The Evil Uchiha

"Let us go out together. As long as I appear outside unharmed, the fighting will stop." Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep drag from his pipe. "We are all comrades from the same village; there is no need to fight to the death."

As long as he remained within this space, he possessed no leverage, being entirely without the ability to resist.

Sarutobi Hiruzen realized this, and he quickly formulated a solution.

Uchiha Yuji was noncommittal. "Third Hokage, you consider them comrades, but are they truly our comrades?"

Whenever they were at a disadvantage, those "Uchiha" spitting out Great Fireballs would use the method of "Ankurahuba" to try and drag others down with them.

They cared for neither their own lives nor the lives of others.

"I am the Third Hokage of Konoha." Sarutobi Hiruzen stated firmly.

The Hokage was the leader of all ninjas within Konoha. Logically speaking, as long as they were Konoha ninjas, they had to obey the Hokage's orders.

That was what the Konoha ninja handbook stated.

Usually, that was just nonsense.

"Since our Third Hokage is so confident, let us make a wager."

"If the fighting does not cease after you reveal your identity, I ask that you do not interfere in the affairs of our Uchiha clan."

"And if the fighting does cease?"

That option simply did not exist.

"Please."

Uchiha Yuji gestured, his arm pointing toward the circular mirror projecting the situation outside.

Circumstances were stronger than the man; Sarutobi Hiruzen did not hesitate and stepped toward the mirror.

The mirror rippled like the surface of a lake. As his vision returned to normal, the first thing he saw was a mass of scorching flames.

His fingers blurred into phantoms, and his not-so-tall frame quickly crouched, slamming his palms onto the ground.

The level ground suddenly rose up, transforming into a thick, towering wall that isolated the flames behind it.

The thick earthen wall separated the two warring sides. Once the Anbu ninjas detected Sarutobi Hiruzen's familiar chakra, they immediately ceased their attacks.

However, the Root ninjas became even more frantic.

Explosive tags were thrown at Sarutobi Hiruzen as if they were worthless, ninjutsu was released in rapid succession, and some of the more decisive Root ninjas charged directly toward him.

The moment Sarutobi Hiruzen appeared, their mission was already complete.

Even if the earthen wall blocked his view, and even if he did not recognize those Root ninjas, he understood his partner, Danzo, very well.

Once he deemed someone an enemy, he would stop at nothing.

That group of Root ninjas rushing toward him must have been covered in explosive tags.

In these war-torn times, the price of a single explosive tag was sky-high. To think that resources on the front lines were always scarce—it turned out they had all been embezzled by you, you bastard!

Sarutobi Hiruzen's face darkened, and his hands quickly formed seals.

"Lightning Water Dragon Bullet!"

The water dragon roared, instantly shattering the earthen wall, and charged toward the Root ninjas without losing any momentum.

In his prime, Sarutobi Hiruzen possessed an incredibly abundant supply of chakra, and the Lightning Water Dragon Bullet released in his fury was exceptionally swift.

The first wave of Root ninjas was swallowed directly by the water dragon, while the Root ninjas in the rear leaped up, preparing to bypass the dragon and strike directly at Sarutobi Hiruzen.

But the charging water dragon suddenly raised its head and opened its massive maw.

Bright, interlaced lightning bolts surged out from the dragon's mouth. In an instant, the electric snakes had washed over the Root ninjas.

The Uchiha compound had been scorched by flames multiple times, and the lack of moisture in the environment meant the water dragon's power was not at its peak, while the Lightning Release was also controlled by Sarutobi Hiruzen to merely paralyze the Root ninjas' bodies.

"You lot stay put for a while."

Sarutobi Hiruzen raised a hand to stop a group of Anbu ninjas who wanted to step forward to protect him.

"The evil Uchiha! After killing Hiruzen, he actually transformed into Hiruzen's appearance! Everyone, attack! We absolutely cannot let him go!"

As soon as the words fell, a Wind Release: Great Breakthrough swept toward Sarutobi Hiruzen.

His knuckles whitened.

"Fire—"

Sarutobi Hiruzen was just about to teach his old partner a small lesson, but as he began to form the seals, he halted his movements.

Uchiha Yuji stood quietly between him and the Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.

His short black hair danced wildly in the wind. The youth crouched on the collapsed wall, the Uchiha clan's fan-like crest particularly conspicuous at this moment.

"I told you, Third Hokage."

"Some people do not consider you the Hokage of Konoha."

He remained in a half-crouch, showing no intention of forming seals, nor any movement to dodge or evade.

When the gale formed by the Wind Release: Great Breakthrough blew before him, the wind abruptly subsided, leaving only a light breeze that brushed against his face, lifting the short hair that had been obscuring his eyes.

Beneath the disheveled hair, those chilling Mangekyo Sharingan caused every ninja who witnessed them to tremble uncontrollably.

"Since I have won the wager, Lord Third."

"Then I shall begin handling the trivial matters of our Uchiha clan."

Uchiha Yuji slowly straightened his back, his not-so-tall frame appearing to expand infinitely at this moment.

"Starting from today, our Uchiha clan is resigning from the duties of the Military Police Force."

"We have no time to play along with your political nonsense."

"Honestly, you who are favored are always so emboldened."

The voice was exceptionally young, yet the words were exceptionally willful.

"What a joke! Is your Uchiha clan trying to defect as a whole?" Shimura Danzō couldn't wait to slap a label of rebellion onto the Uchiha.

When dealing with outsiders, Shimura Danzō always played underhanded tricks, but when dealing with his own, he always struck with a heavy fist.

When it was profitable for him, he was obsessed with making money and gathering intelligence.

When there was no profit, he specialized in digging pits for others, never engaging head-on, excelling at being repulsive; however, the probability of him sabotaging his own people was far higher than that of sabotaging outsiders.

"Oh right, and Hokage~ Advisor Shimura, if you hadn't spoken up, I could have looked forward to the clown's future performance a bit more."

When it came to sarcasm, Uchiha Yuji certainly had a knack for it.

He paused when saying Hokage, and the pronunciation of the word "Advisor" was noticeably emphasized.

Shimura Danzō gritted his teeth in anger, glaring fiercely at Uchiha Yuji with his single eye.

"Hmph, evil Uchiha, I have no time to waste words with you. Take him down!"

The Root ninja were excellent tools; the moment the order was given, they launched their attack.

"Evil Uchiha, you say?"

A blood-red gaze swept across them, and the Root members who had just launched their attack froze in their tracks.

"If you call us evil, then what does that make you, who craves the power of evil?"

The voice exploded in Shimura Danzō's ear; his intuition hadn't even signaled the arrival of danger.

Yet, that warm right hand had already pried open the bandage covering his right eye, revealing the eye he had kept hidden.

It was a Mangekyō Sharingan.

"Could I trouble you to return it to us?"

The voice was quite gentle, yet the request carried no tone of asking whatsoever.