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"You blocked one strike?" Hiruzen growled. "I don't believe you can withstand hundreds!"
He moved first this time.
A sharp whoosh split the air as he used the Body Flicker Technique, appearing in front of Akira in an instant.
He raised the staff and brought it down toward Akira's head.
"Too slow."
Akira casually lifted his right hand.
He caught one end of the staff with ease.
Then his left hand clenched into a fist.
And he punched.
Bang!
The Adamantine Staff bent visibly under the blow.
"AAH!"
A cry of agony rang out as the weapon reverted to Enma's original form.
Blood spilled from the monkey king's mouth. One arm hung limp at his side. His whole body trembled.
"T-That strength… it's terrifying…"
Enma's lips shook as he stared at Akira in horror.
Hiruzen stood stunned.
The Adamantine Staff—renowned as the hardest weapon in the shinobi world. The same weapon that had once knocked the enraged Nine-Tails back hundreds of meters during the Kyuubi attack.
Bent.
By one punch.
"Be careful, Hiruzen," Enma rasped. "He's too strong. Don't fight him head-on. I'm badly injured—I'm going back."
He coughed up blood and vanished in another puff of smoke.
Akira flexed his wrist and smiled pleasantly at Hiruzen.
"Didn't that slap last time teach you anything, old man? And you still had the guts to rush me."
Hiruzen's chest tightened.
Even Enma had been forced back instantly.
Now he truly understood the gap between them.
This man… even if he wasn't quite on Uchiha Madara's level, he wasn't far off.
Hiruzen was merely Kage-tier.
Akira had already surpassed it.
This wasn't a fight an aging man could win.
Damn it. Where did the Uchiha find a monster like this?
Suppressing the fury in his heart, Hiruzen forced a strained smile.
"Sir… perhaps there has been a misunderstanding between us."
"If you want Danzo… that may not be impossible to discuss."
For the stability of Konoha—yes, for the village—he couldn't afford to provoke this man further.
If Akira wanted Danzo…
Then so be it.
Surely Danzo would understand.
"Misunderstanding?"
Akira laughed coldly.
Then—
Slap!
His hand flashed forward.
Too fast.
Hiruzen couldn't dodge.
The crack echoed louder than before.
The Third Hokage spun through the air and crashed into the already-ruined building with a thunderous boom.
Silence fell over the battlefield.
Their Hokage… slapped away again.
And this time, right in front of everyone. No sneak attack. No tricks.
Just raw dominance.
The humiliation snapped something in them.
The Konoha shinobi raised their hands in unison, forming seals.
"If you dare—!"
Jutsu erupted.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Five different nature transformations exploded into motion at once. Fire, wind, lightning, earth, water—layer upon layer of jutsu flooded the sky, blotting it out as they came crashing down on Akira from every direction.
He leapt into the air, a scornful smile tugging at his lips.
"You call that ninjutsu?" he sneered. "Let me show you what real ninjutsu looks like."
His hands flashed through seals. He inhaled, then exhaled—
A colossal fireball burst from his mouth.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.
But instead of raining destruction on the Konoha shinobi below, the blazing sphere shot straight up into the night sky.
"Huh? What's he doing?"
"Why fire it into the sky?!"
A few Konoha ninja exchanged confused glances.
Then—
The black sky churned.
Clouds rolled in from nowhere, thick and heavy, swallowing the stars. Lightning began to snake through the darkness, flickering between the clouds like restless serpents.
Akira raised his right hand. Lightning crackled in his palm.
Thunder roared.
As if summoned by an unseen command, the lightning within the clouds burst free.
In the next instant, countless bolts converged, shaping themselves into the massive head of a kirin.
Night turned to day.
"What… what is that?!"
"A divine technique? He's controlling the lightning itself!"
"What kind of monster are we fighting?!"
The Konoha shinobi stared upward in stunned terror. The attack hadn't even fallen yet, and they already felt like they couldn't breathe.
