"Lord Fourth Hokage."
Minato Namikaze looked sorrowful. The Uchiha Clan's residential district had been reduced to rubble, the Uchiha Clan had suffered heavy casualties, and Konoha's ninja forces had been weakened.
"Go in at once and search for survivors."
Minato Namikaze issued the order.
Danzo bowed his head slightly and left with his Root members.
Minato Namikaze had not received a full report. "Could Orochimaru really have caused this much destruction?"
Hyuga Hiashi had been using his Byakugan to keep watch from the very beginning. "It wasn't just Orochimaru. There were also masked Uchiha, the Shark Man, someone masked who could use Wood Release, Uchiha Itachi, Shisui Uchiha, Uchiha Sasuke, and possibly Naruto."
Hyuga Hiashi found it hard to accept that Naruto had already reached a level of strength beyond that of a Hokage at such a young age.
Minato Namikaze asked sadly, "Are these the only members of the Uchiha Clan left?"
"Possibly!"
Kushina Uzumaki glanced at Minato Namikaze, then led the medical ninja from Konoha Hospital into the Uchiha Clan's residential district to begin rescue work at once.
The wind picked up, and heavy rain began to fall.
After a day and a night of rescue work,
Minato Namikaze received the final report on the Uchiha Clan's condition.
All the infrastructure had been destroyed. Thirty-nine people had survived, including eighteen elderly people and twelve children.
"Fugaku, are you really going to step down?" Minato Namikaze handed the report to Fugaku Uchiha. "Your clan members still need you to lead them forward. You can't lose heart now!"
Fugaku Uchiha, his hair turned white overnight, could not overcome the mountain within himself. "I'm a sinner. So many of my clan members have died, and simply surviving is already a grave sin. What right do I have to remain clan head? Besides, can the Uchiha Clan even be called a clan anymore? Fourth Hokage, let the survivors live as they choose. As for me, if I can see Itachi and Sasuke grow up safely, that will be the best possible outcome."
Konoha Hospital!
Kushina Uzumaki quietly shed tears. Naruto had been asleep for two days. There wasn't a single wound on him, but he still wouldn't wake up, and no one knew what to do.
Karin had kept watch by his side for two days and was utterly exhausted. She lay down on the bed beside his and fell asleep.
Shisui was on the other side of Naruto's bed.
A crow flew in and landed, transforming into Uchiha Itachi.
Uchiha Itachi said to Shisui, "Shisui, I've decided to act. Those who are guilty can't be allowed to go unpunished."
Shisui was clear-eyed. "Itachi, I still hope you'll leave yourself a way out. I know you can endure being misunderstood by everyone, but that isn't fair to you. Do you understand?"
Sorrow lingered in Uchiha Itachi's eyes. "I understand, Shisui."
"Good."
The sound of the crow's wings grew fainter and fainter.
Smoke curled above Hiruzen Sarutobi's head as he watched Uchiha Itachi with a complicated expression.
He had watched the boy grow up. Unlike most members of the Uchiha Clan, Itachi didn't put the clan's interests first.
"Son, I won't stop you. But if you can stay in Konoha and earn everyone's recognition, you could become Hokage." Hiruzen Sarutobi cared deeply for Uchiha Itachi and thought highly of him.
Uchiha Itachi took his leave of the Third Hokage. "I have to answer for the Uchiha Clan members who died. You might say it isn't my responsibility, but I'm the only one who can bear it. After leaving Konoha, I'll join the Akatsuki and uncover their true strength and purpose for Konoha. Third Hokage, take care!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi chased him to the doorway, his eyes moist. "Son, you still have a home in Konoha!"
Temporary lodgings in the Uchiha residential district.
Uchiha Sasuke carefully fed Uchiha Mikoto her medicine. "Mom, I want to leave here."
Mikoto grabbed Sasuke's hand in alarm. "Are you going to abandon your mother, your father, and your brother?"
Sasuke held back his tears. "Mom, leaving is the only way to keep you all safe. If I stay in Konoha, I might only ever reach the level of a Jonin. If we encounter an enemy even stronger than Orochimaru in the future, what power would I have to protect everyone? I'm not abandoning you all. I just want to protect more people."
Mikoto sensed her son's resolve and began to cry. Perhaps it was a mother's intuition, but through her tears, she seemed to see that both her children would leave home tonight and set off for distant places.
"Sasuke, let Mom hold you close."
Root!
Shouts and cries of battle rang out.
Itachi fought his way in alone. For the Root ninja who were under Danzo's control, he chose to trap them temporarily with genjutsu. Against Danzo's loyalists, however, he struck decisively, without regard for whether they lived or died.
"Itachi, you've betrayed Konoha!"
"This is setting things right," Itachi said sadly. Taking Danzo down would take some time.
Danzo had built up Root for more than twenty years, and its loyalists numbered over a hundred, including dozens of Jonin.
They stood in Itachi's way, surely trying to buy time for Danzo to escape!
"For Lord Danzo's great cause, we must stop Uchiha Itachi!"
They unleashed ninjutsu one after another, seemingly convinced that a concentrated attack could kill Uchiha Itachi.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."
Two familiar voices appeared beside Itachi.
Naruto and Shisui were still wearing their hospital gowns, but they looked relaxed.
"Big Brother Itachi, if you were going to take down that rotten old man, you should've told me! Only telling Shisui is really hurtful." Naruto sounded jealous. "So your adopted little brother doesn't have a place in your heart after all!"
Shisui twirled a shuriken. "He just can't sit still. Itachi, we're all on the same path."
Itachi felt the deep bond they shared, and knew he would carry it in his heart forever. "Thank you. After I leave, please look after my foolish little brother, Sasuke."
The battle erupted again.
With Shisui and Naruto's help, the three of them advanced without the slightest hindrance.
Konoha Hospital.
When Karin woke with a start and saw Naruto's bed was empty, she hurried to report to Kushina Uzumaki: Naruto and Shisui were both gone!
Under the moonlight,
at Konoha's rear gate,
Uchiha Sasuke looked back once more.
"Sasuke, once an arrow is loosed, there's no turning back. Konoha is too small, and the Sharingan isn't the ultimate power. Come with me and seek eternal power!" said Orochimaru, who was still a little snake.
Sasuke closed his eyes and vanished with the Body Flicker Technique.
Root!
Danzo sat behind his desk. Three bottles on top of it held dozens of Sharingan eyes in a prepared solution.
But the three of them had surrounded him.
Danzo said calmly, "I'd sacrifice everything for Konoha. I've done so much, yet Hiruzen Sarutobi doesn't trust me. He put that wet-behind-the-ears Minato Namikaze in the position of Hokage. Utterly ridiculous."
"And now you want to kill me? You'd be killing Konoha's greatest contributor. Your actions will be recorded in Konoha's ninja history, and your names will stink for all eternity."
Naruto said with disgust, "Enough talk. Big Brother Itachi, burn him to death and be done with it."
Naruto focused his mind on Danzo.
"Amaterasu."
Danzo tried to activate Izanagi.
It failed.
The Black Flame burned Danzo, the desk, the bottles, and the Sharingan eyes to ashes.
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