From the moment Uchiha Kyu made his move to the end of the battle, less than ten seconds had passed.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had been caught off guard and failed to dodge the ambush, leaving him severely wounded, unconscious on the ground, and captured.
Uchiha Kyu had known Danzo's trump card from the very beginning. Once a ninja's intelligence was thoroughly exposed, it became easy to counter him to death.
As for the subordinates the two had brought, they were all slaughtered by the combined efforts of the Uchiha and Hyuga ninjas. Not a single one was allowed to escape.
Not even the slightest word of what had happened here could get out.
After humiliating Danzo, Uchiha Kyu cruelly broke all four of his limbs.
No matter how Danzo howled, it was nothing more than the wailing of a man before death.
"Behave yourself."
Uchiha Haruto knocked Danzo unconscious with a chop to the neck.
"Let me give him another strike. There's nothing wrong with being careful."
Hyuga Hiashi had long known how sinister and cunning Danzo was. Still uneasy, he delivered another strike, sealing every meridian and acupoint throughout Danzo's body without missing a single one.
The Byakugan, combined with the Hyuga Clan's unique palm techniques, formed a distinctive Sealing Jutsu.
The Byakugan could effortlessly see through one's extraordinary meridian pathways, then strike chakra into critical points along those meridians to form walls.
This prevented a ninja from using even a drop of chakra, turning him into an ordinary person.
Uchiha Kyu tossed Danzo's arm to Orochimaru. "Remove the Sharingan for me without damaging them."
"Just send someone to collect them tomorrow."
Orochimaru agreed without hesitation, and his eyes held none of that obsessive desire for the Sharingan.
Uchiha Kyu grunted, then pointed at the ninja corpses on the ground.
"I wonder whether these still-fresh corpses are useful for your experiments?"
"They were elite ninjas, after all. Use them if you can. No matter how substantial your reserves are, you can't waste them. Waste is shameful."
Orochimaru stared greedily at the corpses on the ground and licked his lips.
"Clan Head Hyuga, please help me preserve the corpses' vitality."
Hyuga Hiashi frowned. "What do I need to do?"
When it came to experiments, Orochimaru clearly became more talkative.
"You only need to slow the loss of chakra. That will preserve as much of the corpses' vitality as possible and provide more accurate experimental data."
Hyuga Hiashi still did not understand what he was meant to do. His brows knitted tightly. "So?"
Uchiha Kyu could not help reminding him from the side.
"He means for you to seal the corpses' meridians, preventing chakra from flowing out of their bodies and keeping it within the meridians. That way, the chakra can be used to maintain the cells' vitality."
"I understand." Hyuga Hiashi nodded gravely and instructed his younger brother and clansmen to seal the corpses' meridians.
"Looks like you really do understand me."
Orochimaru looked at Uchiha Kyu with a meaningful gaze, letting out a sinister chuckle.
"I know a little about you. Otherwise, I wouldn't agree with your ideals."
Uchiha Kyu said with a smile, "We got lucky today. The plan exceeded expectations."
"Hiruzen Sarutobi has fallen into our hands now. Orochimaru, tell me, what do you think I'll do?"
The original plan had merely been to plot against Danzo and reclaim the Sharingan. He had not expected Hiruzen Sarutobi to give him such an excellent chance for an ambush.
That kunai had not been thrown by him. Otherwise, knowing that he could use the Flying Thunder God, Hiruzen would have stayed far away from it.
Uchiha Okamoto had found an opportunity amid the chaos to place that kunai. It had only been meant as a contingency, yet who could have expected such an abundant harvest?
Orochimaru answered with utter calmness. "I guess you won't kill him."
Uchiha Kyu nodded and said as though it were only natural, "Correct. Killing him would only let Minato Namikaze reap the benefits."
"Minato Namikaze currently holds less power than even a Konoha advisor, but once Hiruzen Sarutobi dies, he will be able to take over all authority legitimately."
"That is a situation none of us wants to see."
If Minato Namikaze had not been killed off by the plot, Uchiha Kyu would even have believed that he was the true Child of Prophecy, not Naruto.
Not to mention that Minato Namikaze had Kushina Uzumaki, who had mastered Uzumaki Sealing Jutsu, by his side.
At this stage, Uchiha Kyu was not yet one hundred percent certain that he could kill Minato Namikaze and retreat unharmed.
War was merely a continuation of political means.
The Uchiha Clan had not yet developed sufficiently and needed a long period of growth.
Once the Uchiha Clan stepped into the spotlight and he took control of Konoha, Konoha's temporary weakness would inevitably trigger war on all fronts.
Uchiha Kyu was not arrogant enough to believe that his own strength had reached the level Hashirama and Madara Uchiha had possessed back then, where one person could stand against ten thousand.
Before leaving, Uchiha Kyu also had people clean up all traces of the battle and destroy the laboratory.
No clansmen had died in this battle, though two had suffered serious injuries.
If Hyuga Hiashi and Orochimaru, those two powerful combatants, had not been present, the casualties in this battle would certainly have been substantial.
That was also why Uchiha Kyu had brought Hyuga Hiashi and Orochimaru along for the operation.
On the way back, Hyuga Hiashi took his younger brother and clansmen and departed first.
"I'll leave the follow-up to you. Send someone to collect the Sharingan on that arm tomorrow."
Orochimaru quickly vanished from Uchiha Kyu's sight.
Once the outsiders had all left, Uchiha Okamoto revealed a smug expression.
"Congratulations, Clan Head. We achieved a great victory this time. Even the Third Hokage was no match for you."
Uchiha Kyu flicked Okamoto's forehead. "Don't get arrogant. He was merely careless."
"Your strength still needs improving. Without their help, we wouldn't have won so decisively either."
"I'll work hard, Clan Head." Uchiha Okamoto hurriedly wiped the smile from his face.
"Haruto, notify the Fourth Hokage. Tell him the Third Hokage was severely wounded by Danzo and is currently recuperating in our Uchiha Compound."
"Danzo escaped while severely wounded. The Root Organization has endangered Konoha's security, and the Security Force has the authority to arrest members of the Root Organization."
"Understood." Uchiha Haruto nodded at once.
Meanwhile, Fugaku Uchiha, who was in charge of heading to Danzo's nest, had no need to wait for a signal. This operation was destined to succeed; failure was impossible.
"Uchiha people, what are you trying to do? Rebellion?"
The ninjas guarding the Root Organization base immediately noticed that Fugaku Uchiha and the others had come with ill intent, and hurriedly fired a signal flare.
"Susanoo."
Fugaku Uchiha did not hold back. As he waved his clansmen forward to attack, he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan.
Without Danzo, the Root Organization was simply no threat before Fugaku Uchiha, a wielder of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Uchiha Compound, courtyard pavilion.
"Clan Head, the Fourth Hokage has arrived."
"Bring him in."
"Yes."
Uchiha Kyu turned to Hyuga Hiashi, who had rushed over immediately. He knew perfectly well why Hiashi had come and did not waste words.
"This time, we won a great victory. Danzo's position has left a power vacuum. Does Clan Head Hyuga have any thoughts?"
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