Sarutobi Hiruzen was shocked. Shimura Danzō's death could still be chalked up to underestimating his opponent in a fit of rage, but Kagami Uchiha's death cast a shadow over Hiruzen's heart that he couldn't shake. The Butcher of Humans was far beyond the strength of an Elite Jonin!
He was definitely Kage Level!
(But I, Hiruzen Sarutobi, am no pushover either!)
Wind Style: Cyclone!
His one-handed Hand Seals didn't pause. Working together with Enma, Hiruzen layered two Wind Release Ninjutsu, and man and beast each exhaled a small tornado. The two merged in midair, rapidly growing larger and thicker as they swept toward Uchiha Takeyasu.
Before Kagami Uchiha's headless corpse could fall from the branch, it swayed once and was caught by the cyclone rushing toward it. Along with the surrounding branches and leaves, soil and plants, and Shimura Danzō's corpse beneath the tree, it became part of a blood-red tornado that rampaged through the forest.
The spectacle was so grand that Uchiha Takeyasu, who had dodged aside, couldn't help but marvel.
"Poor Kagami Uchiha. He served the Senju Clan to the very end, only for his own comrades to destroy even his remains."
"And poor Shimura Danzō. But don't worry, you'll all die here."
"Come to think of it, you should thank me. I've spared you the loneliness of traveling to Yomi alone."
The mocking voice echoed in his ears. Hiruzen gripped the Adamantine Staff in both hands and held a defensive stance, staring intently at Uchiha Takeyasu, who stood on a branch not far away. With Enma as his Summoning Beast, Hiruzen wasn't afraid to meet the gaze of a Three Tomoe Uchiha. The instant he fell into an illusion, Enma would pull him out.
However, the Mangekyō Sharingan in Uchiha Takeyasu's eyes was far more magnificent—and far more evil—than Kagami Uchiha's. Even with all his experience, Hiruzen instantly lowered his gaze, not daring to look again.
"Don't look into his eyes!"
"Uchiha Takeyasu has the Mangekyō Sharingan!"
Hiruzen shouted, his foreboding growing stronger by the moment.
(How unlucky do I have to be to run into those legendary eyes?)
The Mangekyō Sharingan!
The Second, Senju Tobirama, had deemed it the Uchiha Clan's most powerful forbidden ability.
Madara Uchiha, the Asura of the Shinobi World who ended the Ninja World's thousand-year era of chaos and founded the shinobi village system alongside Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi, had possessed those divine eyes—eyes said to be invincible.
(How old is Uchiha Takeyasu? Is he even an adult yet? And he's already surpassed me in strength.)
(Uchiha... Uchiha!)
(Teacher Tobirama was right. The Uchiha are the village's greatest source of instability.)
With the dead as a warning to the living, and with Shimura Danzō and Kagami Uchiha's ashes still drifting through the air, Hiruzen didn't dare act rashly. Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and Torifu Akimichi approached with grim expressions.
"Hiruzen, we can't drag this out any longer. We've made enough noise that the Rogue Ninjas from Kumogakure will be here soon."
Utatane Koharu had earned a place among the Second's students despite being a woman, so she naturally had exceptional abilities. She was especially good at calmly assessing a situation. Things were already very much against them, and the slightest misstep would mean they all perished here.
So she lowered her voice. "Hiruzen, it's time to make a decision."
(A decision? What decision?)
(Do I retreat alone? Or do you cover my strategic withdrawal?)
(Or do we each fend for ourselves when disaster strikes?)
Having caught a glimpse of a glorious future, Hiruzen had no intention of dying here. Once he returned to Konoha, he would be the Third Hokage, admired by the masses, commanding the strongest shinobi village and shaping its destiny!
Die here?
Don't make me laugh!
Noticing Hiruzen's indecision and the other three's anxiety, Uchiha Takeyasu's lips curled into the faintest smile. He stroked Tachibana, who had already burrowed into his collar and was practically sparkling with excitement, and savored the "delightful" expressions of Konoha's future leaders, who wanted to kill him but were wary of what might happen if they tried. Then he spoke at an unhurried pace.
"I came here simply to cause trouble for Kumogakure. I just happened to run into you."
"And, as luck would have it, one of you was the clueless Shimura Danzō, while another was a two-faced traitor with a rebellious streak."
"Those two were the ones I hated most. Now that they're dead, I don't feel all that much animosity toward the rest of you."
"After all, I'm no demon. I can't bring myself to kill innocent people indiscriminately."
