Night Raid

Those words hit the Uchiha like a stone dropped into boiling oil. The clansmen erupted. Some gripped their kunai, some activated their Sharingan on the spot, and the hot-tempered ones started cursing.

"Bullshit!"

"Who killed your Root agents? Show us the evidence!"

"Danzo, you bastard, don't push us too far!"

"Come on, then! Try to kill us! I've put up with you long enough!"

"..."

Uchiha Fugaku raised a hand, silencing the curses behind him. His expression had turned grim, but as clan head, he had to hold the line.

"Danzo, don't make baseless accusations and frame us!"

He forced out each word, struggling to stay calm. "There is no one in the Uchiha Clan that skilled in Lightning Release!"

Danzo sneered.

“Put Lightning Release aside for now. Three ANBU Ninja were killed by a single Majestic Destroyer Flame!”

His voice rose sharply, and he slammed his cane against the ground.

"Who could it be but the Uchiha? In all of Konoha, who else can unleash a Fire Release technique with that kind of power?"

The question silenced everyone present.

Fugave's lips moved. He wanted to argue, but he had nothing to say.

Majestic Destroyer Flame—there truly was no other clan in Konoha known for Fire Release at that level. It was the Uchiha Clan's proudest hallmark, a glory etched into the Gunbai on their crest.

Now that glory had become an accusation pinned squarely on them.

Even if other Konoha Fire Release users knew the Ninjutsu, they would struggle to bring out its full power.

If they insisted on naming someone, they might stretch to Copy Ninja Kakashi. But Fugaku could not throw that accusation around. Doing so would make an enemy of Kakashi Hatake.

As the two sides glared at each other, ready to fight, a gentle voice came from behind Fugaku.

"Lord Danzo, please calm down."

Shisui Uchiha stepped out of the crowd. He wore his usual mild expression and spoke calmly, as though mediating a dispute between neighbors.

He stopped beside Fugaku and gave Danzo a slight bow, taking a deferential stance.

“We Uchiha are indeed best known for Fire Release. But the Shinobi World is vast, and talented people are everywhere. Someone else could have trained Majestic Destroyer Flame to that level.

"To conclude that an Uchiha did it based solely on the power of the Fire Release technique would be unfair."

He spoke sincerely and humbly, trying to reason with Danzo.

Danzo stared at him coldly, his sneer growing more derisive.

"Even if there are other Fire Release users—"

He drew out the words before continuing in a mocking tone.

“None of them would specifically target Root, much less kill ANBU agents while they were at it. Only you Uchiha would do such a thing!”

Shisui frowned slightly and was about to speak again.

A cool voice cut him off.

"What do you want?"

Uchiha Itachi stepped out of the crowd. His face was still pale, and the lingering pain between his legs made every step a careful one. But his expression did not change.

He took his place on Fugaku's other side and stared straight at Danzo. His dark eyes slowly turned scarlet, Three-Tomoe appearing within them.

"Do you want an all-out war with the Uchiha Clan?"

Yongye, hidden in the crowd, almost burst out laughing at the sight of Itachi.

This lunatic traitor really does work hard. Even now, he can't resist stepping forward to show his loyalty to Konoha!

How long had it been since Yongye's vicious kick had left him curled up on the ground like a shrimp?

Even with Medical Ninjutsu, he could not have recovered that quickly.

His stance gave him away. His legs were still trembling slightly, his knees pressed closer together than usual. He was clearly enduring terrible pain to stand there.

Uchiha Yongye watched from the crowd, torn between anger and amusement.

Danzo, that old dog, was infuriatingly arrogant, yet the Uchiha were still putting up with him. What amused Yongye was that Itachi, that little-brother-obsessed traitor, would never be able to swagger in front of him again.

His thoughts drifted back to earlier.

After his Lightning Release Clone left, Yongye lay on his bedding with the covers neatly pulled over him. He breathed evenly, looking exactly like someone fast asleep.

