You're So Weak It's Hard to Believe

Hiruzen Sarutobi stared, dumbfounded.

"Did you say... Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan? No, I mean, Shimura Danzō stole Shisui's eye?!"

Shinji did not answer.

Instead, he turned toward Shimura Danzō's arm lying on the ground and frowned.

Was that old bastard really so afraid of dying?

The Hashirama Cells had lost the supply of their host's chakra, yet they had not run wild. That left only one explanation...

Shinji looked back and gave everyone one last glance.

Then he leaped out the window!

Hiruzen Sarutobi watched him go, his mouth opening and closing. No matter how hard he tried, he could not understand how things had come to this. The situation had slipped completely beyond his control...

The Clan Heads were speechless.

One shock had followed another today... But only one person had been surprised and hesitant ever since Shinji made his move.

A single man.

He was a middle-aged man sunk into his chair like a little mountain of flesh, occasionally pulling a snack from his pocket for a bite.

"Yang Release..."

His voice was quiet, but the two old friends beside him heard it. Both turned questioning looks on the head of the Akimichi Clan—Torifu Akimichi.

Shikaku Nara asked softly, "Senior Torifu? What did you just say?"

Inoichi Yamanaka leaned in too. Ino-Shika-Cho could never split up: together, they could hold their own; apart, they were hopeless.

"It was... Yang Release. That Uchiha brat can wield Yang Release with such mastery, as naturally as moving his own arm."

Torifu Akimichi said gravely, "That shouldn't be possible... Since the Warring States Period, Yang Release has belonged exclusively to the Senju, Uzumaki, and Akimichi Clan. How could an Uchiha be so skilled at it? And he isn't just dabbling. He's... yes, like him!!!"

The fat man's eyes flew wide.

Shikaku Nara paused. "Like who?"

A complicated look crossed Torifu Akimichi's face, but he said nothing.

Elsewhere.

Shimura Danzō had already pulled himself free of the stone wall.

Strangely, despite being covered in blood and gasping for breath...

His arms—one severed, the other broken by a kick—were both intact again. He stood at ease, glaring at Shinji with hatred.

He looked ready for a real fight.

Shinji landed and stared at him coldly. "Izanagi?"

"Hahahaha—!"

Danzo laughed. "You evil Uchiha brat! Today, I'll use your clan's forbidden technique to rid Konoha of an unstable element like you!"

Swish, swish, swish!

His hands flashed through Hand Seals, and he spat out, "Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"

A razor-sharp gust, like the blade of a sickle, swept toward Shinji!

Clang!

"Uchiha Style: Wind Cutter!"

Shinji drew his Tachi. A fierce gale wrapped around the blade, and with the aid of his Sharingan, he slashed down and split the wind blade in two.

Then he kicked off the ground and closed in, his expression icy.

Shimura Danzō did not panic. His hands flew through Hand Seals, and he spat again. "Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!"

Pfft, pfft, pfft!

Wind-chakra projectiles shot from his mouth in rapid succession like bullets, aiming to seal off Shinji's path.

But...

Shinji formed a Hand Seal with his left hand. "Phantom: Body Flicker Technique!"

Whoosh!

Before Danzo's astonished eyes, the Shinji before him suddenly became seventeen Shinji Uchihas, each wearing the same expression!

Each held a Tachi and used his keen-eyed Sharingan to meet the incoming Vacuum Spheres!

The blades, wrapped in fierce Wind Release, struck every projectile down with unerring precision.

Danzo's eyes could barely keep up. He had no idea which one was the real Shinji Uchiha!

Even with a Sharingan!

"What was that?!"

In the spectator area.

Utatane Koharu went pale. "Shadow Clone Technique? But..."

Hum—!

Veins bulged at Hyuga Hiashi's temples as he examined the scene. His expression turned grave. "No. It's the Body Flicker Technique..."

Inoichi Yamanaka asked thoughtfully, "Do you mean Shinji Uchiha is fast enough to switch seamlessly between seventeen afterimages, making it impossible to tell which is real?"

