Returned Alive

"Ah!"

Three screams rang out abruptly.

They were cut short just as quickly!

With the aid of his Mangekyo Sharingan, Uchiha Qin Yu saw a massive cluster of blood vessels erupt from the ground without warning, piercing directly through the bodies of the three Root ninjas.

As their blood was devoured, the previously weakened Kakuzu gradually regained his vitality.

Three hearts were ripped out by force and immediately integrated into Kakuzu's body.

Feeling his strength slowly returning, Kakuzu breathed a sigh of relief and finally stood up.

"Boss, I'm heading out. Do you need me to take care of Danzo?" A flash of murderous intent crossed Kakuzu's face.

Danzo's intelligence failure this time had nearly cost him his life.

If it weren't for Uchiha Qin Yu deciding to recruit him at the last moment, he would likely be a cold corpse by now.

"No need. Don't worry about that; I'll handle it myself." Uchiha Qin Yu patted Kakuzu on the shoulder.

"Go!"

Kakuzu was taken aback. "Boss, don't you need to place some kind of restraint on me? If I just run off, it'll be your loss."

In Kakuzu's eyes, there were countless spies and moles across the nations.

To ensure safety and secrecy, everyone used some form of genjutsu, secret techniques, or forbidden arts to maintain remote control.

Originally, the hardest part for Kakuzu to accept about surrendering was the prospect of enduring such manipulation.

"No need. Using petty tricks on you would only feel messy," Uchiha Qin Yu said with a smile.

"Besides, I believe in my own charisma. With one display of my dominance, the entire ninja world will tremble."

These words sounded like a joke.

However, falling upon Kakuzu's ears, they made his expression shift involuntarily.

Having witnessed Uchiha Qin Yu's formidable methods firsthand, and seeing those Blood Moon Eyes—which, like those of Uchiha Madara, symbolized calamity—

he knew this youth was likely not speaking without purpose.

Kakuzu took a deep breath, cleared his thoughts, and said, "Boss, I'm off. I'll contact you as soon as I have any news."

Watching Kakuzu depart, Uchiha Qin Yu walked over to Uzuki Yugao and Gekko Hayate.

"Release!"

With a flip of his hand, the seals were undone, and the unconscious Gekko Hayate and Uzuki Yugao stirred awake.

"Uchiha Qin Yu, why did I fall asleep? I think I just had a dream that an S-rank missing-nin came to assassinate us." Uzuki Yugao rubbed her hazy eyes.

When she saw the ruins before her, she was stunned.

This clearly wasn't a dream.

"Let's go. It's about time. If we linger here any longer, Konoha might send people to look for us." Uchiha Qin Yu ruffled Uzuki Yugao's hair.

Uchiha Qin Yu hadn't been idle while using his Mangekyo Sharingan earlier.

Uzuki Yugao regained her senses slightly and glared at him.

"Uchiha Qin Yu, can you stop treating me like a little girl and ruffling my hair?"

Compared to Uchiha Qin Yu, Uzuki Yugao was of a similar age.

However, in terms of height, Uchiha Qin Yu was already 1.7 meters tall, clearly a head taller than the 1.5-meter-something Uzuki Yugao.

Not only could he see the top of her head, but he could also comfortably perform his signature head-pat.

Before the sealed gates of Konoha.

Due to Uchiha Qin Yu's sudden emergence and his powerful display in crushing the Cloud Ninja and Mist Ninja, the upper echelons of Konoha were paying close attention.

No!

It should be said that even the younger generation within the Uchiha Clan was greatly shocked.

They had thought that the emergence of Uchiha Shisui was enough to overshadow the entire era.

Not long ago, even the brat of the Uchiha Clan's leader had shown his sharp edge, being hailed as a little genius the moment he entered the ninja academy.

Now, suddenly, a genius who had been bullied for over a decade and had been lying in wait had appeared.

This disparity was hard to accept.

It was precisely for this reason that the Uchiha Clan had dispatched their police force to wait here.

Facing them were Minato Namikaze and the rarely seen Danzo.

A few minutes prior, after finishing his trivial tasks, Minato Namikaze had returned to Konoha and was surprised to find Danzo, who usually never showed his face, standing before the city gates.

Shock washed over him, leaving his heart hanging by a thread.

Recalling the events at the outpost, the sudden appearance of Danzo here was clearly a weasel paying respects to a chicken—nothing but ill intent.

"No, the agreed-upon time has passed. I'm going to take a look." Minato Namikaze glanced at the Chunin guarding the gate, unable to hold back any longer.

"Heh, Minato, you've only just returned. Where are you off to now?" Danzo was clearly keeping a close watch on him.

The moment Minato began to form the Flying Thunder God Seal, Danzo stepped forward to interrupt him.

"Lord Danzo, the three Chunin I led have exceeded the agreed-upon time. I'm worried something might have happened, so I intend to check on them," Minato Namikaze said in a deep voice.

His words carried a hint of chill.

Minato Namikaze was already deeply dissatisfied with Danzo's repeated attempts to target Qin Yu.

However, since he did not know the reason for the delay of Qin Yu and the others, he could not directly refute him.

"Heh, Minato, you are truly the frontrunner for the next Hokage; even your conduct is so prudent." Danzo continued to smile.

In his heart, however, he was silently calculating how long it would take for Kakuzu to finish off Qin Yu.

Watching the anxious look on Minato's face, Danzo's smile only widened.

In his eyes, the longer the delay, the greater the chance that Minato would only be arriving to collect a corpse.

Fifteen minutes had already passed, and with the strength of an S-rank missing-nin combined with the assistance of the Fuma Ninja, dealing with a mere Chunin was not a difficult task.

Even if this Chunin harbored secrets, it would make no difference.

"Lord Danzo, you aren't intentionally blocking me from saving them, are you?" Minato Namikaze's expression darkened.

He was the one leading the team, after all.

If anything were to happen to Qin Yu and the others, he would be unable to shirk the responsibility.

"Minato, your words truly chill this old man's heart." Despite what Danzo said, his smile grew even more radiant.

"Do you know? Everything I do is for the sake of Konoha."

"Furthermore, I have no idea what you are talking about. I merely saw the commotion here and came to join in, curious to see who you were waiting for."

Having said this, Danzo shook his head with a laugh.

"However, judging by your expression, the chances of them arriving seem slim."

"In that case, I shall take my leave. I hope your little companions arrive safely."

Fifteen minutes had already passed.

The scouts he had dispatched had not sent any signal.

In Danzo's view, Qin Yu and the others were undoubtedly dead.

For this very reason, there was no longer any point in lingering here.

"Minato, why are you here?" Qin Yu's voice suddenly rang out.

The step Danzo had just taken, along with the smile on his face, froze instantly.