Beneath the gloomy night sky.
Sarutobi Hiruzen wore a white Hokage robe and a red Hokage hat. The vast chakra radiating from him gave off a terrifying aura that made the blood run cold.
Behind Sarutobi Hiruzen stood fully armed Anbu Ninja wearing various animal masks. At a glance, there were at least a hundred of them.
In addition to those clearly dressed as Anbu, several hundred elite ninja in matching green flak jackets and bearing the Sarutobi Clan crest followed close behind.
At the same time.
The immense commotion had stirred Konoha's major clans, which had only recently settled down. They now hurried to the scene one after another.
But the clash had erupted so suddenly that they hadn't expected it to escalate so quickly. They were nowhere near as prepared as the Anbu and the Sarutobi Clan.
Only a scattered mix of elite ninja and clan leaders had arrived. Even they were stunned by the wrecked streets of Konoha and the brutal traces left behind by both sides.
The Uchiha were really this fierce!
Could they actually be planning to go down with the Hokage faction?
And so.
The troops Sarutobi Hiruzen had brought with him arrived in a show of force and immediately faced off against the Uchiha elites led by Fugaku and Setsuna.
Although Sarutobi's forces were still growing, the Uchiha were by no means outnumbered, and their confidence in their clan's strength kept their spirits high.
The Anbu and Sarutobi Clan forces on one side, and the reinforcements who had come to aid the Uchiha Clan on the other, entered a tense standoff. Both sides waited for orders from their respective leaders.
And just as Sarutobi Hiruzen had demonstrated his strength as a top-tier fighter with his Wind Release Ninjutsu, the Uchiha and the 'Root' ninja—who had been fighting on the street... or rather, slaughtering them—temporarily ceased their battle.
For a moment!
The broad street in Konoha had become especially crowded and silent. One broken body after another lay limp on the ground.
Only thin streams of crimson blood continued to trickle across the street. In the moonlight, they cast a blood-red veil over the world.
But the battle, paused by Sarutobi Hiruzen's arrival, didn't remain still for long. Just as most of the Uchiha and 'Root' ninja thought they should stop and wait for Sarutobi Hiruzen and Uchiha Jin to negotiate, the two Uchiha who had already made a mistake once before—Uchiha Habara and Uchiha Tonan—felt no hesitation this time.
The moment Aburame Torune and Yamanaka Fu, two elite 'Root' ninja, lowered their Kunai—
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Silver metal flashed through the night once more, accompanied by scorching flames. The bewitching gleam of the Sharingan added the finishing touch, and before anyone could react, a tragic tableau had been painted.
Squelch!
Amid two harsh sounds of flesh and metal, one head slipped limply from its neck, while another streak of blood traced a graceful arc through the night as its owner retreated at speed.
One dead! One gravely wounded!
Uchiha Habara shot Uchiha Tonan a smug glance. The battle, which had paused for a brief respite after Sarutobi Hiruzen's arrival, erupted once more...
"Uchiha, what do you think you're doing?"
Seeing that the Uchiha hadn't stopped fighting despite his arrival—and had even taken the opportunity to kill a 'Root' jōnin from the Yamanaka Clan—Sarutobi Hiruzen was furious.
Whoosh!
Sarutobi Hiruzen leapt down, and a surge of violent chakra rose with him.
Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!
Three enormous fire dragons spewed from Sarutobi Hiruzen's mouth, sweeping toward the left, right, and front. He was clearly trying to split the battlefield with this devastating Fire Release technique.
"Has no one ever told you not to play with fire in front of the Uchiha?"
An even more powerful surge of chakra shot into the sky. Uchiha Jin appeared in front of the three enormous fire dragons. He gave them a dismissive glance, then began forming Hand Seals.
Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger. Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!
It was clearly just the C-rank technique most commonly used by the Uchiha, but with Uchiha Jin's powerful chakra behind it, it instantly formed a massive fireball more than thirty meters in diameter.
In a single instant, the enormous fireball swallowed the oncoming fire dragons, then continued onward, its momentum undiminished, toward Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Combined Ninjutsu: Water-Earth Barrier!
Sarutobi Hiruzen truly was a professor of ninjutsu. Faced with a Great Fireball Technique of such astonishing power, he remained calm and easily countered it with a technique of his own.
But at that moment, Uchiha Fugaku finally charged forward and stopped Uchiha Jin from attacking again.
"Jin, what exactly happened?"
Uchiha Fugaku glanced uneasily at the bloody battlefield, at the grim-faced Sarutobi Hiruzen, and at Shimura Danzō, who was being besieged by nearly ten Uchiha jōnin nearby.
They'd already started the Jade Shatter!
Why hadn't anyone notified me, the clan head?
Hmm...
Given the forces Sarutobi Hiruzen had brought, if the Uchiha went all out... well, it didn't seem like...
No, wait!
Uchiha Fugaku suddenly remembered that he hadn't prepared at all. And judging by the chakra signatures he sensed drawing closer, the final outcome really would just be mutual losses...
"Stop!"
Fugaku roared at the Uchiha who were still fighting. Only then did most of them finally cease their slaughter. After forcing the enemy back with one more slash, they gradually withdrew behind Uchiha Jin.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Uchiha Habara and Uchiha Tonan, who had led the charge, also came to Uchiha Jin's side after kicking Shimura Danzō away together.
"Not bad!"
Uchiha Jin nodded at Uchiha Habara and Uchiha Tonan in approval.
After all this time training them, at least some clan members had finally started using their heads. Those idiots who stopped just because an enemy shouted at them could get lost as far away from him as possible.
It was lucky that Aburame Torune had survived, but that wasn't entirely surprising. His clan's abilities were, after all, rather strange.
Still, Uchiha Jin was satisfied with the results.
"Move aside!"
Uchiha Jin impatiently shoved Fugaku out of his way. Only then did he finally deign to address the old man before him, who wore the Hokage Cloak.
"Danzō tried to seize the bloodline of my Uchiha Clan and killed my sworn brother... grandson, Uchiha Shisui. The Police Force is executing him now, and you actually dare to interfere..."
As he spoke, Uchiha Jin suddenly stepped forward. Fiery chakra surged around him, writhing as though it were tangible. He pointed at Sarutobi Hiruzen's head and roared,
"Sarutobi Hiruzen, do you want to betray the village?!"
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