Kawasaki finally let out a long breath. He'd rushed back from outside the village at full tilt, not resting for even a moment.
At least Shisui's life had been saved.
Getting stronger was also his insurance for survival. First things first: claim that Mangekyō.
As soon as he hit "Claim," a cold, shadowy chakra flowed into Uchiha Kawasaki's eyes.
So this was Yin-Release chakra?
And Susanoo unlocked early on top of that?
He still had no idea what his personal eye techniques were, though.
The Uchiha who had come with him to rescue Shisui all gathered together. When they saw Shisui's empty eye sockets, the whole group exploded.
Who still dared touch the Uchiha's reverse scale like this? It was an intolerable humiliation!
"Bastards! How dare they steal our Uchiha's eyes!"
"To injure Shisui this badly—we can't let them off!"
"Elder! Who attacked Shisui?!"
As Kawasaki's vision sharpened, his sensory ability rose with it.
He snapped his head around, glaring at the trees behind the gathered clansmen.
From the woods came the rush of footsteps. In a blink, four Anbu in white cloaks burst out.
The lead operative had barely emerged when he saw the mass of Uchiha standing by the riverbank—
And his carefully hunted target lying on the ground receiving treatment.
But why were there so many Uchiha here?!
He made a quick hand signal, ordering the three behind him to stop.
"Root!"
Every Uchiha's gaze hardened. They knew exactly what that organization was.
Almost at the same time, everyone reached the same conclusion.
Shisui must have been attacked by Root.
Blades flashed out of their sheaths as the Uchiha rushed the Root operatives.
The Root squad leader at the front felt his heart sink. Among the dozen Uchiha, three possessed three-tomoe Sharingan. These were all elites.
Reinforcements would never arrive in time.
Lord Danzō's will had to be carried out to the bitter end.
The squad leader signaled again. The three behind him also wore expressions of grim resolve.
Instead of retreating, the four of them charged straight toward the Uchiha.
They kept shifting formation, making it hard to read their intentions.
Soon, the two sides closed in.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Two Uchiha rapidly flashed through hand seals.
Before the clash of blades, they used Great Fireball as a feint.
Their bodies rode the flames, closing in fast.
The other Uchiha hurled volleys of shuriken.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
The Root operatives quickly worked together to raise an earth wall, blocking the Great Fireballs and the shuriken, hiding behind it.
When they leapt out again, they flung dozens of explosive tags.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
At that distance, explosions meant mutual destruction at best.
The Uchiha staggered out of the smoke in disarray.
They hadn't expected Root to be this vicious.
The Root operatives were in even worse shape, having been closer to the blasts. All four were badly wounded, yet they still threw themselves forward like men prepared to die.
Just then, the Root squad leader was suddenly sliced into smoke by an Uchiha's blade.
Not good—Shadow Clone!
With a pop, the ground exploded, and he erupted out of it, his body plastered with sizzling explosive tags.
He hurled himself toward the prone Shisui with the determination of someone burning every bridge behind him.
"Let's die together!!"
At that moment, only Izumi and Kawasaki were standing next to Shisui; the other Uchiha were too far to help in time.
BOOOOM!!
The massive explosion blasted even the other Uchiha away.
"Elder!"
"Elder!"
When the smoke finally cleared, a gigantic golden skeletal frame stood shielding Shisui and Izumi behind it.
Surging chakra roared outward like a tornado.
Arms folded across his chest, Kawasaki stood at the center, the pattern of his Mangekyō Sharingan slowly turning in his eyes.
"W-What is that?!"
"S-Susanoo…!"
"Is that the legendary divine power of the Uchiha?"
"Elder has a Mangekyō Sharingan?!"
…
It really does look like a giant mecha. Kawasaki nodded in satisfaction. If only it were an Eternal Mangekyō that never went blind.
He treasured his ocular power. Now that the crisis had passed, he immediately closed his Mangekyō.
His eyes had only just powered up; he didn't even know what his individual eye techniques were yet. It was a blessing that Susanoo came pre-unlocked.
…
Back in the Uchiha compound, the clan's fighting members gradually gathered.
Clansmen bearing the Uchiha fan crest on their backs ran back and forth, strapping on gear and donning combat uniforms with feverish excitement.
The Fourth Elder, Uchiha Yohei, licked his dry lips.
He had no idea how many Uchiha would die tonight. Could they really pull this off?
Ordinary Uchiha were uneasy. Just the thought of possibly fighting the village made their hearts pound.
The Third Elder, Uchiha Takuya, couldn't hide the excitement on his face. "Clan Head, all combat personnel are ready! Please give the order!"
Fugaku clenched his fists. "We'll wait for Elder Kawasaki to return first."
Konoha had probably already begun to move.
…
Just as Fugaku had predicted, the moment the Uchiha started mobilizing, the news leaked.
Not to mention that all the tall buildings surrounding the Uchiha compound were packed with Anbu.
The Third Hokage quietly set down his pipe. "What's the situation?"
The Anbu operative bowed his head. "All Uchiha combat personnel are assembled. Uchiha Kawasaki and thirteen clansmen are unaccounted for.
"Uchiha Shisui is missing. Uchiha Itachi is missing as well."
The Third fell silent. He truly did not want it to come to this.
It seemed Shisui had failed—or rather…
With a sigh, the Third made up his mind, his expression turning firm.
He took off his Hokage cloak, revealing the combat gear already worn underneath.
"Pass down the order. Put the entire village under emergency alert.
"Notify every clan head. Gather all jōnin and elite jōnin and surround the Uchiha compound."