UTBW: Ch. 57

In the forest, Hiruzen's face was grim, and his steps were heavy. He had already come up with a countermeasure, but the cost of it made him very reluctant.

If it weren't for Danzō... At that thought, he turned to glare at the man. If it weren't for this guy secretly committing so many forbidden acts, things wouldn't have gotten to this point.

And now look.

The Root base was overturned, and all the evidence must have fallen into the hands of the Uchiha, right?

"..."

Under Hiruzen's glare, Danzō felt a little guilty but didn't look away. He had already given strict orders: in case of an accident, destroy all intelligence at the Root base immediately.

The Uchiha wouldn't have gotten much.

Besides, the truly important things, either he kept them close or destroyed them after reading, like the secret project he had with Orochimaru.

Danzō subtly touched his right hand, a sly smile flashing in his eyes. The power of Wood Release was residing within this arm!

---

Not long after, the group arrived at the Root base. At first glance, they saw a towering, mountain-sized black giant.

The giant wore armor, held a long sword, and had a solemn face. Thin golden currents of light flowed through the gaps in the armor, outlining the giant's solid, refined body.

Though it only had an upper body, its presence was towering and overwhelming, pressing down with a suffocating force.

"So this is Susanoo?"

Many Konoha ninjas couldn't help but gulp. It was like seeing a sacred ancient god crossing space and time to stand before them.

"..."

All the members of Konoha Council felt a chill in their hearts. The aura was just too strong. It brought back memories of long ago, the distant, awe-inspiring image of Madara from their childhoods.

Although it still wasn't quite at his level, it had a definite resemblance.

Hiruzen couldn't help but turn his head and ask Danzō in a low voice, "There's nothing... sensitive inside your base, right?"

If the Uchiha found anything terrible, they wouldn't be able to control the situation anymore. And once the situation spiraled out of control, they would have to face this terrifying Susanoo.

"Better tell us now so we can be prepared," Koharu added.

Homura was even more direct: "Did you clean up your mess or not?"

Hearing this, Danzō felt a little uneasy. Although he had ordered his subordinates to destroy evidence at the first sign of trouble... Whether it was 100% destroyed, no one could say for sure.

Despite his unease, he still clung to a bit of wishful thinking and answered softly, "It's already been taken care of."

"Really?" Hiruzen gave him a suspicious look.

"Of course," Danzō pretended to be displeased, frowning. "Do you think I'd mess up something as small as this?"

Hiruzen thought about it and decided not to press further. Koharu and Homura also figured he wouldn't make a mistake with something as simple as covering his tracks.

The three turned their eyes back to the front.

---

Inside the towering Susanoo, Junichi's gaze swept over the group, each familiar face coming into view.

Hiruzen, Danzō, Koharu, Homura...

Hiashi, the Ino-Shika-Chō, Shibi, Tsume... All characters who had appeared in the original story.

Among them, the one who caught his attention the most was a young man wearing a green jumpsuit, sporting a ridiculous bowl-cut hairstyle, with a resolute gaze.

Guy... He silently said the young man's name in his heart, his eyes narrowing slightly. Using his Observation Haki, he sensed a dangerous aura from him.

The power within him feels like an active volcano, ready to erupt at any moment. If I make any move, he'll probably unleash his power instantly too.

Hiruzen really is cautious.

Being watched by Junichi, Guy seemed to feel something and instantly looked over.

However, he remained very alert, not looking directly into Junichi's eyes but instead focusing on his shoulder, being very careful to avoid direct eye contact with the Sharingan.

What a pity. Junichi chuckled to himself inwardly, though he didn't feel much regret. He had already prepared another plan, and maybe, this new plan would be even more appealing.

Thinking this, he willed his chakra to stop feeding into his eyes, canceling the output of his ocular power.

The enormous Susanoo began to dissolve bit by bit, fading away like smoke.

Whoosh…

Seeing this, many people finally breathed a sigh of relief. Facing Susanoo head-on had placed an enormous amount of pressure on them. If that giant had suddenly swung its sword down, at least a quarter of them would have died on the spot.

But what no one knew was, at the same time, over at the Uchiha Clan's compound...

---

Led by Yuki, one by one, the Uchiha ninjas were gazing toward the direction of the Root base.

When they saw the Susanoo disappear, his eyes lit up and he shouted, "The signal has arrived!"

"OH!!" The clansmen roared in unison, raising their arms high.

One after another, pairs of scarlet, demonic eyes reflected into the air, as if cloaking the surroundings in a mist of blood.

Junichi had only drawn out seven clansmen. Remaining behind at the compound were still more than thirty with three tomoe, and hundreds with two and one tomoe! And that was after a major battle had already reduced their numbers.

Otherwise, there would have been even more awakened Sharingan.

"Listen to my command..." Yuki's face flushed with excitement as he waved his arm forcefully, "Move out!!"

"Yes!!" Each Uchiha's expression turned solemn, the corners of their mouths curving into cruel smiles. They formed into four-man squads and surged out of the clan grounds.

At this moment, everyone's attention in the village was focused on Junichi. The Uchiha grounds had temporarily entered a kind of psychological blind spot.

As a result, only one ANBU team and one Root team were stationed there.

"What are you planning to do?"

Seeing the wave of Uchiha flooding out, the two teams immediately felt their hair stand on end.

Shing!!

Their answer was the sound of swords being drawn. Grinning wickedly, the Uchiha ninjas charged at them.

"Stop!"

"Are you rebelling?!"

"The Hokage is in the middle of negotiations with your clan leader!!"

The two teams screamed, trying to halt the Uchiha's attack.

But it was useless.

They were quickly overwhelmed and slaughtered on the spot by the overwhelming number of Uchiha ninjas.

"Negotiations? You think you're worthy?" Yuki sneered, then turned his gaze toward the Sarutobi clan's territory within the village, a cold smile playing on his lips.

"It's your time to feel what we've felt! It's our turn to pay the Sarutobi clan a visit"

The Uchiha clansmen all revealed ferocious smiles at his words. Paired with their blood-red Sharingan, they looked like a horde of demons gathering.

"We've been waiting for this!!"

---

Back at the Root base, with the disappearance of Susanoo, a tall, well-built young man with smooth, solid muscles appeared before their eyes.

"That's Junichi?"

Everyone was stunned. They hadn't even realized the Uchiha had someone like him.

Logically speaking, someone with such an outstanding physique should have left an impression long ago, but now, it felt like they were seeing him for the first time.

His physique has changed... Hiruzen tilted his head slightly, listening to a report from one of his ANBU guards, his eyes flashing with surprise.