Burning

Fei Yun nodded in understanding. So that was how it worked—a one-on-one membership service.

Uh, you could put it that way.

Fine, then I'll pick a few more targets.

Fei Yun selected more than a dozen wanted Sarutobi Clan ninja, then requested the Supreme Clan's bounty list and picked another batch of lucky victims.

However, he did not choose any elite jonin. At this stage, he intended to play it safe and proceed gradually. His combat strength and experience were not overwhelmingly powerful, and every jonin was formidable. If he capsized in a gutter through carelessness, his great revenge would come to a premature end. When the entire Konoha came after him, who would he cry to?

Fei Yun planned to hunt slowly, accumulate combat experience, and improve his own strength. Once he was powerful enough, he would make bigger moves.

Fei Yun reluctantly put down Asuma Sarutobi's 35 million bounty notice. Thirty-five million would be mine sooner or later.

After confirming the bounty notices he was accepting, Fei Yun spent another six million to place bounties on members of Konoha's Four Great Clans.

Que Ni grinned so widely that he could not close his mouth as he happily saw Fei Yun off. He had not encountered such a high-quality customer in years. The Bounty Exchange made money from him, and the Bounty Exchange spent money on him—he did not take a single coin home. He had to hold on to this premium client and never let his peers steal away his god of wealth.

Over the following days, Fei Yun traveled constantly from place to place. Whenever he received intelligence from the Bounty Exchange, he immediately set out to hunt the bounty target.

Just as he had guessed, his strength improved rapidly through battle. Not only did his combat experience and ninjutsu grow more proficient and varied, but his chakra reserves also continued increasing.

A ninja's battle was, after all, a battle of intelligence and chakra.

Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!

A massive earth dragon smashed through Supreme Magua's water barrier, severely injuring him and making him cough up blood without end.

Damn it!

Who exactly are you?

Why are you attacking us?

A Konoha ninja?

Supreme Magua dropped to his knees. Looking at the dead companions around him, he roared in despair.

The ninja of his squad had accepted an escort mission for a merchant caravan. They had originally completed the mission and were happily returning to Konoha.

Just as they were discussing where to spend the reward from this mission, a mysterious young man cloaked head to toe in a trench coat appeared.

Fei Yun attacked without saying a word.

Now, Supreme Magua was the only ninja left alive in the entire squad.

Fei Yun removed his hood, revealing a handsome face as strands of black hair fluttered in the wind.

Is this all Konoha's jonin are capable of?

What a disappointment.

The Three-Tomoe Sharingan bloomed as he coldly stared at Supreme Magua kneeling on the ground, dragging him into a terrifying genjutsu.

Y-you are Uchiha Shisui?

Magua's expression went blank, his words like sleep-talking. Fei Yun raised his blade and brought it down, taking his head.

The bounty notice had not required the corpse. Taking the head as proof of completion was enough.

Meanwhile, within Konoha's Hokage Building, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Supreme Danzo, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane—four elderly figures—gathered together.

Supreme Danzo anxiously paced around the office while leaning on his cane, the thudding of his footsteps and cane against the floor unceasing.

Hiruzen Sarutobi put down the document in his hand. It reported that three clan members had been killed.

Hiruzen Sarutobi irritably took a drag from his old pipe and frowned. "Danzo, stop pacing. You're making my head spin. How many assassinations has this been already this month? Several special jonin and jonin have also been attacked and killed."

Supreme Danzo fiercely jabbed his cane into the floor and gritted his teeth.

Koharu's expression was grave as she slowly spoke.

"Furthermore, those affected are all members of our four clans. This is clearly a targeted act of revenge."

Supreme Danzo turned around and growled.

"Hiruzen, this cannot continue. Has the Intelligence Department found out who is attacking our clan members?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a cloud of smoke and shook his head.

"There have been no survivors every time. It is difficult to find any valuable clues."

Homura Mitokado pushed forward the intelligence documents before him. "Based on the intelligence gathered over this period, our clan members, regardless of age or gender, have all encountered danger. It appears someone has placed bounties on them."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded.

"I know that. It is the work of bounty hunters. The question is, who placed the orders?"

"That is the key to the source."

Homura Mitokado continued his analysis.

"Judging from the deaths of every ninja, from the first Sarutobi sacrifice victims to those who have since met with misfortune, their enemies all used genjutsu. And it was most likely visual-type genjutsu."

Supreme Danzo suddenly came to a realization and spoke in a low voice. "Visual genjutsu, and hatred toward our four great clans... There are not many people who fit that description."

Koharu and Homura Mitokado both turned to look at Supreme Danzo, waiting for him to continue.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze sharpened as well. "Oh?"

"Danzo, do you have a lead?"

"Tell us."

Supreme Danzo's single eye gleamed coldly as he gritted his teeth. "Within the scope of my knowledge, there is only one person who meets these conditions and possesses such ability."

The three spoke at once. "Who?"

Supreme Danzo enunciated each word. "Uchiha Itachi!"

"What?"

"That is impossible, isn't it?"

Koharu and Homura Mitokado cried out in surprise one after the other.

Hiruzen Sarutobi also took a deep drag of smoke. After thinking for a moment, he said, "That should be impossible. I know Itachi fairly well. He could not do such a thing."

Supreme Danzo sneered.

