"Incredible power."
Sasuke fixed his gaze on the sword at Fugaku's waist (Fugaku is wearing Root disguise). He had activated his Sharingan the moment the blade was drawn. Compared to his own fire sword, this man's Blade of Flame operated on an entirely different level of lethality.
If he had harbored doubts before, Sasuke was now certain: this man was using Uchiha Style Kenjutsu. Even if he wasn't an Uchiha by blood, his ties to the clan were undeniable. The Root operatives masked their voices with special techniques, making identification impossible for the uninitiated, but the swordplay spoke volumes.
"Who else want's to try?"
Fugaku took a step forward, his voice cold. It wasn't loud, yet it struck the Sarutobi ninja hard. As one they took step back.
"The Sarutobi Clan... is disappointing."
Fugaku shook his head. One of the Uchiha's oldest enemies stood before him, yet he felt only a distinct lack of interest. This was the rabble that had pushed the Uchiha to the brink of extinction?
The Sarutobi were no weaklings, of course. It was simply that Fugaku's display of power, instantly slaughtering so many men, was too terrifying. The ninja world hadn't yet reached the era where Kage, level monsters walked everywhere, Jonin were treated like fodder, Super Kage could also be defeated and only Six Paths level beings had fighting chance.
In that moment, Fugaku found his past self, and the old Uchiha clan, laughable.
They had fixated on petty, immediate gains, obsessed with this tiny patch of earth called Konoha.
Small. Their vision had been far too small.
As Naruto had said before, the world was vast. Why limit oneself to the Five Great Nations? One must cast their gaze much further.
If the Uchiha of the past had possessed the strength they held now, why stop at a coup? They could have turned Konoha upside down and shaken it by its roots.
'If you don't like us, then we will tear down this land and build a village that does.'
To break free from chains and forge new path, one must first be strong. Strength was the only truth.
Fugaku took sacrifices of his clansmen to understand that.
His mind drifted to Madara, the legend who once rivaled the First Hokage. Perhaps Madara had felt this same clarity before leaving the village all those years ago.
"Elder Shiro has arrived!"
Just as the Sarutobi ranks wavered, leaderless under Fugaku's pressure, the clan's true authority emerged.
Shiro Sarutobi was a bearded man whose rugged features bore a striking resemblance to a simian. Scars tracked across his face and the corners of his eyes, and he radiated a suffocating killing intent, the mark of a survivor of the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars.
He glanced at the corpses of his kin, then at the elder who had been stabbed from behind. His gaze swept past Naruto, settling finally on Fugaku.
"You will die for killing my kin." Shiro said in gravely voice.
Shiro was clearly a standard militant-ruthless and sparing with his words.
The next second, the forest came alive with sound. From all directions, Sarutobi ninja emerged, encircling Naruto's group completely.
They were surrounded.
The Uchiha force was a mere drop in the ocean against them, even with Naruto and the daimyo's guards included.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
"Monkey King Enma!"
A legion of monkeys donning forehead protectors materialized, taking their places beside the Sarutobi ninja.
Just as the Inuzuka had their specialized ninken, Enma's clan was the Sarutobi's exclusive summoning contract. They possessed intelligence equal to humans, extremely durable bodies, and the ability to transform into adamantine weapons. More importantly, they could weave hand seals just like a shinobi.
Back when the Third Hokage was exalted as the 'God of Shinobi,' Monkey King Enma was often evaluated as the strongest summon beast.
If they had one flaw, it was their stature, they were small, humanoid summons.
"Adamantine Staff!"
The summoned monkeys transformed into iron staffs, one end gripped by a Sarutobi ninja, the other aimed squarely at Naruto's group.
Their momentum was overwhelming. The combination of the Enma Clan and the Sarutobi was far more dangerous than the sum of its parts.
"Summons?"
Fugaku sneered. "You speak as if you are the only ones with allies."
Originally, the Uchiha had no specialized summoning contract. But that had changed.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Fugaku slammed his palm onto the earth. A massive cloud of dust engulfed half the forest.
"Hmm?" Save for Shiro, the eyes of the Sarutobi leadership widened in shock.
"What... is that thing?"
Fugaku had summoned a mountain. Or rather, a beast that rivaled a mountain.
In terms of sheer size, a tailed beast would look like a newborn infant beside this titan.
This was the force the Uchiha Clan had spent considerable time acquiring.
The legendary phantom summon, the Shiromari Giant Lizard!
"I must trouble you, Shiromari," Fugaku said, his voice deep. He stood with arms crossed atop the lizard's head, looking down at the ant-like Sarutobi below.
'Understood, Fugaku-sama.'
The Shiromari's voice resonated directly in Fugaku's mind. Given its immense size, speaking aloud would have unleashed a devastating sonic attack.
"It isn't over yet."
Simultaneously, Izumi Uchiha finished her hand seals. "Summoning Jutsu!"
Another burst of smoke erupted. The beast that appeared was smaller than Shiromari, but its presence was no less terrified.
Wreathed in blue flames, the ominous, heavy chakra of a tailed beast instantly saturated the air.
"Izumi-san, long time no see," the giant, blue-flamed cat greeted her politely.
"Matatabi!"
The Sarutobi ninja who recognized the Two-Tails shouted out in horror. Even Shiro, usually stoic, felt his expression shift.
Three tailed beasts, or entities of equal power, had appeared in Konoha. Counting the Nine-Tails within Naruto, there were now four present.
If the Akatsuki were to launch their capture plan now, they could secure half their targets in a single strike.
Unfortunately for them, the leaders of the Akatsuki were already here.
"Then I'll put in some effort and add a little extra to the mix." Naruto clapped his hands. "Summoning Jutsu!"
Two coffins, marked with the characters for 'Gold' and 'Silver', slowly rose from the earth.
Ostensibly a Summoning Jutsu, it was, in reality, the Impure World Reincarnation.
Kumogakure's most notorious rogue ninja: Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
Before the brothers could speak as they stepped from their coffins, their consciousness was stripped away.
Malevolent red chakra cloaked their bodies. tails sprouted from their backs as two more monsters joined the fray.
Kinkaku and Ginkaku transformed into Pseudo-Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Now, Shiro's expression turned truly pale.
The Sarutobi Clan engaged the Uchiha, but the disparity was brutal. The Shiromari merely shifted its weight, and a swath of Sarutobi ninja was crushed. The Uchiha warriors fought with terrifying efficiency, one against ten, one against a hundred, tearing through the enemy lines. After all, Naruto had trained them to fight against tailed beasts.
"Please, accept your extinction today, Sarutobi Clan."
Three black Tailed Beast Bombs formed in the maws of the Pseudo-Jinchuriki and Matatabi.
The next instant, the Sarutobi compound was consumed by a sea of fire.
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