No one could even begin to imagine how much damage would be done to the villagers.
Danzo wanted to stop it, but this time even Mito and Koharu stood with The Third.
Although they didn't value individual lives within the village, such massive destruction happening inside Konoha would cause many employers to lose a great deal of trust in the village.
This would be really bad news for the village!
He sacrificed every ounce of his natural talent for just this one attack.
Opening the Fifth Gate of the Eight Gates, burning through chakra at an intense rate.
Shiki, who had studied medical ninjutsu, harbored no illusions about this.
Even with the Uzumaki clan's remarkable recovery ability, his meridians had been pushed far beyond their limits this time.
But at the very least,
Nothing could stop this strike!
[Extreme Scalpel: Boundless Empty Sword!!!]
Chapter 51 Trust
At that moment, the storm abruptly halted. Then, like an unstoppable force, it crashed downward.
BOOM!
The deafening explosion rang painfully in Shiki Uzumaki's ears.
In truth, this technique was extremely incomplete—a mere imitation of the Scalpel method, simply focusing chakra.
However, since the amount of concentrated chakra was simply too immense, it lacked the true sharpness of a real Chakra Scalpel. Still, its power remained nearly unmatched.
After all, this came from someone possessing enormous chakra reserves after activating the Eight Gates technique.
The following shockwave began spreading outward uncontrollably. Suddenly, a barrier appeared, halting everything.
In the end, The Third prevented an even greater catastrophe.
A deep crater had formed on the ground where the attack landed.
Nearly depleted of all his chakra, Shiki stood amidst the ruins, straining his last bit of willpower to look at The Third, who had just arrived.
"I did not defect from Konoha. It was Danzo-sama who forced me into Root."
With those final words, Shiki lost the strength to remain conscious, collapsing to the ground.
Inside a hidden chamber beneath Root headquarters, another person also lay unconscious—Fu Yamanaka, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
His orange hair and unremarkable appearance gave him a plain look—
Yet if Shiki were here, he would immediately recognize this as Yamanaka Fu, the very person he had obliterated earlier.
The Yamanaka clan's secret art—the Puppet Master Jutsu—combined with various other hidden techniques of Root, had kept Yamanaka Fu alive.
Every Jonin possessed numerous methods of combat, mastering forbidden techniques inaccessible to both Chunin and Genin.
Of course, he wouldn't be that easy to kill.
Beside the Hokage's Office, Konoha's leaders stood silently around the crater, none daring to speak.
This incident had shaken them deeply. Although they had witnessed countless battles far more shocking than this one,
What made this different was that Shiki Uzumaki was merely a child approaching the age of eleven.
There were indeed many geniuses in the ninja world, yet only a rare few could ever reach such a level.
Probably only Kakashi, Shisui, and Itachi could reach such a level at this age?
Danzo was deeply shocked yet couldn't help but admire inwardly: no wonder the Uzumaki clan stood alongside the Senju and Uchiha clans.
He felt his right arm burning—it was the arm Orochimaru had grafted onto him. It contained numerous Sharingan eyes from the Uchiha clan and also cells from the Senju clan, enabling it to use certain Wood Release techniques.
What if he added the inheritance of the Uzumaki clan into this mix?
Then Danzo spoke up, "Third Hokage, Shiki Uzumaki has recklessly destroyed Konoha and killed fellow village ninja. The evidence of his defection is solid. Please hand him over to our Root Division for handling."
Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at Danzo and replied coldly, "No!"
As Hokage, he must sometimes compromise with Danzo on certain matters. But that doesn't mean he doesn't have his own judgment.
And for Hiruzen, the core of Konoha is the Will of Fire.
If the Will of Fire disappears, Konoha itself becomes meaningless.
Anyone in Konoha may fall into darkness—but the Third, who truly inherited the ideals upon which Konoha was founded, must never do so.
Even during the early days of the Uchiha uprising, among all the village's elders, only he insisted on resolving the matter through negotiation.
It was only because Danzo secretly approached Itachi and threatened him using Sasuke that the massacre of the Uchiha clan occurred.
Only the Third Hokage has never fallen into darkness.
The Third isn't like Danzo, who would throw away every principle under the guise of serving Konoha.
He truly embodies what the "Will of Fire" means.
So when it comes time to take a stand, he will absolutely not back down.
"Konoha isn't the Mist! This matter must be thoroughly investigated!"
The Third said coldly. In reality, the truth of this incident had already been quite clear.
Just as Shiki Uzumaki stated—he had never betrayed Konoha. It was Danzo who forced him to join Root.
Otherwise, how could one explain why someone who had supposedly betrayed Konoha repeatedly tried to rush toward the Hokage Office just to speak with him?
Trying to assassinate him? That's your excuse?
But sometimes, doing something requires these laughable excuses as cover-ups.
Take Koharu and Homura for example—did they really not understand Danzo's true intentions?
Yet one reason they still leaned slightly toward Danzo was because Shiki Uzumaki simply wasn't a real native of Konoha Village.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
Want to read the subsequent content in advance?
Please follow my Patreon:patreon/Tansnovel
Tans Novel - The Fastest-Updating Naruto Fanfiction Account
Read 100+ chapters in advance, with at least 3 new chapters updated every day! More free chapters! 20+ Naruto fanfictions!
Just three steps:
1. Download and open the "Patreon" app
2. Search for "Tans Novel"
3. Click on the collection and enjoy to your heart's content
<><><><><><><><>