A Costly Blow

He actually had the Rinnegan! No wonder Madara had called him a troublesome enemy.

"May I ask why you're here in Konoha?"

The Uchiha had just been wiped out, and Konoha was at its weakest. With the legendary Rinnegan suddenly appearing, Itachi couldn't help but be on his guard.

At that, Naruto turned his gaze to Itachi and sneered. "Konoha? Isn't this the Uchiha Clan Compound?"

Itachi replied firmly, "The Uchiha belong to Konoha!"

"So you killed every Uchiha who didn't want to belong to Konoha... Oh, no, that's not quite right. You killed every Uchiha except your little brother... You didn't care whether they wanted to belong to Konoha, whether they were men or women, old or young—even babies who'd only just opened their eyes... Everyone died."

The more Naruto spoke, the angrier he became.

The Uchiha weren't his concern, and he hadn't planned to get involved. But now that he'd seen the Uchiha's plight, he couldn't keep these words bottled up.

"Uchiha Itachi, tell me: are people born into the Uchiha Clan guilty from birth? Do they deserve to die just for being born?"

Itachi was silent for a long while. At last, he said calmly, "There's no need for you to concern yourself with Uchiha affairs."

"I never planned to concern myself with your clan's mess. But seeing a traitor like you, I couldn't help feeling sorry for the Uchiha Clan... What a disgrace to your family. A thousand years of legacy, destroyed by a lunatic. I wonder if your father ever regretted not... shooting you—cough, I mean, not strangling you as soon as you were born."

Itachi couldn't take the insult. The three tomoe spun rapidly, forming a Mangekyo that fixed its gaze on Naruto.

—Amaterasu!

"Pathetic!" Naruto raised his hand. Fūjutsu Kyūin formed a barrier in front of him, absorbing the blazing black flames.

Just then, Kurama suddenly shouted, "Watch out!"

A flash of cold light—Kunai stabbed toward Naruto's neck.

Naruto's pupils contracted. He switched skills at the fastest possible speed.

—Shinra Tensei!

Boom!

Obito, who had been on the verge of landing his attack, went flying backward. His organs were displaced, blood sprayed from his mouth, and he slammed hard into the ground.

Naruto touched his neck. It felt wet and sticky. He brought his hand in front of him and saw it was covered in bright red blood.

A wave of fear washed over him. He'd almost died.

"Thanks, Kurama. I owe you one."

The Nine-Tails snorted. "You do owe me one, so you'd better cherish that life of yours. Don't make all my effort go to waste."

"Yeah, I know."

Shadow poked her head out of Naruto's pocket. "You're hurt?"

"It's just a scratch. It's already healed."

As he spoke, the wound on Naruto's neck closed.

Shadow said anxiously, "Stop fighting. We should leave, now."

"Just a little longer."

Naruto couldn't stand leaving without evening the score. He looked toward Obito. With White Zetsu Cells, Obito had tremendous vitality. He'd already gotten back to his feet and looked as if nothing had happened.

Naruto couldn't forget to keep up appearances. He declared arrogantly, "Daiban, you managed to scratch me. You can be proud of that for the rest of your life."

—Banshō Ten'in!

Buildings floated into the air, then accelerated downward, crashing toward Obito.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

"Old man, your move won't work on me." Obito entered his intangible state. Every attack passed right through him without doing the slightest harm.

"Daiban, hurry up and take your own life. It's your only chance to atone."

Boom! Boom! Boom!

"The Rinnegan... It's truly captivating!"

Danzo, who had been lurking in the shadows, gazed up at Naruto and a flash of greed glinted in his eyes.

Root, standing behind him, asked respectfully, "Sir, when should we make our move?"

"Wait a little longer. Until they've worn each other down..."

Whether it was the Rinnegan or the Mangekyo, both would end up in Danzo's hands.

And then the Hokage Position would be mine...

Just as Danzo was getting carried away with his feverish daydreams, Itachi passed right in front of him, his expression calm.

Danzo stared at Itachi in surprise. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be fighting the enemy?"

Itachi said coolly, "The enemy can fly, and he has a way to counter my abilities. There's no point in my staying."

"Then what about your Susanoo...?"

"I've used too much of my ocular power tonight. I can't manifest it."

Danzo didn't believe him and ordered, "I command you to stay and help Konoha seize the Rinnegan."

"Don't be so greedy. You'll end up biting off more than you can chew."

Itachi glanced at Danzo's bandaged right eye. What an idiot. Did he really think the Rinnegan was so easy to take?

"Am I to understand that... you're speaking up for the enemy?"

"No. I'm warning you not to recklessly make a powerful enemy of Konoha."

It didn't matter if Danzo got himself killed. Dragging Konoha down with him was another matter.

With that, Itachi ignored Danzo and walked away.

At this hour... his little brother should be back, right?

Without realizing it, Itachi quickened his pace.

"Damn it!"

Watching Itachi walk away, Danzo's expression darkened. His pieces were getting harder and harder to control...

"Sir, now that the Uchiha Clan has been wiped out, why don't we make sure there's nothing left of it?"

The suggestion from his subordinate appealed to Danzo.

To put it simply, Danzo had two goals in life.

The first was to become Hokage and put the Third Hokage firmly beneath him.

The second was to fulfill his teacher's dying wish and destroy the Uchiha Clan.

He was just two people away from completing his second goal...

Danzo thought it over for a long time, but ultimately shook his head.

"Konoha needs Itachi to take the blame. If Root kills him, the blame will fall entirely on Root... That won't help me become Hokage."

The burden of the massacre was simply too heavy. Even Danzo needed someone else to help shoulder the blame.

The Root operatives prepared to keep watching from the shadows.

Suddenly, an angry shout rang out from the sky.

"Rats hiding in the gutter! Who gave you permission to spy on me?"

The buildings floating in the sky all turned around and crashed toward Root.

"Protect Lord Danzo!"

Several Root shinobi stepped in front of Danzo, formed Hand Seals, and jointly used Earth Style: Earth Wall!

The rising stone walls collided violently with the falling buildings.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The deafening noise echoed across most of Konoha, while clouds of dust surged up and covered the sky.

Naruto knew all about the rule that smoke meant no injuries.

He flew over at high speed, using Shinra Tensei to clear a path. While his body could still take it, he planned to kill Danzo in one fell swoop and eliminate a threat to his future life.

As for Obito...

That bastard was genuinely hard to kill. He'd deal with him next time.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

It was as if three enormous hammers were pounding the ground.

The earth split apart, rocks flew in every direction, and a huge crater opened up in the middle.

At the crater's edge, Danzo and three surviving Root shinobi struggled out of the earth. The rest of the Root operatives had all perished.

The heavy losses made Danzo wince.