Third Hokage, Come Collect the Bodies

Under Observation Haki's perception, not a single Third Hokage-side ninja was still alive.

"More or less done."

Junichi sheathed Demon Eye and returned to the main road.

Outside the Uchiha Clan compound.

The Third Hokage and Danzō stood with tightly furrowed brows, anxiously awaiting the outcome.

Neither of them could afford to lose this battle.

Both had staked all their trump cards on it!

"Someone's coming back!"

Suddenly, Danzō narrowed his eyes and spotted several figures running toward them from afar.

"Oh? Your eyesight is quite good, Danzō." The Third Hokage casually praised him.

Danzō's heart tightened at those words, and he did not dare look at the Third Hokage.

He could not be sure whether those words carried another meaning.

At this moment.

Shisui's right eye had already been implanted into his right eye socket, hidden beneath the bandages.

"Something's wrong!"

The Third Hokage suddenly spoke, his voice grave.

"What is it?" Danzō froze for a moment, then looked up. His expression immediately tightened.

The three figures running toward them.

Their movements were panicked, their footing unsteady.

As though something terrifying was pursuing them from behind, they stumbled as they ran, occasionally looking back in terror.

"...Lord Third Hokage!"

The three immediately showed joyous expressions when they saw the Third Hokage.

Something was wrong!

The Third Hokage and Danzō frowned even more deeply.

Two of the three were Sarutobi Clan ninjas, while the other was an Anbu whose mask had been discarded somewhere.

The joy on their faces was completely wrong as well.

It was the joy of having survived a disaster!

"What happened..." The Third Hokage had just begun to ask.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Three pairs of eerie scarlet eyes appeared behind them.

"Uchiha Style: Flame-Leaping Sword!"

Three Uchiha Clan ninjas swiftly caught up to the fleeing trio, their ninja blades wreathed in flames as they slashed down viciously.

"Stop!" The Third Hokage glared furiously and roared.

Naturally, the Uchiha Clan members did not listen to him.

Not only that, their blade swings became even fiercer.

As the ninja blades fell, the three fleeing ninjas seemed scared out of their wits and did not seriously try to block.

They merely raised their hands and lifted their kunai in a desperate defense.

But the ninja blades broke through at once. The flaming edges sliced through their necks, and the intense heat seared all the flesh around their throats into cooked meat.

"Ghk..."

The three clutched their necks in terror and collapsed in agony.

They soon stopped breathing.

"I told you to stop! Are you deaf!?" The Third Hokage was furious beyond measure. His eyes were savage and terrifying, radiating a dense killing intent.

Even Danzō beside him could not help shuddering.

At that moment.

It was as if the Ninja Hero who had once dominated the battlefield had returned.

"Oh, so Lord Third Hokage was speaking just now?" One Uchiha Clan ninja pretended to be confused as he picked at his ear, then said with a grin, "Well, I'm usually not even interested in listening to the Will of Fire. It's only natural that I missed what you said for a moment."

"Yeah, yeah. Lord Third Hokage will surely forgive us, right?" Another Uchiha Clan ninja said with a smiling face.

"Doesn't matter if he doesn't."

The third Uchiha Clan ninja wore a mocking expression and curled his lips into a sneer. "They're already dead. All we can do is ask Lord Third Hokage to take good care of their underage children, just like he took care of the Fourth Hokage's orphaned children."

Boom!

Those words were like bolts of lightning exploding in the Third Hokage's mind.

His heart shook violently, and his face alternated between green and white.

These three Uchiha Clan members had no regard for him whatsoever, and they were even making sarcastic remarks to disgust him!

Damn it!

I'm the Hokage!

Where did your respect for the Hokage go?

"If there's nothing else, we'll be leaving first." The three Uchiha Clan ninjas waved their hands and swaggered back inside. "Lord Third Hokage, remember to collect the bodies."

"Oh, actually, there's no need to hurry."

"Our Fire Release is quite powerful. The bodies will stay warm for a long time, so take your time... Hahaha!"

The three laughed arrogantly as they walked back inside.

Outside.

The gathered ninjas on standby wore livid expressions, their eyes filled with rage.

But no one dared move.

The Uchiha Clan members had actually pursued and killed their people all the way to the edge of the compound.

This meant something major must have happened inside!

Those people they had sent in were probably...

The ninjas exchanged furtive looks, communicating with their eyes, all feeling deeply uneasy.

"Huff..."

The Third Hokage took deep breaths. Only after a long while did he calm down and regain his composure. "The Uchiha Clan killed our people. We should have lost the battle inside."

"What do we do now?" Danzō's face was grim, and his voice carried urgency.

"There's no way to keep fighting." The Third Hokage analyzed the situation calmly.

"What did you say?"

Danzō stared at him in disbelief. "Most of my people have already been committed, and you're telling me we can't keep fighting? How can that be acceptable!"

"What else can we do?" The Third Hokage turned and glared back at him. "Do we have anyone left to send in?"

"Aren't there still ninjas in the village?" Danzō said discontentedly.

"You think you can command them?"

The Third Hokage laughed bitterly, speechless. "Even Ino-Shika-Cho have already reached their limit just keeping the village calm."

"The Senju, Hyuga Clan, Aburame Clan, Inuzuka Clan, and the ninjas from the master-disciple faction."

"Do you think they'll obey orders and charge into the Uchiha Clan compound?"

Danzō was even more confused after hearing that, and he snapped furiously, "They dare disobey orders? You're the Hokage, Hiruzen!"

The Third Hokage felt exhausted listening to him and became even less inclined to explain.

Being Hokage did not mean he could invoke righteousness and force people to die.

A Hokage needed the support of those beneath him.

Without support, they would simply replace the Hokage with someone else.

Besides, there had already been plenty of dissatisfaction within the village over his return to the position of Hokage.

"Since you know I'm the Hokage, then listen to me!" The Third Hokage could not be bothered to explain and forcibly suppressed Danzō's objections.

"You..."

Danzō stared at Hiruzen in astonishment, unable to understand why he was being pressured instead.

The Third Hokage did not look at him. He merely ordered the Anbu beside him, "I now issue an order in the name of the Hokage. Halt the attack and negotiate peace with the Uchiha Clan!"

"Negotiate peace?" Danzō was even more bewildered.

"Listen to me, Danzō." The Third Hokage gave him a deep look and said earnestly, "This battle is already over!"

Unless he could make all of Konoha's ninjas and every clan join the battle together.

But that was impossible.

No one would agree.

Unless the Uchiha Clan openly launched a rebellion in front of everyone and killed Konoha's ninjas.

Only then could they unite in shared hatred and form a united front to destroy the Uchiha Clan.

"You..." Danzō said indignantly, "You'll regret this, Hiruzen!"

"Danzō, I am the Hokage!" The Third Hokage snorted coldly, then continued issuing orders to the Anbu. "Notify all the village's jonin to gather here."

"Invite Elders Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado."

"Send word to Jiraiya and Tsunade. Tell them to return immediately."

Order after order was issued.

The Anbu and Sarutobi Clan members present all breathed sighs of relief.

If the Third Hokage had forced them to continue attacking in that situation, they truly would have hesitated.

Fortunately.

The Third Hokage had changed his mind.

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