha said gravely, "But Qianyu chose to sacrifice himself to avoid a final split!"

"If we rashly break in now, wouldn't we be wasting all his painstaking efforts?!"

"This..."

Everyone turned to look at Fugaku Uchiha.

For a moment, Fugaku found it difficult to make a decision.

"You both have valid points, but we will never let Qianyu go to his death!"

"Don't worry. I'll personally go to the Anbu prison to visit him..."

"Until then, none of you are to act rashly!"

"Yes, Clan Head."

Of course, Qianyu was not considering the bigger picture.

He had chosen to accept Hiruzen Sarutobi's detention and interrogation after weighing several factors and reaching a final conclusion...

You Are the Prey!

The first reason, and the most immediate one...

Qianyu was at his weakest right now.

If a conflict truly erupted, he no longer had any fighting strength left.

Qianyu was no Superman, nor was he one of those absurdly overpowered gods from the late stages of the Fourth Shinobi World War, each with endless Chakra and limitless vitality...

At present, his strength only qualified him as a Jonin, or at most an elite Jonin. He was not invincible.

His Chakra was limited. He could be injured, and he could grow weak.

From learning about Aoki and Yamamoto, to forcibly storming into the Anbu prison, fighting fiercely, killing nine Anbu ninja in succession, breaking out of the prison, and continuing his bloody battle with Shinnosuke Sarutobi outside Anbu headquarters, he had not had a single chance to rest...

The fact that he had held on until now was already nothing short of a miracle.

He needed time.

The second reason was that Fugaku Uchiha was still in Anbu hands.

With the clan head absent and no leader among them, relying only on people like Yashiro Uchiha and Yakumi Uchiha to oversee the situation...

They had no chance of victory at all. It would be like using eggs to smash rocks!

On the other side were Hiruzen Sarutobi, Kakashi Hatake, Elephant, Qing, Sparrow, Rinkaku, and many other elite Anbu, with Shimura Danzō and the Root Organization eyeing them like tigers!

And Uchiha Shisui, the strongest member of the Uchiha clan...

Could turn against them at any moment!

Under such circumstances, if the Uchiha clan rashly started a war, they would be courting destruction!

The third reason was that everything Qianyu had done was simply to uphold justice.

That would never change.

So call him stubborn or call him foolish, he would still hold to that belief.

While suspended from duty, he had killed Shinnosuke Sarutobi for the justice in his heart. Being detained while the truth was investigated was an acceptable process to him.

The fourth reason...

Was also an extremely crucial one.

He possessed the absolute power to protect himself!

Because...

Escorted by experts such as Kakashi Hatake and Elephant, and completely surrounded by more than a dozen elite Anbu, Qianyu was finally delivered to the entrance of the Anbu prison.

By then, many people had already gathered at the prison entrance to receive him.

Their eyes were filled with hatred and fury as they looked at Qianyu. They wanted nothing more than to tear him to pieces!

Even Kakashi Hatake could not help sighing inwardly...

This man had chosen to walk into the trap and fall into the hands of Anbu who hated him to the bone. His fate was simply too horrible to imagine...

Although Kakashi Hatake was Anbu, his feelings toward the Uchiha clan were complicated.

After all, the most important companion in his heart was named Uchiha Obito.

And his left eye had been his companion's final gift before death.

Deep in his soul, Kakashi Hatake had always felt that he owed the Uchiha clan something.

That was also why Hiruzen Sarutobi was unwilling to let him involve himself in Uchiha-related affairs.

Elephant said in a deep voice, "Kenpei, I'll leave this man to you."

The head guard of the Anbu prison nodded.

Qianyu knew that this man was named Kenpei Aburame, and he was also one of the Anbu's finest.

He stepped forward alongside another seven or eight elite Anbu ninja and attacked at the same time, unleashing an ability capable of sealing all Chakra and ninjutsu...