I Have a Bunch of Relatives Who Want to Be Hokage Chapter 41

"The Nine-Tails has been released, and Lady Biwako has been killed." Namikaze Minato's gaze burned with anger. "The culprit is that masked man! He calls himself 'Uchiha Madara'!"

The next moment, his gaze shifted to Uchiha Shingen.

"Sure enough, Shingen also knows the Flying Thunder God Technique. If he had been there as well, perhaps this accident could have been avoided."

He was no political novice. A person with the Mangekyo Sharingan had attacked Leaf Village and released the Nine-Tails; the Uchiha Clan would become a target of public condemnation.

But in Namikaze Minato's view, the Uchiha absolutely could not be dragged into this because of it. That was his first reaction.

Once the conflict between the Hokage Building and the Uchiha Clan became public, Leaf Village's political environment would deteriorate completely. There would likely be no more peaceful days from then on.

"It's useless to say that now." Sarutobi Hiruzen appeared calm, but his heart was bleeding. The husband and wife had supported each other through so many years, yet he had never imagined that today's parting would be forever!

"Capture this man, and everything will become clear!"

As more and more ninjas gathered around them, Uchiha Shingen frowned.

Their approach was actually rather disruptive.

Because his chakra reserves were plentiful and his recovery ability was decent, his skill set had always leaned toward ultimate moves. That was also why the more people there were during battle, the less willing he was to go all out.

It was not that he did not want to go all out; he was afraid that if he overdid it by accident, he would sell out his own teammates.

He was not Namikaze Minato. Namikaze Minato used the Flying Thunder God Technique as a foundation, relying on extreme mobility to carry out a whole series of corresponding tactics.

But at his core, Uchiha Shingen preferred to just ora ora his opponents.

If Uchiha Obito had not possessed Kamui, why the hell would he bother flying around with the Flying Thunder God? He would have already blasted him with a barrage of ultimate moves.

But unlike Uchiha Shingen, Uchiha Obito thought this was quite good.

Uchiha Shingen had kept too close an eye on him. If others intervened, he would instead have an opportunity.

He was not Uchiha Madara, after all. This summoning formula had originally been left to him by Madara. The one who could directly summon the Nine-Tails was Uchiha Madara; he was merely acting as a proxy.

Otherwise, why would he need some damn medium?

Thus, not only did he not evade them, he deliberately moved toward the ANBU squad that had attacked him first.

This action indeed forced Uchiha Shingen to restrain his movements.

In the ANBU's eyes, this was practically a taunt to their faces.

The ANBU members who had already harbored hostility toward him were all thoroughly enraged.

Among them, the Sarutobi Clan's ninjas were the most incensed.

"Arrogant!" The ANBU ninjas in the front unleashed their ninjutsu in succession.

Genjutsu and elemental techniques came raining down on Uchiha Obito all at once.

Uchiha Obito could not even be bothered to look. The elemental techniques passed right through his body, while his Sharingan met his opponents' eyes, and Sharingan genjutsu far stronger than theirs crushed them outright.

"It really is the Sharingan!" With the man right before them, everyone saw it clearly, and their hearts tightened.

As for those comrades who fell like dumplings, no one had the capacity to spare them a glance. They could not afford to.

"Don't look into his eyes! Use taijutsu!" someone shouted.

Uchiha Obito charged in the exact opposite direction from Uchiha Shingen and immediately unleashed a barrage of attacks.

The combat prowess forged by the Leaf Village's Asura was utterly merciless against opponents who were not even jonin.

With a sweep of Kamui and a whirl of twisting chains, the ANBU's attacks struck nothing but air. The lucky ones lost arms or legs; the unlucky ones lost their heads.

In a single exchange, more than a dozen were dead or crippled.

Uchiha Shingen stopped moving and watched coldly as Uchiha Obito slaughtered the ANBU.

Those ANBU had been guarding against even him just moments ago. Since that was the case, good riddance.

The Uchiha Clan's ninjas had also arrived. Clearly separated from the Hokage Building's side, they gathered behind Uchiha Shingen and watched with indifference.

By now, most of the Uchiha Clan actually agreed with Uchiha Shingen's ideas.

