A Clash of the Will of Fire!

Pitter-patter...

Boom!

Water and fire collided. The already heavy rain clouds grew denser, lightning brewing deep within them.

The Lord Third landed on a large tree opposite Uchiha Xiu, holding the shrunken Adamantine Staff in his hand, his expression complicated.

Shisui. Fugaku.

He'd thought those two would be the hardest to deal with. He hadn't expected... the Wood Release ninja who'd killed Danzo to be Uchiha Xiu.

A Genin awaiting promotion, who had completed eight D-Rank Missions, five C-Rank Missions, and two B-Rank Missions.

Awaiting promotion meant he hadn't been promoted yet. In Konoha's official records, Uchiha Xiu was still a Genin.

The strongest Genin!

"'Seek peace through struggle.' Those are wise words."

Sarutobi, who had silently wounded him as soon as they met, spoke, his voice weary:

"But there's no place for an old man like me in this new era. If I stay alive... even if I do nothing, I'll stand in the way of Konoha's next transformation."

"Whatever the case, the Uchiha rebellion is a tragedy that must be blamed on my failures as a leader."

Under the Lord Third's scrutinizing gaze, Xiu, who'd returned and single-handedly pushed the Uchiha to this point, bared his teeth in a grin.

"If you fail, it's treason. If you succeed, it's revolution!"

"Under the rule of a bunch of old people who should've stepped down long ago, with their backward and extreme ideas, Konoha is stagnant and more vulnerable than ever."

Extreme?

Who could be more obsessive than the Uchiha!

But Sarutobi Hiruzen, who'd been about to argue, thought of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze—the brilliant, sun-like Yellow Flash—and the red-haired spitfire, White Fang...

His gaze dimmed.

The hand gripping the Adamantine Staff trembled slightly.

Konoha really had fallen badly.

There was nothing wrong with holding him, the Hokage, responsible. He held the highest authority, so he was naturally accountable for everything.

"Uchiha Xiu, keep fighting me. Prove your Will of Fire."

So, in the end, the one with the bigger fist was right.

What was all that talk about words and ideals? It was bullshit!

At that moment, Sarutobi had no intention of asking where the Wood Release came from or why Danzo, an experienced Kage-level shinobi, had been killed so easily. There was no point.

He raised his hand and hurled three Shuriken.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

After throwing the Shuriken, the Lord Third formed Hand Seals at lightning speed.

In the blink of an eye, each Shuriken split into two, then four, multiplying exponentially until there were hundreds.

Not only that, the rush of air from the Shuriken grew louder as they flew. Clearly, they'd been enhanced with some powerful Wind Release Ninjutsu.

Watching the Shuriken scream toward him, Uchiha Xiu's fingers flew through a series of Hand Seals, ending with the Serpent seal.

The basic Wood Release technique he'd copied from Danzo took effect.

Wood Wall!

Boom...

Boom...

Boom...

The Shuriken slammed into the thick wall that had woven itself up from the ground. It was as if a barrage of large-caliber shells had struck a bunker.

The shockwaves rolled back, and smoke billowed!

The reinforced vines inside the Wood Wall snapped rapidly. The sturdy, vital wood exploded apart.

The Shuriken exhausted their force only when they were almost upon him, with barely a thin layer of bark left between them and Uchiha Xiu. They dropped to the ground.

As soon as they landed, the chakra-coated Shuriken shattered into several pieces.

That showed just how powerful they were.

Crack...

At last, cracks appeared across the final layer of the Wood Wall, spreading wildly in every direction like a spiderweb.

"Phew, I finally blocked it!"

"Looks like the Lord Third has plenty of chakra. Not as much as the Senju, but more than that old dog Danzo."

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted.

With a sharp crack, the Adamantine Staff came flying from his blind spot and smashed through the cracked Wood Release defense before him.

A furry hand stretched out from the end of the staff!

Like a divine weapon descending from the heavens, it clamped straight around Uchiha Xiu's throat from behind. Its grip was monstrously strong, enough to crush an ordinary shinobi's windpipe.

At the same time,

The Lord Third had expected this outcome. He completed another set of Hand Seals, and a Shadow Clone slammed its hand onto the ground, activating Earth Release.

In an instant, the mud beneath Uchiha Xiu's feet turned into a swamp.

Several small mud dragons shot up and wrapped around him, tightly encasing his lower body.

Looking at the top-tier summoning beast before him, which had ended its staff form and turned back into the Great Monkey King, Uchiha Xiu had been wearing an expression of pain. Now, as if struck by a mischievous thought, he narrowed his eyes.

It almost looked as if he were smiling.

Gloop!

Starting with his hair, his body melted into the same kind of sludge as the Yellow Spring Swamp beneath his feet.

