"Itachi's inside? Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Uchiha Fugaku slammed down his teacup and stood up, raising his voice with feigned urgency. He looked displeased, clearly blaming Uchiha Mikoto for not informing him sooner.
Mikoto played along, putting on a timid expression. She lowered her head, looking flustered and at a loss. But deep inside, she thought: Oh? Yelling at me now? You're dead meat tonight. Not even Itachi can save you. I said what I said.
Fugaku caught her expression and felt a chill run through him. He quickly turned to Hyuga Hiashi and said, "Hiashi-kun, if you'll excuse me—I'll go ahead. Itachi just became clan head and he's already acting out. My apologies."
"I understand completely," Hiashi replied as he stood, also preparing to take his leave.
"You're always welcome to visit." The two walked out of the Uchiha compound together.
"Of course, of course."
Watching Fugaku and the Uchiha clan members walk off, Hiashi suddenly realized what he had meant earlier by "a couple drinks now, a couple more later."
It meant:
First take out Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura… then deal with Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado.
The Four Elders—every last one of them.
The Four Noble Clans—no survivors.
Fugaku had dared to share such a bold plan with him—that meant they were already nearly certain of success.
And with the Inuzuka and Aburame clans involved—clans naturally gifted with keen senses and intuition—it proved they had already sensed victory on the horizon. That's why they chose to take the gamble.
Hissss.
So... the Uchiha Clan was about to rise?
Hiashi swallowed hard and turned to a fellow Hyuga, asking, "Did you get a clear look just now?"
"Yeah, I saw them clearly. The ones in black cloaks had ridiculously massive chakra. I'm sure—they're the Uchihas who helped wipe out the Shimura clan today."
"Exactly. Not one of them had chakra below Kage-level. The pressure I felt from them was even heavier than what I've felt from the Third Hokage, the Legendary Sannin, or even the Fourth," one Hyuga jonin said, exhaling deeply with lingering fear in his voice.
"So you're saying the Uchiha Clan has at least five at Super-Kage level?" Hiashi said gravely.
"Yeah. That's right," several Hyuga jonin hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded.
"Looks like the Uchiha Clan has been hiding deep. Even after Uchiha Shisui's death, they still have this many elite fighters... In that case—have the ANBU members from our clan put on their masks and come with me!
The rest of you, go gather the others.
We're heading to the Leaf Village plaza!
Tell them—whoever the Uchihas are killing, you kill them too!"
Hiashi's eyes gleamed coldly as he gave the order.
"Yes, sir!!"
Whoosh!
A Hyuga shinobi vanished on the spot, rushing to mobilize their forces.
...
Konoha Plaza
The Sarutobi clan's ANBU and the Root were locked in a deadly battle, bodies strewn across the ground.
Inside the Four Violet Flames Formation, the moment Sarutobi Hiruzen was seen gravely injured, the morale of Danzo's Root skyrocketed.
Seeing the corpses of his own clansmen, Hiruzen's eyes turned bloodshot with fury. He hadn't expected that even after so many of the Shimura clan had been killed, Danzo still had so many elite Shimura clan shinobi hidden within Root. That snake had really kept his secrets well.
No wonder taking down the Shimura clan seemed so easy… All their real strength was hidden away!
"Hiruzen! Still getting distracted in a fight with me? You think I'm still the same man I was before?" Danzo seized the opening and launched a brutal kick at Hiruzen's face.
Whack!
Hiruzen spun through the air like a ragdoll and crashed to the ground.
"Hokage-sama, should we swap out?"
Uchiha Itachi and Kakashi broke from the battle to shield Hiruzen, calling out urgently.
Struggling to his feet, Hiruzen wiped the blood and dirt off his face. His expression darkened. "…."
He knew Danzo had done it on purpose. The man could've killed him—but instead, he aimed for public humiliation.
He wanted to shame him.
Looking to the side—
Even with his left eye gone, Kakashi was holding his own evenly against Orochimaru.
And Itachi—only thirteen years old—was trading blow for blow with Reanimated Minato thanks to his Sharingan's keen perception.
Kakashi and Itachi were putting on a show, while he was the one getting his ass kicked.
Hiruzen began to question his entire life. Am I really this weak now?
