Cornering the Third Hokage!

He removed his pipe and tapped the ash into his palm. His voice was steady and brooked no argument; every word carried the authority of the Hokage.

"Attacking ANBU and Root in public is an extremely serious offense. This matter must be investigated to the bottom."

Uchiha Fugaku was silent for a long while.

He looked at Danzo, then at Hiruzen Sarutobi, then at the clansmen behind him, their faces full of anger. At last, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

When he opened them, his voice was dry as sandpaper scraping stone.

"...This is indeed a serious matter." He paused, his throat bobbing. "Everyone, please cooperate."

Uchiha Itachi spoke next, his face expressionless and his tone mild. "If you haven't done anything, what are you afraid of? Would you only be satisfied if the Uchiha Clan and Konoha fought and blood ran through the streets?"

The entire crowd fell silent.

Their clan head had said it. So had the clan's brightest genius. The eight named suspects looked increasingly grim, but none of them spoke again.

They gritted their teeth and clenched their fists, resentment and fury filling their eyes, yet they had lost the resolve to keep resisting.

Danzo nodded in satisfaction and waved a hand. "Take them."

Root ninja surged forward. Rough but efficient, they pinned the eight suspects' arms behind their backs and subdued them one by one.

One of them struggled and immediately took a knee to the stomach. He doubled over with a muffled groan.

But Danzo's gaze did not linger on the eight for long. He narrowed his one visible eye, his mind racing.

He suddenly recalled a report he had received: Uchiha Itachi, the genius the Uchiha Clan took such pride in, had been injured in the street by a fellow clansman named Uchiha Yongye.

A kick to the crotch. What a humiliation!

And Itachi was no lightweight. He had at least the strength of an elite jonin and possessed the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Even Body Flicker Shisui had nothing but praise for him.

Someone capable of injuring Itachi could not possibly be "mediocre," as the report claimed.

Yongye must have awakened the Sharingan!

Danzo made up his mind. He could not leave someone so dangerous, who had hidden his strength, at large. Better yet, he could acquire another pair of Sharingan!

He raised a hand and slammed his cane against the ground. His voice was hoarse and cold.

"There's one more. Uchiha Yongye is also a major suspect!"

"Take him too."

The Uchiha Clan showed no reaction. Eight had already been arrested. What was one more?

Fugaku said nothing, his face wooden. Shisui turned his head and pretended not to hear. Itachi remained expressionless, though the corner of his mouth twitched. The lingering pain in his crotch made that name particularly hard to ignore.

The Root ninja acknowledged the order and were about to move—

"You old dog, Danzo."

A lazy voice came from among the Uchiha clansmen, clear enough for everyone present to hear.

"What do you want with your daddy? Is your mother getting impatient again?"

Not a sound came from the crowd.

That was a resounding victory!

Danzo narrowed his one visible eye. Before the smile on his lips had fully spread, he was already planning what to do with the eight Uchiha suspects after they returned. First, someone from the Yamanaka Clan would read their minds. Then he would throw them into the interrogation room. Even if they survived, they would lose a layer of skin.

From there, he would follow the leads and identify every powerful Uchiha. Next time, he would know exactly whom to target.

One cut after another, he would slowly carve the Uchiha Clan apart until nothing remained!

He was enjoying the thought when a lazy voice suddenly rang in his ears.

"You old dog, Danzo."

"What do you want with your daddy? Is your mother getting impatient again?"

Danzo's smile froze. His fingers tightened around his cane until his knuckles cracked.

His eye, the one not covered by bandages, slowly turned toward the voice. Like a venomous snake whose tail had been stepped on, he fixed his gaze on its source.

Among the Uchiha clansmen, a young man stood with his arms folded, looking at him with his head tilted.

The look on the young man's face was not one he would give the powerful leader of Root. It was the look he would give a mangy dog blocking the road.

Uchiha Yongye!

Danzo's temples throbbed. He was so furious he nearly burst a blood vessel!

Even Uchiha Fugaku—and even Hiruzen Sarutobi—would not dare humiliate him like this!

How dared a mere Uchiha brat?

It was outrageous. The brat had no respect for his betters!

Killing intent surged from the Root ninja behind him. Yongye had insulted Lord Danzo in public, and in the foulest terms!

He was no longer merely a suspect. He was asking to die!

"Take him!"

Yamanaka Fū and Torune moved at once, one from each side.

Fū swept forward like a ghost, his right hand spread and reaching straight for Yongye's throat. He did not need to touch Yongye. Once he closed the distance, the Mind Body Switch Technique could seize control of Yongye's consciousness in an instant.

Torune circled around the flank. A mass of black Kikaichū poured from his sleeve, buzzing like a living cloud of poison as it spread out to cut off Yongye's retreat.

One would restrain him; the other would kill him. Their coordination was seamless. As a team, they had brought down more than one jonin-level target for Root.

But—

Thud!

Thud!

The two dull impacts came so close together they were almost one.

Fū flew backward like a kite with its string cut. He slammed into the ground and skidded seven or eight meters before stopping, blood spraying from his mouth.

Torune crashed sideways through a tree trunk as thick as a bowl. His Kikaichū scattered in every direction, while he curled on the ground clutching his chest and coughed violently.

Once again, the entire crowd fell silent!

All anyone had seen was Yongye raise his leg twice: one straight kick, one side kick.

He had moved so fast that even the Sharingan could catch only afterimages. Each blow had landed like a hammer striking its target.

Yongye slowly lowered his leg and brushed the dust from his trouser cuff.

He turned toward Hiruzen Sarutobi in the center of the clearing, a faint, mocking smile on his face.

"Lord Hokage."

"What's the penalty for openly attacking a fellow village ninja?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression darkened.

He set his face and spoke with unquestionable authority. "Uchiha Yongye, you were the one who insulted a Hokage Advisor first—"

"Danzo was the one who falsely accused me first." Yongye cut him off, his tone growing more aggressive. "And Lord Hokage, what's the penalty for publicly framing a fellow village ninja?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi stopped short. His fingers paused on his pipe, and his expression grew darker still.

He did not answer Yongye's question. He merely gave a cold snort, raised his chin, and signaled the ANBU ninja behind him.

Take him!

The ANBU ninja took a step forward in unison. The Root ninja also formed up again, watching Yongye like hawks.

Yongye looked at them and smiled.

"Can't argue your case, so you resort to force? Just like your daddy!"

He took a deep breath.

Eight Gates Release—First Gate, Opening Gate: Open!

A violent force erupted from within him. A shock wave burst out from beneath his feet, hurling loose stones into the surrounding trees with a rapid clatter.

His hair stirred though there was no wind. Even the air around him seemed to ripple.