"Danzo, Mitokado Homura, and the others... Those three knew nothing about this. It was entirely my decision."
In his panic, the Third Hokage nearly let something slip.
"Heh. Lord Third Hokage, I've already gathered plenty of evidence about this. I came here today only to confirm it."
"The way Shimura Danzō and the others acted was proof enough that my evidence was genuine."
Ye Fan sat with one leg crossed over the other, his face dark as a storm cloud. He was already itching to make a move against them.
But he still had a few questions he needed answered.
"Ye Fan, they really had nothing to do with that matter. This—"
"There's no need to say more. I'll get to the bottom of that matter." Ye Fan cut off the Third Hokage and continued, "I have a few more questions for you. They have nothing to do with the Uchiha Clan."
"Sigh... Go ahead and ask." The Third Hokage's expression was complicated. He was worried that Mitokado Homura and the others might get into trouble over what had happened back then.
He had personally experienced Ye Fan's strength.
When Ye Fan fought Orochimaru in the Forest of Death, the Third Hokage had already realized that Ye Fan was far stronger than he was.
What was more, Ye Fan relied on overwhelming power to overcome technique. Compared to a ninja of the same rank who trained in ninjutsu, he was more than a cut above!
The Third Hokage felt that the situation was slipping beyond his control and growing more troublesome by the moment.
"Ye Fan! You keep asking question after question. What the hell is with all these questions? Think you can just do whatever you want?"
Just as Ye Fan was about to speak, he was interrupted by the scolding of the Konoha senior advisor, Utatane Koharu.
"Get out! Get as far away from here as you can! This is Konoha's highest governing body, not your backyard!"
"Quiet!" the Third Hokage hurriedly barked.
But his words did nothing to stop Utatane Koharu. If anything, they only made her even more brazen.
"Ye Fan, you orphan! Don't think you can do whatever you want just because Lord Third Hokage is backing you!"
"You've asked so many questions already. Still not done?!"
As Utatane Koharu's insults grew harsher, Ye Fan's expression turned colder and colder.
He slowly raised his head to look at her, his icy gaze like a thousand feet of frozen water.
Utatane Koharu only grew more worked up as she cursed, her words growing ever more venomous.
Suddenly, she felt a cold gust sweep past her. A figure appeared out of nowhere.
"Fuck you, you old hag! I've put up with you long enough! I wasn't going to bother with you for now, but you really think I'm afraid of you?"
Ye Fan swore and slapped Utatane Koharu across the face.
The tremendous force sent her flying. She slammed into the wall and got embedded in it, motionless.
"Pfft..."
Utatane Koharu spat out a mouthful of blood, along with seven or eight teeth.
The side of her face that had taken the slap swelled up at once.
"Old hag, didn't your parents teach you not to interrupt people when they're talking?"
Ye Fan slapped Utatane Koharu across the face again.
This blow smashed every last one of her teeth to pieces.
Her other cheek swelled up instantly, leaving her looking like a pig's head.
"You... You... You actually hit me!"
Utatane Koharu stared at Ye Fan in disbelief, completely dumbfounded.
She had held a high position for years and had always been the one hitting others. When had anyone ever dared to hit her?
But today, she'd been beaten by a junior. It felt as though her dignity had been ground into the dirt.
"Hit you? I'd even kill you. Believe me or not?"
Ye Fan slapped Utatane Koharu across the face again, drawing blood from her eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. She passed out completely.
"You really are made for a blacksmith's anvil—you're just asking to get beaten!"
"Ye Fan, you dared to hit a senior advisor of Konoha Village? You're looking for death!"
Seeing his old partner attacked, Mitokado Homura erupted in anger.
He quickly formed hand seals. "Water Release: Water—"
Before Mitokado Homura could finish his Water Release, Ye Fan rushed up and delivered a whole barrage of slaps.
Just like Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura was beaten into a pig's head, with not a single tooth left in his mouth.
Ye Fan planted a foot on Mitokado Homura's chest and glanced at Danzo. "You want to dance too?"
Danzo didn't answer. His brows furrowed as shock filled his heart.
The other Konoha leaders, apart from the Third Hokage, were all in turmoil.
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were both Kage-level powerhouses, as strong as the Third Hokage and veterans of Konoha Village. And Ye Fan had taken them down in an instant?
The Konoha leaders stared in stunned disbelief, unable to trust their own eyes. For a moment, they thought they were dreaming.
The Anbu representative exclaimed, "Was that a Shadow Clone? Ye Fan can't use ninjutsu, can he? How did he just—"
Nara Shikaku swallowed and murmured, "That didn't look like a Shadow Clone Technique. It seemed like he was moving so fast our eyes couldn't keep up, leaving an afterimage where he'd been."
"An afterimage? It was actually an afterimage?!" The Land of Fire representative trembled from head to toe. "Just how fast would he have to be to leave an afterimage behind?!"
Ye Fan's speed was beyond anything he could imagine. He had never heard of anyone in the shinobi world moving that fast.
He figured that even the Raikage of Kumogakure wouldn't be a third as fast as Ye Fan.
More than believe it was an afterimage, he'd rather believe Ye Fan could use ninjutsu too—that it had been a Shadow Clone!
Danzo had seen Ye Fan's attack clearly.
It was obvious that Ye Fan's speed had shocked him too.
He had never seen anyone move fast enough to leave an afterimage behind.
Even the Second Hokage back then hadn't been capable of such a feat!
In an instant, Danzo understood a few things.
It seemed that the people he'd sent to assassinate Ye Fan hadn't been killed by the Anbu.
Judging by the situation, Ye Fan himself had most likely killed them!
"An Uchiha with this kind of speed and strength, who also harbors hostility toward the village, is too dangerous!"
"I have to eliminate him. Whatever the cost, I have to eliminate him!"
Danzo made up his mind in silence.
The stronger Ye Fan proved to be, the more determined Danzo became to eliminate him.
He absolutely couldn't tolerate a ticking time bomb hanging over Konoha Village.
"So you're Mitokado Homura? With those useless old bones, you think you can kill me?"
"Even if you can't do it now, what about when you were in your prime?"
"In front of me, you'll always be nothing but trash!"
"Trash belongs in the garbage heap!"
Ye Fan gradually increased the pressure of his foot on Mitokado Homura's chest. Blood kept trickling from the corner of Homura's mouth, and his breathing grew faint.
"Ye Fan, stop!"
Seeing what was happening, the Third Hokage hurried over to stop Ye Fan, afraid he would kill Mitokado Homura.
But the Third Hokage was already an old man nearing the end of his life, and he was badly injured to boot. How could he possibly get there in time?
Just as Ye Fan's foot, pressing down slightly, was about to stomp on Mitokado Homura's chest again, Nara Shikaku used the Shadow Imitation Technique to restrain him.
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