Sarutobi Hiruzen understood what Jinghuo Uchiha meant—if Root and Danzo were not brought here, Jinghuo would expose everything today.
Normally, that would not have mattered much. At worst, Hiruzen would step down.
But if the Uchiha Clan's coup was exposed as well... Konoha's chaos would reach its peak, and its strength would fall to its lowest point.
When that happened, Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and even the nearby, weakest Sunagakure would be tempted to make a move!
If... if Jinghuo Uchiha could be controlled...
He could not help glancing at Uchiha Shisui, but quickly looked away again. Lowering his head, he was filled with humiliation and helplessness.
At that moment, Uchiha Itachi stepped forward.
"Jinghuo, the Uchiha Clan can never produce a Hokage. With your caliber, you should understand that."
Jinghuo Uchiha smiled.
"I even burned down my own home, and now you want to tell me to give up everything for the village?"
Jinghuo Uchiha's aura immediately became even more ferocious.
The surrounding orange flame began to converge. Flecks of gold appeared intermittently, radiating an emperor-like majesty that inspired awe. No one dared look directly at it, as though even one glance would be a sin.
Uchiha Itachi wanted to say something else, but Jinghuo Uchiha coldly cut him off.
"Itachi, you are an Uchiha clansman before you are a Konoha shinobi."
"From childhood to adulthood, it was not Konoha that raised you, but the Uchiha! Your parents!"
"I understand the righteousness in your heart, but it has nothing to do with me, and I do not care to involve myself in it."
"But!"
"If you intend to sacrifice the Uchiha for the village, then sorry, you will become my enemy!"
"If you do not wish to be our enemy, nor do you wish to help us, then take your younger brother and get out of the Uchiha."
"Otherwise, when the Uchiha perish, it will be the anniversary of your younger brother's death next year!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Uchiha Itachi's usual melancholy demeanor changed completely.
It was as though the one taboo that could never be touched had been violated. As he looked at Jinghuo Uchiha, it was as if he were looking at a mortal enemy.
Three-Tomoe Sharingan instantly emerged in his pitch-black eyes, so dense they seemed ready to bleed, filled with incomparable ferocity.
"You dare!"
Many Uchiha Clan members with Three-Tomoe Sharingan were intimidated.
They knew Uchiha Itachi was a genius, but they had not expected him to be this strong!
With such terrifying eye power, perhaps even Fierce Eyes Fugaku could only match him evenly?
Jinghuo Uchiha remained unmoved, his aura still fierce.
"Leave now, and I can still regard you as one of the clan!"
Uchiha Itachi understood the implication—if Jinghuo regarded him as a clansman, he would not touch Second Pillar either.
He closed his eyes in pain.
Several dozen seconds later, under countless gazes, his body trembled slightly.
"Sorry, Lord Hokage." He slowly backed away and vanished into the shadows.
Once Uchiha Itachi left, Sarutobi Hiruzen became even more helpless. It was as if he had aged ten years, turning into a hunched old man in his seventies or eighties.
"I will only wait half an hour!" Jinghuo Uchiha returned to his calm state and sat cross-legged on the ground.
Uchiha Shisui sat down cross-legged as well.
Having sat for an entire year already, he was thoroughly accustomed to it.
The clan members, meanwhile, sat down somewhat awkwardly.
Their expressions were strange, but they were also excited.
Their blazing eyes reflected only one figure—Jinghuo Uchiha.
This was the Uchiha Clan!
The village shinobi exchanged looks at the sight.
They had thought tonight would be a difficult battle with countless casualties.
Yet they had not expected it to be this thrilling.
Though they did not understand the hidden meaning in Jinghuo Uchiha's words, it was obvious that Jinghuo had something on the Third Hokage.
And they were all major events that they knew about.
The secrets hidden behind those major events!
They were extremely curious, but restrained themselves.
Yet one person truly could not hold back.
A silver-haired youth walked up to Sarutobi Hiruzen and asked, "Lord Hokage, Teacher Minato's son..."
At that moment, many people suddenly turned their heads toward Jinghuo Uchiha's side.
Beside him, a man wearing an Orange-Bottomed Black-Patterned Single-Eyed Mask appeared out of thin air. A kunai was in his hand, aimed straight at Jinghuo Uchiha's heart.
Everyone frowned.
Such behavior was simply courting death.
However, Jinghuo Uchiha knew what the man in the Orange-Bottomed Black-Patterned Single-Eyed Mask was capable of.
"Brother, control him!" he said without hesitation. The flames that had vanished from his body surged out at once, turning golden in an instant.
Terrifying heat erupted.
At the same time, an astonishing pressure descended!
A resplendent Imperial Crown, burning like golden flames, appeared above Jinghuo Uchiha's head.
Streaks of golden patterns appeared on his face, like flowing gilt. They covered his entire body and extended to his hands and feet, forming bracelets and anklets.
His entire body seemed to become flawless and pure white, filled with a noble, scorching aura.
Golden light seemed to emerge within his tightly shut eyes. Even without opening them, he seemed to sweep across all directions, making everyone's hearts tremble.
Fire Style Chakra Mode: Emperor Flame Mode!
The instant this form appeared, the skin of the clan members around Jinghuo Uchiha was scorched red, and they retreated in terror.
The ground beneath his feet seemed to melt into thick, golden magma, forming a two-meter-wide circle as though it were supporting an emperor's body.
Uchiha Shisui retreated rapidly as well, but a pair of Windmill Shuriken Mangekyō Sharingan appeared in his eyes as he stared fixedly at the masked man.
As though he had anticipated it, the man in the Orange-Bottomed Black-Patterned Single-Eyed Mask lowered his head and remained unmoved, seemingly intent only on killing Jinghuo Uchiha.
At that moment, everyone noticed something—the terrifying high temperature of Jinghuo Uchiha's Fire Style Chakra seemed to have no effect on the masked man.
Jinghuo Uchiha remained calm.
A trace of gold appeared on his fingertip.
That gold rapidly condensed and compressed. White light seemed to appear, though it might have been an illusion.
A majestic voice echoed through the surroundings, like the whispers of myriad people.
"Firelight: Pierce..."
Before Jinghuo Uchiha could finish speaking, the masked man's expression changed drastically.
Everyone saw his black windbreaker rapidly burning away, and even his mask began to melt.
"It can actually affect space!" The Masked Man revealed fear for the first time.
He hurriedly retreated.
His body sizzled as flesh burned, giving off the smell of roasted meat before quickly turning into a pungent, nauseating stench of charred flesh.
"Don't let him escape!" The Uchiha Clan members attacked immediately.
Shuriken, kunai, and ninjutsu shot forth fiercely, surrounding the Masked Man.
But the Masked Man ignored them.
Then everyone witnessed a shocking scene.
The Masked Man seemed to be swallowed by space, vanishing into thin air like a phantom.
Everyone was stunned.
"What was that?!"
"A space-time technique? Flying Thunder God?"
"No! It wasn't Flying Thunder God!"
"Then what kind of technique was that?!"
The crowd was filled with uncertainty.
The gold on Jinghuo Uchiha's body dissipated, and he changed from an emperor back into an ordinary child. Calmly, he said, "Twenty-eight minutes remain."
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