Information spread through the village like a tightening web.
Every second, the news traveled further.
Chiba had learned the truth.
Chiba had stormed the ANBU detention block.
Chiba had emerged drenched in blood.
Chiba was heading straight for ANBU headquarters.
The surviving ANBU had already reported everything to their commander—
Sarutobi Shinnosuke.
And to the Third Hokage.
Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen and the shadowed figure standing behind him—Danzo Shimura—reacted sharply.
"What?!"
"This is outrageous…"
"Uchiha Chiba has completely lost all restraint!"
Danzo, though uninvolved, quickly pieced together the situation.
"So… framing his subordinates, then using it to pressure Uchiha Fugaku."
"That was Shinnosuke's doing, I assume?"
"A clever move on the surface."
"But far too soft."
Hiruzen shot him a sharp glare.
"What are you implying?"
Danzo's voice was cold.
"Leaving the roots uncut invites future trouble."
"If he set the trap, he should have eliminated the problem immediately."
"Instead, he left survivors and detained Fugaku without finishing the matter."
"All he's done is inflame the Uchiha even further."
Hiruzen's jaw tightened.
"Enough, Danzo."
Danzo fell silent.
Though a faint smile lingered unseen in the shadows.
The ANBU messenger knelt stiffly on the floor, not daring to speak.
Hiruzen slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke from his pipe.
"I will go to ANBU headquarters myself."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Across the village, clan leaders and powerful figures soon heard the news.
Just as before—
Most chose silence.
Watching from a distance.
Waiting.
At ANBU headquarters—
Chiba arrived at a run.
Waiting for him stood a full formation.
Twenty-three ANBU operatives.
At the front—
Sarutobi Shinnosuke.
His expression burned with fury.
"Stop!"
His shout cracked through the air.
Chiba halted calmly.
He swept his gaze across them.
Elite operatives.
Far stronger than the guards in the detention block.
With Shinnosuke himself among them, this was a force capable of overwhelming most battlefields.
Yet Chiba stood alone.
Blade in hand.
Completely unshaken.
Shinnosuke stepped forward.
"Uchiha Chiba!"
"What did you do in the detention block?!"
Chiba's voice was flat.
"I removed a few people."
"How many?!"
Chiba actually paused to think.
"Two guards."
"Seven conspirators."
"One Kirigakure spy."
"Ten."
Shinnosuke's face went pale before rage surged back.
"You slaughtered ten ANBU?!"
"You've lost your mind!"
"ANBU—eliminate him!"
"Yes, Captain!"
Chiba let out a faint, humorless laugh.
"Lost my mind?"
"You mean unlike the ANBU…"
"Who conspired with a foreign spy to frame Konoha shinobi?"
The atmosphere froze.
Chiba continued calmly.
"Why were your men unmasked during 'official business'?"
"Why was the spy's chakra conveniently unsealed when it mattered?"
"Why could she strike with such precision against my subordinates?"
Shinnosuke sneered.
"You have no proof."
Chiba's gaze remained icy.
"No."
"I don't."
"Your witnesses are gone."
"Every single one."
Shinnosuke's fury exploded.
"Then you admit to baseless slander and murder!"
"Murder?"
Chiba's chakra erupted violently.
Scarlet Sharingan blazed like burning embers.
"As ANBU commander…"
"Conspiring with an enemy shinobi and framing your own comrades…"
"That is the crime worthy of judgment."
In the next heartbeat—
Chiba moved.
Lightning exploded along the edge of his blade as he cut straight toward Shinnosuke.
Even with an elite squad behind him, Shinnosuke did not retreat.
He drew his sword.
Chakra spiraled around its edge, forming slicing wind currents.
Clash—!!!
Thunder and wind collided violently.
The ground shattered beneath them.
Lightning scorched the earth black as trenches tore outward.
Shinnosuke's eyes widened in shock.
"What is this technique—?!"
The impact sent him hurtling backward.
He crashed into the ground, carving a crater as he landed.
"Captain!"
The ANBU roared in fury.
From every direction—
They charged.
And another battle ignited.
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