Slashing/Killing

"Help! Help!"

Naruto's cries grew weaker and weaker. Fists, kicks, and clubs rained down on him like a storm. Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, and his swollen eyes could barely open.

Yet he was still calling out.

"Police Force... help..."

Would the person who said he would save him come?

Just as Naruto was gradually losing hope, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Big Brother Zhengye..." Naruto stretched out a hand, trying to reach toward the figure ahead.

A wooden club from the side struck his hand.

Naruto screamed and collapsed to the ground.

"You're courting death!"

A terrifying killing intent descended from above.

Surging chakra radiated outward like crashing waves in response to its master's furious emotions.

The villagers beating Naruto suddenly froze, their bodies trembling beyond their control.

Especially the burly man who had struck Naruto with the club. The deepest terror rose from the bottom of his heart.

He only had time to turn his head for one look.

Then he saw only a bright flash of blade light!

Splat!

A head soared into the air, blood spurting out like a fountain.

The hands of the nearby villagers began to shake. They wanted to run, but their legs would not obey them.

"Ah... ah...!"

Only when blood poured down over them did the villagers cry out in terror. "It... it's Uchiha Zhengye!"

At this moment, the twelve ANBU surrounding the Police Force saw Zhengye arrive and immediately start killing people. They were both shocked and enraged!

They decisively abandoned Soji and the others, instead closing in on Zhengye.

Soji led his squad and immediately flashed to Zhengye's rear as well.

"Uchiha Zhengye, ANBU has taken over here. You cannot—"

Before Mikawa Ze could finish, he heard his teammates' teeth chattering.

"C-Captain... the Nine-Tails... the Nine-Tails..."

Only then did he see that Zhengye was not looking at him at all. He was looking at Naruto.

Naruto had already fallen unconscious. From within his body sprawled on the ground, a violent, frenzied, oppressive chakra was spreading outward.

Bubble. Bubble.

Bubbles continuously rose from the crimson chakra cloak.

Though no tail had formed and there was only a thin layer of chakra, everyone present changed expression.

The villagers who had just beaten Naruto had their legs give out beneath them. They collapsed onto the ground, their pants soaked through.

"The... the Demon Fox is transforming!"

"Run!"

Splat! Zhengye cleaved the shouting villager beside him in two with one slash, spraying blood all over himself.

You thought you wouldn't have to take responsibility for beating someone, huh?

He shouted, "You dared to attack the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, intending to trigger another Nine-Tails disaster and bring calamity upon Konoha!"

The patterns in his Mangekyo Sharingan slowly stopped spinning.

Damn Nine-Tails. It wouldn't release its chakra until it saw the bait. It only acted after seeing me arrive.

"You even obstructed the Police Force from saving him. It seems you truly are spies from another village!"

The ANBU were stunned as well. They had monitored Naruto for years and had never seen the Nine-Tails' chakra leak out.

Panic suddenly seized them!

The Third Hokage had assigned them to watch over Naruto. Now that the Nine-Tails' chakra had leaked out, they bore the greatest responsibility!

At that moment, two figures rushed over from afar!

Shisui! Itachi!

The Uchiha clan's top combatants!

"Zhengye!"

"Senior Zhengye!"

Zhengye pointed at the ANBU. "They obstructed the Police Force from rescuing the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. They are suspected of being spies from another village. Capture and kill them all!"

"Yes!"

"Boom!"

Just as Zhengye gave the order, the two villagers beside him suddenly exploded.

Their bodies exploded, blown directly into mangled piles of flesh.

The nearby villagers were dumbfounded. Only when flying chunks of flesh struck them did they let out terrified screams.

"Ah... ah..."

Zhengye looked at the two who had been blown to pieces.

His pupils contracted slightly. Clearly, someone had silenced them.

He gave Soji a look.

"Arrest every one of those villagers! If they resist, kill without mercy!"

Itachi and Shisui lunged toward the ANBU.

Soji, Akimichi Mountain Range, and Yamanaka Saki went to arrest the villagers.

Zhengye flashed to Naruto's side and picked him up.