Improving their relationship with the Hokage Building was basically impossible. What the Uchiha Clan needed was to unite all Leaf Village people outside the Hokage Building. As for the Hokage Building, it was enough so long as they did not formally tear apart relations.

It was the same political principle as Sarutobi Hiruzen's: fight without breaking.

If the ones suffering at this moment had been ninjas outside the ANBU, the Uchiha Clan would not have stood by and watched.

But this scene made Namikaze Minato deeply displeased.

Uzumaki Kushina was currently only being kept alive temporarily by the Uzumaki Clan's vigorous life force. As a man utterly devoted to his wife, the fact that he had not exploded on the spot was already due to his naturally gentle temperament.

But being naturally gentle had never meant being weak or without a temper.

Unseen, his dissatisfaction with the Sarutobi Clan rose sharply.

He had seen it clearly just now. It was precisely the inappropriate actions of the Sarutobi Clan ninjas among the ANBU that had led to this situation.

But someone acted before him.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had lost his wife. Though he looked as if nothing was wrong, this heroic ninja had actually been a hot-tempered young man in his youth.

Now, with younger members of his clan dying miserably before his eyes, he could no longer hold back and struck directly.

The Adamantine Staff, transformed from the summoned beast Monkey King, let out a sonic boom with a single swing.

Though he said nothing, Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes made his meaning perfectly clear—drop dead!

He seemed to have forgotten that he had said "capture him," not "kill him."

Even in his fifties, few in the shinobi world could withstand the force of that blow.

However, Uchiha Obito had never relied on blocking attacks.

As the Adamantine Staff passed through his body, Uchiha Obito seized the opening created by the old man's outburst. He swiftly landed on the ground and reached down to press his hand against it.

A specially made kunai, one incomparably familiar to him, stabbed toward the palm that was about to touch the ground.

[You really are a nuisance, Sensei!]

Cursing inwardly, Uchiha Obito pulled back his hand and used Kamui to reappear elsewhere—right where the Hyuga Clan shinobi were positioned.

Pairs of Byakugan settled on him.

The next moment, fierce winds rushed at him, stripping away a layer of the ground.

The Hyugas attacked Uchiha Obito while "sweeping the floor."

Whether it was his brief clash with the ANBU and the Third Hokage just now, or his earlier battle with Uchiha Shingen, the Hyugas had noticed every one of Uchiha Obito's attempts to touch the ground.

The Byakugan never overlooked details.

They had no idea what he was trying to do, but if the enemy wanted to do something, stopping him was the right call.

"Lord Hokage, Third Hokage-sama, this person seems to need the ground in order to do something," a Hyuga Clan shinobi announced loudly, apparently worried that no one else had noticed.

This immediately put Uchiha Obito in a foul mood.

Uchiha Shingen, on the other hand, burst out laughing.

He knew exactly what that bastard was trying to do, and he simply found it funny.

Uchiha Obito would retreat whenever he ran toward other Hidden Leaf shinobi, but did he really think the others would stupidly keep attacking thin air and throw their lives away?

You've fought me for so long—do you think everyone else is blind?

The Hidden Leaf shinobi army had not won three straight wars because their opponents handed them victories. What this shinobi force lacked least was observational ability.

As well as seamless coordination.

Uchiha Obito had barely retreated from the Hyugas when he finally found another opportunity. Just as he was about to press his hand to the ground, the Aburame Clan shinobi who had long been crouching nearby immediately released a cloud of black mist.

The swarm surged toward Uchiha Obito's position, wrecking the summoning formation that had just appeared on the ground before it could take shape.

In his Kamui state, Uchiha Obito watched expressionlessly beneath his mask as the fledgling formation that had just emerged became a feast for the insects.

He understood now.

Because of Uchiha Shingen, he had already lost the chance to launch a surprise attack. Facing the well-organized Hidden Leaf shinobi, although these people posed no threat to his own safety, there was no way he could carry out the summoning according to plan in front of them!

This was ridiculous!

In that case, he would forget the summoning!

He would force his way through!

Nine-Tails Arrives

Abandoning the strategy of striking at the center, Uchiha Obito no longer hesitated and left using Kamui.

