Airborne Decapitation, the Collapse of Konoha's Leadership

Most of his face was obscured by thick smoke. With a pipe clenched between his teeth, Sarutobi Hiruzen stood before the broad floor-to-ceiling window as dim firelight flickered through the room.

Faint flames had already risen in the distance. His gaze passed through the glass and fell upon the Uchiha compound.

Cold chakra continuously seeped from beneath the bandages. His right eye and right arm were wrapped in bandages, and Shimura Danzo sat on the sofa with a cane in hand, his single eye filled with cruelty.

"Hiruzen, after tonight, Konoha's greatest hidden danger... will be gone."

His grip on the cane did not loosen in the slightest as Danzo spoke.

"This is all for the village... for peace."

After removing his pipe, the Third paused for a moment and exhaled the stale air from his chest. A trace of grief appeared on his aged face.

"Itachi... was a good child, after all. He bore too much."

"These sins... let this old man bear them."

The wrinkles between his brows deepened as Sarutobi Hiruzen gazed at the distant flames.

"It's just... such a pity for those innocent civilians."

Four Anbu wearing animal masks stood motionless in the four corners of the office, faithfully carrying out their duty as guards.

"Enough! Stop putting on that hypocritical act!"

The tip of Danzo's cane ground against the floor as he snorted coldly.

"If we don't act? Once those Uchiha people launch their coup, even more people in Konoha will die!"

"Root has sealed off every route around the perimeter. No one is getting out."

The two men shifted blame through the smoke between them, then tacitly invoked the village's greater good. In doing so, they concealed a massacre whose outcome had long been decided.

Violent chakra spread outward, and the air in the center of the office suddenly twisted.

The barrier guarding the Hokage Building showed no reaction whatsoever. No alarm sounded.

Two figures appeared directly inside this office that held Konoha's highest authority, bypassing layer after layer of defenses.

"For the village's peace?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's shoulders jerked, and the pipe in his hand nearly fell to the floor as a cold voice spread through the room.

"Hearing words like that come from the mouths of two old bastards like you makes me sick to the core."

Danzo's single eye fixed on the newcomers as he tightened his grip on his cane.

Four ninja swords left their sheaths at once, their blades reflecting the room's dim yellow light as the Anbu guarding the corners immediately attacked.

The other two retreated to the Third's side, their fingers flying through hand seals. Two of them flanked Ye from the left and right.

"So noisy."

Ye stood there without even raising his eyelids.

Moving so fast that only several streaks of yellow light could be seen, the Uzumaki Clan's Adamantine Sealing Chains surged in power under the Sage Body's stimulation. Six golden chains formed from high-density chakra shot through the air.

Dull tearing sounds rang out in succession as the chains pierced flesh.

Warm blood dripped from the chains onto the expensive carpet. Their hearts shattered on the spot, and the two Anbu who had charged forward had their chests pierced by the golden chains before they could make a sound.

Several other chains tightly wrapped around the necks of the remaining two, who had only completed half their hand seals.

Their neck bones snapped as the chains suddenly tightened.

All four elite Anbu tasked with protecting the Hokage were dead in less than half a breath.

Blood spread along the base of the walls as the four corpses were flung away by the golden chains, slammed into the walls, and rolled into the corners.

Ye walked to the desk, looked at the high-backed chair belonging to the Hokage, and sat down without ceremony.

His gaze swept across Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo. He crossed his legs, rested his feet against the edge of the desk, and clasped his hands before his abdomen.

Kabuto stood behind Ye, skillfully taking out a miniature scroll and pouring chakra into it.

Recording everything in the office, the recording technique activated fully. The scroll floating in midair glowed with a ghostly blue light.

"Y-you... who exactly are you people?!"

Cold sweat slid down the side of his face from his forehead, but his tone still carried the authority of the Hokage as the Third finally spoke.

This power had exceeded his expectations. The newcomers had crossed every layer of security in the building without alerting a single guard, then killed four Anbu in half a breath.

Killing intent rapidly filled the entire room as it burst from his body. Danzo stood up with the support of his cane.

"You've got some nerve. Is the Hokage Building a place you can just barge into?"

His chest swelled as he completed a hand seal with one hand.

