"Danzo Shimura and Minato Namikaze died one after another in such a short time?"
Rasa stood atop the floating sand, his brow furrowed tightly as he gazed at the black mass of the approaching army in the distance.
No matter how hard he thought about it.
In the current Ninja World, no one should possess the ability to eliminate both of them so quickly.
Although Danzo wasn't overwhelmingly powerful, the man had ten extra lives thanks to Izanagi, and he rarely left the heavily fortified Hidden Leaf Village.
It was inconceivable that anyone could burn through all ten of his lives before Konoha's reinforcements arrived.
After pondering for a moment, Rasa leaped lightly from the platform, descending from a thousand meters in the air.
Thinking about it was useless now. The urgent task was to alter the original plan.
He had to resolve the situation here with the fastest possible methods, then rush back to the Ninja World to see what had happened.
"Why did the sky suddenly turn dark?"
Among the slow-moving Shogunate army, a samurai suddenly felt the world around him engulfed in shadow.
He looked around in confusion before raising his head.
His nonchalant expression instantly morphed into one of slack-jawed horror.
Unknown to anyone, a colossal skeleton had rapidly formed in the air above them.
BOOM!
In the blink of an eye, the giant skeletal construct crashed onto the ground, unleashing a deafening, earth-shaking roar.
Rasa sat steadily on the shoulder of his Perfect Susanoo, expressionless as he commanded the construct to slowly draw the longsword at its waist.
"IT'S THE GOD!"
"RUN! FLEE FOR YOUR LIVES!"
Faced with the hundred-meter-tall titan and its sword raised to strike.
The battle-hardened elites, who had been brimming with confidence upon departure, broke instantly.
They scrambled in every direction, desperate to escape.
Even the supervisory units, meant to maintain order and execute deserters, were useless. They scattered like frightened birds just as quickly as the rest.
Against a skeletal giant that defied all human comprehension.
Concepts like morale and discipline were nothing more than a colossal joke.
Sitting atop the hundred-meter Susanoo, Rasa watched the samurai scurrying like ants below.
He shook his head slightly and swung the twenty-meter-long blade.
A crescent-shaped red energy wave, dazzling like lightning, flew forward with unstoppable momentum.
Wherever it passed, the ground split open, creating a bottomless chasm hundreds of meters wide and kilometers long.
As for the fleeing samurai caught in the blast radius... tens of thousands were vaporized instantly, reduced to ash.
After that single strike, Rasa commanded the Susanoo to continue walking forward steadily, but he launched no further attacks with the blade.
Killing too many of them was pointless.
He just needed to deliver a sufficiently terrifying display of power to break their spirits.
The key was to instill an indelible shadow of fear in their hearts, one that would spread like a plague.
Achieving that was simple.
With the horror of that first strike as a foundation, he just needed to keep walking forward for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, half an hour earlier in the Ninja World.
After returning to the Uchiha compound and resting for a while, Fugaku Uchiha summoned every clansman who had awakened the Sharingan to a large open ground.
Following a passionate, blood-boiling speech.
As expected, a balding elder stepped forward to voice his opposition.
The old man stroked his long beard slowly, his brow furrowed deeply.
His eyes were filled with anger, but hidden beneath that rage was a deep-seated fear and uncontrollable greed.
Fugaku raised an eyebrow slightly. There was no surprise in his eyes.
He simply looked calmly at the Core Elder who had stepped forward first.
Fugaku raised a hand slightly and spoke softly:
"Elder Qin, what is your view?"
Hearing Fugaku's question, Elder Qin's eyes widened. He blew into his beard, glaring furiously as he roared:
"You dare ask for my view?!"
"This behavior of yours will bring nothing but ruin to the Uchiha!"
"Just moments ago at the funeral, the Hokage himself told you that the Uchiha and Konoha are an inseparable family. How dare you harbor such treasonous thoughts?!"
Hearing this, a faint smile slowly spread across Fugaku's composed face. He offered no rebuttal.
Seeing this, Elder Qin felt a surge of joy.
Assuming Fugaku realized he was in the wrong, he shouted even louder:
"Your actions are a disgrace to the late Clan Head's trust in you!"
After roaring that sentence, Elder Qin softened his tone slightly, squinting his eyes as he spoke with feigned seriousness:
"Fugaku, I watched you grow up. I know your nature is not evil; it is merely a pity that you are too young and impulsive."
"As long as you abandon this idea and step down to let a more worthy candidate take over, we will let bygones be bygones."
Fugaku did not reply immediately. Instead, he turned his head slowly, his sharp gaze sweeping over the dark mass of clansmen standing below.
After carefully observing their expressions, he nodded slowly.
Seeing Fugaku nod, Elder Qin's face lit up with delight. He trembled with excitement and eagerly took a few steps forward.
"Nephew, does this mean you agree?"
Fugaku smiled gently and shook his head. His voice was calm as he spoke softly:
"No. I am just happy to see that there are still quite a few courageous people in the clan."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Fugaku's eyes shifted into the Mangekyō Sharingan, the patterns spinning rapidly in his sockets.
