Defection

A black-and-red skeleton slowly unfolded around Chiya, first the ribs, then the spine.

Then, a massive skeletal arm extended from the chakra, its five fingers spread wide like a hand reaching out from hell.

Boom! The entire council chamber shook violently.

The tables and chairs in the front rows were overturned by the gale. Several Anbu were blasted back by the chakra before they could even get close. The lamps on the walls shattered with a crash, scattering glass across the floor.

The crowd instantly erupted. "What is that?!"

"Fall back!"

"Protect the advisors!"

Naruto stared blankly at Chiya.

Sakura was stunned as well.

Sasuke's eyes locked onto that black-and-red skeleton, and his breathing grew heavier.

This was Chiya's power?

Chiya stood within Susanoo's rib cage, the black patterns in his Mangekyō Sharingan slowly turning.

He looked at Danzo.

"Old dog."

The calmness on Danzo's face finally cracked.

"Take him down!"

Several Anbu rushed forward at once.

The next moment, Susanoo's skeletal arm swept across.

Bang!

The foremost Anbu was sent flying straight into the wall, which cracked with a sharp snap. The second Anbu circled in from the side and thrust his short blade forward.

With a clang, the blade shattered.

Chiya turned his head, and Susanoo's skeletal arm grabbed him.

The next moment!

Bang! His entire body was crushed into a lump of blood and flesh.

Everyone was shocked. The hall descended into total chaos as people screamed and fled for the exits.

Mitokado Homura's expression changed drastically.

"Chiya Uchiha! Are you rebelling?!"

Chiya burst into laughter.

"Isn't this exactly what you wanted? You framed me for betraying the village, so I'll betray it for real!"

He raised his head, his gaze passing over everyone before locking onto Danzo.

"Old dog! Weren't you going to take me away?"

Danzo rose and stepped back.

He moved quickly. Tapping his cane against the ground, his figure flickered as he tried to retreat through the side door.

"I'll give you that chance!"

Chiya's right eye spun sharply.

The space beneath Danzo suddenly sank.

He had only flickered halfway away when he seemed to slam into an invisible wall. He twisted around in shock.

Chiya's voice grew increasingly unhinged.

"Run?"

Susanoo's skeletal hand grabbed down.

Danzo's expression changed completely.

He raised his hands to form seals, but the skeletal hand had already seized his body.

The skeletal hand dragged Danzo before Chiya.

"I gave you a chance, but you were useless!"

With that, Susanoo's hand suddenly tightened.

Crack!

For that instant, the hall was silent enough to be terrifying.

Everyone heard the sound of bones being crushed.

"Ah!" Danzo let out a scream as though his throat had been torn apart.

His body slowly collapsed within Susanoo's hand, blood spraying through its fingers.

Bang!

Susanoo's hand clenched completely.

Danzo was directly crushed into a mass of blood and flesh.

The entire chamber fell deathly silent.

Naruto's eyes widened.

Sakura covered her mouth, her face deathly pale.

Ino sat in her wheelchair, tears still clinging to her face as her entire body stiffened.

But in the next instant, a figure suddenly appeared out of thin air on the other side of the side seats.

Danzo stood there again. His clothes were mostly intact, though his face had turned incomparably grim.

Izanagi.

Sure enough, that old dog was not so easy to kill.

Danzo raised his head, and killing intent finally appeared in his eyes.

"Chiya Uchiha, you will die today."

"Then come and try."

By then, dense footsteps could already be heard outside the council chamber. Large numbers of Konoha ninja had arrived.

"Move!"

"Seal the exits!"

"Don't let him get out!"

More and more ninja arrived. Anbu, jonin, patrol units—they all converged on the area.

Chiya's vision darkened, and Susanoo's skeleton began to sway slightly.

He could not drag this out.

He could not kill Danzo now.

If he stayed any longer, he would only be worn to death here.

Chiya shot Danzo a fierce look.

"Next time, I'll take your dog life!"

With that, Chiya spun around, and Susanoo's skeletal arm punched toward the outer wall of the council chamber.

Boom!

The wall exploded.

Rubble flew everywhere, and the cold wind after the rain rushed in at once.

"Stop him!"

Several ninja lunged at him through the breach.

Chiya's left eye turned.

"Void Crossing!"

The movements of those ninja suddenly slowed.

It was as if they had been dragged into thick water, as though someone had pressed slow motion on their movements. Every action they made slowed down.

Susanoo charged straight through.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Several ninja were sent flying, smashing into courtyard walls and stone pillars.

Chiya rushed out of the council chamber.

"Chiya!"

Naruto finally snapped out of it and started to chase after him.

Sasuke moved as well.

Kakashi flashed forward and blocked them both.

One hand pressed down on Naruto's shoulder while the other stopped Sasuke.

