Ambush

"Enough! Now isn't the time to be angry, Danzo!"

"I called you here to find a solution. Given Fugaku's attitude at the time, this was likely the result of the entire Uchiha Clan's agreement. If we refuse, the Uchiha will definitely make trouble with the village."

The Third frowned deeply as he spoke, his tone filled with displeasure at the Uchiha's lack of consideration for the bigger picture.

"Hmph! Let them make trouble. With only old, weak, sick, and crippled remnants left in the Uchiha Clan, what right do they have to negotiate terms with the village?" A flash of disdain crossed Danzo's eyes.

"Danzo, if we fall out with the Uchiha now, do you want the number of shinobi on the border to plummet?"

"Don't forget that the village is still at war. If the Uchiha withdraw or become lax over the relocation of their clan grounds, how will we defend the Land of Lightning border?"

The Third sternly rebuked Danzo for his thoughtless words.

Danzo's expression darkened further, but he did not refute Sarutobi's words. Of the Legendary Sannin, those who had defected had defected, and those who had wandered had wandered. The only one still in Konoha, Jiraiya, had restless thoughts as well. If the war on the Land of Lightning border had not held him back, who knew where he would have gone to gather material by now.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Danzo retorted stubbornly.

Sarutobi fell silent as well, continuously puffing on the large pipe in his hand.

Utatane Koharu, standing to the side, stepped forward. "Why not agree to their demands first? We can go back on our word later."

The others' eyes lit up.

The next day, the Third summoned Fugaku and told him the result of the Elder Council's discussion.

Fugaku nodded after listening.

"Fugaku, that is the situation. You may leave now."

Yet when Sarutobi finished reviewing a document and looked up, he found Fugaku still standing there. Confusion flashed through his eyes. "Is there anything else, Fugaku?"

Fugaku recalled what his eldest son had told him that morning. "Father, when you go to see the Hokage this time, if he agrees to the clan's relocation plan, make sure he gives you an official document approved by the Hokage."

"Why?" Fugaku's eyes had flashed with confusion.

Hane smiled and gave only four words. "Verbal promises prove nothing." After saying that, Hane took Itachi to school.

Coming back to himself, Fugaku looked at the Third Hokage. His gaze steadied, and he ultimately chose to trust his son. "Lord Hokage, I hope you can provide an official Hokage document."

Sarutobi's face darkened. "Fugaku, do you not trust me as Hokage?"

"No, Lord Hokage. With a document, I can better explain things to the clan." Fugaku spoke respectfully.

The Third cast a gloomy glance at Fugaku, who still stood before him, then sighed. "Sigh, it seems I have failed in my duties as Hokage. I actually forgot something this important."

He casually took a blank document from nearby and scribbled on it. Before long, he had finished the document, stamped it with the Hokage's seal, and slowly handed it to Fugaku.

Fugaku accepted the document and examined its contents. Finding no issues, he gave a slight bow. "Lord Hokage, then I shall take my leave."

With that, Fugaku headed for the door. At that moment, Sarutobi's face within the Hokage Building finally sank completely.

At the same time, a figure emerged from the shadows behind Sarutobi. "They harbor wolfish ambitions. The Uchiha Clan truly cannot be trusted."

"Have you investigated the details of the Uchiha clan meeting?"

Danzo nodded. "The one who proposed the compensation was Fugaku's eldest son. What a fine display of unity from top to bottom."

"The little brat who questioned the Will of Fire? Isn't he only six years old? Would those arrogant Uchiha really listen to a child?"

Sarutobi asked in disbelief.

"Hmph! That is why I say the Uchiha harbor wolfish ambitions. If our spies had not revealed the truth, how would we have known that Fugaku, that usually honest fellow, had been concealing such a move? Reportedly, his eldest son defeated an elder from the Uchiha Hardline Faction at the clan meeting and seems to have awakened a new Kekkei Genkai."

A cold glint flashed through Danzo's eyes as he spoke.

"Troubled times indeed." Sarutobi took a deep drag from his pipe, exhaled, and gazed at the drifting smoke with a long sigh.

"Sarutobi, we need to test that little bastard's strength." Danzo stared fixedly at Sarutobi with a cold, sinister gaze.

Sarutobi remained silent for a long time. "Do not go too far."

Danzo said nothing further and slowly vanished into the darkness.

At night, a pale full moon hung in the sky. Hane walked along a secluded path in the Uchiha Clan Grounds with Itachi and Izumi, each holding a skewer of dango.

"Hane, why is yours different from mine this time?" Izumi asked with a slight pout.

"Because Izumi is too sweet, and I suddenly felt like having something salty." Hane teased.

Izumi's little face reddened. "No, I want to eat Hane's salty one too." With that, she opened her little mouth and bit toward the savory three-colored dango in Hane's hand.

Hane did not suddenly pull it away. Instead, he looked affectionately at Izumi as she puffed out her cheeks.

"If you want some, then eat more."

Itachi quietly watched the scene. He lowered his head and looked at the three-colored dango in his own hand, then suddenly felt that even this dango with twice the sugar did not taste quite so sweet anymore.