"Exactly..."

Hyuga Hiashi took a deep breath and deactivated his Byakugan. What a terrifying man.

The Uchiha Clan...

They truly had a monster for a Clan Head!

Neji... no, Hinata.

How would she ever lead the clan against a monster like that?

Hiruzen Sarutobi kept his eyes on the fight, listening to the hushed conversation around him. His expression grew graver. Seventeen years old...

Could Shinji really be more gifted than Madara Uchiha?

Suddenly, Hyuga Hiashi glanced at Hiruzen. "Third Hokage, aren't you going to help Adviser Danzo? He's rendered great service to Konoha, and you studied under the same teacher. Whatever he's done wrong, he cannot die at an Uchiha's hands. How could the Second Hokage rest in peace if he did?"

"..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not turn around. His thoughts were a mess.

How could I miss the sarcasm in the Hyuga clan head's voice?

But...

Heaven knows I had nothing to do with Hizashi Hyuga's death back then! He took his own life before I'd even made a decision. For all I know, pressure from within your own clan drove him to it. Why take a swipe at me?

Did I force him?!

Shikaku Nara leaned against a tree with his hands in his pockets. He glanced at the Anbu Ninja cordoning off the area in the distance and shook his head.

How dull...

Torifu Akimichi was even more direct. He dropped onto a large rock, produced an enormous bag of potato chips from somewhere, and started munching away.

Inoichi Yamanaka sighed, crouched down, and smoked in silence.

On the battlefield.

Danzo stared in terror at the seventeen Shinji Uchihas charging toward him and retreated in a blind panic.

Facing seventeen pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan alone!!!

The pressure was unimaginable!

Shinji cut down the Vacuum Spheres one by one. The instant he closed in on Shimura Danzō, the afterimages vanished, revealing his true body directly in front of him!

But Shimura Danzō formed an unusual seal.

Shinji quietly took note.

"Uchiha Style: Sword Leap Flame!!!"

Boom—the Tachi burst into roaring flames.

The heat seemed to warp the very air. With a scorching gust, Shinji brought his blade down—

"Wood Release: Exploding Spear Tree!"

With a roar, Shimura Danzō completed his Hand Seals. An ancient, gnarled tree, sharp as a spear, erupted from beneath Shinji's feet!

For an instant, the earth seemed to quake!

"Wood Release?!"

Clang—!

The Tachi struck the trunk with a shrill metallic ring.

Then...

The rapidly growing branches swallowed Shinji whole...

Poof!

The smile on Shimura Danzō's face had not lasted even a second before Shinji vanished. Only a dry substitution log remained, impaled on the Wood Release branches.

"Substitution Technique? When?!"

Crackle—!

A terrifying current shrieked like a hundred birds from behind Danzo's head, making his scalp prickle.

"Lightning Blade!"

Smack!

Shimura Danzō twisted around at the last possible instant. He raised one arm, narrowly avoided the Lightning Blade, and caught Shinji's arm. His raised arm looked like stark white bone.

It was the arm implanted with Hashirama Cells.

Shinji had no interest in grappling with him or testing their strength. "Lightning Blade: Twin Lightning Shock!"

Crackle—!

He formed a second Lightning Blade in his other hand and swept it upward through Shimura Danzō's armpit.

Squelch!

Blood sprayed as the pale arm was severed at the shoulder!

Danzo's eyes bulged. Staring at the Lightning Release Ninjutsu in each of Shinji's hands, he let out a piercing scream. "No—! That's impossible!"

At the same time, he rapidly formed a Hand Seal with one hand.

His face twisted. "Die! Exploding Tree Spear!"

Rumble!

A towering tree burst from the ground again, blocking the thrust of Shinji's second Lightning Blade. Danzo hurriedly retreated to a safe distance.

"You really are so weak it's hard to believe. Let's end this..."

Shinji dispelled the Lightning Blade and raised a hand to cover his slightly dry left eye. "Tch. What a frightening Dōjutsu... It actually drained a tenth of my Ocular Power."