Chapter 47: A Night of Chaos
The internal debate was brief. If the puppet went through with the attack, it would undoubtedly die. There was no chance of survival.
But if it didn't, then Shinra's efforts—and a perfectly good pair of Mangekyo Sharingan—would be wasted. More importantly, Shinra needed to create a significant distraction. Danzo had taken notice of him, and that was a problem. No matter the reason, Shinra had to redirect that attention elsewhere.
While he was strong, he was far from invincible. An open conflict with the leader of Root would be disastrous for his current plans.
It's just a pair of Mangekyo Sharingan, he finally reasoned, letting go of his hesitation. They're useless to me anyway. If they're gone, they're gone. The decision made, he felt a sense of relief.
"Shinra, what are you thinking about?" Mikoto's soft voice broke his concentration as she gently tugged on his sleeve.
"Oh! It's nothing. Let's go," he said, shaking off the grim thoughts.
"What about him?" Kushina asked, pointing a hesitant finger at the motionless puppet. The bloody scene of him gouging out his own eyes was still vividly imprinted in her mind.
"I have my own plans for him. Don't worry about it." Shinra took Mikoto's hand in his right and Kushina's in his left, leading them away from the grim alley.
As they walked, Shinra spoke softly to the two girls. "Mikoto, Kushina, I know we're still young. But we've chosen the path of the shinobi. We have to adapt. Bloodshed and killing... they're unavoidable parts of this life."
"Yeah, I know that," Kushina nodded, her voice firm. She had already witnessed crueler things. The fall of the Land of Whirlpools had shown her scenes of death and carnage a hundred times more bloody than what she'd just seen.
Mikoto offered a soft smile. She had to admit she felt a little queasy, but the moment Shinra held her hand, a sense of calm had washed over her, steadying her nerves.
When they arrived home, Mikoto headed to the kitchen to start dinner, with Kushina following to help. The result was predictable chaos, as Kushina, who had no idea how to cook, became more of a hindrance than a help.
Shinra retreated to his room. Closing his eyes, he activated his Tenseigan, using it to monitor Uchiha Ryo's every move. Through the puppet's own eyes, Shinra could see everything he saw, a form of remote surveillance similar to the Six Paths of Pain technique. From probing the puppet's memories, he had learned the Root agent's name was Uchiha Ryo.
Before leaving, Shinra had given him one final order: to refine chakra at any cost.
He was a disposable piece, after all. It was only logical to squeeze every last bit of utility out of him before he was discarded. At the very least, he had to successfully divert the attention of Konoha's leadership. Until he reached the level of a Kage, Shinra did not want to be under their microscope.
Over the past few days, he had clearly noticed the ANBU agents monitoring him and Kushina. It was deeply irritating, but for now, he had to endure it. Killing an Uchiha clansman in the village was one thing; moving against the Hokage's own ANBU was an entirely different matter. If he were to act against them, he would need a perfect alibi, or better yet, a scapegoat to take the fall.
His plan was to force Uchiha Ryo to exert his life force, forcibly extracting every last drop of chakra to power a very public assassination attempt on the Third Hokage. The blame would then fall squarely on either Danzo or the Uchiha clan itself. He would create so much trouble that the entire village would be thrown into an uproar, and no one would have the time or resources to spare a thought for him.
What happened to Danzo or the Uchiha afterwards was none of his concern.
Five days passed. Through relentless and self-destructive training, Uchiha Ryo's chakra reserves had swelled to the level of a quasi-Kage. This was his absolute limit. Any further attempt to increase his power would take far too long, and Shinra was out of patience. The ANBU watchers were a constant, grating presence. Every time he or Kushina stepped outside the Hyuga compound, they were followed.
Furthermore, Uchiha Ryo couldn't advance any further. The side effects of forcibly amplifying his chakra were severe. The life energy in his cells was almost completely drained; his lifespan was now less than a year. Any further attempt would kill him on the spot.