Akira's arm slashed downward.
The kirin in the sky responded instantly, roaring as it tore free from the clouds.
Lightning Release: Kirin.
"Move! Defend together! Don't let it hit the village!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi roared, one cheek still swollen from earlier blows. He didn't even spare the pain a thought anymore.
The Konoha shinobi snapped back to their senses. Hands flew through seals; palms slammed against the ground.
Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall.
A massive earthen barrier surged up from the ground, built by the combined effort of dozens of ninja.
The kirin crashed into it.
The explosion was deafening.
They managed to block it—but it drained nearly all their chakra in the process.
As Akira slowly descended from the sky, fear finally crept into their eyes.
He was just one man.
Yet the pressure he exuded felt heavier than even the Nine-Tails had back then.
"What do you want?!" Hiruzen demanded, voice sharp but restrained. "You appear in Konoha without warning and attack us—are you declaring war on the village?"
"Don't mistake a temporary advantage for the power to stand against all of Konoha alone."
"What you've seen tonight is only the tip of the iceberg! Don't force me into mutual destruction!"
He meant it.
For a fleeting moment, he even considered using the Reaper Death Seal and dragging this man down with him.
But that would be a last resort. If possible, he still wanted to end this without going that far.
"What is your purpose?" Hiruzen pressed. "Did Konoha offend you? Is there something here you want? Were you hired by another hidden village to sabotage us?"
"Say something!"
Inside, he felt a stifling humiliation. Since when had Konoha been forced to negotiate with an invader like this?
If Jiraiya and Tsunade were here… if Minato were still alive… would this man dare to run wild in their village?
"This isn't wartime," Hiruzen warned coldly. "If you rely on brute strength to cause chaos, the Five Great Nations will issue a joint bounty. There will be nowhere in the shinobi world for you to stand."
Akira's gaze was calm—too calm.
"I'm here for justice. Justice for the Uchiha."
"Tonight, Danzo led Root operatives to surround the Uchiha compound. His intentions couldn't be clearer. He plans to exterminate them."
"The Uchiha and Senju founded Konoha together. You could even say the Uchiha are among its true masters."
"And now they face annihilation."
He looked straight at Hiruzen.
"Don't tell me Danzo acted without your approval. I don't believe that for a second."
So he really is here on the Uchiha's behalf, Hiruzen thought, his heart sinking—though his face betrayed nothing.
"So that's it. Hired muscle from the Uchiha."
"I don't know what nonsense you're spouting," he replied calmly. "Danzo appeared near the compound for routine ninja drills. This so-called extermination plan is pure fabrication."
Nearly the entire village's shinobi were present. There was no way he would admit to a massacre plan.
He had a benevolent Hokage image to maintain. Personally slaughtering a clan would shatter that.
That was why he needed Itachi to bear the sin.
After a brief pause, Hiruzen continued, voice measured.
"Danzo may be… extreme in his methods. But everything he does is for Konoha. I trust he would never raise a hand against fellow villagers."
"Certainly not commit genocide."
He sighed faintly, eyes flicking toward Fugaku.
"You're powerful. It's admirable that you want to uphold justice. But you must learn to discern truth from deception. Don't let yourself be misled by one-sided claims."
His tone was almost paternal.
Around him, many Konoha shinobi nodded.
"Exterminate the Uchiha? No way."
"Danzo would never do that."
"He's devoted his life to Konoha."
"This guy's just muscle with no brain."
Fugaku's face darkened. He wanted to speak, to expose the rot between Hiruzen and Danzo—but words failed him. In a battle of rhetoric, he was no match for that old fox.
Akira let out a cold laugh.
"Old man, twisting the truth is still your specialty."
"Watch your words," Hiruzen replied firmly. "Everything I've said is the truth. If you have no proof, don't slander."
He felt secure. What evidence could a brute possibly produce?
"Proof?" Akira's smile widened. "Fine. I'll give you proof."
He vanished.
In the next instant, he reappeared—dragging someone with him.
