"Huh? The Uchiha are actually standing behind a little kid?"
"Wait… isn't that the chatterbox?"
"No way—this is one of the so-called 'Twin Disgraces' of the Uchiha, that loudmouth brat. Why's he at the front?"
"Damn—look at his eyes. Three tomoe!"
The moment Kai appeared, the clan heads and ANBU couldn't help whispering among themselves.
But as the murmurs continued, they slowly fell silent.
It seemed… they had underestimated this so-called Uchiha chatterbox.
Step. Step. Step.
Kai walked on a path of moonlight and stopped at the front of the formation, facing the Hokage Tower.
His small frame radiated a suffocating pressure.
His gaze swept past the Third Hokage's ashen face, lingered briefly on the frozen greed etched onto Koharu's expression—
And finally settled on the "corpse" lying on the ground.
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
"Lord Danzō, this isn't really a place to take a nap."
Napping my ass.
Koharu Utatane's face darkened instantly. She raised a finger and pointed straight at Kai, shouting:
"Impudent! Uchiha brat, what do you think you're doing?!"
"Surrounding the Hokage Tower with armed men—are you trying to rebel against the village?!"
Her voice was sharp and cutting, desperately trying to seize the moral high ground.
Yet when she met those crimson three-tomoe eyes—
She still subconsciously took half a step back.
"Rebel against the village?"
Kai slowly turned his head, a cold curve forming at the corner of his mouth.
"Since when does Danzō represent the village?"
"Or is it you—Koharu Utatane—who represents Konoha?"
"We're here to set things right."
"To execute the thieves who hollowed out Konoha's foundations and slaughtered their own comrades—village traitors."
"Nonsense!" Koharu shrieked. "Utter slander! Hiruzen—give the order! Suppress these rebels immediately!"
At her words, Sarutobi Hiruzen drew a deep breath.
Veins bulged on the hand gripping his pipe.
But when his eyes swept over the murderous Uchiha elite, he hesitated.
Clashing head-on with this many Uchiha…?
No.
The cost would be far too great.
"Uchiha Kai," the Third Hokage said gravely after a pause, "put down your weapons. Let's talk."
"Before things truly reach the point of no return between Konoha and the Uchiha."
"Talk?" Kai scoffed.
His gaze sharpened like a blade as he suddenly raised his hand and pointed at Danzō's "body," guarded behind Root.
"Talk with a dog who stole my clan's bloodline and used Uchiha eyes as extra lives?"
"Or talk with these two parasites whose minds are filled with embezzlement and carving up Konoha's corpse?!"
"You're slandering us!" Koharu and Homura trembled with rage. "We are Hokage advisors—how dare you smear us!"
Their voices had grown shrill and hysterical—
Like people whose secrets had been stabbed clean through.
Oh? There's more to this?
The clan heads immediately restrained themselves, choosing to watch.
Hyūga Hiashi even nodded heavily.
If nothing else, even the Hyūga had suffered losses in Konoha's finances.
Many clan inheritances had vanished without explanation.
At the time, he assumed they hadn't pursued the matter closely.
Now it seemed they hadn't vanished at all—
They'd been swallowed by someone using the village as cover.
Seeing this, even the Third Hokage frowned unconsciously.
Had there really been problems with Konoha's finances?
And what did "using Uchiha eyes as extra lives" even mean?
Just as he was about to speak, a gust of wind passed in front of him.
"Those who are truly impudent… are you."
"Tonight, Konoha will see the true faces of its so-called leadership."
Before the words finished—
Kai's figure had already flashed past the crowd, charging straight into Root's encirclement.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several elite Root operatives were sent flying like they'd been smashed by a giant hammer.
"Stop him!" a Root squad leader roared, eyes splitting with fury.
But—
Too late.
Kai moved like lightning, planting one foot squarely on Danzō's head—
Even twisting the sole slightly.
"You little bastard! How dare you!!!"
Seeing this, Koharu—his longtime ally—finally lost control. As she screamed, she turned and roared at the ANBU behind her:
"What are you waiting for?! Attack!"
Whoosh!
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
More than ten shuriken shot out instantly.
Crack!
But as they neared Kai—
They stopped.
The Root elites' faces changed as realization hit.
"Damn it—he can reflect—"
Whoosh!
Before the warning could finish, the shuriken snapped back at full speed.
Pshhk!
One ANBU reacted too slowly and was pierced clean through.
"T-This ability… is it from those eyes?"
"But powers like this only appear after the Sharingan evolves further—"
"How could Kai possibly—?"
Watching this, the Third Hokage's brow creased so deeply it looked fit to raise fish.
As one of Konoha's longest-lived shinobi—
And the Second Hokage's student—
He knew many of the Uchiha's secrets.
Including the Mangekyō.
Yet he never imagined that at such a young age, Kai had already awakened it—
And possessed such a unique dōjutsu.
"Haa…"
He exhaled slowly, his right hand tightening around the pipe.
The wavering in his heart began to tilt.
The Uchiha's power… was simply too terrifying.
If this continued, Konoha might win—
But it would be a victory soaked in mutual destruction.
With that thought, he raised his head and signaled the ANBU to halt.
Stepping forward once more, he spoke in a low voice:
"Kai… perhaps we really can talk."
"You don't want Konoha to suffer catastrophic losses, do you?"
He stressed the words our Konoha, trying to awaken the boy's supposed innocence.
"I still remember when you were little—you were a very lovable child."
"Have you been misled? I know Danzō—he may be stubborn, but everything he does is for Konoha."
In his mind, the Uchiha also produced children like Itachi and Shisui.
And Kai—he'd seen him grow up.
A boy who could have carried on the Will of Fire.
"For Konoha?"
Kai repeated softly, lowering his head as he ground Danzō's skull beneath his foot.
Curiously, he asked,
"Is that true, trash?"
Silence.
Danzō lay there as if truly dead.
But Kai knew better.
Ever since Orochimaru defected—and after absorbing parts of his research—
Danzō had been obsessively seeking the Sharingan.
Especially from Uchiha whose fates on the battlefield were uncertain.
"You really can endure," Kai said lightly.
"Then what if—I crush your head right now?"
He smiled and suddenly raised his right foot.
Chakra surged—enough to shatter boulders—
And stomped down.
This kick could split mountains.
"STOP!!!"
The Third Hokage finally couldn't hold back.
Danzō couldn't die.
He was still a crucial pillar of Hiruzen's rule.
But just as he moved—
Something changed.
Under Kai's foot—
The Danzō who had been playing dead suddenly erupted into motion.
He could no longer pretend.
Hand seals flashed as he sucked in a sharp breath.
Wind Release: Vacuum Bullets!
Shoom!
Chakra compressed in his mouth and burst outward.
Puh-puh-puh!
White air bullets sprayed like machine-gun fire toward Kai.
"Can't keep pretending anymore, trash?"
Kai's expression was disdainful as he ignored the wind and continued stomping down.
Pshhk!
Pshhk!
The razor-sharp wind blades slammed into his foot—
And left not a single mark.
They didn't even scuff his shoe.
"Blocking Danzō's Wind Release… with pure flesh?!"
Koharu and Homura stiffened, their eyes suddenly much clearer.
They knew that technique well.
Vacuum Bullets could shred flesh—and even ordinary Earth Release couldn't block it.
The Third Hokage's pupils contracted sharply.
"A Mangekyō dōjutsu that specializes in physical dominance…"
"That's rare…"
After a brief pause, the hands behind his back began forming seals slowly.
"If it's a contest of physical power…"
"Then I'll have to rely on you—Enma."
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