This is the Uchiha's ultimate power!

At the very beginning, Hiruzen Sarutobi might still have considered the consequences.

After all, Bai Ye had a reason for attacking. Even he could not deny that.

But now, he no longer cared about right or wrong.

Whatever the outcome, he would fight with everything he had and kill Bai Ye if he could.

At the very least, he had to avenge his old friends.

"Are you angry? Are you desperate?! Watching your old friends die in front of you, one after another-but have you ever thought about all the people you drove to their deaths?

They had families too. Those Uchiha who went out on missions, only to be assassinated because Danzo coveted their eyes, had families too.

Why didn't you think about any of that when you did those things?!

And now... it's happened to you, and suddenly it hurts?!"

Bai Ye watched Hiruzen Sarutobi with a mocking expression, his gaze growing even more derisive.

To him, Hiruzen Sarutobi's attitude was downright laughable!

So now you know what pain feels like?!

Why didn't I ever hear you talk about their pain before?!

Ultimately, people never felt the pain until the knife cut into their own flesh.

Only now, after seeing his old friends die, did he wear that look as though he had lost his parents.

Hearing Bai Ye's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi froze for a moment. The faces of those people immediately surfaced in his mind.

Even if he had not personally done some of those things, he bore undeniable responsibility for many of them.

Just as Bai Ye had said, those people had families, and their loved ones had suffered when they died.

Even during the Third Shinobi World War, perhaps Konoha would not have lost so many people if he had joined the fighting himself.

But scarcely had that thought appeared before Hiruzen Sarutobi snuffed it out.

Now was not the time to dwell on the past.

Whatever happened in the end, even if he died, he had to take Bai Ye down with him this time!

Otherwise, the outcome might be disastrous for Konoha.

As for Bai Ye's accusations, he no longer wanted to think about them.

He knew how the people around him were looking at him now.

Every word Bai Ye spoke sent their opinion of him plummeting.

"Tsk... That guy really knows what to say!"

Not far away, Obito and Itachi were watching.

After hearing Bai Ye's words, Obito could not help feeling impressed.

Bai Ye really did have a point.

Why hadn't they thought about that when they went after those people?!

He had to admit that Bai Ye had guts.

But...

At this moment, he did not particularly want to see Bai Ye win.

What he wanted was for the Uchiha to be wiped out and Konoha to suffer a devastating blow.

If the Uchiha won, how was he supposed to carry out his plan for the night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre?!

Obito did not harbor much hatred toward the Uchiha Clan, but they possessed things he desperately needed.

One was the Sharingan.

Especially Bai Ye's and Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan.

He genuinely wanted to get his hands on them. Although Bai Ye had yet to reveal his Mangekyo Sharingan abilities, Obito figured they could hardly be weak.

Otherwise, how could Bai Ye have declared that he would take on all four of them alone?!

And when he killed the other three, they had been utterly unable to resist.

Originally, Obito had thought the Reverse Four Symbols Seal might accomplish something.

But he had clearly overestimated Danzo.

Eleven Sharingan, and he had not even managed to force Bai Ye to reveal his Mangekyo Sharingan abilities.

Even now, Obito still knew very little about Bai Ye's actual capabilities.

What a shame...

Obito had expected both sides to suffer and Konoha to be weakened, but things did not seem likely to go his way.

"That's why I said he's always trapped within the confines of his clan. He never considers what consequences this will have afterward."

Itachi spoke flatly.

Although Bai Ye's strength surprised him, he still did not approve of him.

The main reason was that Bai Ye never looked beyond his clan.

The clan, the clan-such narrow-minded thinking, always going on about the clan.

Sure, doing this let him vent his anger, but what came afterward?!

Would it really solve the problem once and for all?

"Oh? What do you think?"

Obito was somewhat surprised. He kept feeling that Itachi's mind worked rather differently from his own.

If he looked at this from the Uchiha's perspective...

This was unquestionably a good thing!

After all, the Uchiha had already been pushed to the edge of a cliff.

If they did nothing now, only two outcomes awaited them.

First, the Uchiha would not resist and would eventually be exterminated.

