Fire Barrier

At the same time Uchiha Yushu encountered Root ninja, Natsuri, who had already finished school, was walking down the road with Naruto.

By then, Root ninja had already approached them.

"Ninja ahead, state your unit designation and personal codename."

An Anbu ninja suddenly appeared and blocked the Root ninja's path.

"Root, codename 'Owl.' By Lord Danzo's order, we are here to take Uchiha Natsuri."

"Not yet. You may only act after your target has separated from the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki. Otherwise, you will be killed on sight!"

The Anbu ninja looked at the three Root ninja before him. Having no desire to exchange words, he directly laid out his demands and prepared for battle.

As he moved, the other Anbu hidden nearby also revealed themselves, taking up combat stances.

The three Root ninja faced off against the Anbu without fear. After a while, the leader, codenamed Owl, made several hand signs. The three of them immediately reined in their killing intent and silently followed alongside the Anbu ninja.

Unaware of any of this, Natsuri and Naruto arrived at a crossroads.

"We're going different ways from here. Goodbye, Naruto."

"See you tomorrow, Boss Natsuri!" Naruto waved hard at Natsuri in farewell.

Even after they parted, he kept turning back every few steps to watch Natsuri's receding figure.

After confirming that the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki and the Anbu had gone far away, the three Root ninja appeared before Natsuri.

"Uchiha Natsuri, come with us!"

"Who are you? Why should I go with you? Do you know who my brother is? Do you know who my grandfather is? Move aside! I'm going home."

Uchiha Natsuri kept her brother's teachings firmly in mind. She ignored all unfamiliar ninja who concealed their appearances.

The three Root ninja said nothing, merely staring silently at Uchiha Natsuri.

Uchiha Natsuri felt a little panicked. Though she did not show it, she changed directions and planned to take a detour home.

Seeing that Natsuri would not cooperate, the three Root ninja said nothing. The leader merely gestured, and the two behind him rushed toward Natsuri.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique ×3

Three enormous fireballs shot toward the two Root ninja advancing on her. They reacted swiftly and dodged in time.

At that moment, three Uchiha Clan ninja appeared nearby. When Natsuri saw the man at the lead, she immediately hurried over to them.

Tugging on the lead man's clothes, she said, "Uncle Mystic Moon, it was these three. They wanted to kidnap me. Uncle Mystic Moon, you have to teach them a harsh lesson."

As she spoke, she clenched her other hand into a fist and swung it downward.

"All right, Miss Natsuri. It's fine now. Stand behind us."

Uchiha Mystic Moon knew Natsuri's temperament well and did not chat further, instead giving her a stern instruction.

Then he looked at the three Root ninja and demanded in a chilling tone, "What does the village mean by this? Are you planning to openly move against our Uchiha Clan?"

The three Root ninja paid no heed to the accusation Uchiha Mystic Moon had thrown at them. They merely replied mechanically, "By Lord Danzo's order, we are here to take Uchiha Natsuri."

"Hmph! Since when did Root dare act so arrogantly before our Konoha Military Police Force? Does that rat Danzo Shimura dare show himself?"

Uchiha Mystic Moon sneered. At last, the three Root ninja were provoked by his words.

"Those who slander Lord Danzo shall die!"

The three Root ninja launched their killing moves without hesitation.

Uchiha Mystic Moon did not take the three seriously and spoke directly.

"True Fire, Crimson Flame, let's move. Take these three fools to the Konoha Military Police Force prison."

The six immediately began fighting, leaving Natsuri alone at the side, staring in stunned amazement.

Having never seen a real battle between ninja, Natsuri's eyes were opened wide.

"So this is how exciting ninja battles are." Natsuri stared wide-eyed at the fight before her, but as time passed, it grew increasingly intense.

Natsuri could now see only blurry shadows.

"Damn it! I can't see anything clearly."

