Danzo had long disliked the Uchiha Clan.
For that reason, he had regularly sent members of Root to monitor them.
Now that the Nine-Tails had broken through its seal and was wreaking havoc on Konoha, Danzo's first thought was not to stop it and protect the villagers.
Instead, he wondered whether the Uchiha Clan had been responsible for breaking the Nine-Tails' seal.
Is the Uchiha Clan planning to seize control of Konoha and steal my Hokage position?
Thus, Danzo immediately led members of Root to the Uchiha Clan Compound, blocking Gengetsu and the other Uchiha ninja.
"Uchiha ninja, get back inside at once!"
"Konoha has no need for your Uchiha Clan!"
Danzo's condescending words, so full of contempt for their clan, instantly enraged the Uchiha.
"What gives you the right?!"
"The village is under attack, and casualties on the front lines are devastating! As Konoha's strongest police force, we should be going to help! What right do you have to stop us?!"
"Exactly! The Nine-Tails is rampaging through the village, and you're trapping us in our compound? What is the meaning of this?"
"Are you guarding us like prisoners?! This is a blatant insult!"
"..."
Although the Uchiha Clan was usually extremely arrogant, their love for Konoha was no less than that of any other ninja.
Now that the Nine-Tails was destroying their village, instead of going to help as police ninja, they were being penned in at their own doorstep like thieves?!
How could these Uchiha ninja not be furious?
Faced with the enraged Uchiha ninja, Danzo's lone eye instead revealed intense disdain.
After all, he was an elder of Konoha High Command and the leader of Root.
He thought nothing of this group of Uchiha before him.
What was more, their leader was an Uchiha brat of only eighteen.
He did not believe that this Uchiha brat, Gengetsu, would dare defy his orders or could stand against him.
At that thought, Danzo snorted coldly and struck his cane hard against the ground, silencing the clamor.
"All of you, be quiet! ..."
"I'll tell you what gives me the right! Root just reported that the Nine-Tails' eyes bear the Sharingan pattern unique to your Uchiha Clan! ..."
"In other words, someone among you is very likely responsible for this disaster! Your Uchiha Clan is now the prime sus-"
Before Danzo could finish, a dark blur flashed past.
Smack!!!
A resounding slap rang out.
The Konoha elder Shimura Danzō, who had just been standing there issuing orders with such lofty, overbearing arrogance, flew off his feet like a kite with its string cut and tumbled three or four full rotations through the air!
Boom!
Immediately afterward, another deafening crash rang out!
Danzo slammed heavily into a solid stone wall more than ten meters away!
The tremendous impact instantly covered the wall in terrifying, spiderweb-like cracks, and large chunks of rubble came showering down.
Danzo slid down the wall like a puddle of sludge and hit the ground, violently spitting out a mouthful of foul-smelling blood mixed with several broken, yellowed teeth!
Gasp!!!
The masked Root members around them and the hundred-plus Uchiha brimming with murderous intent all froze at the sight, exchanging looks, their minds utterly blank.
What happened?!
What did I just see?!
That lofty Konoha elder, Danzo, the leader of Root, just got slapped flying in front of everyone?!
Every gaze turned in unison toward the spot where Danzo had been standing.
There stood Uchiha Gengetsu, slowly withdrawing his right hand.
Clearly, Gengetsu was the one who had slapped Danzo flying.
"You! You actually dared to strike me!"
Danzo finally recovered his senses and glared furiously at Gengetsu.
The fact that Danzo had been sent flying by a slap did not mean he was weak.
Rather, he had never expected Gengetsu to dare attack.
As a result, Danzo had been completely unprepared.
Now, Danzo was furious-utterly furious.
I'm an elder of Konoha and the leader of Root, yet a brat from the Uchiha Clan sent me flying.
The Uchiha are rebelling! They're betraying Konoha.
Just as Danzo was about to issue an order, Gengetsu struck first with an accusation.
"Danzo, you old dog! Are you trying to betray Konoha?!"
As his words fell, Gengetsu activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and a terrifying aura erupted from his body.
"Betray Konoha!? Me...?"
Gengetsu's sudden accusation left Danzo looking bewildered.
