Are You Looking for Me?

Danzo stared intently at Ye Fan and Jiraiya. Of everyone present, those two were the ones he feared most.

It had once been Jiraiya. Now it was Ye Fan.

He still had a chance of beating Jiraiya, but against Ye Fan, he didn't stand the slightest chance.

"The purpose of Kotoamatsukami is to make someone wholeheartedly protect Konoha and never betray it."

"It seems that if I want to use this Genjutsu to control Ye Fan, I'll have to become Hokage first!"

Danzo murmured, took out a signal flare, and fired it into the sky.

Back when Sunagakure and Otogakure invaded Konoha, Danzo had secretly gathered all his forces.

He had planned to lead his subordinates in seizing power once Konoha was gravely weakened. He hadn't expected to use them like this instead.

Brilliant fireworks exploded overhead. All of Danzo's subordinates in Konoha received the signal and immediately sprang into action.

Konoha descended into chaos, with riots breaking out all over the village.

The subordinates Danzo had recruited over the years all mobilized, appearing in every corner of the village.

The Root members, who had been fleeing just moments earlier, began fighting back.

Ninjas suddenly emerged from all sorts of unexpected places, and every one of them was formidable.

The Anbu and Konoha's Jonin were driven back again and again.

Large Summoned Beasts also appeared throughout the village, slaughtering Konoha Ninja.

"This is... Danzo's staging a coup?" Kakashi stood by the window, watching it all with an unusually grave expression.

His instincts told him that this coup was far more serious than the invasion by Sunagakure and Otogakure. If they didn't handle it properly, blood would run in the streets!

"Kakashi, that old bastard Danzo has staged a coup!"

There was a hurried knock at the door, and Might Guy appeared in the doorway.

"Yeah, I know. How are things over with the Hyuga Clan?"

Kakashi lifted his forehead protector, revealing his blood-red Three Tomoe Sharingan. Every trace of his usual laziness had vanished.

"The Hyuga Clan's grounds are surrounded by a huge force. They're fighting the rebels now!" Might Guy said.

Kakashi thought for a moment, then immediately made his decision.

"Let's help the Hyuga Clan break out first. There are too many rebels, and the Hyuga Clan is the only card we have that can make a difference!"

Might Guy nodded and immediately headed for the Hyuga Clan with Kakashi.

Naruto, who had been building a house with Tenzo, noticed what was happening and hurriedly called out,

"Pervy Sage, something terrible's happened to the village!"

"Naruto, keep an eye on Gaara and the others. Don't let them escape!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiraiya's Shadow Clone disappeared from where he stood. The next time he appeared, he was already a hundred meters away.

Seeing Jiraiya leave, Gaara and the others glanced at Konoha, now filled with smoke, and realized this was their one chance to escape.

With Jiraiya here, they hadn't had a chance before. Now that Jiraiya and Tenzo had left, their opportunity had arrived.

Watching Jiraiya disappear into the distance, Naruto realized how serious this incident was.

He wanted to go help, too, but understood that he had a more important task.

Gaara and the others were the ones responsible for invading Konoha. He had to keep them under watch.

"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Without hesitation, Naruto created nine clones and positioned them in different places to keep watch over Gaara and the others.

Gaara and Temari exchanged a look, a wicked smile spreading across their faces.

A jutsu of this level was child's play to him.

The gourd on Gaara's back slowly opened, and a stream of sand seeped out, drifting toward Naruto's real body.

In the Hokage's Office, Orochimaru stood by the window, watching everything with an impassive expression.

The seal on his body had been completely removed, and he had long since regained his strength.

"Has that old bastard Danzo finally made his move after all these years of scheming?"

Orochimaru's lips curled into a faint smile.

He had no intention of escaping. Instead, he casually pulled over a chair, sat down, and propped his head on one hand as he watched the show.

He had once been determined to destroy Konoha, but seeing this scene now, he found that he didn't feel much of anything.

He had found something more interesting and redefined the meaning of his life.

Ever since Danzo had launched the fireworks, the Third Hokage and the others had seen smoke rising throughout the village, their faces etched with worry.

"Third Hokage, you should go back and put down the rebellion. I can handle things here," Jiraiya said.

"Jiraiya, be careful!" The Third Hokage nodded and waved to Nara Shikaku and the others, preparing to leave.

Danzo laughed when he saw them. "Hiruzen Sarutobi, if you leave, how am I supposed to become Hokage?"

"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"

Danzo's right arm instantly transformed into a towering tree, spreading over everyone present and blocking the Third Hokage and the others' way.

Surging Chakra churned inside the tree, releasing a terrifying aura that weighed heavily on them.

"Not good! Danzo's planning to blow himself up!" Jiraiya shouted, hurriedly forming hand seals to perform a jutsu. "Ninja Art: Needle Jizo!"

In an instant, Jiraiya's long hair rapidly grew, wrapping around everyone present.

At the same time, the Third Hokage and the others each used defensive jutsu to shield themselves from the outside.

"Hahaha, it's no use! The defenses of your jutsu can't stop this attack of mine!"

"This jutsu is basically the same as me blowing myself up!"

Danzo laughed maniacally as he looked at the Third Hokage, Nara Shikaku, and the others as if they were cold corpses.

Even he didn't know just how powerful this move was.

But he was certain that even if it couldn't kill Jiraiya, it was more than powerful enough to kill the gravely wounded Third Hokage.

As for killing Ye Fan, it hadn't even crossed his mind.

There was simply no way an explosion could kill Ye Fan, not with the strength he had shown!

Boom!

A mushroom cloud slowly rose with a deafening roar.

The towering tree that enveloped them exploded violently. Its powerful shock wave swept hundreds of meters, shattering whole rows of houses.

The center of the blast was even worse. A huge black crater had appeared out of nowhere, shrouded in choking, stinging smoke as dust and debris flew everywhere.

"Ye Fan, serve me! Hiruzen, don't worry. I'll build you a grand tomb, and I'll make sure every one of your contributions to Konoha is recorded in history!"

Danzo, who had been blown to pieces, slowly regenerated. He stood unharmed in the billowing smoke, laughing hysterically.

He could no longer sense the Chakra of Hiruzen Sarutobi or the others anywhere nearby.

"Sixty seconds, exactly! Not a second more, not a second less!"

"Using this Sharingan was worth it!"

With a smile on his face, Danzo searched through the smoke. "Uchiha Ye Fan, let's see where you are!"

He searched for three or four seconds, but even after the smoke had completely cleared, he couldn't find Ye Fan anywhere. He couldn't see the bodies of Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others, either.

Looking at the empty space before him, with nothing but a massive crater, Danzo felt a foreboding.

"Are you looking for me?"

Suddenly, a slightly youthful voice sounded beside his ear. He could even feel warm breath stir his hair.