Suddenly, Hane sensed an intense feeling of being watched. He stopped walking, and his powerful Divine Sense instantly spread out. In the darkness around them, four shinobi wearing cat-face masks were hiding in the shadows.

"Brother! What is it?" Itachi looked at the stopped Hane in confusion.

Hane smiled faintly at the puzzled Itachi and Izumi, whose little mouth was still chewing.

"Itachi, I left something at school. I need to go back and get it." Hane casually made up an excuse.

"Then we'll wait for you, Hane!" Izumi said, blinking her adorable big eyes.

Yet just as Hane was about to refuse Izumi, the four shinobi moved.

"Forget it! Itachi! Stay alert, there are enemies!"

Hane shouted, and the Five Emperor Swords within him instantly transformed into five figures, surrounding Izumi and Itachi.

At that moment, Itachi also activated his Two-Tomoe Sharingan. Sure enough, he saw four figures rushing toward them at incredible speed.

Boom!

Before Itachi could react, he saw his brother transform into a flaming form once more.

Crimson eyes that seemed to burn with fire, strands of flame-like hair billowing in the heatwave—he looked as though a fire god had descended.

In an instant, scorching heat like that of midsummer surged into the air.

"Hehe, a pack of rats in the gutter." Killing intent flashed through Hane's eyes.

He had initially intended to let Itachi and the others leave first, but the enemies clearly had no such patience. Evidently, they did not care about Izumi or Itachi at all.

"Enough nonsense. Kill him!"

The four cat-masked shinobi swiftly drew Kunai and hurled them at Hane. The four Kunai flew from different angles with piercing whistles, targeting his vital points.

Hane looked disdainfully at the incoming Kunai and ignored them. The flames around his body instantly burned even more fiercely, their crimson glow nearly illuminating dozens of meters around him.

The searing heat made Izumi and Itachi feel as if they were being roasted beneath the blazing sun.

Before the Kunai could even approach Hane, they melted into thick molten iron. The four Root shinobi were horrified. What kind of technique is this? But there was no time for wild thoughts.

Hane raised a single hand seal slightly. A fierce wind appeared out of nowhere, stirring the flames around him. Sparks began drifting everywhere, like a dreamlike shower of starlight descending upon the world.

Itachi and Izumi stared at the sight in stunned silence.

"So beautiful," Izumi murmured blankly.

The fire clone beside Izumi swiftly stepped forward and quickly traced a circle around Itachi and Izumi. "Remember, do not leave this circle under any circumstances!"

The fire clone spoke rapidly to Itachi and Izumi, then recited an incantation. "Fire-Repelling Shield."

The circle the fire clone had drawn became surrounded by densely packed talismans that floated around Itachi and Izumi. In an instant, the unbearable heat they had felt faded, and they felt much cooler.

At that moment, Hane coldly glanced at the cat-masked shinobi still charging toward him. "Dao Art, Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain!"

Boom!

All the red sparks scattered through the sky suddenly pulsed violently like a beating heart.

The nail-sized sparks instantly expanded, turning into a sea of fire that descended upon the entire street. Except for the circle drawn by Izumi and Itachi's clone, where there were no violet flames, roaring fire trapped every Root shinobi present.

The Root shinobi had not paid much attention to the sparks filling the air, but they instantly transformed into a volcano that spread toward them.

The searing heat immediately ignited their clothes and began burning toward their bodies.

"Not good! Get out of here!" the Root shinobi leading the group shouted.

Having sensed that these flames were extraordinary, the Root shinobi no longer dared charge at Hane. One after another, they hurriedly used the Body Flicker Technique. One shinobi even rapidly formed hand seals.

"Water Release, Water Wall!"

He tried to surround himself with the water from the Water Wall and extinguish the blazing fire on his body.

But to his horror, the Water Wall did not douse the violet flames on his body as he had imagined. Instead, it boiled amid the spreading flames, releasing vast amounts of white steam.

In an instant, that self-righteous Root shinobi was cooked alive by the boiling water. He let out a heart-wrenching wail before passing out from the pain.

His reddened body slowly collapsed into the volcano, gradually turning to ash beneath the burning flames.

The others fared no better. Every Root shinobi touched by the sparks now had even fiercer flames burning over their bodies. They wailed and rolled across the ground, trying to extinguish the violet flames that way.

Yet aside from leaving clusters of lingering violet fire on the street and burning the ground into uneven, charred pits, it did nothing.

They could only watch helplessly as the flames slowly burned them away. The process was agonizing.

The fire Hane was using was no ordinary flame. Though it could not compare to Samadhi True Fire, it had already come infinitely close to Six Ding Jia Fire, the flames cultivators used specifically to refine pills and artifacts.

Its temperature was incredibly high, and once it touched someone, without a fire-avoidance art or Extreme Yin Water, it could not be extinguished.

Of the four cat-masked shinobi, three had already been eliminated. The only one left was the Root captain, who had initially sent in a Shadow Clone to gather intelligence.

The Root captain, hiding in the darkness, watched the scene with suddenly constricted pupils. A bone-chilling feeling rose in his heart.

"Is this the Uchiha genius? He's practically a monster. No, I have to hurry back and report this intelligence to Lord Danzo."