Painful Beating of Shimura Danzō

Genkawa Uchiha knew exactly what was about to happen, but he had no intention of interfering.

The reason was simple: it had nothing to do with him, and that was that.

Even if Namikaze Minato were to die later, causing the only Hokage in the village who held goodwill toward the Uchiha to perish and leaving the clan in an even worse predicament, he wouldn't care in the slightest.

To be honest, after his parents in this world passed away, it wasn't as if Genkawa Uchiha hadn't had thoughts about the Uchiha, or that he hadn't considered trying to change them.

But... the Uchiha clan was truly hopeless.

From the clan head, Fugaku Uchiha, and the hawk-faction elder, Uchiha Setsuna, down to the many clansmen who hadn't even awakened their Sharingan, every single one of them possessed a delusional level of confidence—or rather, arrogance—regarding themselves and the clan.

They knew the clan's situation and the village's attitude toward them, yet they insisted on living within the bubble of Uchiha pride.

It was exasperating.

He had offered suggestions to Fugaku Uchiha several times, but they were dismissed as the ramblings of a child and never taken seriously.

Ever since then, Genkawa Uchiha had completely extinguished that spark of concern.

Let them rot.

It was no longer his business.

At this moment, Konoha, having endured the rampage of the Nine-Tails, was in complete chaos; fire was visible everywhere one looked.

The mix of wailing and screaming gave the entire village the appearance of an apocalyptic ruin.

Genkawa Uchiha leaped down from a high wall and walked through streets that were no longer recognizable. He casually propped up a wall on the verge of collapse, pulled a soot-covered brat from underneath, and pointed toward the direction of the Hokage Rock.

"Go over there to take shelter."

With that, he walked forward without looking back.

He had done similar things several times along his way, saving a few people.

Genkawa Uchiha remained indifferent to the death of Namikaze Minato because it was Minato's own choice, and he respected that.

However, he did feel a modicum of sympathy for these ordinary villagers suffering because of the Nine-Tails.

It wasn't that he was particularly kind-hearted or unable to bear the sight of human suffering.

It was just that for people he could save with a mere flick of his hand, the effort was negligible, so it didn't amount to much.

As he said before, he was willing to do it.

It was that simple.

"Huh, it's still here."

Returning to the previous street, he found his dropped bag in a corner; the vegetables inside were surprisingly undamaged.

"That saves me the trouble of buying more."

Genkawa Uchiha picked up the bag and prepared to head home.

Just then, several figures landed all around him.

The leader was none other than Shimura Danzō. This guy seemed to have been watching Genkawa Uchiha from the start, and the moment he arrived, he showed himself.

"Are you ever going to stop being a pain in the ass?"

Genkawa Uchiha set down the bag and tilted his head slightly to stare at Shimura Danzō, though his eyes were fixed on the man's throat.

Shimura Danzō spoke with a gloomy face: "The appearance of the Nine-Tails cannot be separated from you Uchiha, and you appeared in the village alone tonight. I have reason to suspect that this entire affair involves you. Now, you had best come back with me for an investigation."

Genkawa Uchiha clicked his tongue and said nothing more.

Because the next instant, his figure suddenly vanished from where he stood.

No one had expected Genkawa Uchiha to be so direct; he hadn't even been willing to say another word before making his move.

The Root ninja surrounding him reacted instantly.

Some formed hand seals, some threw kunai at Genkawa Uchiha, and others charged directly at him, hoping to block his path.

As Root ninja, protecting their leader had become an instinct.

But Genkawa Uchiha was too fast; his sprint tore through the night wind.

As the net of shuriken thrown by several Root ninja reached the hem of his clothes, the boy suddenly kicked off the ground. Amidst the exploding debris of the shattered stone pavement, his figure turned into a blur, slipping through the gaps in the ninja tools.

The lead Root ninja swung his blade downward, but he only sliced through empty air.

Genkawa Uchiha merely flickered, appearing like a fleeting shadow under the moonlight, but his knee had already slammed into a man's jaw. The sound of cracking bone and the dull thud of a body crashing through a wall erupted simultaneously.

Shimura Danzō's single eye constricted sharply.

Fast—too fast. He was caught off guard by the sheer speed.

Before a Root ninja could finish his hand seals, Genkawa Uchiha had already twisted his body into a spinning kick, the wind of his leg sweeping across the man's neck.

With a sonic boom, a body was sent crashing into the ruins like a broken puppet.

