The entrance to the Uchiha clan compound was already packed with people.
Many had been dragged out of bed in the middle of the night.
Yet the Uchiha clan's foundation was still solid—once they heard that a major battle was imminent, everyone quickly completed their combat preparations and rushed out.
Standing at the front of the assembled clan were Fugaku, the First Elder, the Second Elder, and the Third Elder.
The First Elder's gaze was sharp as he waited patiently.
The Second and Third Elders wore ugly expressions.
They had once devoted themselves to advocating peaceful coexistence with Konoha.
And now, Danzō had issued an order to exterminate the Uchiha, with Root operatives already infiltrating the outskirts of their clan territory.
The sensation was like being slapped in the face dozens of times, left and right.
The more they learned, the more terrified they became.
They had never imagined the Uchiha clan was already standing at such a dangerous precipice.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Footsteps sounded as Itachi returned alone.
He landed at the front of the formation.
Instantly, angry shouts erupted.
"Uchiha Itachi! You dare betray the clan?!"
"Uchiha Itachi, you traitor!"
Itachi looked numb and exhausted.
There were still traces of blood around his eyes.
He seemed not to hear the voices around him at all.
After glancing once at Fugaku, he walked straight to the First Elder's side and stopped.
A bitter smile appeared on Fugaku's face.
With things having turned out this way, he bore undeniable responsibility.
The First Elder swept his authoritative gaze across the clan.
The noise immediately died down.
As the most hardline hawkish elder with real power, the First Elder had earned his authority through countless battles.
Despite his white hair and beard, his body was strong, and dressed in full battle gear, he radiated killing intent—an overwhelming presence.
He didn't speak.
And no one else dared to.
Before long, Ufeng descended together with Izumi.
All eyes turned toward them.
Ufeng grabbed Izumi and pushed her straight into Itachi's arms, saying as he did:
"You weren't threatened by Konoha. Sasuke's been rescued, and Izumi too—I saved her."
Itachi froze for a moment.
Izumi had already thrown herself into his arms like a fledgling bird returning to its nest.
Grievance, fear, gratitude—under the impact of so many emotions, Izumi was already in tears.
"Itachi… w-wuwuwu…"
Itachi's body stiffened slightly as he looked at Ufeng.
Ufeng merely gave him a look that said: You handle it.
At a moment like this, Itachi said nothing, only tightening his embrace around Izumi.
Seeing Itachi's bond value continuing to rise, Ufeng felt reassured.
Good. This works.
He glanced once at Fugaku—who was little more than a figurehead at this point—then stepped to the very front and spoke aloud:
"Tonight, the Uchiha have no coup."
"We are merely repelling an invasion by Danzō and Root."
"Do you understand?"
The Uchiha were already in combat mode.
Their intelligence might not have increased, but as ninja, their basic discipline was intact.
"We understand!"
Even if they didn't fully understand why, they knew that now was the time to follow orders.
…
"Our objective in this battle is to hunt down Root operatives—not to attack Konoha."
"Itachi, the clan head, and I will serve as the vanguard."
"With our Susanoo, we will sweep away every Root member."
Aside from the First Elder, everyone else showed visible shock.
Low murmurs rippled through the crowd.
They all understood what that meant.
The clan head.
The clan head's son.
The Fourth Elder.
All three were Mangekyō Sharingan users.
Fugaku was stunned—he hadn't known Ufeng possessed the Mangekyō.
Itachi was equally shocked—Ufeng even knew that his father also had the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Ufeng offered no explanation.
He simply formed a tactical hand sign and moved out first.
Itachi gently released Izumi and whispered to her:
"Go stay toward the back of the formation."
Izumi knew he had serious matters to attend to and could only say softly:
"Be careful, Itachi."
Itachi nodded slightly and followed after Ufeng.
The First Elder gave Fugaku a cold look.
Fugaku clenched his teeth and followed as well.
The First Elder raised his hand in a signal, leading over a hundred clan members directly behind them.
…
Hokage's Office.
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura arrived quickly.
Time was tight—the ANBU had already briefed them on what had happened on the way.
"Hiruzen, why did Itachi turn back to the Uchiha?" Koharu asked.
As one of the conspirators, she had been one of those responsible for playing the "villain" in Itachi's indoctrination.
She had thought that even if Itachi couldn't slaughter most of the Uchiha, killing a few high-ranking members would be enough to plunge the clan into chaos.
With Danzō's massive Root organization, exterminating the Uchiha should have been effortless.
She never imagined things would turn out like this.
The Third Hokage spoke grimly, "Now is not the time to discuss that."
"We don't yet know what the Uchiha intend to do."
Koharu snorted. "Isn't it obvious? Itachi has returned to the clan and even attacked Danzō. Of course it's a violent coup."
The Third Hokage glanced at Homura.
Homura hesitated before saying, "The Uchiha… probably don't dare to fight outright."
The Third Hokage tapped his pipe.
"I've already dispatched a large number of people to monitor the Uchiha's movements."
"You two go organize your forces."
"I'll notify the other clans."
With no better option, Koharu and Homura left to mobilize manpower.
The Third Hokage then instructed an ANBU operative:
"Send word to Jiraiya immediately. Tell him to return at once."
"Yes!"
The ANBU vanished.
The Third Hokage took a drag from his pipe, thinking grimly:
I wonder if we can make it through tonight…
…
Outside the Uchiha compound.
Boom!
"What is that?!"
"Ahhh!"
"Retreat! Retreat!"
Three towering Susanoo led the charge—orange-red, black, and violet-black.
Only a handful of Root operatives had ever seen Shisui's Susanoo.
How could the rest have seen something like this bulldozer of a weapon?
Blades couldn't cut it.
Ninjutsu couldn't pierce it.
Even the skeletal form of Susanoo—one punch was enough to turn a person into pulp.
So mangled that even their own mother wouldn't recognize them.
And now—
There were three of them.
Root, already without command, collapsed almost instantly and fled wildly toward Konoha.
Ufeng and the others had actually killed only a dozen or so with Susanoo.
But the visual impact was overwhelming.
Behind them, the Uchiha clan members howled with blood-boiling fervor, chasing after Root with unstoppable momentum.
Root had seventy to eighty members.
But with over a hundred Uchiha pressing down on them, there was no resistance at all.
They fled while dropping corpses all along the way.
Fugaku had already activated his Mangekyō Sharingan.
But over the years, he had almost never used it publicly.
This kind of exhilarating battle was a first.
Seeing his clan charging forward with such ferocity made something long dormant stir within his heart.
We have three Mangekyō… could it be that—
Ufeng's gaze remained calm.
Unlike Fugaku, he wasn't letting his blood run hot.
This one-sided situation was exactly as he had planned.
Using Susanoo as the vanguard—to crush enemy morale and boost their own, slaughtering disorganized Root operatives.
If they didn't fight like this, it would be embarrassing to call themselves Uchiha.
And he had no intention of openly turning against Konoha.
Though Itachi followed his orders and pursued Root with Susanoo,
deep down, Itachi still didn't want to go to war with the village.
He stood with his clan—
but he didn't want to slaughter civilians or spark a full-scale war.
One side fled, the other pursued.
After abandoning over forty corpses, Root finally encountered the forces organized by the Third Hokage.
Ufeng raised both hands and signaled for the pursuit to stop.
Fugaku and Itachi halted beside him.
~~---------------------
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