"!!!"
"Lightning Release?! Who is it?!"
Dozens of Sharingan eyes snapped open at once! Fierce gazes tried to lock onto the man who had suddenly unleashed the Lightning Release: Chidori.
"Chidori?! It's Kakashi!!"
"That Konoha lackey! An outsider who possesses our Uchiha Clan's Sharingan, and he dares to appear in the sacred Naka River Shrine?!"
Clearly, someone's dōjutsu wasn't up to par—they hadn't even caught Sasuke's figure.
Fugaku Uchiha also glared with his Sharingan, staring at the figure standing with his back turned.
Judging by the frame, the man seemed to be a young man only three or four years older than Itachi Uchiha. He was around the same age as Shisui—indeed, quite close in age to the Fourth Hokage's disciple, Hatake Kakashi.
But from his vantage point, he could clearly see the small fan crest beneath the collar of the figure's back!
Uchiha?!
Shisui was already the most outstanding young member of his generation. If there was someone even more exceptional, as clan head, Fugaku couldn't possibly be unaware of it!
Crack, crack—
The sound of stone shattering.
Clink—
The sound of the Kusanagi sword being sheathed.
With that sharp noise, Fugaku and the other Uchiha Clan members suddenly realized the cracking sound was coming from the most precious stone monument inside the Uchiha Shrine?!!
Boom – – – –
The monument shattered into irreparable debris under the lightning-infused blade!
All Uchiha members inside the shrine went silent, stunned by the sudden upheaval!
"Do you know what you're doing?!!"
The first to react was Fugaku Uchiha, the clan head and the captain of the Uchiha Police Force.
It had been ten years since he had heard his father's voice, yet the stern image of his father remained deeply etched in Sasuke's childhood memory. A father who rarely offered even simple words of approval, like "You're truly my son," was undoubtedly someone Sasuke dared not underestimate.
The stern rebuke from behind made Sasuke's heart skip a beat. Having emerged from the Fourth Shinobi World War as the pinnacle of power in the entire ninja world, he still felt the weight of his father's gaze.
But he stood tall, forcing the words from his dry throat. "A false Stone Monument has doomed countless generations of Uchiha ninja."
Amid the stunned gazes of Fugaku and the other Uchiha members, Sasuke opened his Mangekyō Sharingan and Rinnegan, his overwhelming presence locking eyes with the dozen or so Uchiha clan members before him...
"You think a mere handful of you can stand against all of Konoha and the entire ninja world?" Sasuke sneered. "Do you even know how many ANBU the Hokage has assigned to spy on you? How long they've been watching you? And do you really think you stand a chance against every clan in Konoha mobilizing their full strength?"
The Uchiha clan members, intimidated by the pressure from his eyes, were too scared to speak.
Sasuke snorted coldly. "You can't even activate Mangekyō Sharingan. What makes you think you can stand against an entire village?"
In his view, neither Konoha nor the Uchiha were innocent. Even Shisui Uchiha was among those who had trapped Itachi in the deadly dilemma of having to choose between 'Konoha and the Uchiha'—a choice that sealed his fate!
When an avalanche occurs, no single snowflake is innocent!
Yet the sound that triggers the avalanche might come from the most insignificant, random event.
The more he thought about it, the angrier and more hateful he became.
He drew the Kusanagi sword, pointing it at the group frozen in place by his Eternal Mangekyō and Rinnegan. "Since you're all going to die sooner or later, rather than letting my brother bear all the blame, I'll take the responsibility now..."
Fugaku Uchiha: "!!!"
Though the killing intent wasn't directed at him, but at the Uchiha ninja behind him, the murderous aura radiating from this young Uchiha was palpable. With that strange power in his eyes, none of them were his match!!
They couldn't defeat this man...
Not even if they used their Mangekyō Sharingan, they still wouldn't be able to defeat him!
Fugaku glanced sideways at the young man's profile. In the haze, he thought he saw a faint resemblance to his eldest son, Itachi?!
Halting the youth whose killing intent was rapidly escalating, Clan Leader Fugaku stared at the unique patterns of his Mangekyō Sharingan. As if driven by an uncontrollable force, he asked, "Your eyes… they're not just ordinary Mangekyō Sharingan, are they?"
The other Uchiha, now subdued by the youth's presence, shared this same confusion.
At that moment, they were completely lost, unable to determine whether he was sent by Konoha or if he was an exiled Uchiha. They didn't understand why he claimed the Uchiha Clan's sacred artifact, the Uchiha Stone Monument, was a fake, or why he was threatening to wipe out their entire clan.
With the coup plot advancing steadily, how could such a dramatic shift occur at this critical juncture?!
The ninjas in the Uchiha Shrine exchanged bewildered glances, a heavy sense of unease growing within them. It felt as though something even more catastrophic than a coup was about to unfold.
...
Meanwhile, on another front, Shisui Uchiha was ambushed by Danzo Shimura! Completely unprepared for the Izanagi technique, the physical blow he suffered was nothing compared to the agonizing pain of losing an eye!
And just then—Shisui Uchiha saw it. The right eye Danzo had kept hidden was also a Sharingan with three tomoe!
As he watched that eye turn white and blind before his own eyes, Shisui Uchiha instantly realized why, despite having used an illusion technique on Danzo just moments ago, the older man had been able to break the genjutsu so quickly and catch him off guard!
"Sharingan… Izanagi?!"
"Correct," Danzo replied, his hand gesturing to the Sharingan he'd just pried from Shisui's eye socket. "This eye will replace the one I lost. Now, hand me your other eye."
"He was hiding a Uchiha Clan Sharingan!"
That Uchiha youth—whose name I didn't catch—had warned me not to trust Danzo. So, this was what he meant?
Damn it! He's been hoarding Uchiha Sharingan eyes!!
As a genius within the clan and one of its pillars of strength, Shisui understood better than anyone how precious the Sharingan was to the Uchiha!
Aside from the Mangekyō Sharingan of Obito Uchiha, which had been preserved only because the Fourth Hokage vouched for his disciple with all his might, and Kakashi had paid a heavy price to prove his innocence, there should have been no other Uchiha eyes in the hands of outsiders.
So, if this situation existed, it meant that Danzo Shimura had abused his position to kill a Uchiha and staged the destruction of their body!!
Once a body was completely destroyed, both Konoha and the Uchiha Clan would treat the Sharingan as lost. If one were found on a ninja from another village, Konoha and the Uchiha would never rest until it was recovered!
But no one could have imagined that such an eye—one belonging to a Uchiha—would be in the possession of none other than Konoha's elder, Danzo Shimura! And the entire clan—indeed, all of Konoha—was completely unaware!
No… It couldn't be said that all of Konoha was unaware.
At the very least, those within Root, who followed Danzo, knew about it!
As the dozen or so ANBU suddenly appeared before him, Shisui unleashed a Fire Release technique, preparing to retreat. The ANBU countered with Water Release, blocking his fire attack!
There had to be some reason they could not reveal Danzo's secret!
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!!" The youth's voice erupted suddenly!
At the same time, another familiar Uchiha technique rang out: "Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
Compared to the massive Great Fireball Technique from before, the Great Dragon Fire Technique was clearly more powerful! The flames coalesced into the form of a gigantic dragon's head, charging toward Danzo's subordinates. The Root Division ninjas, unable to dodge in time, were struck by the fire and hurled away, screaming as they crashed to the ground, their combat abilities shattered!
"Itachi?!"
Shisui Uchiha stared in shock at the youth who had just performed the Great Dragon Fire Technique.
Standing beside Itachi was a boy who looked about twelve or thirteen. Though the age didn't quite match, Shisui reflexively shouted the name of the little tagalong who always followed behind…
"Sasuke?!"
Young Sasuke stared back at Shisui Uchiha, his eyes wide with shock as well!
In his mind, Shisui had died young. Officially, it was ruled as a suicide, but there were some in the clan who had smeared his brother's name with that claim!
Watching Shisui clutch his right eye, crimson blood flowing through his fingers, and then seeing the threatening glare of Danzō Shimura and the newly arrived ANBU ninjas, young Sasuke was filled with confusion.
The truth about Shisui Uchiha's death had been hidden all along!!
"Sasuke!" Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, and several members of Team Minato arrived shortly after.
"Reinforcements?!" the ANBU exclaimed in surprise.
But the next group to appear left them utterly stunned! It was Minato from the Kannabi Bridge Timeline, and the Fourth Hokage, Minato!
"!!!" Danzō froze when he saw Minato!
"You're not dead?!" he exclaimed, assuming the two Minatos were merely clones.
But even Danzō Shimura, who knew the Second Hokage's Flying Thunder God Technique, could never have imagined that these people came from the future—specifically from a parallel world where everything was beyond saving!
With the Fourth Hokage Minato present, Kaminari Bridge Minato had no intention of stepping in just yet.
Though it wasn't his era, after learning everything, the Fourth Minato had no intention of letting Danzō Shimura go unpunished.
"I once believed that despite your ruthless actions and extreme, negative mindset, you would always prioritize the greater good—at least I thought you understood that Konoha's interests were above everything else."
To Danzō Shimura, these words sounded like praise. He snorted coldly, "This old man is no different."
"However…"
The Fourth Minato's tone shifted abruptly, and his eyes burned with killing intent!