Danzo, you old bastard, have you decided how you want to die?

Meanwhile...

Ling Tian, Kakashi, Dai, and the fourth member of their group were almost at the Hatake Clan Compound.

While they were questioning the higher-ups, Dai had actually been crouching among the civilians.

When the Third ordered the shinobi other than Anbu and Root to evacuate the civilians, Dai followed them and ran over to the uncle and nephew.

Ling Tian wasn't particularly strong, and he also needed to keep his abilities hidden.

Besides, he couldn't be entirely certain that the higher-ups wouldn't move against him. If anything went wrong, the consequences would be terrifying.

Putting himself in danger was definitely not something a transmigrator should do.

Sensing the shock waves from distant ninjutsu, Dai frowned. "Ling Tian, my benefactor, are you sure you don't need me to help?"

Even setting aside the Third and Danzo, there were so many Root operatives, Anbu, and clan shinobi present that White Fang alone couldn't possibly escape, let alone win.

Ling Tian shook his head. "No need. Those clan shinobi and civilian shinobi won't act without orders. And under these circumstances, the Third can't force them unless he really doesn't want to remain Hokage."

"As for those Anbu, they're all my older brother's former subordinates. As long as the Third still wants to be Hokage, he won't force them and alienate them completely."

"As for Danzo, once a few Root shinobi are killed, he'll naturally start feeling the loss. Knowing my older brother isn't someone to mess with, he'll definitely choose to sit back and let the two sides fight. So who else will act besides the Third?"

Dai raised an eyebrow. "But the Third..."

Ling Tian waved a hand, cutting him off. "I know the Third is powerful, and my older brother won't underestimate him. But even if he really can't win, the Third won't be able to take him down quickly on his own."

As he spoke...

Uchiha Red Four came streaking toward them from the distance, then ducked away elsewhere.

Ling Tian immediately created a clone and used Transformation Jutsu to turn it into Dai.

Only after finishing did he say, "Dai, lure them outside and finish them off there. You can't transform, so you can't let them come back. Make sure you return quickly when you're done."

Dai froze for a moment. Sensing that their pursuers were almost upon them, he didn't dwell on it and simply did as instructed, leaping onto the rooftops.

The Root squad and Anbu squad glanced at them, then continued the pursuit.

"Then I'll be on my way."

After the others left, Hongsi emerged.

"Make a bigger scene. You might get to see your brother very soon," Ling Tian told him with a nod.

"Hmm?"

Hongsi stared blankly, then immediately caught on. "Don't worry. As planned, I'll focus on killing Root shinobi. If anyone else doesn't know what's good for them, I'll naturally wipe them all out."

With that, he flew back the way he had come.

"Hurry up! I'm already getting impatient."

Watching Hongsi's retreating figure, Ling Tian murmured to himself.

The mission was to make a bigger scene. If things didn't escalate, how could he claim the reward?

Without claiming the reward, how could the plan succeed?

He had a plan, one that only Hongsi and he knew about.

Ling Tian looked distracted. Kakashi glanced at his Second Uncle's clone, which now looked like Uncle Dai, and tugged at Ling Tian's sleeve. "Second Uncle, what are we doing now?"

"Taking you to your future wife's house."

Ling Tian came back to his senses and pinched his nephew's little cheek.

"Second Uncle, Father won't be in danger, will he?"

"What danger could he be in? I told you, your dad is the strongest. Besides, you've still got your Second Uncle here, don't you? Stop worrying. Come on, I'll take you to the Uchiha Clan first. I've still got something to do afterward."

Kakashi obediently nodded.

Meanwhile...

After leaving the Hatake Clan Compound far behind, Uchiha Red Four began setting fires everywhere.

He drifted swiftly over the houses, snapping his fingers as he leaped along. With every snap, a wisp of flame floated off his body and fell.

The moment it landed, the flame exploded, scattering sparks and igniting a raging blaze.

He was clever enough not to enter any clan's grounds, so no one had come to stop him yet. Even the shinobi who spotted the flames and went to put them out couldn't keep up with him.

After making a circuit and admiring his handiwork, Hongsi drifted toward the battlefield near the Hokage Building.

When he arrived, the first thing he saw was a green pyramid.

Inside, the Third and White Fang were facing off.

Over a dozen Anbu surrounded the pyramid.

As for Danzo, he was watching the battle with a group of Root operatives, his face expressionless.

At Hongsi's arrival, the Anbu immediately dispatched two squads to intercept him.

Hongsi looked at them and said bluntly, "Get out of the way. I'm not here for you."

"Uchiha Island, where are the others?"

Shishō, who had been kept outside by the Third's Sealing Jutsu, didn't obediently lead his men away. Instead, he questioned him with a frown.

"I'll say this one more time. My name is Uchiha Red Four."

"Get lost," Hongsi said flatly. "I'm not here to deal with you. If you don't leave, I'll slaughter you first."

Shishō said, "Where are they?"

Hongsi replied, "You mean the people chasing me? I shook them off, so naturally I came back."

"Is that true?"

Shishō wasn't entirely convinced.

"Believe it or don't," Hongsi said disdainfully. "Are you even worth lying to?"

Then he added, "By the way, with something this big happening in Konoha, you're still standing here? Do you only care about the Hokage and not the villagers?"

No sooner had he finished...

A masked Chunin landed nearby and dropped to one knee. "Sir, enemies have attacked the village. The outskirts are engulfed in flames."

"Enemies? What about the Barrier Team? Why are we only hearing about the attack now?"

Shishō blurted out in alarm.

"The Barrier Team didn't detect anything, but they said the enemy acted from inside the village."

Shishō glanced at Hongsi, who stood there arrogantly, and said, "Go help the clan shinobi put out the fires."

"What about Lord Hokage?"

At that, Shishō said nothing and instead looked at Hongsi beside him.

"I told you, I'm not here for you. Get out of my way."

Seeing how openly he spoke, and how his gaze remained fixed on Danzo, Shishō finally said firmly, "Go. I'll stay here to protect Lord Hokage."

"Yes, sir."

Everyone left.

Shishō thought, Lord Hokage, you really were wrong this time.

In the past, when something like this happened, the civilian shinobi and the major clans' shinobi would have gone to fight the fires on their own.

Now, judging by the situation, they wouldn't show up unless someone gave them orders.

So all he could do was send the Anbu to issue orders on the Hokage's behalf!

Seeing this, Hongsi said coolly, "At least you know what's good for you."

Then he looked at Danzo. "You old bastard, have you decided how you want to die?"

Danzo glanced sideways and moved a finger. Several Root Jonin immediately charged forward.

"Where the sea ends, the sky becomes the shore. At the pinnacle of Fire Style, I stand as the summit!"

Hongsi shouted proudly. Without him making a single move, the fires burning throughout the area flew toward his position.

Including the flames the Third had gathered inside the pyramid...