Danzo Backs Down!

"Darkness of the Ninja World? Heh."

"Stay in a stinking gutter long enough, and you'll turn into a rat skulking in the shadows!"

Watching Danzo's face shift from an angry red to a lifeless gray, Uchiha Jin let out a scornful chuckle.

It wasn't that Uchiha Jin hadn't sensed Danzo secretly activating the Self-Exerting Curse Binding Seal. If anything, that only made him look down on the so-called Pot Kage, Shimura Danzo, even more.

That was right!

Uchiha Jin's ambush had certainly been swift. Even Tunan and Habara, two newly ascended Kage Level powerhouses, hadn't expected that inspired kick.

But Danzo should have known better!

Once upon a time, this Hokage Assistant had fought his way through countless battles. In terms of experience and courage, he'd been among the best of his generation. Otherwise, he could never have become a member of Senju Tobirama's Shadow Guard.

And yet, now...

Even in a situation where they'd clearly become mortal enemies, he still didn't believe the Uchiha would actually dare attack him.

His confidence was so absolute that Shimura Danzo believed he could secretly have his subordinates test the other man—even though there was no way to hide that from the Sharingan—and still went ahead with it decisively.

He'd done it, so what!

What left Uchiha Jin speechless was that Danzo had even dared to let his mind wander in front of him, as if he'd already planned three moves ahead and figured out how to keep stirring up trouble.

Kill him... or not?

Could the Uchiha withstand the consequences?

The answer was obvious. I wasn't just going to kill the lackeys you'd sent to test me. I was going to grind this size-forty-two foot into your face!

Uchiha Jin looked down at Danzo, who was still imagining that he wouldn't really "hurt" him and was preparing to launch a last-ditch counterattack with the Self-Exerting Curse Binding Seal.

Squelch!

As the kunai's blade met flesh, the kidney—frail and aged to begin with—finally gave up the ghost. At that very moment, Shimura Danzo's pig-slaughtering shriek rang through the sky.

"Damn you! You evil Uchiha..."

"Hmph!"

Uchiha Jin snorted contemptuously. Taking advantage of Danzo's scattered focus, his powerful ocular might finally severed the man's control over his chakra.

"Who do you think you are?"

"Just the Self-Exerting Curse Binding Seal? You take so long to cast it. Did you think I was blind?"

"If it were the Reverse Four-Symbols Sealing, that might've been worth watching. What's the matter, Lord Danzo? You're always going on about how a shinobi must be willing to sacrifice himself, but when it's your turn, you can't do it?"

Danzo's already wrinkled face twisted further with pain, making him look like a demon writhing in hell.

Even Danzo himself couldn't tell whether the pain in his kidney was worse, or Uchiha Jin's knife-sharp words.

"Damn you! Sarutobi won't let you get away with this!"

But by now, Danzo had finally seen the truth. Uchiha Jin was a true hardliner—an unreasonable man who would even ignite a war to uphold his beliefs.

Danzo felt that he and Uchiha Jin were cut from the same cloth. But the young man standing before him was clearly even more unyielding and resolute than he was.

The man had taken advantage of two consecutive mistakes on Danzo's part. First, the ambush had robbed him of his ability to fight head-on. Then Jin had completely sealed off any chance of retaliation.

So...

At this point, Danzo could only pin his hopes on his good friend Sarutobi Hiruzen. He hoped that invoking the Hokage and the village would keep Uchiha Jin in check long enough for reinforcements to arrive.

And there was... another reinforcement at the scene!

"Shisui... glurk—#￥...#￥%￥#&*..."

Danzo seemed to have found a lifeline. He let out another excited, frantic wail, but the next instant, a size-forty-two foot shoved his face into the dark earth once more.

"Jin..."

Shisui slowly walked over to Uchiha Jin, looking at him with pleading, pitiable eyes. But then he saw the kunai poised to plunge into Danzo's other kidney...

"The Police Force has apprehended the suspect. The village can handle things from here!"

Uchiha Shisui decisively gave up pleading for Danzo. He immediately understood the right way to deal with Jin at that moment.

"Now you're getting it!"

As Uchiha Jin kept helping Danzo get up close and personal with the ground, he finally gave Shisui a look of approval.

"Shisui, you have to understand: the Police Force is just doing its job. This is the line my Uchiha will not cross!"

"Uh..."

Looking at Uchiha Jin standing before him with righteous indignation, much like Danzo had when he first appeared, even Shisui—who was already a bit stone-faced—couldn't help twitching at the corners of his mouth.

"Also!"

"Have you forgotten why the village deliberately suppressed and harassed my Uchiha? Have you forgotten how my Uchiha ended up in this situation?"

"When you run into someone who's trying to drive a wedge between my Uchiha and the village, and an opportunity like this comes along, you have to make him pay—make him pay dearly!"

Uchiha Jin's words clearly struck a chord with Shisui. After all, not long ago, he'd also found the root of the conflict between the clan and the village while talking things over with Jin.

But when it came to Shimura Danzo, the Hokage Assistant... well, a civilian shinobi deeply trusted by the Third Hokage, Shisui still had no way to address the heart of the conflict.

To be honest...

Watching Danzo in such a miserable state, Shisui felt a flicker of glee. But for the sake of the village and the Uchiha...

"Jin... Uh, I mean, Danzo is the Third Hokage's friend, after all. If we can... we should leave the decision to Lord Hokage!"

Shisui's words came out haltingly. He kept a close eye on Uchiha Jin's expression, genuinely afraid the man might kill Danzo in a fit of anger.

"That depends on whether our suspect is willing to obey the law and cooperate with the Police Force's investigation..."

Uchiha Jin stopped twisting his right foot and gave Danzo, who had started pretending to be dead, a teasing smile.

"Hmph!"

Danzo still had a little pride left. But when he realized that his opponent truly had no qualms about killing him, and understood that waiting for his good friend's reinforcements was his only chance of survival, he backed down completely. He decisively buried his dirt-covered old face in the pit they'd just dug.

"Phew..."

Only then did Uchiha Shisui finally let out a breath of relief. He looked over the twenty bodies already lying on the ground and the dozens of Root shinobi being held down by the Uchiha...

There should... probably... maybe... perhaps...

Still be a way to save this!

Uchiha Jin naturally sensed Shisui's despairing gaze, but he had no intention of paying him any mind.

He'd collected enough interest from Danzo for today, and he'd laid sufficient groundwork for the seeds he'd planted in Shisui. And as for the dead Root shinobi, perhaps they'd bring an unexpected surprise...

So.

It was time!

Time to meet our noble, radiant, and righteous Sarutobi Hiruzen!