The Uchiha Clan are the ones betraying Konoha. How could it be me?
But Gengetsu gave Danzo no chance to argue, continuing to shout at the top of his lungs.
"Konoha is under attack by the Nine-Tails! Countless people are being killed or wounded on the front lines, villagers have lost their homes, and even Lord Fourth Hokage is fighting for his life! ..."
"Instead of taking your Root to the front lines to fight the Nine-Tails, you've brought your men to block the entrance to our Uchiha Clan Compound and stop our police force from providing disaster relief?!"
"As far as I'm concerned, you're the old scoundrel who secretly planned tonight's Nine-Tails' Rampage! ..."
"You're deliberately stopping us from helping to buy the Nine-Tails time to destroy the village and slaughter its people! Just what are your intentions?!"
Gengetsu's words exploded through the crowd like a massive nuclear bomb!
The Uchiha, who had still been in shock, froze for a full second.
Then they instantly caught on!
That's right!
The village is under attack, and even the Hokage is risking his life on the front lines. What they need most right now is fighting strength!
They're stopping the Uchiha, the strongest fighting force, from helping, and even a high-ranking elder has personally come to block the gate. If that isn't an inside traitor, what is?! If that isn't betraying the village, what is?!
"That old dog! So he was the real culprit all along!"
"No wonder he wouldn't let us go! He wants to use the Nine-Tails to destroy Konoha!"
The eyes of the hundred-plus Uchiha instantly reddened as they activated their Sharingan, and violent killing intent surged skyward like a tsunami.
They fixed their eyes on the Root members opposite them, no longer showing any concern for orders from above. All that remained was the frenzy to tear their enemies to pieces!
Having just been sent flying by an unexpected slap, his head still buzzing and stars dancing before his eyes, Danzo was utterly dumbfounded.
What made him feel close to coughing up blood was that this brat had turned the accusation back on him!
He had clearly come to stop an Uchiha rebellion, yet before he could even finish speaking, this brat had saddled him with the capital charges of "orchestrating the Nine-Tails' Rampage and defecting from Konoha"!
"You... how dare you!!"
"I am an elder of Konoha! The leader of Root! You're an Uchiha brat, and you dared strike me?! ..."
"Root members, heed my command! Seize this reb-"
Danzo was trembling all over with fury, but before he could finish his order,
the Ninja Blade on Gengetsu's back was already out of its sheath.
Shing!
A clear, piercing scrape of metal suddenly rang out!
Gengetsu held his Ninja Blade with its tip pointed at Danzo.
"All members of the Uchiha Clan, heed my command!"
"Head to the front lines immediately to provide disaster relief! Anyone who dares stop us from aiding the village will be treated as a traitor!"
"Whether they're Root or Anbu, if they dare stand in our way, take them down, dead or alive! Kill without mercy!"
As Gengetsu's sharp words fell, his scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun wildly, radiating terrifying pressure.
"Yes!!!"
At Gengetsu's order, the flames in the hearts of the already furious Uchiha instantly ignited.
Shing! ... Shing! ... Shing! ...
The sounds of Ninja Blades leaving their sheaths rang out one after another, and at the same time, every Uchiha ninja activated their Sharingan.
More than a hundred pairs of scarlet Sharingan shone with terrifying ferocity in the night.
Faced with the Uchiha ninja's sudden eruption, the Root members involuntarily stepped back, swallowing hard.
Even Danzo, who had just climbed to his feet, wore an exceedingly ugly expression as he faced the suddenly unleashed Uchiha ninja.
He gripped his wooden cane so tightly that the veins stood out on the back of his hand.
Although Danzo was seething with rage and wanted nothing more than to immediately order the annihilation of the Uchiha ninja before him,
with several hundred Sharingan staring at him, he felt his back prickle and kept hesitating to give the order to attack.
Because even Danzo was deeply afraid of facing a group of Uchiha who had gone berserk.
"Hmph! Let's go!"
Seeing that Danzo and the Root members had been cowed, Gengetsu snorted coldly and led the Uchiha ninja swiftly toward the Nine-Tails.
Before you continue