A figure wrapped in bandages from head to toe.
Danzo Shimura.
Danzo had already learned his lesson. This time, he didn't shout. He simply glared at Akira with naked hatred.
Akira grabbed the bandages around his head and tore them off.
He forced Danzo's head up so everyone could see.
"Old man," Akira barked, staring straight at Hiruzen. "Look closely. What is this?"
Danzo's right eye was exposed.
Even clouded and grayish, it was unmistakable.
A Sharingan.
The crowd erupted.
"That's a Sharingan!"
"Danzo! Why does he have one of ours?!"
"He must've attacked our clan in secret!"
"That's a Mangekyō! Shisui awakened one before he disappeared—"
"It was him. He killed Shisui!"
Scarlet eyes flared all around as Uchiha after Uchiha activated their Sharingan. Killing intent thickened the air.
"Didn't you just swear Danzo would never harm a fellow villager?" Akira's voice rang out. "Then explain where that Sharingan came from."
"And not just any Sharingan. That's the Mangekyō of Shisui Uchiha."
"In the Third Shinobi War, Shisui fought for Konoha. He was a hero."
"And how did Konoha repay him? Poisoned by its own higher-ups. His eyes torn out. Dying with hatred in his heart."
"Is this what Konoha leadership calls protecting its people? Making heroes bleed—and then making them weep?"
He locked eyes with Hiruzen.
"There's only one of Shisui's eyes here. The other one—"
"I have every reason to believe it's in your possession."
"Don't pretend you're innocent in his death."
His voice carried across the entire field.
The accusation, combined with the undeniable sight of the Sharingan in Danzo's socket, struck like a slap to Hiruzen's face.
Moments ago, he had sworn Danzo would never harm a comrade.
Now, the evidence stood before them—raw and impossible to ignore.
Shock rippled through the crowd.
"This… that really is the Sharingan. The eyes of the Uchiha clan. Why would Elder Danzō have them?"
"Danzō, of all people. A village elder, and he actually attacked a fellow Konoha shinobi. That's unforgivable."
"Lord Third, what is going on?"
"What that man said… is it true? Was Uchiha Shisui really poisoned by Lord Third and Lord Danzō working together?"
"D-Don't tell me… the Lord Third we've always respected is the kind of man who would secretly kill a hero of the village?"
…
At that moment, countless eyes turned toward Hiruzen.
Some were full of doubt. Some disbelief. Some outright denial. Others wavered in uneasy silence.
Everyone wanted a clear answer from the Third Hokage.
As for Danzō, the disgust was already there.
No one had imagined that one of Konoha's highest officials would lay hands on a hero of the village. The way they looked at him now, it was as if he were a rat crawling out of a sewer. Revolting.
In the span of a breath, Danzō had become public enemy number one.
Exactly what Akira wanted.
Killing Danzō outright would be too easy.
Akira wanted him to live as a street rat, cursed and despised by all, rotting in endless misery for the rest of his days.
…
At the same time, the filth lurking within Konoha's leadership had been dragged into the open.
The villagers' faith in the Hokage wavered. Just a little, but enough.
Damn it!
Hiruzen clenched his teeth inwardly. He had never expected the darkness within Konoha's upper ranks to be exposed so brazenly.
"Sir, do not slander me!" Hiruzen retorted immediately. "How could I possibly harm a hero of Konoha?
I knew nothing of Uchiha Shisui's death. I was kept in the dark as well."
He turned to Danzō with a look of shock, his expression perfectly stricken.
"Danzō… I never imagined you were this kind of person.
Uchiha Shisui was a hero who rendered great service to Konoha. How could you attack him?"
He sighed, grief and regret painted across his face, as if he truly lamented having misjudged an old comrade.
"Haha! I killed Uchiha Shisui myself."
Danzō admitted it with a loud laugh.
Hm?
Akira's brows drew together slightly.
Was Danzō trying to bite the Third back instead?
"..."
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