Chapter 157: Chapter 157: Must It Come To This?
Amaterasu.
In an instant, it devoured Danzo and his guard, Fruit Fly.
"Everyone, stay away from those flames!"
Jiraiya shouted, recognizing the extraordinary nature of the Amaterasu's black flames. He quickly unrolled a scroll on the ground and began forming seals.
Sssss.
The black flames on Danzo and Fruit Fly were suddenly attracted by some force, flying towards the scroll and eventually being sealed within it.
Fire Sealing Method.
This is a sealing technique capable of sealing all fires in the world.
Of course, the effectiveness of the sealing technique is directly linked to the ability of the user.
If it weren't for Jiraiya, but someone else rashly using this technique, they might be backfired by Amaterasu due to insufficient ability.
After Jiraiya sealed Amaterasu.
Thud.
Fruit Fly's body fell to the ground, burned to only half its original size.
Danzo's body, however, to everyone's surprise, turned into a charred piece of wood.
Wood Clone.
This is the Wood Style Ninjutsu of the First Hokage, similar to Shadow Clone, but extremely realistic, even the Sharingan can't see through it.
That's right.
Given Danzo's character.
How could he possibly be at the forefront, fighting the Uchiha to the death? Of course, he would hide in the dark, waiting for the right moment to clean up the aftermath.
Danzo deliberately sent out a wood clone to berate the Uchiha clan, just to provoke this war and have the Uchiha and Anbu fight each other.
The facts proved that his plot was successful.
"Danzo!" Itachi's eyes were about to split, his pair of scarlet eyes kept moving, searching around in the crowd, and finally... he looked up at the Hokage Building.
At this moment, the Third Hokage appeared at the window on the third floor, his face full of surprise, observing the commotion below.
The next second.
Whoosh.
Without any hesitation, Itachi rushed towards the Hokage Building. Since Danzo was nowhere to be seen, he would first take out the Third Hokage.
"Attack!"
With a stern shout, several Anbu simultaneously attacked, throwing various kunai and shuriken at Itachi, about to turn him into a hedgehog.
~Yah~ ~Yah~
Itachi's body suddenly disappeared, turning into dozens of crows, flapping their wings towards the sky.
Then.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
A large number of shuriken hidden among the flock of crows rained down on the Anbu on the ground, catching many of them off guard.
Seeing Itachi taking the lead, Fugaku also roared:
"Uchiha, hear my command! Attack the Hokage Building, kill Hiruzen Sarutobi, and avenge Shisui!"
As soon as his words fell.
Fugaku quickly formed seals, slapped his hands on the ground, and poured his chakra into the earth.
Rumble.
Numerous tender green leaves sprouted from the ground and grew rapidly. In the blink of an eye, they grew into large trees, forming a forest in front of the Hokage Building.
Wood Style: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees.
This technique is a simplified version of Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence, although the scale is much smaller, its power is still not to be underestimated.
Wood Style? Fugaku's move surprised everyone.
When did the Uchiha clan master the First Hokage's Wood Style?
Taking advantage of the enemy's surprise.
Whoosh, whoosh.
Under Fugaku's control, the entire forest seemed to come alive, with trees baring their fangs and claws, launching a frenzied attack on Jiraiya and the others.
The Uchiha clan also rushed forward, attacking the Hokage Building.
"We must protect the Hokage's safety!"
The Anbu roared one after another, Elephant, Bull, Kirin, Insect, Blue, Cat, Fox, Hawk, Zhu, Sheep, Lantern... all the elite were out, vowing to defend the Hokage Building.
At the front of the crowd.
Fire Style: Flame Bomb!
Jiraiya puffed up his cheeks, continuously spewing out balls of chakra-trained oil, and using Fire Style to ignite it, forming a huge fireball.
Boom, boom.
Several large trees attacking him were destroyed by the powerful Flame Bomb.
Then.
Lion's Mane Technique.
Jiraiya used the technique again, his long hair wildly dancing and growing longer, like a rope with saw teeth, blocking Fugaku.
Fugaku frowned, speaking to Jiraiya in a deep voice: "The Uchiha clan only wants to kill Hiruzen Sarutobi to avenge Shisui. We will leave Konoha immediately and will not harm the innocent. You just need to step aside now, and you can easily become the Fifth Hokage later."
Jiraiya, however, firmly shook his head in refusal: "Even if the Third Hokage has made mistakes, he does not deserve to die. I won't let you pass."