"Just wait, Hidden Leaf shinobi," he said before leaving.

The Hidden Leaf shinobi waited for quite some time, but he did not pop out from anywhere again.

Everyone suddenly felt as though they were back in the Ninja Academy, arguing with classmates and hearing, "Don't leave after school."

It was strange.

"Did he leave?" someone asked.

In the end, everyone turned their eyes toward the Hyugas.

The Hyugas cooperatively activated their Byakugan and began looking around.

Faced with these people whose veins bulged at the slightest provocation, the female shinobi present—all of them—avoided the Hyugas' gaze, despite being from the same village.

After all, the Byakugan could see through things.

And since the incident had happened so suddenly, many shinobi had rushed out from home without time to change. Quite a few married women were still wearing their battle lingerie.

The Hyugas stared wide-eyed, and who knew whether they took the chance to enjoy the view. After looking around, one Hyuga jonin made a discovery.

"Outside the village—wait..." Sweat began beading on the Hyuga jonin's forehead. "It's the Nine-Tails! That Uchiha is controlling the Nine-Tails! It's heading for the village!"

"Which direction?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked.

"It's coming from the south."

Namikaze Minato's expression changed upon hearing that, because the place where he had rescued his wife earlier was somewhere south of the Hidden Leaf Village.

The Nine-Tails had actually remained there all along?

"Third Hokage-sama, I roughly know the location. Please arrange for everyone to prepare defenses atop the walls first." After saying that, Namikaze Minato used Flying Raijin to teleport away.

"Clan Head, Elder, I'm going too." Uchiha Shingen spoke to the two big shots behind him, then left using Flying Raijin as well.

Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo exchanged a glance. Without wasting any time, they immediately began making arrangements.

But when it came to the Uchiha Clan...

"I propose that the Uchiha Clan be responsible for guiding the villagers to safety," the Sarutobi Clan ninja leading the group suddenly said.

He was an elder of the Sarutobi Clan, of the same generation as Sarutobi Hiruzen and one of the clan's key decision-makers.

This might not have been Sarutobi Hiruzen's instruction. After all, this move was simply... too unsightly, beneath the standard he had always maintained.

But that did not stop the Sarutobi Clan members who idolized him and loved imagining extra drama from taking the initiative to "share his burdens."

"What kind of bullshit is this old monkey spouting?" Uchiha Setsuna spoke with a stern face. "The Uchiha Clan, along with the Hyuga Clan, Aburame Clan, and Inuzuka Clan, had already been arranging the villagers' evacuation. Given the current situation, having the entire Uchiha Clan cower in the rear is unrealistic."

"Uchiha Setsuna, this isn't the time for your Uchiha Clan to be willful." Shimura Danzo suddenly spoke. Though he thought the Sarutobi Clan ninja was stupid, the proposal aligned with his own thoughts. "This arrangement also fits the Police Force's duties. The enemy has Sharingan, so you must avoid suspicion as well."

Bastard! I knew you were going to pull something!

"Avoid suspicion? It's not as if our clan has never lost Sharingan before. The Hokage Building didn't say that back then." Uchiha Setsuna rudely cut Shimura Danzo off. "Besides, you want the Sarutobi Clan to handle the main assault, but how many years has it been since Sarutobi Clan ninja last saw a battlefield? Their capabilities simply do not match such an arrangement."

He was only one step away from calling the Sarutobi Clan trash in front of everyone.

That enraged the hot-tempered members of the Sarutobi Clan.

But what Uchiha Setsuna said was the truth. Even those who joined the ANBU were assigned relatively easy work. This clan's combat readiness was genuinely poor now, and that had been obvious from the beginning.

And the Uchiha were even more hot-tempered than the Sarutobi Clan of today.

The members of these two clans had disliked each other for years.

Seeing that the Nine-Tails had yet to fight and these two clans might already start one themselves, everyone became furious.

"Are you Sarutobi people done yet?!" Inuzuka Clan ninja were known throughout Leaf Village for speaking bluntly, and someone roared, "The Third Hokage and Lord Danzo haven't even said anything, and you still think things aren't chaotic enough?!"