But his eyes had never fully closed. He remained on guard.

He knew the Indestructible Golden Body was powerful. Blades could not cut him, and neither water nor fire could harm him. Once Clear Sword Heart had corrected its weak point, it had no openings left.

But the world of shinobi was not a place where maxing out physical defense meant he could do whatever he pleased.

Yongye knew of at least two threats: the Reaper Death Seal and Kamui. There were surely more he did not know about.

Then there was the Sage of Six Paths, holed up in the Pure Land. The old bastard had been dead for over a thousand years and was still pulling the strings of the Shinobi World.

Who knows whether that scheming old bastard will notice some butterfly effect, pop up out of nowhere, and hit me, a transmigrator, with something nasty? The chosen one versus the transmigrator!

Yongye had always lived by one rule: ignore the advertising and look at the results.

The Shinobi World was such a mess that it had driven countless people mad.

Obito had gone mad. Madara had gone mad. Nagato had gone mad... And then there was Itachi, the maddest of them all—willing to slaughter every man, woman, and child in his clan for some supposed greater good.

In a world full of lunatics, could that Sage of Six Paths looking down on everyone really be any better?

I'd sooner believe I'm Qin Shi Huang!

As it turned out, Yongye had been right to be cautious.

He kept the perception granted by Clear Sword Heart spread out like an invisible web. Nothing escaped it.

Then he sensed it: a surge of Chakra approaching fast.

It was not Root's cold, bluish chill, nor the disciplined steadiness of the ANBU. This Chakra was unfamiliar, seething with anger.

Here she comes!

Yongye did not move. His breathing stayed even, his eyelids closed.

In the darkness, the door was silently pried open a crack. A slender figure in black slipped inside, moving swiftly and lightly, landing without a sound.

The figure stopped beside his bed and stared down at the “sleeping” Uchiha Yongye. Then she raised her foot and drove a vicious kick at Yongye's groin!

The kick was precise and ruthless!

It was exactly like the vicious kick Yongye had given Itachi.

The intruder meant to repay him in kind!

Yongye's eyes snapped open.

He rolled over in a split second. Her foot grazed the outside of his thigh and slammed into the bed frame. Crack! The impact punched a hole through the Tatami.

Yongye rolled aside and sprang to his feet, a cold, mocking smile tugging at his lips.

The intruder stood beside the bedding, slender and masked in black cloth. Only her furious eyes were visible.

But under Clear Sword Heart, disguises meant nothing.

She was a woman, but not Uchiha Izumi. Itachi's little girlfriend was flat as a board.

This woman had distinct curves and the figure of a mature woman.

And judging by her attack, she had clearly come to avenge Itachi!

Put together, that left only one person: Itachi's mother and Fugaku's wife, Uchiha Mikoto.

Yongye steadied himself and brushed wood splinters from his clothes. His voice was light, his mockery undisguised.

"A midnight ambush? What exactly are you playing at, Lady Fugaku?"

Even with her identity exposed, Mikoto did not retreat an inch.

She tore away her mask, revealing the face that was usually so gentle and gracious, now twisted with rage.

She held a kunai across her body. Her voice trembled with anger, and murderous intent poured off her.

"You dared to hurt my son! I'd be justified in killing you, let alone ambushing you!"

"Hurt him?" Yongye tilted his head as though he had heard something hilarious. "As sons of a coward, they're guilty! I'd be justified in killing them!"

"Shut up!"

Mikoto flew into a rage.

The hand holding her kunai shook with fury that welled up from deep inside her, threatening to burn away her reason.

Her voice shot up as she poured out every grievance and resentment she had been holding back.

"You hate my husband this much just because he refused to help you?

"This is... outrageous!

"If you want revenge, take it out on the person responsible! If you're so capable, go after Danzo!

"What, you don't dare? Afraid you'll die?

"What obligation does my husband have to help you? He refuses, so you hold a grudge and bully his son?

"You're trying to guilt him into it!"