"Amaterasu!"
"AHHHHHHH!"
Elder Qin saw the Mangekyō pattern in Fugaku's eyes.
Before his brain could process what was happening, his body collapsed to the ground. He rolled in agony, letting out wretched screams.
Black flames, visible to the naked eye, erupted all over his body.
The flames seemed alive, devouring his flesh relentlessly as if intending to consume him whole.
Suddenly, the figure of Elder Qin, thrashing on the ground under the black fire, vanished into thin air, leaving only a patch of burning flames behind.
Then, Elder Qin reappeared a short distance away.
He was drenched in sweat, gasping for air violently. With trembling hands, he wiped the sweat from his face, looking at Fugaku with eyes full of terror.
One of his eyes was clearly blinded, turning a milky white as blood streamed down his face—a gruesome sight.
Fugaku clapped his hands in praise, speaking softly:
"To react and use Izanagi within seconds of a sudden attack... not bad!"
Having said that, Fugaku's face radiated confidence. He lifted his chin slightly, his eyes revealing a resolute determination. His voice boomed with authority:
"Now, what is your opinion?"
Hearing Fugaku's question, Elder Qin shuddered involuntarily. His face turned deathly pale, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
He dared not meet Fugaku's gaze, lowering his head quickly and stammering in a trembling voice:
"I... I agree!"
"Konoha has bullied us too far! We indeed can endure no longer!"
Hearing Elder Qin's answer, Fugaku nodded with satisfaction. The corners of his mouth curled up into a triumphant smile.
Then, Fugaku turned his gaze toward the gathered clansmen, who wore various expressions of shock and awe.
"I possess the Mangekyō Sharingan. Combined with the plan I outlined earlier... what say you all?"
The moment Fugaku's voice fell.
From the dark crowd, someone—no one knew who—raised a hand first, their voice echoing through the silence:
"Konoha belongs to the Uchiha!"
With those words, the previously deathly silent crowd erupted into fanatical cheers.
The roar was like a landslide or a tsunami, overwhelming and deafening.
Fugaku looked at the fervent scene before him and nodded with satisfaction.
A relieved smile appeared on his face; he knew his plan was already half successful.
Root Headquarters.
Danzo Shimura, having just returned from the funeral, walked heavily through the dark, damp base.
His eyes were clouded with gloom, his mood clearly terrible.
Right after the funeral, Danzo had seized the opportunity to approach Hiruzen, urgently proposing an increase in Root's budget.
Root had lost far too many personnel recently.
If he relied on slow cultivation methods, who knew how many years it would take to restore their pre-war numbers?
But mass-producing agents quickly required immense money and resources, something the current Root could not support alone.
He had to get support from the village.
However, that damned Hiruzen had rejected him outright, citing his impending retirement and telling him to discuss it with Minato Namikaze instead.
At the thought of this, an uncontrollable rage surged in Danzo's heart.
Suddenly, sensing something, Danzo stopped and spoke coldly without turning his head:
"What is it?"
A Root ninja had appeared silently behind him, kneeling on one knee.
"Lord Danzo, the Uchiha are revolting."
Danzo started, turning around rapidly.
His gloomy eyes were now filled with shock as he stared at the Root ninja.
"What? The Uchiha are revolting?!"
Danzo frowned, staring at the bowing ninja like a hawk.
"Raise your head. Tell me the specific..."
Before Danzo could finish, he saw the Root ninja slowly lift his head.
However, the ninja's eyes were hollow and lost, as if his soul had been stripped away.
Danzo's heart skipped a beat. He instinctively backed away several steps, his hands forming seals rapidly to execute a jutsu.
But suddenly, his vision went black, and his body went limp.
His hands, frozen on the final seal, dropped uselessly to his sides.
Fugaku Uchiha walked slowly out of the shadows nearby, his face filled with irrepressible joy.
He had never imagined things would go this smoothly.
With this, their plan was at least mostly successful.
Fugaku walked briskly to Danzo's side.
He unwrapped the bandages tightly bound around Danzo's right arm, then carefully removed the dense metal braces underneath.
Finally, Danzo's pale arm, covered in ten spinning Sharingan eyes, was fully revealed to Fugaku.
Seeing these ten eyes.
Even though Fugaku had seen this sight before in his visions or suspicions, seeing it in reality filled him with boundless rage.
The joy on his face vanished instantly, replaced by endless fury.
Fugaku clenched his fists tightly, snorting coldly:
"Are the Uchiha's eyes useful to you?"
"This is the price for coveting the Sharingan!"
After speaking, Fugaku's anger subsided slightly.
His tone turned icy as he continued:
"You have been dissatisfied with the Third Hokage for a long time. Now, you have decided to launch a coup. Gather all Root ninjas immediately and storm the Hokage Building!"
Danzo blinked, clarity returning to his eyes—but a false clarity.
Without even looking at Fugaku, he turned and marched quickly deeper into the base to mobilize his forces.