The Plan Nears Its End—Time to Make My Presence Known!

Uchiha Shunichi did not stay in Root for long. After finding the Hashirama Cells he needed, he chose to leave directly.

It was not that he did not want more, nor was it because he lacked time.

Rather, in Uchiha Shunichi's eyes, Root's legacy would belong to him sooner or later. There was no need to waste effort on it now.

Uchiha Shunichi paid no mind to Yakushi Kabuto. Although he did not know why Yakushi Kabuto was still here, one person alone could not change anything. (The Shadow Clone perfectly inherited the original body; not even the Byakugan could see through it.)

After returning to Konoha, the Konoha Crush Plan had only just begun. More than ten minutes was a long time for shinobi, but very short for a war.

Even if this war was a surprise attack, ten minutes was not enough to determine anything.

When Uchiha Shunichi found his Shadow Clone, it was fighting Baki of the Sand Shinobi alongside Gekko Hayate.

Because of their previous battle, Gekko Hayate bore considerable hatred toward Baki. Meanwhile, Uchiha Shunichi's Shadow Clone was holding back slightly from the side, leaving the situation at a stalemate.

"Konoha shinobi, we should stop fighting for now. The Kazekage has disappeared, and Orochimaru may be plotting something..." Baki no longer had the forceful demeanor he had shown that night. Instead, he seemed anxious and worried.

As one of the commanders of this operation, Baki had felt a bad premonition the moment he discovered that their Kazekage had become Orochimaru.

At first, however, Baki had not paid it much mind, assuming it was a plan between their Kazekage and Orochimaru. Yet once the war officially began, the Kazekage never appeared.

Only then did Baki vaguely realize something was wrong, but by then it was already too late.

"Fine. Surrender without resistance. I guarantee I won't do anything to you," Gekko Hayate said weakly.

He looked as though he could collapse to the ground at any moment, but after using Transparent Release, the strength he displayed was simply impossible to predict.

Baki had to keep Uchiha Shunichi's Shadow Clone occupied while also dealing with Gekko Hayate's sneak attacks...

As for his subordinates, they had already been surrounded by Konoha's Anbu and Root. Even Gaara, whom they considered a weapon of war, had been lured out of the village by Naruto.

"Konoha shinobi, I am being sincere. Do not let a moment of emotional impulse cause both sides to fall into Orochimaru's trap," Baki said urgently.

As for the surrender Gekko Hayate had mentioned, that was impossible. Since when did shinobi words mean anything trustworthy?

Since his Shadow Clone was handling things well, Uchiha Shunichi had no intention of revealing himself now. His attention remained fixed on the battle between Orochimaru and Sarutobi Hiruzen.

The First Hokage summoned through Impure World Reincarnation for the first time was practically a defective product. He could still use Wood Release, but that level of Wood Release was only a little stronger than Yamato's... No, he was still called Tenzō now.

Only a tiny bit stronger than Tenzō's Wood Release? Uchiha Shunichi suspected that the two were not actually that far apart.

"Sand Shinobi, they really are naïve. The so-called Konoha Crush Plan would be better called a plan to deliver themselves on a platter."

Uchiha Shunichi watched the battlefield, which had nearly settled down, and muttered to himself. Konoha, having gone through the Third Shinobi World War and the Nine-Tails' Attack, could basically be said to have few particularly famous talents left.

Even so, a starving camel was still bigger than a horse. The Sand Shinobi and Sound Shinobi who had come to attack had encountered almost no setbacks.

Watching the battlefield, Uchiha Shunichi began considering how he could establish his prestige within Konoha.

This was troublesome. He could not even find a worthy opponent. Someone at Baki's level was not worth killing at all!

If only I could take part in that battle...

Uchiha Shunichi watched Sarutobi Hiruzen fight Orochimaru and the two Hokage revived through Impure World Reincarnation by himself, and could not help sighing.

Forget it. He could not let his help result in Sarutobi Hiruzen surviving. Other matters could wait; Sarutobi Hiruzen had to die.

He should go make his presence known to Shukaku instead! But... this half-finished Shukaku was truly pathetic, an insult to the name of the Tailed Beasts.

It seemed he needed to add a little something to Shukaku.

"Hold this guy off. I'm worried about that Sand Shinobi monster... I suspect it's a Jinchūriki, so I need to take a look..." Uchiha Shunichi's original body appeared beside Gekko Hayate and spoke quietly.

Gekko Hayate glanced at Uchiha Shunichi's Shadow Clone in surprise, then nodded to indicate that it would not be a problem.

Gekko Hayate knew very well about Uchiha Shunichi's Mangekyō Sharingan. Although the intelligence on it was vague, he understood the Mangekyō Sharingan's restraint over Tailed Beasts.

Although Gekko Hayate had nearly been killed by Baki alone that night, there had been special circumstances, and now Uchiha Shunichi was not his only helper.

After making his presence known to Gekko Hayate, Uchiha Shunichi directly dispelled his Shadow Clone and ran toward the outskirts of the village.

By then, Gamabunta had already begun fighting the One-Tail. Although the One-Tail could not unleash its full power because of Gaara,

the berserk Tailed Beast power that attacked everything still possessed immense destructive force.

Tailed Beasts were actually at their most dangerous when they lost control.

Of course, that was only for ordinary shinobi. True powerhouses simply clapped their hands together, called out whatever they wanted, and a mere Tailed Beast...

"One-Tail, I really didn't expect you to be unable to deal with even a single toad. As expected, you are the weakest of the Tailed Beasts. Is it because you only have one tail?"

The ocular power of the Mangekyō Sharingan invaded Gaara's mental world, and Uchiha Shunichi successfully met the sealed Shukaku.

"Those cursed eyes..." Shukaku froze when he saw Uchiha Shunichi's Mangekyō Sharingan, an expression of deep thought appearing on his face.

Shukaku's reaction left Uchiha Shunichi somewhat stunned. He had thought Shukaku would become enraged and reveal his true power, but this guy...

"Gahaha... Too low-level. Your provocation is far too low-level. Do people from the Uchiha Clan not have brains?" As though he had discovered an amusing toy, Shukaku thrust his enormous claw through the seal and grabbed at Uchiha Shunichi.

Shukaku's seal was extremely loose.

Although such a seal allowed a Jinchūriki to borrow the Tailed Beast's power more effectively, it also made the Tailed Beast more likely to lose control.

"Provocation? I suppose it counts as that, but you are not my true target. The One-Tail's power is still too weak. If you could trigger the Nine-Tails' power..."