Kaze pushed open the door.
The room was excessively shabby, even dilapidated.
Peeling paint, creaking floorboards, the only light source was the bleak moonlight leaking in from outside the window.
Just like the current Konoha, although light can still be seen, there is not a trace of warmth...
A small blond boy was curled up on the bed in the corner, his thin body trembling slightly in his sleep.
Uzumaki Naruto.
Son of the Yondaime Hokage Namikaze Minato, the orphan of Konoha's hero, and also... the "Demon Fox brat" hated by the entire village.
Kaze walked to the bedside and looked down at this five-year-old child.
Naruto, fast asleep, had his brows tightly furrowed, mumbling vague sleep talk: "I'm not... a monster... so hungry..."
Pitiful?
Kaze felt no ripples in his heart.
In this cruel ninja world, compassion is the cheapest luxury. He had a more important plan to execute.
"Mangekyō!"
With Kaze's low shout, the Mangekyō activated.
Uchiha Kaze's consciousness directly invaded Naruto's body.
The seal left by the Yondaime was as if it didn't exist.
"Roar—!"
Kaze opened his eyes and had already appeared in a cold and damp space.
A low beast roar came from within a huge cage.
Red Chakra began to seep out, and the water stains under Kaze's feet began to turn dark red.
"This disgusting power again. Those eyes of yours... what is your relationship with that guy?"
A huge head appeared behind the wooden bars of the seal.
In the scarlet vertical pupils, it was full of madness, unwillingness, and tyranny!
"Kurama, your power is really... a bit interesting!"
"However, beasts shouldn't be kept in cages!"
Kaze ignored the Kyūbi Chakra spilling out around him and used a Body Flicker to appear in front of the seal.
He raised his hand and reached towards the seal.
"Uchiha?"
As the voice rang out, Kaze's hand was grabbed.
...
Meanwhile, Hokage Office Building.
The atmosphere in the meeting room was terrifyingly heavy.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat in the main seat, his face ashen.
Standing in front of him was Uchiha Itachi, who had just escaped back. The boy was covered in blood, and his Mangekyō Sharingan still held the stinging pain of overuse.
"What did you say? Say it again!"
Hiruzen's voice was low, every word seeming to be squeezed out through his teeth.
"The Uchiha... have rebelled."
"Uchiha Kaze, an unknown clansman, suddenly displayed the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan. He killed my mother Mikoto and younger brother Sasuke, and then, in front of all the clansmen... killed my father."
Uchiha Itachi spoke with difficulty.
The sound of people sucking in cold air rang out in the meeting room.
Besides Hiruzen and Itachi, those present also included Shimura Danzō, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura, who had just been urgently summoned.
"Mangekyō? Another Mangekyō?!"
"Danzō, what is going on with your intelligence? Didn't you say only Fugaku in the Uchiha might awaken the Mangekyō?"
Utatane Koharu, besides being somewhat incredulous, also looked at Danzō accusingly.
"My intelligence was not wrong, but this Uchiha Kaze... is a variable."
Danzō's face was gloomy.
"Variable?"
"An Uchiha with a Mangekyō, and you tell me it's just a variable?! Danzō, what exactly is your Root doing?!"
Hiruzen slammed the table fiercely.
A Mangekyō was enough to change Sarutobi Hiruzen's attitude towards the Uchiha.
Sarutobi Hiruzen even suspected somewhat that Shimura Danzō had deliberately concealed information.
"I said long ago, the Uchiha cannot be trusted!"
"The hidden danger should have been eliminated immediately!"
"It is you, Sarutobi Hiruzen, your repeated hesitation led to today's situation!"
Danzō retorted without backing down.
He had proposed more than once to deal with the Uchiha earlier.
It was precisely because of Sarutobi Hiruzen's indecisiveness that the current situation occurred.
"Enough!"
"I called you here not to argue."
"Speak, what thoughts do you have?"
