This Isn't Cowardice, It's Following Your Heart!

Danzo's eyes nearly split with rage as he stared fixedly at the calmly standing figure.

The scenes around him struck his mind again and again like heavy hammers.

The Root agents he had sent out lay miserably scattered throughout the surrounding forest, some of their bodies so mangled they were barely recognizable.

Many Root agents had lost their masks, revealing twisted, hideous faces, as though they had experienced something unimaginably terrifying before death.

Uchiha Mirai stood calmly amid the Root corpses, a faint smile seemingly lingering at the corner of his lips, as if mocking him—mocking the weakness of his subordinates.

Damn it!

Danzo could not understand.

The Root ninja he had sent were all elites of the Root, and many had been carefully selected because their abilities specifically countered Uchiha Mirai.

Why!

Why had Uchiha Mirai been able to kill them all in such a short time!

This made no sense!

Where was Aburame Shikuro???

Danzo's single exposed eye suddenly narrowed!

Aburame Shikuro was a bloodline ninja who wielded Nano Poison Insects!

Nano Poison Insects—death upon contact!

Could Aburame Shikuro have betrayed him???

Otherwise, why did Uchiha Mirai not look injured in the slightest?

And there did not seem to be Shikuro's body anywhere nearby.

"Uchiha Mirai, where is Aburame Shikuro?"

Danzo asked coldly.

"If you mean that guy who was glowing purple all over, he should be over there."

Uchiha Mirai shrugged and indicated a spot with his eyes.

Danzo looked over and saw nothing but a pile of rotten flesh.

"You're playing me!"

Danzo glared furiously at Uchiha Mirai.

How could a pile of rotten flesh that no longer even had a human shape be Aburame Shikuro? He was one of Danzo's most valued subordinates.

Wait!

As though he had suddenly recalled something, a chill abruptly rose in Danzo's heart.

During the Third Shinobi World War, many enemies who had encountered Uchiha Mirai had been reduced to piles of rotten flesh by the effects of that bizarre poison.

Could it be...

The Root agents behind him seemed to recall it as well.

Waves of icy dread rose in their hearts.

The deaths of the other Root agents were nothing. The Root base had plenty of ninja of that caliber.

But Aburame Shikuro was different.

His ability was exceptionally unique; there was not another ninja in the entire Root who could replace him.

And now, such a powerful ninja had become a pile of rotten flesh whose shape could barely be identified...

Even though they had long known of the Calamity Uchiha's brutality, this horrifying scene still made their spines go cold.

"Bastards! What are you waiting for? Kill him! Do you expect this old man to do it himself?"

Danzo slammed his cane against the ground and let out an unwilling roar.

Just then.

A familiar voice came from behind him.

"Danzo, what exactly happened?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen arrived with the ANBU, his face filled with shock as he swept his gaze over the surroundings.

Danzo's heart leaped with joy!

Hiruzen was here!

With the ANBU and Root joining forces, plus him and Sarutobi Hiruzen, they would definitely be able to kill Uchiha Mirai this time!

"Hiruzen, you came at the right time! Uchiha Mirai has slaughtered the village's ninja with cruel, unforgivable methods!"

"This time, we must eliminate him completely!"

Danzo stared excitedly at his old friend, frantically signaling with his eyes.

Hiruzen, you saw the Root corpses around us, didn't you?

This was still within Konoha's territory.

Uchiha Mirai had slaughtered fellow village shinobi within the village. The evidence was conclusive. Even if they executed him on the spot, Fugaku would have nothing to say!

Such a perfect opportunity would be gone if they let it slip by.

Sarutobi Hiruzen naturally understood what his old friend meant.

Yet a trace of hesitation still lingered in his eyes.

With Root and ANBU joining forces, along with himself and Danzo backing them up, it was not impossible to execute Uchiha Mirai on the spot on the grounds that he had slaughtered Konoha shinobi.

But if they did that, the Uchiha Clan would likely rise up immediately!

Uchiha Mirai seemed to hold extremely high prestige among the younger generation of the Uchiha Clan.

If that group of lunatics rose up, Konoha would undoubtedly suffer devastating losses.

Moreover, this location was very close to the Uchiha Clan Compound. There were probably already Uchiha clan members rushing over.

Did they have enough time to kill Uchiha Mirai?

Danzo caught the hesitation in his old friend's eyes as well. In an instant, he clenched his teeth and roared in unwilling fury.

"Sarutobi! What are you still hesitating for? Such a perfect opportunity won't come again if we miss it!"

The ANBU behind Sarutobi Hiruzen exchanged looks. Without the Hokage's order, they could not act on their own.

During that brief moment of dispute, other Konoha shinobi began arriving one after another.

"Good heavens... what happened? Are these dead shinobi from Root?"

"So many shinobi died... what exactly happened!?"

The clan shinobi who arrived afterward, including Yamanaka Inoichi, all wore looks of shock and disbelief.

They had been somewhat farther away earlier, and while they could sense how intense the battle had been—

Without seeing it with their own eyes, however, they could never truly grasp the brutality and bloodshed here.

More than a dozen masked shinobi dressed in Root uniforms had all died miserably. Not a single one still showed any sign of life.

What kind of shinobi could achieve such a terrifying record?

Their gazes moved upward, and every shinobi who had arrived later focused on Uchiha Mirai, who stood there calmly.

It was him!

Their pupils trembled!

A cold smile appeared at the corner of Danzo's mouth.

Then he shouted angrily.

"Uchiha Mirai slaughtered Konoha shinobi with methods so vicious they are utterly atrocious! A shinobi who endangers the village's safety must never be allowed to run rampant!"

"Everyone! Join me in taking action! Today, we will rid Konoha of this menace!!!"

Danzo's righteous roar echoed through the forest.

Hmph! Hiruzen really is useless!

Still, as long as the other shinobi act, the outcome will be the same.

A sinister smile filled Danzo's eyes.

Uchiha Mirai, what do you have to fight me with?

But soon, the smug expression on his face froze.

The Konoha shinobi gathered around him whispered among themselves, their murmurs rustling through the forest, yet not a single person acted. They all remained where they stood.

"Bastards! What are you waiting for? The evidence of Uchiha Mirai slaughtering Konoha comrades is conclusive! Are you going to let him kill even more shinobi?"

Danzo slammed his cane down, shouting himself hoarse.

But it was useless.

No one paid him any attention at all.

The entire thing was just him putting on an exaggerated performance by himself, while the surrounding shinobi looked at him like he was a clown.

With the previous Hokage trial meeting serving as a lesson, these shinobi were clearly much more cautious when faced with the conflict between the Hokage faction and Uchiha Mirai.

Last time, they had listened to Danzo's suggestion and pressured Uchiha Mirai together.

Then the situation had reversed.

It turned out that the Cloud Hidden Village had intended to seize Konoha's bloodline limit, while Uchiha Mirai had been a hero who protected Konoha's bloodline limit from being taken away.

The slap to their faces had been loud and clear.

This time, it would not be so easy for Danzo to incite them into acting again.

There was also an even more practical reason.

They could not beat him.

Hadn't they seen how easily Uchiha Mirai had wiped out more than a dozen Root shinobi?

And judging by the fact that his clothes were completely free of dust, it had definitely been a one-sided slaughter. He might not even have used much chakra.

Even if they successfully surrounded Uchiha Mirai and trapped him.

How were they supposed to defend against that bizarre poison?

None of these ninja wanted to return home only to grow a third leg, tentacles, or something equally horrifying.

This wasn't cowardice.

This was following their hearts.

That was what the watching ninja thought.