Shisui: Is This How You Protect the Clan—Through Massacre?

This time, Shazo was not practicing in secret. This was a battle he had anticipated—and a demonstration of power.

He fully unleashed the power of his Wood Release Secret Technique. The chakra fluctuations he no longer suppressed were like a tsunami, wave after wave sweeping over every ninja and leaving them all wide-eyed.

As Wood Release chakra surged forth, the Uchiha compound began to shake violently. The ground transformed into a turbulent, undulating sea.

Homes and buildings were like little boats on the ocean, rising and falling with the waves before collapsing into pieces and sinking beneath the surface. Even the raging flames were extinguished.

Boom—rumble—

The culprit behind the violent trembling of the ground revealed itself. Countless tender green shoots burst from the earth, their fresh branches growing robustly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In just a few seconds, the shoots had become towering trees, as though they had instantly crossed hundreds of years.

This was no longer merely dozens of giant trees. Tens of thousands of trees stood packed shoulder to shoulder, filling the entire Uchiha compound.

It was a primeval forest that seemed to have existed since ancient times.

The chakra sword of Uchiha Itachi's Susanoo was incomparably sharp, easily cutting through enormous trees that ten people could not have wrapped their arms around.

But for every tree he felled, two more twisted and stretched toward him.

When he cut down two trees, four, eight, or even more had already grown behind them, endlessly closing in.

The distant trees intertwined and fused together, becoming even larger and sturdier before surging toward Susanoo.

The giant trees grew increasingly massive, quickly surpassing the half-body Susanoo and drowning the red half-giant beneath a green tide.

Susanoo was completely submerged by Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence.

Uchiha Itachi did not stop resisting. Susanoo swung its chakra sword and slashed in every direction, but under the siege of ever more numerous and towering trees, it looked like nothing more than a desperate struggle before death.

As even taller, boundless trees surged over, Susanoo was completely swallowed by countless trees.

Thick roots and branches spread everywhere like a barrier, fully encircling the half-body Susanoo.

The branches and roots resembled nimble arms, reaching through the gaps between massive trunks toward Susanoo and binding its arms, neck, and body.

More branches burrowed in from every direction, taking root and sprouting around Susanoo as they attempted to penetrate its chakra defenses and directly attack Uchiha Itachi inside.

More and more bloody tears flowed from Uchiha Itachi's eyes, and his vision grew blurrier and blurrier. Yet none of it compared to the crushing despair rising within him.

Everything had gone wrong. He could no longer wipe out the Uchiha Clan.

The clan would inevitably be destroyed in the Third Hokage's counterattack, eradicated as an enemy of Konoha.

His own death did not matter—but what about Sasuke?

Suddenly, Uchiha Itachi felt the pressure abruptly lessen. Before he could think further, he controlled Susanoo to sever the tangled branches and roots, desperately attacking the weakest point.

Ahead of him, an illusory vortex was frantically shredding the trees, guiding Susanoo out of the encirclement.

Obito Uchiha had made his move. He could not allow Uchiha Itachi to die here.

Obito had just been beaten by Shazo, but he did not believe himself inferior to Shazo. He had only suffered because he had been careless and allowed Shazo to catch him off guard.

If he got serious, a casual sneak attack would be enough to kill him.

Thus, Obito Uchiha had not valued Uchiha Itachi all that highly. What he wanted was merely Itachi's pair of Mangekyō Sharingan. Whether he kept them as spares for himself or used them to cultivate new underlings, they would be more valuable than Uchiha Itachi himself.

But when Uchiha Itachi displayed the power of Susanoo's second stage, Obito realized that a genius like Itachi was not easy to cultivate and still had considerable value.

Once Shazo displayed his invincible Wood Release, Obito Uchiha completely changed his mind.

Uchiha Itachi could not die here. Otherwise, Obito would have no one to help him deal with Shazo.

The combined assault of two Mangekyō Sharingan exceeded the Deep Forest Emergence's instantaneous limit. Susanoo soon burst out of the primeval forest and arrived at the former homeland of the Uzumaki Clan.

Uchiha Itachi saw Konoha Jonin who had rushed over from the nearby Jonin bachelor dormitories ahead of him. To his right stood Shimura Danzō and the Root ninjas, while to his left were the Third Hokage and Anbu ninjas who had arrived from the Hokage Building.

Just as he considered where to break through, Shazo appeared behind him with a massive coffin strapped to his back. Susanoo immediately turned and assumed a defensive stance.

Suddenly, the coffin behind Shazo shook.

Shazo chuckled. "What? Have you finally decided to face Uchiha Itachi, the surviving Uchiha Clan members, and the Konoha Ninja?"

The coffin shook again, conveying affirmation.

Shazo asked again, "The Third Hokage is ahead to my left, and Shimura Danzō is ahead to my right. Are you ready to face the two of them?"

The coffin's shaking suddenly stopped. After a moment, it began shaking even more violently.

Shazo said nothing further. He set the coffin down, then lightly slapped it. Layer after layer peeled away, revealing Shisui Uchiha, drenched in blood, with nothing but bloody hollows left where his eyes had been.

When Shazo entered the Uchiha compound, he had awakened Shisui's consciousness and transmitted everything he saw to him.

Shisui Uchiha saw Obito's slaughter, saw the Uchiha compound engulfed in flames, and saw Uchiha Itachi covered in blood, his thoughts twisted beyond recognition.

Shisui Uchiha realized that none of the decisions he had made had achieved their intended effect. They had even led to the destruction of the Uchiha Clan.

He had broken down.

Until just now, Shisui Uchiha saw Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence and saw the giant trees overwhelm Susanoo.

The epic battle scene shocked him immensely, and a tremendous hope suddenly surged within his heart, pulling him out of his collapse.

So the Senju Clan had not completely vanished. So the Wood Release that could pacify the Ninja World truly existed, and it truly could overpower the seemingly invincible Susanoo.

What delighted Shisui Uchiha even more was that the Senju ninja who had awakened Wood Release was the one who had saved his life. Moreover, he had stepped forward and, when everyone else had despaired, used Wood Release to protect the Uchiha Clan.

Shisui Uchiha felt that he could not continue collapsing. He had to do his part to save the clan.

His severe injuries had yet to heal, and he had lost both eyes, so he could not help in battle. But he could speak before the Konoha Ninja and expose Shimura Danzō and Uchiha Itachi's conspiracy to exterminate the clan, proving that the Uchiha Clan had been victims through and through.

With the support of a Senju Clan Wood Release ninja, he would surely be able to protect the surviving clansmen and the Uchiha Clan this time.

Shisui Uchiha's appearance shocked everyone, including Obito Uchiha.

The most shocked, naturally, was Uchiha Itachi. He almost instinctively dismissed Susanoo, simply so that he could see more clearly.

Looking at the miserable Shisui Uchiha, Itachi muttered, "Brother Shisui, you're still alive?"

Shisui Uchiha seemed to hear him and demanded loudly, "Uchiha Itachi, I entrusted my eyes, my dreams, and my responsibilities to you."

"I asked you to protect the Uchiha Clan and Konoha, to prevent armed conflict between the clan and the village. Yet you colluded with enemies inside and outside the village to slaughter the Uchiha Clan?"

"Is this how you fulfill the dreams and responsibilities I entrusted to you?"

Uchiha Itachi had no answer.