Natsuri complained inwardly, opening her eyes even wider. Suddenly, she felt a cool sensation in them, and the battle that had previously been nothing but blurred silhouettes became clear in her sight.

At the same time, her eyes had turned crimson red. A single tomoe spun beside each pupil.

At that instant, an extremely fast golden figure arrived above the battle, carrying a wave of scorching heat.

Looking at the people fighting below, Uchiha Yushu breathed a sigh of relief.

But in the next moment, he saw the Sharingan in his younger sister Natsuri's eyes. While astonished by his sister's talent, he also knew exactly how the Sharingan awakened.

Uchiha Yushu's heart filled with rage. Though he had not gone over to examine his sister's condition, he was certain Natsuri had suffered an immense mental shock.

In the original story, Itachi awakened his Sharingan after watching Obito slaughter his teammates and teacher before his very eyes. Sasuke had also furiously awakened his one-tomoe Sharingan after Itachi massacred the entire clan.

Unable to imagine what kind of mental trauma Natsuri had endured, he intended to burn the three Root ninja before him to ashes. At the same time, he did not intend to spare whoever was behind this, whether Danzo or the Third Hokage.

"Mystic Moon, True Fire, Crimson Flame, you've worked hard. Leave the rest to me."

Uchiha Yushu hovered in the air. Though he spoke words of thanks, his tone was cold and sinister.

"Yes, Lord Yushu!" ×3

At his words, the three promptly broke away from the fight and retreated to Natsuri's side.

Fire Barrier!

Uchiha Yushu wasted no words and directly used one of the strongest abilities he had developed by combining ninjutsu with his template power—a true ultimate move.

Uchiha Yushu flew at high speed around the three Root ninja, moving beyond the speed of sound. The deafening boom of breaking the sound barrier rang through this open area of the Hidden Leaf Village like thunder.

At the same time, he released the heat he had accumulated around his body. Even the four people who had retreated over a hundred meters away could still feel the immense heat wave rushing toward them.

After flames formed a barrier-like shield that completely enveloped the three men, Uchiha Yushu returned to stand before them.

Taking into account that they were inside the Hidden Leaf Village, Uchiha Yushu had not used the Fire Barrier at maximum output. Nor had he detonated it after it formed, instead allowing it to dissipate on its own.

After some time, the barrier vanished, revealing the three men within. One of them had been completely carbonized. He had clearly tried to break out, only to die the instant he touched the flames.

The other two stared with their eyes wide open, their eyeballs bloodshot.

Uchiha Yushu understood the power of his Fire Barrier very well. Before detonation, its temperature was high, but ninja could usually endure it by relying on chakra.

As the barrier formed, almost no oxygen remained inside. The enemies could only gulp down extremely hot air. Once that air entered their lungs, it would directly damage them. Yet when their oxygen intake became insufficient, they would only gasp in even more scorching air, ultimately dying of suffocation.

As a ninja, Uchiha Yushu knew well that while ninja were powerful, it was their techniques that were powerful. Aside from a very few exceptions, ninja bodies were much like those of ordinary people—extremely fragile. In the ultra-high-temperature environment of the Fire Barrier, even the strongest ninja could not endure thirty seconds without breathing.

Although Uchiha Yushu had ultimately not detonated the Fire Barrier, the tremendous spectacle of his flight and the Fire Barrier had nearly dyed the sky red.

Before long, numerous ninja, Anbu, and members of the Konoha Military Police Force arrived.

Seeing the situation before them, none of the many ninja stepped forward to question him. Instead, they watched Uchiha Yushu warily.

After a long silence, a grim voice sounded from behind the crowd.

"Uchiha Yushu, you killed fellow village ninja without authorization inside the village. Are you planning to defect?"

An one-eyed old man, half his body wrapped in bandages and a cross-shaped scar on his chin, questioned him while leaning on a cane.

The newcomer was none other than an elder of the Hidden Leaf Village and the leader of Root, Danzo Shimura.