Only then did his instincts, poised between life and death, make him realize how absurd his earlier actions had been. Those were moves he never should have made.
His lone eye fixed a blood-red glare on Sasuke below as Danzo's right arm swelled violently, breaking free of Extreme Lightning Chidori's restraints.
Wood Release: Violent Spear Tree!
At the same time, he bit through the tip of a finger on his left hand.
Summoning Technique: Baku!
The instant the enormous Baku appeared, he began sucking in air furiously through his trunk, cutting off Naruto and Sasuke's movement.
Shattering the giant trees with lightning, Sasuke looked up at Danzo, who stood atop Baku forming hand seals, and rubbed his chin.
Baku's wind had absolutely no effect on him. His modified version of Shinra Tensei alone was enough to counter the suction, and with Thunder Protection active, the wind blades hidden within it could barely get anywhere near him.
"Naruto, can you make that form any bigger?" After looking up for a while and realizing their size did not quite match their opponent's, Sasuke turned to ask Naruto.
He had no idea how Naruto had managed to activate a Tailed Beast Cloak already, but this clearly was not the time to discuss it.
"Sure! I might not have much else, but I've got plenty of tails." Still looking thoroughly pleased with himself, Naruto answered cheerfully. Two thick tails sprang out behind him at once, and his body swelled again.
"Then let's show that old dog the bond between us!"
With a shout brimming with adolescent melodrama, Sasuke's left eye spun rapidly, and his blue skeletal half-body Susanoo appeared again. As though realizing what Sasuke intended, Naruto's body instinctively took a step back before he could react. Yet Naruto seemed not to notice at all, eagerly moving to stand beside Sasuke.
Blue and gold gradually intertwined, their initially stark boundaries slowly melting together.
"Wind Release! Vacuum Serial Waves!"
At that very moment, Danzo finished gathering his power and launched a joint offensive with Baku!
In the original story, this move had nearly broken through Uchiha Sasuke's Susanoo. Now, whether because Danzo had tapped into a sudden burst of power or simply because he was younger, its destructive force resembled a natural disaster descending upon the world.
At any rate, Sasuke had to admit that his half-baked skeletal giant of a Susanoo probably could not withstand it.
But then again...
"Majestic Attire: Susanoo!" ×2
Standing shoulder to shoulder, their chakra intertwined. A golden-red Tailed Beast Cloak enveloped them both, while blue Susanoo formed a suit of fox-shaped humanoid armor around it, with the Tailed Beast Cloak filling the interior. Combat power aside, its intimidation factor was at least first-rate.
Although this was an unfinished Majestic Attire: Susanoo cobbled together by two amateurs, the fusion of Naruto and Sasuke's chakra seemed to have brought about a unique change.
Feeling the changes within him as their chakra merged, Sasuke's eye twitched furiously. Those damn brothers, Indra and Asura, who loved each other as much as they fought, seemed about to stir up trouble.
He had only intended to wrap Naruto's Tailed Beast Cloak in Susanoo to strengthen it, like the skeleton in the Six-Tails form.
Instead, it had unexpectedly become a miniature, juvenile version of a complete Majestic Attire: Susanoo. Now the two of them really did feel a little like they were piloting a mech.
"Thunder Half-Moon Slash!" Almost without hesitation, Sasuke controlled the Majestic Attire: Susanoo, forming a golden Heavy Blade forged from chakra and ocular power. He leaped high into the air, then brought it crashing down toward Danzo amid roaring thunder.
Staring at the giant overhead with its unmistakably foxlike appearance, Danzo went numb.
And he was not even the most stunned person there.
Hiruzen Sarutobi: !!!
A short while earlier, when a thunderstorm resembling the birth of a golden sun had erupted in the Uchiha Clan Compound, Hiruzen Sarutobi had felt his heart spasm.
He had wondered then whether Sasuke and Naruto were up to some bizarre mischief. Upon seeing Baku, he had been so furious that he ordered Kakashi to take some men over and arrest Danzo. Yet barely had he dispatched them when a giant fox emerged from the Uchiha Clan Compound!
What the hell was going on?!!!
Although it looked completely different from the Nine-Tails during the Nine-Tails' Attack, being recognizably a fox was more than enough.
Was today the day he would make his final contribution to the village?
Having steeled himself, resolve gradually firming in his eyes, Hiruzen Sarutobi was about to head straight for Naruto. But upon hearing an "Awoo-woof," he stopped in his tracks.
His mouth twitched uncontrollably, and a jumble of emotions filled his heart. Damn it, couldn't his emotions at least get a smooth transition?
If that giant was being controlled by the Nine-Tails, he would eat it outright!
And since Naruto still retained his reason, things were actually manageable.
But why did the blue armor on that apparent special Tailed Beast Cloak look so much like Susanoo? Had Sasuke awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan at ten years old? How was that possible?!
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt as though his brain had turned to mush. Too much had happened in these few short minutes. He was old, after all, and his mind was struggling to process such a dense flood of information.
Just then, seemingly because they had noticed their own backyard catching fire, Fugaku and Shisui descended in unspoken agreement and clashed with Itachi once more.
A shock wave broke his train of thought, and Hiruzen Sarutobi finally lost patience. Pouring chakra into his throat and forming a one-handed seal, he used a minor secret technique he had developed to amplify his voice and roared.
"Are you trying to destroy Konoha? All of you, stop this shit right now!"
"Lord Hokage, my apologies, but this is an internal matter of the Uchiha Clan. Once it is resolved, the Uchiha Clan will take full responsibility for every loss suffered by the village!"
Sweeping his wings across and sending Uchiha Itachi flying, Fugaku spoke with exceptional firmness.
And at that moment, almost everyone, whoever they were, could hear one message in Fugaku's voice.
The Uchiha Clan's hereditary madness was acting up in him again.
Everyone in Konoha knew that the Uchiha were an exceptionally obsessive clan. Once they settled on a goal, there was virtually no room for turning back.
For a moment, the surrounding ninja all wore grim expressions, yet there was nothing they could do. Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression darkened as well. Taking a deep breath, he realized he could no longer afford to consider so much. He had to stabilize the situation here first, then hurry to find out exactly what had happened between Danzo, Naruto, and Sasuke. There was no time left for further delays.
Yet just as he was about to speak again, Utatane Koharu, who had just returned to his side after leading her men in securing the perimeter, seemed to pick up on something in Fugaku's words.
Connecting the events of tonight with the Uchiha Clan's various unusual actions over the past few years, she seemed to piece together a thread in her mind. A suspicion immediately surfaced, and before Hiruzen Sarutobi could speak again, she hurriedly called out.
"Clan Head Fugaku! Though this is your family's business, the Uchiha are an inseparable part of Konoha, so we are family too! We are all members of Konoha's great family. Wherever leaves dance, the fire burns on without end. We are all family, so whatever the issue is, we can sit down and discuss it calmly. The village will mediate your clan's internal conflicts!"
As soon as she finished, Hiruzen Sarutobi could not help glancing sideways at her. Just days ago, his old teammates had banded together, all three pressuring him to target the Uchiha. Yet now, it seemed Utatane Koharu saw things even more clearly than he did?
But after thinking it over, the Third Hokage understood. An onlooker saw the game more clearly, after all. Koharu had only just returned, so her perspective differed from his. Besides, she had not become a Hokage Assistant for nothing. Probably.
Still, upon hearing Utatane Koharu's words, almost no one present believed Uchiha Fugaku and the others would stop. It came back to the same thing: everyone knew the Uchiha Clan was a bunch of lunatics. How could a powder keg that exploded at the slightest spark possibly listen to reason?!
Before you continue