"Don't chase him."

Naruto whipped around.

"Why?!"

"Chiya is obviously a good person! He was framed! Why won't you let me chase him?!"

Kakashi looked at the broken wall, his voice heavy.

"If he stays in Konoha, there is only one road left for him—death."

Naruto froze.

Sakura stood beside him, tears suddenly falling.

"But..."

Kakashi said nothing.

Sasuke stared outside the wall.

He finally understood.

Those people had never cared whether Chiya had truly killed Konoha ninja.

From the beginning to the end, what they had targeted was the special power within him.

Sasuke suddenly slammed a fist into the table beside him.

Bang!

A crack split across the wooden table.

Power. It was still power.

If he were strong enough, would none of this have happened?

If he were strong enough, things definitely would not have turned out this way. Everyone would treat him—and every member of the Uchiha Clan—with respect!

Sasuke stared fixedly in the direction Chiya had gone.

Chiya, I will definitely catch up to you. I will definitely clear your name.

Outside the council chamber, Chiya had already leaped onto the rooftops and sprinted toward the edge of the village.

Susanoo's skeleton shielded him, black-and-red chakra surging through the air after the rain. The ninja behind him kept catching up, kunai, shuriken, and all kinds of ninjutsu whistling toward him.

They struck Susanoo's skeleton, sending showers of sparks flying.

Chiya did not look back.

He pushed off with his feet, leaping from one rooftop to another.

Several ninja ahead formed seals at the same time.

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

Boom!

An incredibly tall, thick earthen wall rose from the ground, blocking his path.

Chiya's right eye throbbed, blood sliding down from its corner.

"Heavenly Dominion!"

The space in the middle of the earthen wall suddenly trembled.

The next moment, the center of the wall seemed to be crushed by something, collapsing with a boom and leaving a huge hole.

Chiya rushed through the opening.

Behind him, a jonin closed in from the side, lightning blazing in his hand as he thrust toward Chiya's back.

Chiya's left eye turned.

The jonin's movement suddenly slowed for an instant.

Chiya sharply twisted aside, and the lightning scraped past Susanoo's skeleton.

Susanoo's skeletal arm backhanded him away.

Bang!

The jonin was sent flying, smashing through a rooftop and rolling into a pile of broken tiles.

"Don't get close!"

"Keep him pinned down from range!"

"He can't hold on much longer!"

Chiya heard those words.

They were right.

He really could not hold on much longer.

Susanoo's skeleton was already beginning to fade, its black-and-red chakra flickering in waves.

Chiya gritted his teeth and continued charging toward the edge of the village.

Ahead, Konoha's outer wall had come into view.

Just as the ninja atop the wall were about to form seals, Chiya looked up.

"Get lost!"

No one moved.

Several ninjutsu struck at once.

Fire Release, Wind Release, lightning—all bore down on him.

Chiya suddenly raised his eyes.

The black-and-red Susanoo skeletal frame lunged forward, taking the first wave of ninjutsu head-on. With a boom, flames exploded across the frame, wind blades carved out a web of cracks, and lightning raced wildly along its chakra bones.

A sweet taste rose in Chiya's throat, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

He did not stop.

Susanoo's skeletal arm drove a punch into Konoha's outer wall.

Boom!

The wall cracked.

A second punch.

Crack!

The fractures spread.

When the third punch landed, the entire stretch of wall collapsed with a thunderous crash.

Rubble rolled down, and dust billowed into the sky.

Chiya charged through the breach.

Behind him, more ninja came chasing after him.

"Get him!"

"We can't let him escape!"

Chiya rushed into the forest.

Tree shadows flew past behind him as rain clouds pressed lower and lower overhead.

Before long, rain began to fall again.

Then it grew heavier and heavier.

Whoosh!

Torrential rain came pouring down.

Susanoo flickered several times in the rain, and the edges of its skeletal frame began to crumble away.

Chiya could barely see clearly anymore.

Tree trunks, the curtain of rain, the muddy ground—all of it had blurred into one.

He wanted to keep running, but his legs suddenly gave out.

Susanoo completely collapsed.

The black-and-red chakra scattered into the rain bit by bit, like a flame extinguished by the wind.

Chiya staggered two steps and braced himself against a tree.

His eyes could see only blurry patches of light and shadow.

He could still hear the pursuers in the distance, but he could no longer tell which direction they were coming from.

Chiya gave a low laugh, his voice shattered by the rain.

"This is really... pathetic."

The next moment, his body went limp, and he fell straight into the mud.

The pouring rain battered him, quickly soaking his hair, clothes, and bloodstains through.

The sounds of pursuit continued in the distance.

But Chiya could no longer hear them. He had completely passed out.

Just then, someone suddenly walked over through the rain, stopping beside him...