"Itachi, tell them briefly."
Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced sideways at Shimura Danzō; this guy was getting more and more arrogant.
Danzō frowned, his gaze falling on Uchiha Itachi.
Uchiha Itachi immediately recounted what had just happened in detail.
"Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, Amenoshinra?"
After listening, excitement flashed in Shimura Danzō's eyes, and an imperceptible arc hung at the corner of his mouth.
The most serious problem now was not the crazy Uchiha Kaze, but that the entire Uchiha clan had gone crazy along with him!
A crazy Uchiha clan was enough to threaten the stability of any village.
The meeting room fell into a dead silence.
"Damn it!"
"This way, there is absolutely no room for reconciliation between the village and the Uchiha!"
Although Shimura Danzō said this, his eyes flashed with extreme excitement.
Rebellion is good!
Just afraid you wouldn't rebel!
This time, he wanted to see what excuse Sarutobi Hiruzen had to shield the Uchiha!
Moreover, there was... greed for Kaze's eyes.
"Hiruzen, give the order."
"The Uchiha can no longer be appeased."
Mitokado Homura spoke in a deep voice.
Sarutobi Hiruzen closed his eyes, and Uchiha Kagami flashed through his mind—his former teammate, an anomaly of the Uchiha, a hero who died in battle for Konoha.
And Uchiha Shisui, that young man who deeply loved the village.
Finally, Uchiha Itachi, this child whom he personally pushed into the abyss.
"Then..."
"Boom!"
A violent explosion came from the distance, interrupting Sarutobi Hiruzen.
The entire Hokage Office Building shook along with it.
"What happened?!"
"That... that is..."
Mitokado Homura rushed to the window, then his face turned grave.
The others also rushed to the window.
A huge phantom of a red fox soared into the sky, nine tails waving wildly in the night sky.
Wherever it passed, buildings collapsed, and firelight soared to the sky.
"Nine... Kyūbi..."
Utatane Koharu's voice was trembling.
"Impossible! The Kyūbi's seal should be very secure!"
Mitokado Homura was in disbelief.
Only Danzō and Hiruzen thought of something, and both looked at Uchiha Itachi simultaneously.
"Uchiha Kaze..."
"It must be that madman. I didn't expect him to act so fast... How dare he attack the Kyūbi?"
Uchiha Itachi was dumbfounded.
In such a short time, that madman had actually released the Kyūbi.
Sure enough, that guy just wanted to take the entire Uchiha to die.
While Uchiha Itachi hated it in his heart, he had forgotten.
Didn't these Konoha higher-ups in front of him also tell him that they wanted the entire Uchiha to die?
"Really is a madman."
"A madman who dares to kill the Clan Head in public and hold the Kyūbi hostage."
Danzō spoke coldly.
The corner of his mouth, however, curled up in an imperceptible arc.
Hiruzen's face was ugly to the extreme, then he turned around fiercely.
"Orders! Immediately activate Level 1 Combat Readiness!"
"Arrange for ninjas to immediately go to the Kyūbi rampage area to evacuate civilians! All Anbu move out to control the Kyūbi!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's orders were issued.
"What about the Uchiha?"
An Anbu ninja appeared instantly.
"All Uchiha... are considered missing-nin (rogue ninjas), kill without mercy!"
Hiruzen was silent for a full three seconds, then squeezed the command out through his teeth.
"Yes!"
The Anbu ninja disappeared.
"Danzō, your Root also moves out completely. Focus on clearing the remaining elements within the Uchiha compound, especially... Uchiha Kaze."
Hiruzen turned to Danzō and spoke with a frown.
Then he took off his hat and Hokage robes.
Revealing the combat uniform underneath.
"Should have been done long ago."
The smile on Danzō's face finally couldn't be suppressed.
Shimura Danzō turned and left, greed flashing in his single eye—he was determined to get Uchiha Kaze's Mangekyō Sharingan.