"Itachi is not even fourteen yet. A person's mind and values are highly susceptible to change at that age, especially when he remains in an extremely dangerous organization like Akatsuki. That organization is full of S-rank lunatics. Corrupting a child would be simple."

Danzo's eyes darkened as he continued.

"You should have listened to me long ago. We should capture Itachi and bring him back to Konoha, keeping him under our control. Only then can we ensure nothing goes wrong."

Hiruzen Sarutobi still shook his head.

"Impossible. No one can shake Itachi's will. We all know that, do we not?"

"Hiruzen, hand Itachi over to me."

Danzo made this request.

"No." Hiruzen Sarutobi rejected him.

Danzo submitted the request again, and Hiruzen Sarutobi rejected it again.

"Hiruzen, you will regret this!"

"Danzo, remember this—I am the Hokage!"

The two old consultant friends at the side quickly stepped in to mediate, stopping the Third Hokage and Danzo from continuing their confrontation.

After a while, Hiruzen Sarutobi added more tobacco to his pipe and lit it. After taking a deep drag, he said, "Could it be another member of the Uchiha Clan?"

"Have we overlooked anyone?"

Homura Mitokado looked utterly incredulous. "How could that be possible?"

"We carefully checked the roster and corpses several times. Unless someone resurrected and crawled back from hell—but how could that be possible?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Koharu Utatane both fell into thought, considering other possibilities.

And enemies.

Supreme Danzo was suddenly startled by those words. He thought of a terrifying possibility, one whose surface details he happened to understand.

"No." Supreme Danzo's expression became more solemn than ever as he continued. "Perhaps someone really did crawl back from hell."

Homura Mitokado looked up in surprise. "What did you say?"

Seeing all three looking at him, Supreme Danzo lowered his voice. "Have you forgotten the forbidden technique of the Uchiha Clan that can alter fate?"

Everyone recalled certain terrifying memories, and cold sweat could not help trickling down their foreheads.

Izanagi and Izanami—these taboos that had vanished into the river of history. Few in the Shinobi World still knew how much panic Madara had once stirred up with them. But as old relics who had lived nearly seventy years, they naturally knew. The Uchiha were practically demonic; they could change every aspect of their own fate, even the fate of death itself, and could determine the fate of others. Just thinking about it made their scalps go numb. It was truly terrifying.

This was also one reason they feared the Uchiha Clan and wished to eliminate them. As the darkness of the shinobi world, Supreme Danzo collected every power he could use to strengthen himself, including the powers of the Senju and Uchiha.

It could be said that Supreme Danzo was one of the people in this world who understood the Uchiha Clan best.

Therefore, when Uchiha Itachi and the masked Madara had approached Danzo back then, Danzo had not entirely denied the possibility that Madara was still alive.

In Danzo's view, Madara Uchiha had indeed died at Hashirama Senju's hands. However, Madara Uchiha might have used a forbidden technique to resurrect himself. That was why Danzo believed Madara was still alive—because the masked man he had seen then possessed only one eye, and using that forbidden technique would inevitably cost one eye.

Danzo believed that even if Madara Uchiha were alive, he would be an old man who had lost half his strength. Thus, Danzo did not fear him much. Instead, he used Madara's power to eliminate the Uchiha Clan.

So that he could use the masked Madara's power again in the future, he agreed to Uchiha Itachi and the masked man's request to conceal this intelligence.

Thus, only Itachi and Supreme Danzo knew that Madara was still alive.

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke in confusion.

"But it is said that only the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan can use that forbidden technique."

Danzo sneered inwardly.

Would I tell you that gathering the powers of both the Senju and Uchiha allows even a Three-Tomoe Sharingan to use it?

Danzo put on a grave expression and said, "Who can guarantee that no one in the Uchiha Clan awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan?"

"Do not forget Fugaku Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha, and Uchiha Itachi. Even after awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan, they said nothing, afraid that others would find out."

Cold sweat covered Homura Mitokado's forehead.

"That is indeed true. Even if someone among the Uchiha awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, we would never know."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression grew increasingly grim. If that were truly the case, it would be an extremely terrifying matter.

Hiruzen Sarutobi understood deeply how obsessive and emotional the Uchiha were. Hurting their loved ones would bring grave consequences, let alone exterminating their entire clan.

Although the official explanation was that Uchiha Itachi had done it, with no connection to the Hokage's faction, outsiders might believe it. But the Uchiha themselves knew very well what had really happened.

If Uchiha Feiyun knew what these four old fools were thinking, he would probably not know whether to laugh or cry.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up directly, his expression stern. "Danzo, summon your Root members. Follow us to inspect the Uchiha Clan's corpses."

"Now?"

"Now."

Danzo turned and left. At this moment, he did not mind the trouble. At worst, he could use his methods to erase the participants' memories once more.

In the barren mountains behind Konoha, far from the village, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others led a group of Root ninja to gather before several hills. The place was desolate, and normally no one would ever come here.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi had still arranged for Anbu ninja to establish a perimeter in the distance, forbidding outsiders from entering.

Hiruzen Sarutobi held his pipe in his mouth and began forming hand seals with both hands.

Earth Release: Earth Splitting Technique! Several massive hills rose from the middle, then split apart, exposing a large number of already rotting, foul-smelling corpses.

Supreme Danzo waved a hand and loudly ordered, "Inspect every corpse and identification tag. Compile the statistics."

"Yes."