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 simply no need to waste effort on it now.
Uchiha Shunichi paid no attention to Yakushi Kabuto. Although he did not know why Yakushi Kabuto was still here, one man alone could not affect anything. (The Shadow Clone perfectly inherited the original, and not even the Byakugan could see through it.)
Upon 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 could not decide 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's hatred for Baki was considerable. Meanwhile, Uchiha Shunichi's Shadow Clone was holding back a little, resulting in a stalemate.
"Konoha shinobi, we should temporarily stop fighting. The Kazekage has disappeared, and Orochimaru may be plotting something..." Baki no longer had the imposing manner he had shown that night. Instead, he seemed agitated and worried.
As one of the commanders of this operation, Baki had felt a bad premonition the moment he discovered that his Kazekage had become Orochimaru.
At first, however, Baki had not paid it much mind, believing it was a plan between his Kazekage and Orochimaru. But once the war officially began, the Kazekage never appeared.
Only then did Baki vaguely realize that something was wrong, but by then, it was already too late.
"Fine. Surrender without resistance. I guarantee I will not do anything to you," Gekko Hayate said weakly.
He looked as though he could collapse at any moment, but after using Transparent Release, the strength he displayed was utterly unpredictable.
Baki had to fend off Uchiha Shunichi's Shadow Clone while also dealing with Gekko Hayate's sneak attacks...
As for his subordinates, they had already been completely surrounded by Konoha's Anbu and Root. Even Gaara, whom they regarded as a weapon of war, had been lured out of the village by Naruto.
"Konoha shinobi, I am being completely sincere. Do not let a momentary emotional reaction cause both sides to fall into Orochimaru's trap," Baki said urgently.
As for the surrender Gekko Hayate spoke of, that was impossible. Since when did a shinobi's words mean anything trustworthy?
Since the Shadow Clone was handling things well, Uchiha Shunichi had no intention of revealing himself. His gaze remained fixed on the battle between Orochimaru and Sarutobi Hiruzen.
The First Hokage summoned by Impure World Reincarnation for the first time was practically defective. Although he could still use Wood Release, that level of Wood Release was only slightly stronger than Yamato's... No, he was still called Tenzō now.
It was only a tiny bit stronger than Tenzō's Wood Release? Uchiha Shunichi suspected that the two of them were actually not that far apart.
"Sand Shinobi, how naive. Rather than calling it the Konoha Crush Plan, it would be more accurate to call it a plan to deliver themselves to the slaughter."
Watching the battlefield, which had nearly settled down, Uchiha Shunichi muttered to himself. After the Third Shinobi World War and the Nine-Tails' Attack, Konoha could basically be said to have no particularly renowned talents left.
Even so, a starving camel was still bigger than a horse. The Sand Shinobi and Sound Shinobi who had come to attack encountered almost no setbacks.
As Uchiha Shunichi watched the battlefield, he began considering how he should establish his prestige in Konoha.
This was a little troublesome. He could not even find a worthy opponent. Someone at Baki's level was not worth killing at all!
If only he could take part in that battle...
Watching Sarutobi Hiruzen fight Orochimaru and the two Hokage summoned by Impure World Reincarnation alone, Uchiha Shunichi could not help sighing.
Forget it. He could not let his assistance result in Sarutobi Hiruzen surviving. Everything else could wait—Sarutobi Hiruzen had to die.
He should go make his presence known to Shukaku instead! But... this half-finished Shukaku was simply too pathetic. It was an insult to the name of the Tailed Beasts.
It seemed he needed to add a little something extra to Shukaku.
"Hold this guy back. I am a little worried about that Sand Shinobi monster... I suspect it is a Jinchūriki, so I need to take a look..." Uchiha Shunichi's original body appeared beside Gekko Hayate and spoke quietly.
Gekko Hayate looked at Uchiha Shunichi's Shadow Clone in surprise, then nodded to indicate that there was no problem.
Gekko Hayate knew very well about Uchiha Shunichi's Mangekyō Sharingan. Although the intelligence was vague, he understood the Mangekyō's ability to restrain Tailed Beasts.
Although Gekko Hayate had nearly been killed by Baki that night, there had been special circumstances. Besides, Uchiha Shunichi was no longer his only helper.
After making his presence known to Gekko Hayate, Uchiha Shunichi directly dispelled the 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 tremendous destructive force.
Tailed Beasts were actually most dangerous when they lost control.
Of course, that was only for ordinary shinobi. True powerhouses merely clapped their hands, called for whatever they wanted, and treated Tailed Beasts as nothing...
"One-Tail, I really did not expect you to be unable to handle even a single toad. As expected, you are the weakest of the Tailed Beasts. Is it because you only have one tail?"
The power of the Mangekyō Sharingan invaded Gaara's mental world, and Uchiha Shunichi successfully met the sealed Shukaku.
"Those cursed eyes..." Shukaku froze upon seeing Uchiha Shunichi's Mangekyō Sharingan, his face taking on a thoughtful expression.
Shukaku's reaction left Uchiha Shunichi somewhat stunned. He had originally thought Shukaku would become enraged and reveal his true strength, but this guy...
"Gah gah gah... Too low-level. Your provocation is far too low-level. Do none of the Uchiha Clan have brains?" As though he had discovered an amusing toy, Shukaku extended a massive claw through the seal and grabbed at Uchiha Shunichi.
Shukaku's seal was extremely loose.
Although such a seal allowed a Jinchūriki to better borrow the Tailed Beast's power, it also made the Tailed Beast more likely to lose control.
"A provocation? I suppose it counts as one. But you are not my true target. The One-Tail's power is still too weak. If you can draw out the Nine-Tails' power..."
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