A third man charged in, but just as his blade appeared, his wrist bone was crushed by a hand like an iron vice.

Genkawa Uchiha used the momentum to leap into the air, stepping on the crown of a fourth Root ninja's head to vault forward.

Ten meters.

Shimura Danzō finally raised his right hand.

The Great Fireball tore through the air with a searing gust, yet Genkawa Uchiha defied inertia, plummeting mid-air.

The heat wave of condensed chakra grazed his hair; the moment his feet touched the ground, he exerted force, causing the tiles within a three-meter radius to collapse into a spiderweb of cracks.

Using the recoil, he smashed through the final two Earth Walls like a cannonball.

Five steps.

Shimura Danzō's hand seals were interrupted by the wind pressure of a fist striking toward his face.

"Arrogant!"

As Shimura Danzō retreated violently, a kunai slid from his sleeve to parry.

Amidst a metallic shriek, the steel-forged blade was shattered by the impact of the knuckles.

Genkawa Uchiha shifted his fist into a claw, aiming for the throat; Danzō retreated hastily, tossing out a Substitution Log, his true body already forming seals several meters away.

Amidst the exploding splinters of the log, Genkawa Uchiha pursued like a phantom, hugging the ground.

"Wind Style: Vacuum—"

Before Danzō could finish the name of the jutsu, the boy's whip-kick, delivered after rebounding off a wall, had already swept toward his temple.

Shimura Danzō, who had raised his arm in a hurried block, felt as if he had been struck by lightning; his arm felt as though it had snapped. Under the immense force, he stumbled back several steps, and at that moment, Genkawa Uchiha's elbow strike followed like a shadow, hammering into his ribs and causing the crisp sound of cracking bone to erupt from Shimura Danzō's chest.

Seven-hit combo.

The fist tore through the air, strike after strike, seemingly endless.

Shimura Danzō's blocking forearm grew increasingly numb; each collision felt like being struck by a battering ram, leaving him devoid of sensation, save for searing pain.

As Genkawa Uchiha spun and brought his leg down in a sweeping axe-kick, Shimura Danzō was finally driven back into a corner.

The brick wall shed dust from the impact, and a metallic, sweet taste surged into Shimura Danzō's throat; the gloom in his single eye finally ignited into rage.

"Enough!"

In response to his roar came a resounding slap.

The slap was exceptionally crisp and carried no small amount of force, sending Shimura Danzō flying backward; his body spun several times in mid-air before crashing to the ground.

This outcome was entirely of Shimura Danzō's own making; perhaps his long tenure in a position of power had caused him to lose his vigilance, leading him to believe that everyone would bow to his status and choose to obey.

He had forgotten that he was facing Genkawa Uchiha, a person who cared nothing for Shimura Danzō's status or position.

In the end, Shimura Danzō had only himself to blame for being too contemptuous of his opponent.

It was true that Genkawa Uchiha could not use ninjutsu, but his taijutsu was far from poor.

Coupled with an SS-rank Sage Body, he could beat the Nine-Tails into submission, let alone a man like Shimura Danzō, who had long since withdrawn from the front lines of combat.

"Stop!"

Just as Genkawa Uchiha was about to charge forward to deliver a few more heavy blows to Shimura Danzō, the sound of air being pierced arrived.

The voice was familiar; Genkawa Uchiha didn't need to turn around to know who had arrived.

Hiruzen Sarutobi!

But...

What did that have to do with him?

Genkawa Uchiha did not stop his stride, appearing instantly before Shimura Danzō, grabbing him by the throat, and hoisting him up before finally finding the time to turn around.

The person who had arrived was indeed Hiruzen Sarutobi, and he was not alone; beside him were Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and a group of others—all from Hiruzen Sarutobi's generation.

Beyond them were over a dozen ninjas from various clans in the village, all of them elite jonin.

Being watched by so many people would naturally make an ordinary person feel nervous, or even uneasy.

But Genkawa Uchiha did not care about any of this.

Without a word, Genkawa Uchiha slammed Shimura Danzō into the ground with such force that the earth cracked beneath him.

Puh-wah!

Shimura Danzō spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Genkawa Uchiha, I order you to stop!"

This time it was Utatane Koharu who spoke, anger etched across her face.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, on the other hand, felt his cheeks twitch upon seeing this scene.

To be honest, arriving to see this spectacle—he, the Hokage, only felt it was absurd.