Second, the Uchiha would resist, fail, and still be exterminated.

That was how Obito had originally expected this to play out.

What he had not expected was for a powerhouse to appear out of nowhere among the Uchiha!

Bai Ye had actually turned the tide and changed what should have been an inevitable outcome.

If the Uchiha succeeded in their coup this time, their hostile living conditions would improve, and they would undoubtedly fare much better in Konoha than they did now.

Of course...

It was even possible that one of them would become Hokage afterward.

And yet Itachi somehow thought this was not a good thing?!

What was he thinking?!

"If the Third Hokage, Danzo, and the others all die, Konoha will enter a period of severe weakness.

If the other villages declare war on Konoha then, even more people will die.

Yet he hasn't considered any of that. He keeps his eyes fixed on his clan, without caring whether the village can withstand this situation.

If he looked at things from the Hokage's perspective, perhaps none of this would have happened!"

Itachi expressed his views with conviction.

As far as he was concerned, no matter how one looked at it, Bai Ye was acting out of selfish desire.

After all, if the Hokage and the three senior officials died together...

Konoha would undoubtedly be left in an extremely weakened state.

Meanwhile, Kumogakure and Iwagakure were eyeing them hungrily, and even Sunagakure was constantly looking for a chance to tear a chunk out of Konoha.

If Bai Ye insisted on doing this under such circumstances, wasn't he putting Konoha in danger?!

Ultimately, he had never truly wanted to solve the Uchiha Clan's problems.

If chaos erupted and the other villages attacked Konoha...

Wouldn't the Uchiha shinobi still have to go to war?!

And it would not just be the Uchiha shinobi who had to fight. Everyone would have to go to war.

Was that really the outcome he wanted to see?!

That was why, in Itachi's eyes, Bai Ye was wrong!

After hearing Itachi's reasoning, Obito could not find a single word to say.

Seriously?!

How does your mind even work...?

Although that was indeed a possibility, and if news of Hiruzen Sarutobi's and the others' deaths reached the other villages...

They might genuinely decide to kick Konoha while it was down.

But what you just said...

Something feels seriously wrong with it!

What do you mean, look at this from the Hokage's perspective?

First, Bai Ye was not the Hokage. Second, he was currently the Uchiha Clan Head. If he had to approach things from a particular perspective, Obito thought he would naturally prioritize the Uchiha Clan.

Even if those things happened afterward, if the Uchiha were going to die anyway, why should they care about anything else?!

He had no idea what Uchiha Itachi was thinking.

He opened his mouth, but in the end, all Obito could squeeze out was, "Trust in the wisdom of future generations."

What else could they do?!

They were already standing on the edge of a cliff. Could anything be worse than that?!

Rather than deal with the immediate problem, they were supposed to let the Uchiha be buried alongside their so-called peace? It was ridiculous!

Still...

Obito would not argue with him now. After all, as far as he was concerned, this worked out quite well.

For the time being, at least, he still needed to use Uchiha Itachi.

Naturally, he would not object any further.

Besides, this benefited him too.

The more Uchiha Itachi believed Bai Ye was wrong, the more likely he was to leave the village.

Especially now, with Hiruzen Sarutobi already fighting Bai Ye right before their eyes.

Obito could sense that it would probably end soon.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Shinobi Hero, really seemed to have grown old!

Against Bai Ye, none of his techniques seemed to have any effect.

And...

"How is his Susanoo in its Complete Body form... Why can he activate Complete Body Susanoo?!"

When that sky-blotting Susanoo appeared before Obito, his eyes widened as he stared at it in utter disbelief.

No!!!

How was this possible?!

How could Bai Ye activate Perfect Susanoo?!

He knew how it worked!

Perfect Susanoo required immense ocular power and chakra.

Normally, activating Perfect Susanoo with the Mangekyo Sharingan was absolutely impossible!

The ocular power alone would fall short, never mind the chakra.

The Uchiha possessed considerable chakra, but it was nowhere near enough to activate the Complete Body!

Could it be... Bai Ye had Eternal Eyes?!

No, that wasn't right either!