"Whoever you are, you'll die here today!"

"Wind Release! Vacuum Wave!"

Sharp wind blades covering more than half the office burst from Danzo's mouth, slashing toward Ye and Kabuto.

Ye did not form hand seals, nor did he evade.

The ribcage of Susanoo formed in an instant, dark blue chakra surging from his body to shield both him and Kabuto.

A piercing scraping sound filled the office. The rapidly spinning wind blades struck the dark blue bones but failed to leave even the slightest mark.

"The Uchiha Clan... and the Mangekyo Sharingan..."

The color rapidly drained from the Third's face as he stared at the layer of dark blue chakra.

They had received no information whatsoever. The Uchiha Clan had actually hidden an expert of this level.

The remaining wind blades collapsed at once. Ye casually waved his hand, causing Susanoo's bones to expand outward.

Pages scattered through the air as violent currents swept across the room, blowing away the documents piled atop the desk.

"You're already so eager to attack?"

Ye leaned back in his chair, his gaze settling on the two old men.

"Don't you plan to talk some more? For example... how you forced Uchiha Itachi to slaughter his entire family?"

He raised a hand and pointed at the floating scroll behind him.

"Go on, then."

"Konoha's upper leadership secretly issued the order to exterminate the clan, all to seize the Sharingan and secure your pathetic power."

Ye lifted his foot and ground it over a document that had fallen onto the edge of the desk, pausing briefly.

"On one hand, you made Uchiha Itachi shoulder every crime. On the other, you hid here and pretended to be heartbroken."

"Such a wonderful performance would be a terrible waste if it weren't recorded for the entire Shinobi World to enjoy, wouldn't it?"

The veins at Danzo's temples gradually bulged, and his expression darkened to the extreme.

Even within the Anbu, only a handful knew the full truth. The Uchiha Clan's extermination was Konoha's highest secret.

This young man before them not only knew of the extermination plan, but also knew perfectly well that they had arranged for Itachi to bear the blame.

The prestige Konoha's upper leadership had accumulated over many years would be completely destroyed tonight if these words spread throughout the Shinobi World.

"Hiruzen! We can't leave any witnesses!"

Danzo raised his hand and tore away the bandages around his right arm, no longer concealing it.

"Kill him!"

Several Three-Tomoe Sharingan embedded in his flesh slowly rotated in different directions. His pale arm was fully exposed amid the bandages scattered across the floor.

The blood vessels beneath its surface throbbed constantly as the Hashirama Cells' intense vitality reacted violently within his arm.

Knowing full well what the consequences would be if this matter leaked, the Third immediately bit his finger and bent down to press it against the floor.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

A massive old ape clad in tiger skin appeared in the center of the office as white smoke quickly dispersed.

Its foot crushed the floor beneath it, and Enma, having just appeared, sensed the oppressive aura emanating from Ye.

Its expression became graver than ever as it stared intently at Ye seated in the high-backed chair.

"Hiruzen! The chakra inside this guy is even more dangerous than the Nine-Tails... be careful!"

After its warning, Enma immediately transformed into the sturdy Ruyi Jingu Bang, which then fell into the Third Hokage's hand.

The mockery on Ye's face grew more apparent as he looked at the pair who had once held absolute power in Konoha.

"One stole the eyes of his fellow villagers and forcibly stuffed them into his own arm."

"The other constantly talks about the Will of Fire, yet only dares to hide behind the scenes and play those rotten little schemes."

The carpet beneath his feet rapidly blackened and carbonized as chakra spilling from his body pressed outward. Ye rose from the high-backed chair.

Materialized Yin Release chakra surged upward and smashed through the roof of the Hokage's office. The Mangekyo Sharingan spun rapidly in his eyes.

"Since you love playing with power so much, then today, I'll smash the Konoha you're so proud of into pieces!"

The entire Hokage Building shook under the impact of the immense chakra. Thick cracks continuously spread in every direction, and dense cracking sounds came from the ceiling.

This confrontation was recorded in full. The recording scroll floating in midair continued operating.

A barely restrained madness appeared on Kabuto's face as he stood behind Ye, pushed up his glasses, and grinned.

He knew full well that the history of the Shinobi World would be completely rewritten starting tonight.