"Uchiha Ryūjin, how dare you lay a hand on me?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi scrambled up from the ground, his face filled with shock and disbelief as he stared at Ryūjin.
Not only did this ninja dare to show him disrespect, he even attacked him directly.
And that attack, a slap across the face, was nothing short of humiliation.
Hiruzen's worldview nearly collapsed.
"So what if I attacked you?" Ryūjin dusted off his hands, speaking casually, as if it meant nothing.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Several figures flashed into the Hokage's office. The ANBU responsible for security had arrived, drawn by the disturbance.
"Hokage-sama, what happened?"
An ANBU operative knelt on one knee and spoke in a low voice.
"This man has betrayed Konoha. He attempted to assassinate me and committed treason. Seize him immediately," Hiruzen ordered.
Shock flickered behind the ANBU masks. Someone dared to assassinate the Hokage?
In an instant, they surrounded Ryūjin using the Body Flicker Technique.
"Hiruzen, think carefully. Act recklessly, and people will die."
Ryūjin did not even glance at them. His eyes remained fixed on Hiruzen.
"Are you threatening me?" Hiruzen asked coldly.
"Yes."
One word, sharp and direct.
Hiruzen's expression darkened.
"Take him down. Dead or alive."
The ANBU moved at once, charging from all directions.
"Fools."
Ryūjin curled his lip and entered Sage Mode instantly.
"Chidori Current."
Crackling lightning erupted around him.
Pop, pop, pop.
Every ANBU that rushed forward was struck down in seconds, their bodies collapsing under the overwhelming current.
The entire exchange lasted less than half a minute.
Hiruzen's face changed as realization struck him.
"This Lightning Release… You are the Uchiha who appeared with Obito Uchiha. It was you!"
There was no mistake.
The power, the identity, the technique, it all matched.
Cold sweat formed on his back.
During Kushina's childbirth, this man had already displayed monstrous strength. A single individual capable of destroying a hidden village.
Even Hiruzen could not remain calm.
"Yeah, that was me," Ryūjin said casually. "I warned you already. Now, it seems I must kill you."
Hiruzen steadied himself quickly. He stared at Ryūjin with sharp eyes.
"You've hidden in the village all this time despite your strength. What do you want?"
"Why explain anything to someone who's about to die?"
Ryūjin's eyes shifted into the Mangekyō Sharingan.
A chill ran down Hiruzen's spine.
Not good.
He immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to retreat.
Crack.
Even so, his right arm was severed at the shoulder.
The invisible force struck without warning.
Long-range Kamui.
Ryūjin had aimed for his head, but Hiruzen's reflexes saved him at the last moment.
"As expected of the Hokage," Ryūjin said with genuine interest.
To Hiruzen, it sounded like mockery.
He was the Hokage, praised as the strongest, master of all five chakra natures, a legend in the ninja world.
Yet now, he had lost an arm in a single exchange.
Still, Hiruzen understood the gap between them.
Fighting was pointless.
Survival was the only option.
He threw a giant shuriken toward Ryūjin.
Mid-air, it split into dozens of smaller shuriken, raining down rapidly.
Cling, clang.
Ryūjin activated close-range Kamui. The shuriken passed straight through his body and struck the wall behind him.
Hiruzen used that moment to rush toward the window.
Trying to escape.
"You think you're getting away?"
Ryūjin's eyes shifted again, this time into the Rinnegan.
"Universal Pull."
A powerful force dragged Hiruzen backward.
His body was yanked through the air against his will.
Ryūjin formed a black receiver and drove it straight through Hiruzen's chest.
A dull impact echoed.
Then he tossed the body aside like trash.
"You… you…"
Hiruzen raised a trembling hand, but before he could finish, his life faded.
The Third Hokage was dead.
Ryūjin showed no hesitation.
After years of staying hidden and growing stronger, he now stood at the peak of the ninja world.
Anyone who threatened him, even the Hokage, would be eliminated.
"Someone's coming."
He sensed several chakra signatures approaching quickly.
More ANBU.
Without delay, he activated Kamui and vanished.
Moments later, ANBU forces rushed into the office.
They froze at the sight.
Hiruzen's body lay on the ground.
"Hokage-sama!"
One operative rushed forward to check his pulse, his hands shaking.
"Hokage-sama has been killed."
Silence fell.
Shock spread across every face.
That night, Konoha would not sleep.
---
The news was secretly delivered to Konoha's top officials.
Homura Mitokado, the advisors, the heads of the Ino Shika Cho clans, and the Hyuga clan gathered in the Hokage's office.
The Uchiha clan was not informed.
Suspicion already pointed in their direction.
"What exactly happened?"
Even these experienced leaders were shaken upon seeing the body.
"Kakashi, your ANBU squad arrived first. Report everything."
Kakashi Hatake stepped forward.
"We were stationed near the Hokage building. Shortly after Hiashi Hyuga left, we heard sounds of combat."
"We entered immediately, but by then, the Hokage was already dead. The other ANBU had also been killed."
The room fell silent.
No clear clues.
No witnesses.
"Did you see anyone suspicious?" Shikaku Nara asked.
"No."
"Anyone leaving the area?"
Kakashi shook his head again.
The atmosphere grew heavier.
Shikaku studied the scene carefully before speaking.
"The ANBU were taken down instantly by a Lightning Release technique."
"The Hokage only had time to use the Shadow Clone Shuriken Technique before being killed."
"The attacker's strength far exceeds the Hokage's."
Everyone already understood this.
Still, hearing it confirmed made it worse.
Shikaku continued.
"Look at the wall. The shuriken are embedded evenly. They were not deflected."
"There are only two explanations. Either the Hokage missed, which is impossible, or the attacker avoided every single one without touching them."
"This level of evasion cannot be achieved with the Body Flicker Technique."
He paused.
Two techniques came to mind.
Or rather, one person.
The others exchanged glances.
They had reached the same conclusion.
"Only two abilities match this," Homura said slowly. "Minato Namikaze's Flying Thunder God, or that Uchiha's intangibility technique."
"Combined with the Lightning Release, the culprit is most likely the same man who attacked Konoha with Obito."
The room grew tense.
Trust in the Uchiha clan dropped even further.
At that moment, Hiashi Hyuga spoke.
"Where is Uchiha Ryūjin?"
"I remember clearly. After I left, he was the only one who remained here."
___
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