I Choose the Third Path! I'll Kill You All!

"Captain Shikuro, the Calamity Uchiha seems to be going in circles?"

"Captain Shikuro, should we follow him?"

Above the rooftops, Root members wearing animal masks nervously questioned the captain beside them.

The leader wore a black skintight combat uniform. A black mask covered his face, completely concealing his neck and the sides of his face. Over that, he wore a simply colored mask.

Aburame Shikuro.

A genius of the Aburame Clan who wielded nano poison insects.

He was also a loyal subordinate of Danzo's Root.

"Follow him!"

Aburame Shikuro gave a curt order.

With several whooshes!

The Root members on that rooftop vanished.

"Captain Shikuro, the target entered a public restroom in Konoha."

"Captain Shikuro, the target has come out of the public restroom and is wandering around the village again."

"Captain Shikuro, the target bought a skewer of tricolor dango and is eating it as he walks."

Listening to the reports from the surrounding Root members, Aburame Shikuro's mouth twitched slightly.

What was going on?

Could it be that Uchiha Mirai had been circling around earlier because he was looking for a public restroom?

Why was this Calamity Uchiha so different from the rumors?

Shouldn't he have been cold and sinister, taking pleasure in slaughter?

"Captain Shikuro, should we report Uchiha Mirai's movements to Lord Danzo?"

The Root member beside him asked hesitantly.

There seemed to be no need to report something like this.

"Report it to Lord Danzo."

Aburame Shikuro replied seriously.

Danzo's order had been to report every movement of Uchiha Mirai at all times.

Even such trivial matters had to be reported to Danzo.

"Understood."

The Root member nodded and vanished from the rooftop.

Aburame Shikuro kept his eyes fixed intently on Uchiha Mirai below.

His ability was quite unique—he possessed the power to kill with a single strike.

As long as he could find an opening...

"Captain Shikuro, the target is moving toward the Uchiha Clan Compound at high speed."

The Uchiha Clan Compound???

Aburame Shikuro's expression turned grim.

If Uchiha Mirai really returned to the Uchiha Clan Compound, then even if he had a hundred times the courage, he would not dare make a move there.

After all, the Uchiha Clan Compound was filled with Uchiha as mad as lunatics.

Given Uchiha Mirai's reputation within the clan—

The moment they appeared, wouldn't they be swallowed alive by Uchiha shinobi?

"Captain Shikuro, the target has changed direction and is heading for the back mountain of the Uchiha Clan Compound."

The sensory Root member reported.

Aburame Shikuro's eyes suddenly lit up with delight.

The back mountain???

There was no better location than that.

Uchiha Mirai, you dug your own grave!

The back mountain of the Uchiha Clan Compound.

Uchiha Mirai stood calmly within a forest.

His tranquil expression made it seem as though he were waiting for something.

A few seconds later.

Accompanied by several whooshing sounds.

Several masked figures suddenly appeared in the surrounding forest, tightly encircling him.

"Uchiha Mirai, come with us!"

The Root member at the front had cold eyes.

"Did Danzo send you?"

Uchiha Mirai remained calm, as though the Root members around him were nothing but air.

More than a dozen Root members.

Half of them were jonin.

Danzo had made quite an investment!

"That is none of your concern. We received a report that you endangered the village's safety. You need to come with us for questioning."

"If you resist orders, it will be considered treason against the village."

Aburame Shikuro's voice was icy.

A report???

Over some baseless accusation, they had dispatched so many Root members?

Uchiha Mirai sneered.

If he went back with these Root members, his fate would likely not be pleasant.

If he refused to go, it would directly be considered treason against the village.

No matter which choice he made, it was practically a dead end!

"So basically, I have no choice?"

Uchiha Mirai sneered.

"You may see it that way."

Aburame Shikuro replied coldly.

"Have you made your decision?"

"I choose the third option."

Uchiha Mirai's eyes turned crimson.

"Kill every last one of you!"

Konoha Village.

The entire village was peaceful.

On Konoha's streets, merchants loudly hawked their wares.

Within the major ninja clans, clan heads sipped tea and played with birds, utterly at ease.

Suddenly!

A shocking tremor swept through the area, and most of the ninja in Konoha instantly sensed that terrifying power.

"Damn it! What happened?"

"Is someone attacking Konoha?"

"What's going on?!"

Konoha's ninja, especially sensory ninja from clans such as the Yamanaka Clan and Inuzuka Clan, immediately detected the terrifying disturbance.

Their eyes filled with horror as they looked into the distance.

It was as though the entire Konoha had suffered a faint earthquake.

"The epicenter is in the eastern part of the village!"

"Sensor ninja, hurry! Sense that location!"

Under the orders of Yamanaka Inoichi, the Yamanaka Clan head, several outstanding Yamanaka sensory ninja activated their abilities and probed that area.

Their expressions suddenly turned horrified.

"What kind of power is this???"

Calamity, dense, ominous, vast...

It was the first time these sensory ninja had ever sensed such terrifying chakra.

The power of calamity contained within it.

Even from here, they could easily feel it!

"I think I know who it is."

Yamanaka Inoichi's expression darkened.

"This calamitous chakra belongs to only one person... Calamity Uchiha, Uchiha Mirai!"

At the sound of his voice.

The surrounding ninjas' expressions suddenly froze.

Calamity Uchiha... that was a name that had stirred up countless bloody storms during the Third Shinobi World War.

"There's no mistake."

Yamanaka Inoichi's pupils trembled slightly.

He had once witnessed Uchiha Mirai's battle from afar during the Third Shinobi World War.

That calamitous, ominous chakra had left an incomparably deep impression on him.

"Organize ninja and head to the back mountain."

Yamanaka Inoichi gave the order in a grave voice.

Hokage Building.

Sarutobi Hiruzen rose in shock, staring fixedly at the forest where the tremors had come from.

"That's... near the Uchiha Clan Compound..."

Danzo beside him sneered.

"Looks like it has already begun."

"Danzo, have you gone mad? If you really force the Uchiha and Konoha into war, can you bear the consequences?"

"One man alone cannot represent the Uchiha Clan."

Danzo was disdainful.

"He isn't even the clan head."

No matter how gifted Uchiha Mirai was, he was merely a member of the Uchiha Clan.

The one who truly held authority within the Uchiha Clan was Clan Head Fugaku.

Danzo understood Uchiha Fugaku's character better than anyone.

He simply did not have the courage to go to war with Konoha.

Compromise and retreat were his only choices.

Gazing at the forest from which the startling commotion came, the sneer in Danzo's eyes deepened.

"I already gave him a choice. This was the choice he made himself..."

Uchiha Mirai choosing to kill that group from Root was within his expectations as well.

He had long prepared two contingencies.

If Aburame Shikuro and that group from Root could kill Uchiha Mirai directly, that would naturally be for the best.

Even if they could not.

Killing Konoha ninja, even those from Root.

That was a grave crime!

More than enough for Danzo to make a move against him.

Even Uchiha Fugaku would have nothing to say.

It was time to depart.

The corners of Danzo's mouth curled slightly.

He could no longer wait to admire Uchiha Mirai's defeated expression.

This time, he would eliminate this threat for good!