The time to act was now.
Tonight was the night of the full moon. Its bright, silvery light bathed Konoha, providing a ghostly luminescence in the darkness.
The Hokage Tower was a beacon of light in the sleeping village. It was already past midnight, but Sarutobi Hiruzen was still at his desk, buried in paperwork. Such was the burden of the Hokage.
As he reviewed a mission report, the door to his office creaked open. A single figure, dressed in standard ANBU attire, entered with his head bowed.
"Hm? Who are you?" Hiruzen frowned, looking up from his documents. "I don't recognize you."
"The one who has come to kill you."
The man lifted his head. Hiruzen was met with a pair of scarlet eyes, blazing with killing intent and pure malice. Three black tomoe swirled within them before morphing into a distinct, windmill-like pattern.
"On the orders of Lord Danzo, I am here to claim your life! Now die! Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
A massive, roaring dragon of flame erupted from the assassin's mouth, hurtling directly toward the Hokage's desk.
Hiruzen's face darkened. His hands moved in a blur, forming a series of seals. "Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!"
A solid barrier of earth erupted from the floor, intercepting the fire dragon and sending embers and smoke billowing through the office.
In that same instant, the ANBU guards assigned to protect the Hokage reacted. They materialized from the shadows, surrounding the Uchiha intruder in a tight circle, their weapons drawn.
"Who are you?!" Hiruzen demanded, his voice thundering with authority. Even though the assailant had invoked Danzo's name, he would not take an enemy's word at face value. And the fact that the man possessed the Sharingan... it complicated things immensely. A part of him desperately did not want to believe Danzo was involved.
"Hmph! A dead man doesn't need answers. Behold, the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan!"
Uchiha Ryo's eyes spun violently, the windmill pattern solidifying. A palpable, evil aura erupted from him, flooding the entire floor. The oppressive pressure was so intense that one of the ANBU agents faltered, his kunai clattering to the ground from nerveless fingers.
"The Mangekyo Sharingan! You've awakened it!" This time, Hiruzen was truly shaken. He had grown up on the legends of this dreaded dojutsu. He had witnessed the power of Uchiha Madara firsthand and knew the terrifying might the Mangekyo commanded.
"Subdue him! Use full force!" Hiruzen yelled, leaping back and forming another seal. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
The other ANBU sprang into action. A storm of kunai, shuriken, and explosive tags flew toward Uchiha Ryo.
Under normal circumstances, such a coordinated attack would have been the end of him. But he was no longer normal. He wielded the Mangekyo, and to be defeated so easily would be an insult to its power.
With a guttural roar, a translucent, yellow skeleton arm materialized around him, deflecting the barrage of attacks with ease. Uchiha Ryo stood unharmed at its center.
This was the initial stage of Susanoo. While its defense wasn't absolute, it was more than enough to withstand most conventional ninjutsu.
As Uchiha Ryo poured his stolen chakra into the technique, the skeletal structure grew rapidly, enveloping him completely. Ribs formed, then a spine, followed by layers of muscle and nerve tissue, until it was clad in the armor of a warrior god. It swelled to its third stage, a colossal humanoid entity thirty meters tall, towering over the surrounding buildings like a small mountain.
The Hokage Tower exploded outwards, unable to contain the massive form. Sarutobi Hiruzen was sent flying through the debris, landing nimbly on a nearby rooftop.
The sheer, malevolent chakra radiating from the giant purple warrior sent a shockwave through the entire village. Countless ninjas and civilians were jolted from their sleep. They looked out their windows to see the monstrous, spectral giant standing where the Hokage's office once was, a sight that filled them with primal dread.
"What's happening?! Is the village under attack?!"
"That's the Hokage Tower! Lord Hokage!"
Alarms blared. All across Konoha, ninjas of every rank grabbed their gear and began rushing toward the center of the village, toward the source of the terrifying chakra and the towering demon that threatened their leader. The night of chaos had begun.