"Retreat! Fall back! The wind's picking up—move!" Shimura Danzō's aged voice rang out. The ninjas using Water Release and Earth Release to hold back the spreading flames immediately scattered and fled.
Not a single person dared look toward Uchiha Izuna, who had unleashed Majestic Destroyer Flame.
Seeing one figure after another leave the Naka River, Uchiha Izuna stopped feeding chakra into the technique, and the flames of Majestic Destroyer Flame dwindled considerably.
Hyuga Hiashi dispelled the Transformation Technique and came to Uchiha Izuna's side, drenched in sweat and red in the face. "So this is the 'little lesson' you said you'd teach them?"
He looked at the cracked earth along the Naka River. The few trees that had been there were now completely gone, reduced to ashes.
Uchiha Izuna landed and said, "If I wanted to, Shimura Danzō wouldn't get away."
"??? You're telling me you were still holding back? Holy crap! Izuna, what kind of monster are you?" Hyuga Hiashi was practically speaking in exclamations now.
He hadn't expected Uchiha Izuna to be so powerful. Earlier, he'd asked Uchiha Izuna how strong he was.
Uchiha Izuna held up his index finger and thumb, then separated them just a little. "A little stronger than you."
Looking at the mountains along the Naka River, now resembling a mountain of flames, Hyuga Hiashi finally understood. It wasn't a little stronger—it was a whole lot stronger!
"All right, Clan Head Hiashi, let's get down there. I'm worried Itachi and Shisui might be in danger." As he spoke, Uchiha Izuna grabbed Hyuga Hiashi by the arm and used the Body Flicker Technique.
The two arrived at the spot where they had agreed to meet earlier. Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi were there: one was resting on a large rock by the river, while the other kept glancing toward the cliff.
Uchiha Itachi seemed a little nervous. Though his troublesome younger brother always defied him and had even attacked him, he was still his little brother, and he was the older one.
The Uchiha Clan was full of big brothers and little brothers who doted on their siblings. Uchiha Itachi was no exception.
Only when Uchiha Izuna and Hyuga Hiashi appeared in Uchiha Itachi's field of vision did his brow finally relax. At the same time, the tension on his face turned to indifference.
Uchiha Shisui watched Uchiha Itachi with amusement. "You're clearly worried about him, but you put on this act. Doesn't it get exhausting?"
Uchiha Itachi said nothing and turned his gaze to the sky. Uchiha Shisui stopped teasing him and instead looked at Uchiha Izuna, his expression growing complicated.
Honestly, the moment Shimura Danzō made his move and was about to gouge out his eyes, Shisui's heart had died to Konoha.
Now, even if Hyuga Hiashi told him that Shimura Danzō's right eye didn't belong to Kagami Uchiha, he figured he would still support Uchiha Izuna's coup d'état.
He had already shown the greatest goodwill and revealed his most closely guarded secret, Kotoamatsukami. Yet Shimura Danzō still suspected his motives and had tried to take his life.
The dozens of ninja corpses that had fallen from the mountain made it clear to him: from the moment he gave Shimura Danzō the letter, Danzō had been plotting to leave him dead here.
"Shisui, Itachi! Are you all right?" Uchiha Izuna waved at them.
Uchiha Shisui smiled and shook his head. Uchiha Itachi snorted. "Izuna, you were too reckless. What you did will only deepen the hatred between the village and the Uchiha."
Uchiha Izuna had been happy that Uchiha Shisui had survived, but at Uchiha Itachi's words, he immediately clicked his tongue and shot him a look of disdain. (Think of the shrimp face meme.)
Hyuga Hiashi also gave Uchiha Itachi a strange look, wondering if there was something wrong with his head. If not for Uchiha Izuna, Uchiha Shisui might have lost his eyes.
Why did the Uchiha Clan care so little about their own bloodline? If something like this happened to the Hyuga, they would definitely fight back.
"You shouldn't have been born with that mouth. You're always making me want to slap you when I'm happiest!" Uchiha Izuna narrowed his eyes and pressed his lips together.
Uchiha Itachi knew he was in the wrong and snorted, but he watched Uchiha Izuna from the corner of his eye. Seeing that Uchiha Izuna wasn't even flushed or out of breath, he let out a sigh of relief.
That Majestic Destroyer Flame had covered such a wide area and packed such power that it was already beyond the scope of a B-rank ninjutsu. If Uchiha Izuna told outsiders it was an S-rank Fire Release Ninjutsu, anyone who didn't know better would believe him.
Only the Uchiha Clan knew it was one of their own clan's techniques: Majestic Destroyer Flame.
"All right, all right. This isn't the place to talk. What if Shimura Danzō sends more ninjas over?" Hyuga Hiashi tried to smooth things over.
What he said made sense. If Shimura Danzō went to Sarutobi Hiruzen to complain, Sarutobi Hiruzen might fly into a rage and send troops to surround the Naka River.
They weren't afraid of those nobodies, but there was a good chance their identities would be discovered. Then Konoha would be plunged into turmoil.
Everyone nodded in agreement with Hyuga Hiashi, and the group returned to the Hyuga Clan Compound.
This time, Hyuga Hiashi held Uchiha Izuna's hand and fussed over him, tending to his every need. If not for the Uchiha Clan clothes Uchiha Izuna wore and his Sharingan, the people at the Hyuga Clan Compound would have thought he was Hyuga Hiashi's own son.
Little did they know that Hyuga Hiashi really wished he had a son like him. Uchiha Izuna was practically a War Machine. Whoever controlled Uchiha Izuna controlled Konoha!
Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi weren't jealous when they saw this. They thought it was only right.
After all, the strong deserved special treatment. That display of Majestic Destroyer Flame Uchiha Izuna had unleashed that afternoon had won both of them over!
Neji Hyuga looked at Uchiha Izuna with a smug expression. "Uchiha Izuna, do you dare fight me? If I win, don't come to the Hyuga household and bother my little sister Hinata anymore!"
At his words, Uchiha Izuna, Hyuga Hiashi, Shisui, and Itachi all froze, staring at Neji Hyuga in disbelief.
Uchiha Izuna suddenly remembered that he'd meant to stand up for Hinata. The events of the day had been so urgent that he'd forgotten. This was the perfect chance to teach Neji a lesson!
"Sure. If you lose, you're not allowed to take out your personal grudges on Hinata during training anymore. Be a little gentler with her!" Uchiha Izuna said with a smile.
Neji Hyuga sneered. "Fine, I accept. Also, you look about ten years old, while I'm only seven. But I want you to give it your all, or you'll lose badly!"
Hyuga Hiashi's face turned deathly pale. He looked at Uchiha Izuna with a pleading expression.
He was touched that Uchiha Izuna wanted to stand up for his daughter and teach his nephew a lesson, but he was also terrified. If Uchiha Izuna took the fight seriously against a child—no, against Neji—Neji might be flattened in a single move!
Neji was his younger brother's only son. His brother had asked him, before he died, to raise his nephew to adulthood!
Uchiha Izuna nodded to Hyuga Hiashi and said, "Have you ever seen an adult pick a fight with a child?"
(Ōnoki: "Achoo!")
Before you continue