He had never heard of Bai Ye having any siblings, and his parents had died long ago.

Without a relative's Mangekyo Sharingan, awakening Eternal Eyes was impossible.

And yet...

An outrageous problem now stood right before him.

Bai Ye could activate Perfect Susanoo without the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. That was beyond anything Obito had imagined!

"No! Once I get back, I have to investigate this properly. What the hell is going on...?"

Obito had no idea what was actually happening.

He would have to investigate thoroughly once he returned.

Good grief!

Even he could not activate Perfect Susanoo at this point.

Of course, that was mainly because he did not have Dual Kamui. Otherwise, with half his body made from White Zetsu's body...

His chakra and ocular power would actually be sufficient, though he could not activate it as effortlessly as Bai Ye.

Was this guy a freak?!

Activating the Complete Body with the Mangekyo Sharingan...

At that moment, an indescribable feeling rose in Obito's heart.

He could no longer tell whether this would ultimately be good or bad for the Uchiha.

It seemed he would have to wrap things up in Kirigakure sooner.

He could not waste his energy on Kirigakure.

But...

Before that, he had to squeeze one last bit of value out of Kirigakure!

He instinctively glanced at Itachi, only to find him staring fixedly at the battle, the Three-Tomoe Sharingan in his eyes spinning wildly.

On the battlefield, Hiruzen Sarutobi had now fallen into an utterly overwhelming disadvantage.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was a shinobi of a bygone era.

In an era where people could already pilot Gundams, where anyone who was not a descendant of the Sage of Six Paths could not even get a seat at the table...

He was facing Bai Ye, who had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan and possessed a Sage Body.

Under the pressure of Susanoo, he had no chance to fight back.

Judging by Bai Ye's performance, it seemed there truly wasn't anyone in all of Konoha who could match him now!

Why did taking Itachi away to join the Akatsuki suddenly feel like it hadn't been such a good deal?

He had originally thought he had lucked into finding a genius.

But after seeing Bai Ye's performance, he admitted he felt a little regret. Taking Bai Ye away instead would have been the best choice.

"So this is the Uchiha's ultimate power..."

At that moment, locked in battle, Hiruzen Sarutobi gazed at the Susanoo that blotted out the sky.

All he felt now was despair.

So this was what gave him such confidence?!

Facing that sky-blotting sword strike, he had no idea how to dodge it.

"It's over..."

Fighting a veteran Kage like Hiruzen Sarutobi really didn't take much time.

The abilities Hiruzen Sarutobi excelled at posed absolutely no threat to Bai Ye.

Bai Ye didn't want to waste time either. Villains died because they talked too much, and he had nothing to say to Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others.

As the enormous sword came slashing down, blotting out the sky, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately dismissed his summoning, sending Enma back before he could even react.

He knew this attack would kill him.

There was no reason to drag Enma down with him.

Still, he wouldn't simply wait for death. He created four clones and unleashed the five elemental release techniques he was most skilled in, and which were also his strongest, hoping to see whether they could stop Bai Ye.

When the five elemental releases met Susanoo, the sheer gulf in power made even the spectators' hearts pound with fear.

How could Hiruzen Sarutobi's techniques possibly stop that attack?!

This was the overwhelming suppression of absolute power!

There was no need for any fancy tricks. His opponent needed only a single sword strike to finish Hiruzen Sarutobi off.

"S-such terrifying power!!!"

Uchiha Setsuna stared at Bai Ye with wide eyes, his gaze filled with shock. This was the Uchiha's ultimate power!

This was Susanoo!!!

The others who shared Uchiha Setsuna's thoughts felt even more conflicted at that moment.

For the Uchiha Clan, after all, he was their own Clan Head. How could they possibly be anything but delighted that he was so powerful?

The stronger their Clan Head was, the better it was for them, of course.

But the others didn't see it that way.

The stronger the Uchiha became, the more they felt it would spell bad news for them down the line.

Besides, Hiruzen Sarutobi really did look as though he was about to die under this attack.

If Hiruzen Sarutobi actually died, would things still turn out as Bai Ye had said earlier, as they had imagined?!