The five-year-old's body was covered in bruises. His eyelids were swollen shut, and fist marks, slap marks, and footprints covered him from head to toe.

These villagers are really addicted to bullying people, aren't they? Did they think there would be no price for tormenting Naruto!?

What's so impressive about silencing people? Today, I'll show you that the living have their uses, and the dead have theirs!

Thoughts raced through Zhengye's mind. Cruelty filled his eyes as he suddenly waved his hand.

"Those villagers are all spies. Don't spare a single one. Kill them all!"

Soji was only stunned for a moment. Then a vicious grin appeared on his face as he turned the flat of his blade toward its edge.

With a splat, he beheaded a villager who had just beaten Naruto. The head rolled across the ground.

The people nearby cried out in terror. "No! I only came to watch!"

Soji ignored him completely and slashed at his chest, nearly cutting him in half.

Blood sprayed across Soji's face.

Akimichi Mountain Range and Yamanaka Saki hesitated briefly, but they merely gravely wounded the others and left Soji to finish them off.

One after another, the villagers who had just been raining fists and kicks upon Naruto became souls beneath Soji's blade.

On the other side, the battle between Itachi, Shisui, and the ANBU was far more intense.

Shisui had awakened his Sharingan years ago. When he went all out, he was terrifying.

He clasped his hands together, unleashing his ocular power without holding anything back!

When one of the ninja world's greatest genjutsu masters made his move, seven of the twelve ANBU instantly collapsed.

Seeing this, the ANBU were scared out of their wits. "The Uchiha are rebelling! Go notify Lord Hokage!"

Shisui's figure flickered and split into four, chasing after four people.

Itachi, meanwhile, faced Mikawa Ze.

Though his opponent was an elite jonin, Itachi had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Mikawa Ze had some experience fighting the Uchiha and did not dare look into Itachi's eyes at all.

He only dared to watch the area below Itachi's neck.

Itachi had only recently awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan, but his physical abilities had also improved tremendously.

With his opponent not daring to look into his eyes, Itachi quickly gained the upper hand.

He held his sword in one hand while rapidly forming seals with the other.

Using the blind spot in his opponent's vision, he unleashed a Great Fireball while moving at high speed.

By the time Mikawa Ze saw the firelight, he was already a step too late. He swiftly dodged to the side.

But Itachi was already waiting for him, his blade flashing!

Itachi's sword pierced through Mikawa Ze's right shoulder, stabbing straight through him.

"Urgh!" Mikawa Ze groaned. His body was restrained, leaving him no time to defend himself. Itachi had already gripped his arm as a pivot and leapt into the air, driving a kick into the side of his face.

Thud!

With a dull impact, Mikawa Ze's head took a heavy blow.

His vision went black, and he passed out.

By the time Itachi dealt with Mikawa Ze, Shisui had already handled the other ANBU.

Of the four ANBU who fled, one escaped while Shisui killed the other three on the spot.

Shisui did not pursue the one who escaped. Zhengye's intention was to let him go report the news.

Of the twelve ANBU, one escaped, three died, and the remaining seven along with their captain had been brought down.

Zhengye glanced at Mikawa Ze and the others who had been felled by genjutsu.

"Leave this one ANBU alive. Kill the rest."

"Yes!" Shisui hesitated for a moment, but Itachi immediately responded and began carrying out the order.

He walked over to the ANBU who had been felled by genjutsu. With a sweep of his long sword, he slit one ANBU's throat.

Shisui let out a breath and stepped forward to help.

Like helpless chicks, the seven ANBU felled by genjutsu were slaughtered without any ability to resist.

Between the ANBU at the scene and the villagers' corpses, there were more than thirty bodies in total.

The pungent stench of blood drove the other Konoha villagers far away.

Yet even more gazes watched from distant rooftops. They belonged to members of other ninja clans.

News of what had happened here was spreading at incredible speed.

Their expressions were terrified, but not because of the corpses. They feared the crimson Nine-Tails chakra around Naruto.

Zhengye examined Naruto's external injuries. As the Nine-Tails' chakra leaked out, those injuries were rapidly healing.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, he invaded Naruto's mental space once more.

Zhengye's vision shifted.