"Even without an absurd amount of chakra, I still have plenty. Enough to fight with a clone-based style."

With a sweep of his Mangekyo, Fugaku, who'd been holding his breath, relaxed.

The young man who'd amazed the entire Uchiha clan, and won the attention of both the moderate and hardline factions, was still standing.

A wood-colored figure emerged from a large tree. After being exposed to the air for less than two seconds, color returned to it.

The real body?

Wood Clone?

Earth Clone, or Water Clone?

Take a guess.

Though Uchiha Xiu hadn't said a word, the spectators understood the unspoken message.

"Hahaha, I've only just begun to warm up!" Sarutobi Hiruzen laughed heartily, as if he'd made peace with everything.

Whoosh! The monkey reached up and caught the staff.

The Ruyi Staff returned to his hand.

"Shikaku, who do you think will win?" the red-haired, spiky-haired glutton murmured.

Unnoticed, the three clan leaders of Ino-Shika-Cho, who'd been responsible for intercepting the Uchiha main force, returned.

The forces made up of Anbu, Root, the Sarutobi Clan, and civilian shinobi were now fighting the Konoha Military Police Force, made up of Uchiha. There were casualties on both sides.

But overall, the scale and brutality of the battle remained within acceptable limits.

This was the best outcome Konoha's top strategist had been able to come up with on such short notice.

Fortunately, Kakashi was clever enough and had a good sense of the bigger picture. He'd coordinated with the others tacitly...

"I don't know."

In response to his close friend Choza Akimichi's question, Nara Shikaku shook his head, then gave it careful consideration.

"But with Konoha so weakened, another figure like Uchiha Madara wouldn't be a bad thing."

"Because this era has no Lord Hashirama."

The God of Shinobi, the Asura of the Ninja World—either one alone would be a trump card.

"..." Inoichi Yamanaka said nothing, feeling a little guilty.

Loyalty that wasn't absolute was no loyalty at all.

Caught up in an unfortunate internal war, Ino-Shika-Cho hadn't stood firmly by the Lord Third.

They'd even secretly helped bring about this standoff between the opposing generals—the same type of piece in a game of shogi, each representing the commander of one side: one red, the other black.

Still, they'd expected the red general representing the Uchiha to be their clan leader, Fugaku.

They hadn't expected it to turn out to be a young Uchiha who'd only recently risen to prominence.

"New blood, a new outlook. Perhaps Konoha can move toward a brighter rebirth and make the village great again."

"On the condition that... this Uchiha who knows Wood Release isn't crazy, and is relatively sane. Even a stable personality would be enough."

As someone who'd chaired Jonin Commander meetings for years, Nara Shikaku weighed the matter in his heart, while also praying to the Sage of Six Paths.

On the large tree opposite, Fugaku considered—

After tonight, will I become the Fifth Hokage?

But Xiu's contributions are too great. He also seems to have won Shisui over. The boy has shown a lot of initiative lately, along with strong judgment and execution.

He knows Wood Release, and he has a natural political advantage.

His only weakness is his age. He lacks experience and accomplishments in battle against other villages. Will he be able to command the room?

Of course, his weakness could also be a strength.

There'd be reason to appoint several Hokage Assistants and advisers to balance the interests of the village's different factions.

Including Princess Tsunade and Jiraiya, if they return.

As things stood, the Lord Third, swinging his staff with such force, was as good as dead in Fugaku's eyes.

I haven't even made a move yet.

Those two Mangekyo techniques have only revealed one ability, through the lips of that traitorous son, Itachi: predicting the future.

"What's more, Xiu still hasn't shown any signs of weakening."

High above, where no one was paying attention,

A small whirlpool of distorted space appeared, and the Masked Man made a quiet entrance. His thoughts churned.

"Xiu, that little brat who used to sit alone by the river, foolishly practicing Water Walking and wasting time on it—how did he train to get this strong?!"

Obito, claiming to be Uchiha Madara, was back in action.

Behind him, Uchiha Itachi stood atop an abandoned tower, his feelings complicated.

So the village belongs to whichever side wins a coup?

The Lord Third and Danzo, who'd always had the final say, didn't seem to represent the village tonight.

The weasel couldn't make sense of it.

If Xiu becomes Hokage, or Father becomes Hokage, should I kneel down and pledge my loyalty again, despite being a traitor?

No. I'll join Akatsuki and keep an eye on the man calling himself Madara. I'll also keep watch over Konoha's development.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!"

At that moment, the crucial battle raging below grew fiercer. A powerful whirlwind expanded outward from the Lord Third's position.

The rain, mist, wood chips, and anything else obstructing the view vanished, clearing the scene.