"Then I'll have to kill you." Fugaku said coldly, forming a tiger seal as he spoke, and opened his mouth.
"Roar!"
A lifelike fire dragon spewed out from his mouth, condensing a large amount of Fire Style chakra, and pounced on Jiraiya.
Great Fire Annihilation. Although the range of this technique is not large, its power and accuracy are astonishing. It is one of the most powerful Fire Style techniques.
Jiraiya's eyes narrowed, he also formed seals, and slapped the ground.
With a loud rumble.
A wall of earth rose in front of him, blocking the attack of the fire dragon.
For a moment.
Around the Hokage Building.
Nearly two hundred Uchiha and over a hundred Anbu ninja began a fierce offensive and defensive battle.
This melee soon spread to the surroundings.
The various large and small ninja clans of Konoha, Ino-Shika-Cho, Inuzuka, Yamanaka, Hyuga, Tsukino, Yūhi... at this moment, almost all chose to stay far away, maintaining a wait-and-see attitude.
Of course, there were also some Konoha ninja, inspired by the Will of Fire, who rushed into the battlefield to support the Anbu, fighting the Uchiha clan to the death.
As for the villagers of Konoha, they were either hiding at home shivering, or rushing to the shelters in panic. The streets were in chaos.
In the midst of this chaos.
Whoosh, whoosh.
Kakashi and Tenzo also hurried over.
They had previously failed to capture Samui and were not punished by the Third Hokage, so they had half a day off. As soon as they arrived, they saw the Uchiha clan attacking the Hokage Building.
Tenzo's face changed, and without much thought, he wanted to rush over and join the battlefield.
"Wait." Kakashi reached out and stopped Tenzo.
"Senior..." Tenzo was puzzled.
Kakashi was silent for a while, and finally, his eyes flashed, saying to Tenzo: "Let the Hokage and Jiraiya handle the Uchiha clan. What we should do is evacuate the surrounding villagers and safely take them to the shelters."
As soon as he finished speaking.
Not far ahead, a mother and daughter from the village were scurrying across the street, completely unaware of the kunai flying out from the battlefield behind them.
Whoosh.
Kakashi immediately rushed forward, knocking away the kunai, and successfully rescued the mother and daughter. Tenzō came to his senses and also stepped forward to help, guiding many villagers of Konoha towards the shelters.
Hokage Building.
The Third Hokage stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, his expression heavy.
Konoha should either maintain peace with the Uchiha clan or quietly annihilate them on a quiet night. The current situation, a full-blown confrontation, was the last thing the Third Hokage wanted to see.
Because it would bring immense destruction to the village and unimaginable losses to Konoha.
Rip.
The Third Hokage tore off his white Hokage robe, revealing the black armor underneath. Then, he performed the Summoning Technique, calling forth his most trusted companion, the Monkey King Enma, and transformed it into the shining golden staff.
Since the Uchiha clan wanted to kill him, the Hokage, to avenge Shisui, he would settle the score with them today.
With that thought. The Third Hokage's eyes hardened, ready to break the window and join the battlefield.
Suddenly, a loud bang came from behind him.
Hmm?
He immediately tensed up, quickly turning his head to see the office door being kicked open.
The two Anbu guards at the door seemed to have been knocked unconscious without any resistance.
Had the Uchiha already broken in?
Who was it? The Third Hokage widened his eyes to look at the door, but there was no one there.
The next second.
He stiffly turned his head to look at his side.
Uchiha Dan, had somehow appeared next to the Third Hokage, silently.
"It's quite lively." Dan walked to the window, crossed his arms, and leisurely looked down at the fierce battle between the Uchiha clan and the Anbu below.
In that instant. The Third Hokage almost instinctively wanted to attack Dan, but he held back.
Because he had no idea how Dan had silently entered the office and appeared at his side. If Dan had attacked just now, he, the Hokage, would probably have been seriously injured.
Moreover, although Dan hadn't made a move, the Third Hokage vaguely felt that he was locked in by Dan's killing intent, making him even more hesitant to act rashly.
"Huh~"
The Third Hokage could only take a deep breath, exhale it, calm himself down, and stand shoulder to shoulder with Dan.
They both looked down at the scene outside the window.
After a few seconds of silence.
"You... went to the Forbidden Jutsu Library?"
The Third Hokage was the first to speak, his pupils shrinking as he noticed the large scroll at Dan's waist.
He had been wondering why Dan hadn't appeared with the Uchiha, and now he finally knew the answer.
