"With such a huge disturbance, how can I not step in?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at Shimura Danzo, his eyes filled with gloom.
The appearance of such a massive force had already caught the attention of the other major clans in Konoha. If nothing unexpected had happened, someone must have already come to investigate.
However, the Root stayed on the outskirts, and no one dared to interfere.
If he appeared now, it would not be hard to justify.
After all, when the Fourth Hokage faced the Nine-Tails alone, it already left some people dissatisfied that Hiruzen didn't intervene. This time, the situation had been going on long enough. If he didn't show up now, it would be even harder to defend.
"Heh... You don't need to get involved. This will end soon enough!" Danzo replied confidently. "Today, the Uchiha clan will be destroyed. You can just sit back and watch. You can join in when it's almost over."
He was confident in the abilities of his Root ninjas, not to mention having the powerful Itachi Uchiha on his side.
"Heh? It will end soon? Haven't you noticed something odd?" Sarutobi Hiruzen sneered. Danzo was far too confident.
"Hiruzen, what are you trying to say?" Danzo frowned. He felt like there was more to Hiruzen's words.
"Someone is stopping Itachi. You know that!" Sarutobi Hiruzen responded calmly, his tone cold and silent.
"I know that!" Danzo nodded but then continued, "But who can stop Itachi when he uses Susanoo? Susanoo is like unleashing a Tailed Beast!"
Danzo didn't know the specifics of the battle, but he was sure of one thing.
No one could stop Susanoo on their own.
"...You haven't seen the terror of that black-clad assassin!" Sarutobi Hiruzen furrowed his brows, looking at the overly confident Danzo. "Through the telescopic technique, I observed that Itachi has been at a disadvantage in the fight!"
"Is Itachi, who possesses the Mangekyo Sharingan, at a disadvantage?" Shimura Danzo finally furrowed his brows, his expression serious.
This was something he hadn't anticipated!
"Yes," Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded, but his tone grew heavy. "You should be prepared for this mission to fail!"
Fail?
Upon hearing this, Danzo clenched his fists.
This time, he had mobilized almost all the elite forces of Root, and they had already suffered significant losses. Hearing that the mission had failed was something he couldn't easily accept.
"Leader."
Just as Danzo was feeling frustrated, a few bloodied figures, covered in wounds, ran out. When they saw Danzo, their eyes were filled with a grayish hue.
"What's the situation inside?" Danzo furrowed his brows, and his uneasy feeling deepened as he looked at the three escapees.
"Leader, we've failed!" One of the three said, his face full of disappointment. "When we were slaughtering the Uchiha clan, we encountered resistance from their elite ninjas. The massacre of the Uchiha clan failed!"
"Failed?" Danzo staggered, then fixed his gaze on them, speaking one word at a time. "What about 01 and 02? And the dozens of elite Root ninjas?"
Those had been the lifeblood of his Root forces over the years.
"They were all killed by the Uchiha clan. We only managed to escape from the chaos!" The person quickly responded.
"Useless, useless!" Danzo stepped forward and kicked the person who had spoken, glaring at them. "Why didn't you all die there together? How dare you return with your lives?"
Half of Root's elite forces were lost in this mission.
But, in the end, they hadn't caused much damage to the Uchiha clan—only some of their civilians were killed!
Ridiculous.
This time, Danzo might become the joke of the village.
The most critical blow? He would no longer have access to the Uchiha clan's Sharingan.
"Enough, Danzo. The losses to Root can be replenished later. Right now, we need to focus on damage control," Sarutobi Hiruzen said, his voice calm as he looked at Danzo's anger.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's words still had an effect. After he finished speaking, Danzo didn't say anything more.
There was a brief silence.
Shimura Danzo finally spoke, "So what should we do next?"
"The Uchiha clan's situation has escalated to this point. As the Hokage of Konoha, I have to go and see it for myself!" Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep breath.
At this point, it was nearly impossible to wipe out the Uchiha clan. He would try, but his main goal now was to eliminate the assassin aiding the Uchiha clan.
That person was the real threat.
"Go in?" Danzo furrowed his brows, but still nodded. "Then I'll go with you."
The two exchanged glances. They were both experienced, old foxes, and could guess each other's thoughts.
So,
They both decided to enter the Uchiha clan's compound.
However, before entering, Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered a few ROOT ninjas to infiltrate the Uchiha clan and gather the eyes of those killed from the clan. This time, he couldn't afford to leave the eyes of the Uchiha behind.
Inside the clan, Uchiha Genya stopped Itachi, keeping him from moving forward!
Along with the Uchiha clan's ninjas who continued to use jutsu to attack, their goal was clear: they had to keep Uchiha Itachi from leaving!
Today,
They would capture Uchiha Itachi to mourn their fallen clan members.
"Looks like your plan to wipe out the clan won't succeed, Itachi!" Masked Obito laughed, his tone carrying amusement.
In a flash, he appeared between Itachi and Genya!
This smile interrupted the fight between the two.
Genya's clone was also momentarily stunned and appeared next to his real body, standing side by side with Uchiha Genya, watching Masked Obito vigilantly.
If Masked Obito made a move, they would respond immediately!
"You want to fight?" Genya looked at Masked Obito and furrowed his brows, asking.
"I don't want to fight you!" Uchiha Obito shook his head, then quickly changed his tone. "However, Uchiha Itachi said he wants to join our organization, so I have to take him with me."
Obito had already confirmed Itachi's strength, and if he joined the Akatsuki, he would be a great asset in the future.
So, the masked Obito wasn't about to let Itachi go.
"Oh?"
Genya raised an eyebrow, looking at the masked Obito. "What if I don't let you?"
"Sorry, if we fight, maybe I'm not your match," Obito paused, "but if I want to run, you can't stop me!"
With that said, Obito began forming hand signs and muttered, "Wood Style: Hell's Chaos!"
{Obito was skilled in Wood Style and used it proficiently.}
In an instant,
The ground trembled as vines erupted from it, attacking the Uchiha clan members.
Of course, most of the attacks were aimed at Genya and his clones.
But these wouldn't harm Genya, yet they still hindered his attacks.
As Genya broke free from the vines, Obito was already beside Uchiha Itachi, his hand resting on Itachi's shoulder. "Goodbye, and I look forward to our next meeting."
With those words,
The two began sinking downward.
****
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