A Blade Cleaves Hokage Rock, Declaring Fury Upon the Shinobi World

Visible white currents of air spread from both sides of the blade, their piercing shriek carrying through the night. The massive sword compressed the air as it plummeted downward.

Spanning the sky, it headed straight for the famous landmark behind Konoha rather than the Third Hokage and Danzo below.

His breath caught for half a beat, his chest tightening as a distinct throbbing rose beneath his ribs. The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, looked up at the enormous sword overhead.

Even the thought of resisting nearly vanished. He once again felt the overwhelming pressure Madara Uchiha had brought him, and memories from decades ago resurfaced at that moment.

"Don't let it get through! Hokage Rock... stop it! Protect Hokage Rock!"

He absolutely could not watch Konoha's spiritual pillar be destroyed before his eyes. Sarutobi Hiruzen clenched his teeth.

His hand seals were so fast they left only blurred afterimages. His ten fingers shifted constantly, and that aged body displayed astonishing speed.

"Shadow Clone... Jutsu!"

Different hand seals formed in each of his hands. Along with the original, four shadow clones appeared, taking up five positions.

Chakra of all five natures was pushed to its current limit. Earth Release, Fire Release, Wind Release, Water Release, and Lightning Release erupted at once.

"Five Releases: Great Barrage!"

They crashed head-on into the falling giant sword, merging into an immense mass of five-colored chakra energy. The five high-density streams of chakra converged in midair and surged skyward.

They slammed both palms against the ground, with only one thought left in their hearts: defense. Dozens of nearby Anbu also reacted.

"Stop it... Earth-Style Wall!"

They erected their final line of defense ahead. Three rock walls, each several meters thick and over ten meters tall, rose in succession. The ground heaved, and continuous rumbles came from deep beneath the earth.

The defenses everyone had hastily constructed were too fragile to bear looking at when faced with the massive sword swung by Susanoo.

Air currents spread outward along the ground as a deafening impact swept across the battlefield. The giant sword came crashing down.

There was not even a moment of deadlock between the two sides. The instant the blade touched that mass of five-colored energy—

Susanoo's density and strength had been raised to an extreme level, while the vitality and chakra granted by the Sage Body flowed without end.

The five streams of chakra scattered to either side as countless tiny motes of light. The structure maintaining their internal balance collapsed on the spot, and the five-colored energy mass was split from top to bottom.

Then it slashed into the three Earth-Style Walls, the giant sword's downward momentum undiminished.

In the blink of an eye, only dust remained. The rocks were ground apart again and again by the sword's force, unable to hold for even an instant before the walls shattered outright.

Blood trickled from the corner of Sarutobi Hiruzen's mouth. A low cry escaped his throat as the rebounding chakra tore into his meridians, his ninjutsu crushed head-on.

He was dragged backward until two deep trenches were carved into the ground before he barely managed to stop. His feet sank deep into the soil as he staggered back several steps.

It sped toward the distant Hokage Rock, crossing half of Konoha. A dark-purple, crescent-shaped chakra slash over a hundred meters long broke away from the blade, its force unstoppable after tearing through every obstacle.

The tremors swept across all of Konoha in an instant, followed by a shocking boom from Hokage Rock.

Countless civilians woke from their dreams and hurriedly shoved open their windows, just in time to see that devastating sight. Buildings along the way shook, and the earth trembled without pause.

Above Hokage Rock, the giant statue representing the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was struck squarely between the brows by the dark-purple energy, splitting completely in half from top to bottom.

Cracks spread all the way down to its neck and deep into the mountain. Huge chunks fell from the left half of the statue's face, and the sound of splitting stone echoed to the foot of the mountain.

Some buildings at the mountain's base were buried beneath vast rubble. Trees along the path were uprooted and snapped, while countless rocks crashed down in sheets.

Vast clouds of dust surged into the sky, completely blotting out the cold moonlight.

It had been publicly cleaved apart by Ye's strike—the symbol of all Konoha.

The hollow rhetoric they had always spoken of, along with the authority the higher-ups had built over many years, was trampled into the mud by Ye. That sword had destroyed far more than a statue.

The lips beneath their masks had lost all color. Some staggered backward, while kunai slipped from others' hands. The fierce wind left everyone unsteady as the surrounding shinobi stared up at the ruined Hokage Rock.

That power, capable of changing the terrain so easily, had surpassed everything they understood about shinobi.

Shimura Danzō, in a corner, took the opportunity to act. Everyone had exposed flaws, their attention wholly captured by that single strike.

His breathing gradually grew heavier. His remaining left eye stared fixedly at Ye's figure as his gaze repeatedly swept over the dark-purple chakra that had yet to disperse. Danzo crouched low to the ground.

He tore off the bandages around his face and the cloth covering the right half of it, revealing the Sharingan in his shriveled eye socket. His mind was filled with calculations for what came next.

That was Shisui Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan.

The four-bladed pinwheel pattern at the center of the blood-red eye began spinning rapidly, and the special energy belonging to the Mangekyō spread outward toward Ye's position.

A fierce desire for possession quickly appeared on Danzo's aged face, his chest rising and falling.

As long as he rewrote Ye's will, no matter how strong that power was, it would fall under his control and become Root's strongest fighting force.

He merely needed to activate the strongest genjutsu and plant the thought of absolute obedience to Konoha's higher-ups in Ye's mind. Tonight's crisis would be resolved on the spot.

Then, using Ye's power, he could surpass Sarutobi Hiruzen and take the Hokage seat he had coveted for years.

Only one final moment remained before the ocular jutsu activated. Chakra continuously surged through his meridians into his right eye.

A clear look of mockery appeared on Ye's lips within the Susanoo crystal as he took in everything.

Mind's Eye of the Kagura had already covered the entire battlefield. No chakra fluctuation could escape his perception, and every minute flow of energy within Danzo's body was plainly reflected in his awareness.

The moment Shisui's unique energy appeared, Ye had already locked onto him completely.

The enormous body broke apart into countless purple motes of light as the giant Susanoo dispersed on the spot, accompanied by a dull sound in the air.

With the powerful suppression of that chakra gone, the surrounding air immediately rushed inward, sweeping up dust and broken stones from the ground.

"What? Where is he... did his chakra run out?"

Danzo froze where he stood. His right eye swept rapidly over every corner of the area, but Ye had vanished from his sight without a trace.

Without hand seals or any unnecessary movement, the Flying Thunder God Technique activated. The rules of space were forcibly altered on a subtle level.

In the very next second.

"Trying to use Shisui's eye against me? Heh, Danzo, you old bastard, aren't you thinking too highly of yourself?"

Ye's voice came from extremely close behind Danzo's ear, every word entering it clearly.

A cold blade pressed against his skin. The sharp ninja sword had already touched the back of his neck.

Danzo whipped his head around, shock filling his eyes.

Those scarlet Sharingan stared directly at his face. Ye stood at an extremely close distance, a sword in hand.

"A sewer rat should stay obediently hidden underground. What are you doing crawling out?"

Ye's gaze moved down from Danzo's shoulder and finally settled on the right arm hidden beneath his wide sleeve.

"That arm of yours... it really is disgusting to look at."

With his final word, Wind Release chakra coiling around the ninja sword began vibrating at high frequency. The blade flashed with dazzling light, and a sharp whine spread through the night.