"That's right, I went there to borrow the Sealing Book, planning to take it home and study it. You don't mind, do you, Hokage?"
Dan turned his head to look at the Third Hokage and asked expressionlessly.
The Third Hokage forced a smile: "You don't have to make the trip next time you want to borrow it, just tell me, and I'll have someone deliver it to you. But, you must be careful, the Sealing Book contains many forbidden jutsus, which can cause great harm to the user, so it's best not to try them casually."
Upon hearing this, Dan sighed lightly.
"I have no choice, I have to revive Shisui, using the Second Hokage's Reanimation Jutsu."
He said helplessly, and casually mentioned "By the way, back in the day, the Second Hokage persecuted the Uchiha clan quite a bit in his research into the power of the Sharingan. Consider these forbidden jutsus he left behind as compensation to the Uchiha."
"..."
The Third Hokage's face twitched, he wanted to say something but held back, not saying anything in the end.
Whoosh.
A kunai with an exploding tag flew in from the window, exploding with a bang, shattering all the windows, and glass shards scattered all over the floor.
Neither the Third Hokage nor Dan moved.
Watching the battle below becoming more intense.
"Sigh." The Third Hokage suddenly sighed deeply, then asked Dan, "Dan, is it true that you're a spy for the Hidden Cloud?"
"It's true." To his surprise, Dan answered readily.
"Then... Shisui using the ability of the Kamui as a bargaining chip to negotiate with me, was that also your instruction?" The Third Hokage tentatively asked again.
"That's right." Dan admitted again.
"This Uchiha coup, you planned and initiated it, didn't you?" The Third Hokage finally asked in a deep voice.
"Of course." Dan admitted again.
The Third Hokage couldn't help but get angry.
"Dan, how could you... do these things? You're not only a member of the Uchiha, but also a respected Hokage's assistant, do you think you're worthy of that title?"
He glared at Dan with fiery eyes, raising his voice to question him.
"Hokage's assistant?" Dan couldn't help but laugh, asking the Third Hokage, "If I remember correctly, the last Hokage's assistant even sent people to assassinate the Hokage. Compared to Danzō's actions, I haven't gone too far, have I? Besides, if every Hokage's assistant wants to kill the Hokage, isn't it possible that the problem lies not with the assistant, but with the person who is the Hokage?"
The Third Hokage: "..."
He was once again left speechless.
After another period of silence.
Boom, boom!
The battle below had reached a fever pitch, with both the Uchiha clan and the Konoha Anbu suffering heavy casualties.
Bodies were strewn everywhere, and the ground was soaked with blood.
If this continued, the result would be a Pyrrhic victory, with no winners.
Seeing this, the Third Hokage was deeply moved. After a fierce internal struggle, he finally made up his mind.
Enough, enough.
"Dan, does it really have to come to this? Have the Uchiha clan stop, I agree... to give you the position of Hokage."
The Third Hokage spoke with difficulty, compromising.
Once, his bottom line was that he absolutely couldn't let Dan become the Fifth Hokage.
But now, for the peace of the village, for the future of Konoha, for the sake of the overall situation, he was willing to give up his bottom line.
If Dan's goal was to force the Third Hokage to abdicate, then at this moment, he had succeeded.
However, what the Third Hokage didn't expect was when Dan heard that the Third Hokage was going to give up his position to him, there was not a trace of excitement on his face. Instead, he lifted his chin, looking down at the Third Hokage from above.
Finally, he said indifferently: "Hokage? You misunderstand, I've never been interested in the position of Hokage, power is like a passing cloud to me. Moreover, it's the Uchiha clan seeking revenge for Shisui now, no one can make them stop, not even me."
The Third Hokage's eyes widened, a mix of shock and disbelief.
Regaining his senses, he became desperate, urgently saying to Dan:
"Dan, you should know, even if the Uchiha win this civil war—
Would the other clans of Konoha willingly submit to the Uchiha? Would the Daimyō of the Land of Fire agree to the Uchiha ruling Konoha? And the other four great ninja villages, would they just stand by and watch?
If the Uchiha don't stop now, they will only walk towards destruction along with Konoha!"
He thought that his words might have some effect.
However.
Dan just laughed. "Hokage, do you think... I really cared about the fate of the Uchiha clan?" Dan looked down at the battlefield, his eyes deep as he spoke.
"You..."
The Third Hokage was taken aback.
In his eyes, Dan, at this moment, seemed to have transformed into a devil.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone