Chapter 74: The Confrontation
With a grim expression, Hiruzen Sarutobi leaped across the rooftops, heading toward the northwest sector of the village. His mind was reeling with uncertainty.
Have the Uchiha really prepared for a coup?
Or is this all Danzō's scheme, with even the ANBU monitoring the Uchiha being kept in the dark?
When the ANBU agents detected a large-scale movement within the Uchiha district, they reflexively jumped to the most obvious conclusion: the Uchiha clan was launching a coup. They didn't have time to investigate the details before reporting the news to Hiruzen.
Upon learning of the Uchiha's movements, Hiruzen made the same judgment call as his ANBU. Still, he couldn't shake the suspicion that Danzō's shadow loomed over these events.
"Mobilize ANBU Squads Three, Six, Nine, Eleven, and Thirteen," Hiruzen commanded to a subordinate. "Then, relay the intelligence that the Uchiha are staging a coup to the Hyūga, the Ino-Shika-Chō clans, the Kurama, the Inuzuka, and the others. Tell them to dispatch their elite forces as support."
"Understood."
Whether Danzō was involved or not was now a secondary concern. As long as the Uchiha fired the first shot, creating the objective fact of a rebellion, Hiruzen had no choice but to mobilize his forces and meet them in battle. As he had previously determined, to annihilate the Uchiha clan with minimal cost and maximum effect, he needed the strength of the other ninja clans.
The Uchiha did not possess the power to take on the entire Leaf Village. The only real threat to consider was the strange and unpredictable dōjutsu of the Mangekyō Sharingan. However, it was a threat to be wary of, not one that would paralyze them with fear. The Mangekyō was terrifying, but it wasn't invincible. Otherwise, there was no reason for Fugaku Uchiha to have remained passive for so long.
Along the way, Hiruzen rendezvoused with the two village elders, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, who had rushed over after hearing the news. Their combined forces swelled to over two hundred shinobi. In terms of numbers, they already outnumbered the elite Uchiha who had remained in the clan district by more than double.
"That wicked Uchiha clan," Homura declared, looking at the massive contingent behind them and the growing number of reinforcements heading for the Uchiha district. "If they truly launch a coup, today will be the end of their line." In his heart, he had already made the decision to eliminate them, root and stem.
Upon receiving the news of the Uchiha coup, the Hyūga, Ino-Shika-Chō, Inuzuka, Aburame, and other prominent clans had no time for shock. They immediately dispatched their elite ninja, who raced toward the Uchiha compound.
The Hokage's faction had deliberately downplayed the death of Itachi Uchiha, but the village was only so big. The major clans all had their own intelligence networks and were aware of the conflict brewing between the Uchiha and the village leadership.
When faced with a choice of allegiance, the truth of the matter became less important. Although they might have sympathized with the Uchiha's plight, they were unwilling to see the village thrown into chaos by a coup. With little hesitation, they made the choice that best served their own family's interests.
Maintaining the stability of the village was the same as maintaining the stability of their clans. This was the undisputed 'political correctness' of their world.
What none of them knew, however, was that the Uchiha were not staging a coup—they were defecting from Konoha.
If the other clans had known this, those not deeply entangled with the Hokage's faction might not have been so quick to send their forces to surround and destroy the Uchiha.
The Root Headquarters was located very close to the Uchiha district. As a result, Danzō and his elite Root operatives arrived on the scene before anyone else.
However, when he saw Fugaku Uchiha and over a hundred of his clan's finest shinobi standing at the ready, Danzō felt a strange sense of dissonance. This didn't look like a rebellion.
Just then, the Root agents he had stationed in the Uchiha district figured out the travel direction of the first two waves of Uchiha clansmen and immediately reported their findings to him.
Hearing their report, Danzō's heart sank as a startling possibility crossed his mind. He couldn't be certain what the Uchiha were planning, but under the cold, unified glare of over a hundred elite Uchiha, he didn't dare make a reckless move.
Danzō couldn't resist probing the situation. "Fugaku Uchiha, I demand an explanation! What is your clan trying to do? Are you betraying the village?"
If his suspicion was correct, it would be a far worse outcome for him than a coup.
"Betrayal?" Fugaku's sharp gaze locked onto Danzō. He shook his head slowly. "Just wait a moment. Hiruzen will be here soon. It's time to settle the grudges of the past few decades."
Meanwhile, after infiltrating the Hokage Tower, Neji found that, just as he had predicted, its defenses were severely depleted. The building was quiet, but the air was thick with tension.
Neji descended the stairs into the basement levels, his Byakugan activated to its fullest as he scanned his surroundings.
There's a hidden post on the first basement level, just around the corner. Two guards. Judging by their chakra levels, they're Special Jōnin at best.
Standing at the corner, Neji used his Byakugan to observe the two shinobi through the wall.
He took a slow breath.
Chakra gathered in his palm, and electric snakes of Storm Release shot forth. They moved with a life of their own, slithering through the air and striking the two guards from an impossible angle.
Thump. Thump.
With two soft thuds, the guards collapsed. Neji sprang forward, catching their limp bodies before they hit the floor and propping them against the wall.
He continued deeper.
The hallway is filled with sealing formulas. One, two, three… fifteen of them in total. They're invisible to the naked eye. Step on one, and it will activate instantly.
With his Byakugan wide, Neji carefully navigated around one sealing trap after another.
After descending several more floors, the view opened up. In the next instant, Neji melted back into the shadows. About twenty meters ahead, two full squads of eight heavily armed ANBU stood guard.
To have two squads on guard at a time like this… this must be the archive room where the Scroll of Seals is kept.
The ANBU squads were too far away for his Storm Release secret techniques to guarantee a precise, silent kill.
Neji paused, his hand reaching into his ninja tool pouch.
Just as he was about to burst from the shadows and strike with lightning speed to eliminate the eight ANBU, the unexpected happened.
"What's going on?"
"Intruder!"
Neji's expression changed slightly. His first thought was that he had been discovered. But then he saw the eight ANBU operatives in front of the archive room surround a man with a single-eyed mask who was slowly stepping out of a swirling spatial vortex.
It's him?!
Neji's heart skipped a beat. He never imagined he would run into Obito here.
Obito, in turn, was just as surprised to see Neji, who, like him, was clad in a black robe and wore a black mask.
Their eyes met for a fraction of a second, and an unspoken agreement was instantly reached.
With a short blade in hand, Neji launched himself from his hiding place like a pouncing tiger, charging toward four of the ANBU.
Shhlick!
With the sickening sound of blades piercing flesh, the four ANBU members fell to the ground. At the same moment, Obito absorbed the other four into his Kamui dimension.
After dealing with the obstacles, the two shadowy figures stood facing each other, quietly observing one another.
For a moment, the atmosphere froze solid.