The Second Hokage's Warning? I Treated It Like a Fart!

Senju Tobirama's overwhelming killing intent, so tangible it seemed solid, crazily battered Uchiha Xuan's body and mind.

Any ordinary ninja—even a battle-hardened jonin—would likely have lost their nerve and dropped to their knees begging for mercy before the Second Hokage, renowned for his ruthless decisiveness.

But Uchiha Xuan was no ordinary ninja.

The instant that icy killing intent touched his body, the Sage Body chakra within him, inherited from the First Hokage and brimming with vitality, seemed to sense a provocation and began circulating on its own!

A warm yet vast power, like an indestructible dam, effortlessly dissolved the mountain-and-sea-like pressure into nothingness.

He even had the leisure to let out a contemptuous snort at Senju Tobirama's old face, which was nearly frozen over.

"Fellow village ninja?"

Xuan's voice was not loud, yet it carried a piercing mockery.

"Lord Hokage, you call those things that hide in gutters and use poisoned daggers to ambush people from behind 'fellow village ninja'?"

He kicked aside a Root corpse on the floor. His golden flame-burning pupils stared fearlessly into Senju Tobirama's eyes.

"As far as I'm concerned, they don't even qualify to be called 'ninja.' They're nothing but a pack of filthy vermin that can't stand the light!"

"And I merely helped the village take out the trash."

Those words went beyond arrogance. He was practically pointing at the Second Hokage's nose and accusing him of poor judgment and tolerating trash!

The others in the meeting room listened with their hearts in their throats, nearly forgetting how to breathe.

This kid really wasn't afraid of dying at all!

"As for Wood Release..."

Xuan gave Tobirama no chance to flare up, continuing in that calm tone where every word cut to the bone.

"As far as I know, Wood Release was the First Hokage's unique Kekkei Genkai. He used that power to quell the chaotic era, protect the village, and bring peace to Konoha."

"The First Hokage used it to protect the village. I use it to clear out the village's trash and protect myself."

He spread his hands, wearing an "innocent" smile.

"Lord Hokage, what... is wrong with that?"

"You...!"

Senju Tobirama trembled from head to toe with rage at Xuan's twisted logic, his chest heaving violently.

His iron-blooded methods and Kage-level pressure, which he had always taken pride in, had actually... completely failed before this twelve-year-old brat!

He felt as though he had punched cotton, unable to put his strength to use.

In terms of rhetoric, the brat's logic was airtight, every sentence justified, leaving him unable to refute it.

In terms of strength, although they had not truly fought, the fact that the boy could remain unfazed under his fully unleashed killing intent already proved that his temperament and strength were far from ordinary!

What made him feel most stifled and furious was that damned "Wood Release"!

He had studied all his life and still failed to master his elder brother's power.

Yet now, that power had appeared in the hands of an Uchiha brat he despised and feared most!

This was simply fate playing its greatest, most vicious joke on him!

"Fine... what a sharp-tongued little brat!"

Senju Tobirama stared fixedly at Xuan, killing intent nearly boiling over in his red eyes.

He knew that today, before so many people, he could no longer kill this brat.

Because the brat not only held the moral high ground, but had also wrapped himself in an indestructible talisman with his unfathomable "prophecy" and Wood Release, enough to shock the entire Ninja World.

Moving against him now would not only provoke resistance from the Uchiha clan, but also stir panic and suspicion throughout the village.

But he could not let this end here!

He could not tolerate an Uchiha—an Uchiha possessing Wood Release and the power of "prophecy"—challenging his authority right under his nose!

Senju Tobirama slowly took a step forward.

Thud!

A dull boom rang out.

The entire Hokage Office, even the whole Hokage Building, seemed to shudder violently from that single step!

A pressure several times more concentrated and terrifying than before erupted with a crash!

"It seems that my elder brother and I have been too merciful toward your Uchiha clan."

His voice held no more anger, only the coldness and indifference of ancient ice.

He looked at Uchiha Xuan as though he were looking at a corpse.

"Remember my words, brat."

"The Uchiha can only ever be Konoha's Uchiha."

"Your Sharingan, your power, your lives—they all belong to this village."

"Anyone who tries to challenge this rule..."

His figure left an afterimage where he stood. The next second, he appeared before Uchiha Xuan like a ghost.

His finger was nearly touching Xuan's nose.

That bone-chilling killing intent turned into the most vicious curse and drilled into Xuan's ears.

"Will. Be. Erased!"

This warning was no longer a threat.

This was the Second Hokage's most direct, most naked... declaration of death against an Uchiha!

Faced with that death threat so close at hand, Hiruzen Sarutobi was frightened out of his wits and cried out, "Teacher! Don't!"

Meanwhile, Shimura Danzō's single eye revealed an incomparably delighted, ferocious grin.

Yet Uchiha Xuan's face still showed not the slightest fear.

He even gave Senju Tobirama's old face, slightly twisted by rage, a brilliant smile.

That smile was full of disdain, full of mockery, and even more so... a lofty pity.

"Erased?"

He spoke softly, in a voice only the two of them could hear.

"By you?"

"Old man, don't think so highly of yourself."

Senju Tobirama's pupils suddenly contracted into dangerous pinpoints!

"What did you say?!" He could scarcely believe his ears.

"I said..." Xuan's smile grew even brighter. "Your warning sounds to me no different from a fart..."