The four of them stirred slightly, their faces shifting. They were all secretly relieved—until Uchiha Takeyasu's next words sent their hearts plummeting.
"If two of you volunteer to stay behind and be my dogs, I might just let the rest of you go."
Seeing their expressions shift from grim to relieved, then to stunned and finally anguished, Uchiha Takeyasu found it exceptionally amusing.
He remembered how those bastards in the original story loved playing political games. They'd sent Konoha's future golden generation off to their deaths one by one, just like the Qing dynasty of the Celestial Empire. Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu in particular seemed to live forever, clinging to their positions as Konoha High Command elders and advisors.
Heroes who served their village and people died young; politicians who served only themselves lived long. What a mockery.
(That naturally evil Uchiha brat!)
Hiruzen cursed Uchiha Takeyasu viciously in his heart. The Uchiha brat's demand was nothing less than an attack meant to destroy them from within.
But he was, in fact, a little tempted.
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were shinobi from minor clans. Their only claim to fame was having been students of Senju Tobirama, and their strength couldn't rank among the many powerful clans in Konoha.
But he and Torifu Akimichi, from the prominent Ino-Shika-Cho families, could contribute far more to Konoha's development than anyone else. They were far more important than Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.
Setting aside their past friendships, Hiruzen had already begun to think like a Hokage, and the scales in his heart were tipping rapidly.
But words like "sacrifice the two of them" could never come from the mouth of the great, glorious, righteous Third Hokage. So Hiruzen thought fondly of the dead Shimura Danzō, then let his gaze drift casually toward Torifu Akimichi.
"Don't believe his divisive lies! If we stick together, we can all make it back alive and see our beloved families again!"
At those words, the perceptive Utatane Koharu's heart sank. Anger and humiliation showed in her eyes. The words "beloved families" were unbearably ironic.
(It seems that Koharu and I are the only ones who can stay behind.)
If you expected nothing, you couldn't be disappointed. Mitokado Homura wasn't an idiot; he'd made it this far.
If he volunteered to stay and Hiruzen managed to escape, Hiruzen would naturally look after his family out of respect for their shared past. If he refused to help, they might even become enemies, and Uchiha Takeyasu would get to laugh at them.
Besides, as long as he didn't die, it made no difference whether he was a dog for the Senju Clan or the Uchiha Clan.
Torifu Akimichi was a typical fat Akimichi, the sort who charged straight into the fray and drew fire as a shield for his teammates. He also had a strong sense of justice.
In response to Hiruzen's hint, he prepared to hold Uchiha Takeyasu off by himself. He was going to die sooner or later anyway. Where he died, and what he died for, were for Torifu Akimichi to decide!
The tense silence was soon broken. To Hiruzen and the other two's surprise, Torifu Akimichi took out the last Red Pepper Pill he had left from the battle against the Kumogakure rebels. It could increase his strength a hundredfold, but its side effects were deadly. It was a clan secret medicine meant for a fight to the death.
The "fat pig" in everyone else's eyes swallowed it without a moment's hesitation. In an instant, brilliant, beautiful butterfly wings unfurled behind him. The immense glow of the Chakra wings stunned Hiruzen and the others, illuminating the darkness in their hearts—and their desperate will to survive.
"You two go! I'll hold Uchiha Takeyasu back!"
"Takefu, hang on! We'll go get reinforcements!"
Hiruzen turned and ran. Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, who had escaped being forced into a life-or-death situation, immediately followed. Watching them go, Uchiha Takeyasu fixed his gaze on Torifu Akimichi, who could fight a Kage Level opponent for a short time and might even win. He spoke softly.
"Is it worth it?"
"Uchiha Takeyasu, if we made every decision based on whether it was worth it, life would be far too sad."
Unparalleled strength filled every part of Torifu Akimichi's body. He knew it was only a fleeting bloom: the more he used it, the sooner he would die. Faced with the Mangekyō Sharingan, an ability that had even made Senju Tobirama wary, he had no desire to test his strength against it.
His most important task was to hold Uchiha Takeyasu back. As for everything else, he wouldn't be around to see it anyway.
Torifu Akimichi smiled, carefree yet resolute. "Selling out my teammates to crawl home alive—that's not my Ninja Way!"
"If that's what you want, I'll give you a dignified death."
"Then I'll kill Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others one by one."
"Before these eyes, all of you are just struggling in vain."
Understanding that his opponent wished to die, Uchiha Takeyasu was happy to oblige. His blood-red Mangekyō Sharingan turned, radiating a cold intent to slaughter all things.
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