Am I only good for using Reaper Death Seal, hoping to take one—or maybe two—down with me?
"Itachi, Kakashi—give up. Hiruzen isn't worth it," Danzo said, taking the role of victor as he tried to persuade them again.
"Look—Sarutobi's ANBU are almost wiped out."
Root, riding high on their morale, were tearing through the Sarutobi forces, killing them mercilessly. The ground ran red with blood.
"If you keep being stubborn, I'll have no choice but to target the Hatake and Uchiha clans next," Danzo warned, voice icy.
"Don't push me."
Itachi smirked coldly. Orochimaru and Reanimated Minato are mine—you're the one who shouldn't push your luck.
"Clan Head Itachi!"
The Uchiha Police Force were near their breaking point.
They were the proud Uchiha Clan… yet here they were, helping that corrupt Hiruzen to suppress civilians?!
They were the Konoha Police Force! They were supposed to uphold justice—arrest monsters like the Sarutobi clan, not assist them!
Why were they playing the villain?
"You Uchihas are just a bunch of dumb brutes! So rigid! Can't even read the room!"
"Any idiot can see that Sarutobi Hiruzen's finished! And you're still clinging to his coattails. You'll regret it when Lord Danzo comes for you next!"
"You're stuck in the past! Clinging to outdated rules instead of reform! Pathetic!"
"Police Force? More like Public Enemy! No wonder everyone hates you!"
"Serves you right. You brought this on yourselves."
One villager after another cursed them out, especially a group of older women—hurling vulgar insults with no restraint.
The Uchiha were seething with self-doubt under the verbal assault.
"Damn it, I can't take this anymore!"
"I'll kill you all!"
"Aaaaagh!"
One after another, furious Uchiha clan members let out blood-curdling roars. The blood vessels in their eyes pulsed—and then, in that very moment, the unawakened Uchiha—men and women alike—triggered their Sharingan.
The catalyst?
A fellow clan member had his face clawed open by one of the old women. That sharp emotional blow caused the floodgates to burst open.
Faced with the sudden, synchronized awakening of the Sharingan, the once-aggressive villagers felt a chill in their hearts and began to back away in fear.
"Heh heh heh…"
Members of the Konoha Police Force drew their swords in unison.
Their crimson, bloodthirsty eyes glinted with menace.
When the Uchiha go wild… they don't blink when they kill.
Nobody wants to provoke a bunch of madmen infected with "red eye syndrome."
That's just asking to die.
Seeing this, Hiruzen's heart sank.
Damn it… The Uchiha walked right into Danzo's trap!
Danzo's eyes lit up with satisfaction. He'd been trying to provoke the Uchiha into making the first move—and now, they'd done it themselves.
The moment they attacked villagers, Danzo would have a perfect, righteous reason to retaliate against the entire clan.
Even genocide would be seen as justified.
But just as the tension reached a breaking point—
The sky suddenly darkened.
A colossal golden figure descended from the heavens!
BOOM!
Its foot slammed into the earth.
The ground shattered beneath it.
A cloud of dust erupted.
Terrified villagers screamed and dropped to the ground, pale and paralyzed with fear.
That stomp had felt like an earthquake.
Even the mighty Uchiha warriors paused in confusion when the golden giant appeared.
Then they looked up—and saw a group of people embedded in the giant's forehead.
At the very front—was Uchiha Fugaku!
"Fugaku…"
Hiruzen was stunned as he looked at Fugaku inside the massive Susanoo.
So this… this is the Mangekyō Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan?
He had seen Madara's Susanoo once as a child—and never imagined he'd witness it again, all these years later.
"Susanoo?!"
Danzo's face twisted in shock.
He never expected Uchiha Fugaku to have awakened the Mangekyō.
This was a development he hadn't accounted for.
And this Susanoo… was larger and more ferocious than the one Shisui had summoned during their ambush years ago.
So this… this is Fugaku's true power.
Looks like tonight's going to be a serious fight.
"Clan Head Fugaku!"
The newly awakened Uchiha shinobi finally snapped out of their rage. Though most still had only one tomoe in their eyes, the fury had faded—replaced by joy and awe.
So this is the power of our elder clan head…
He's incredible!