"Tekka-san?"
Hyuga Mirai called out again, snapping Uchiha Tekka out of his daze.
Uchiha Tekka shook his head. For a moment, he thought he had seen Keikou Sanmoku. But earlier, from Hyuga Mirai's shadow clone, he had already learned most of the details. Still, seeing the scene firsthand left Tekka and the others stunned.
"Thank you for your help, Hyuga-kun."
Though Tekka still harbored some unease about Hyuga Mirai, the latter's shadow clone had just saved many of their clansmen and stopped the deranged Uchiha Itachi and the masked man. Regardless, Mirai was now a benefactor to their clan.
As their benefactor, the Uchiha clan owed him gratitude. As for past matters, they could wait until after this crisis.
"Itachi is severely injured, Tekka-san. Do you want to deal with him yourselves?"
Hearing Mirai's words and the familiar form of address, Tekka felt as though he were speaking with Kansuke again. Without thinking, he voiced his thoughts: "Let him live a few more minutes. We'll execute him before the entire clan!"
The other police force members had no objections. Two in particular glared at Itachi with pure hatred—their relatives, who had lived in this area, had died by his hand.
Were it not for Tekka's authority and the need to execute the traitor before the clan, they would have torn Itachi apart on the spot.
Over a hundred clansmen had been slaughtered by one of their own—a son of their leader, no less, who had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan.
They had witnessed the terrifying power of the Mangekyo. If the Uchiha had been united, with three Mangekyo users, would they have ever feared Konoha?
At Tekka's signal, two police force members roughly twisted Itachi's arms behind his back, ignoring the sickening cracks of bone.
"Tekka-san, given the clan's current state, continuing the coup would be..."
Mirai left the sentence unfinished, but Tekka understood. "The coup is hopeless now. If not for that masked man, with my and the clan leader's power, controlling the Nine-Tails might have been possible..."
"ROAR!!!"
Before Tekka could finish, a deafening beastly roar echoed in the distance.
The sky darkened with an eerie red haze, unmistakably the result of immense chakra.
A clan member hesitantly asked, "Squad Leader... is that the clan leader's chakra?"
"How could it be...?"
Tekka's expression darkened. This chakra felt eerily similar to the one that had caused the chaos six years ago.
But they hadn't targeted the Nine-Tails. No Uchiha had even left the clan district for the village center—they didn't even know where the Jinchuriki lived.
"Hyuga-kun..."
"Yeah... that's definitely the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Your clan leader is facing it, but his chakra is nearly depleted. He's in danger."
Before Tekka could finish, Mirai activated his Byakugan, reporting the distant situation. His Byakugan could see up to ten kilometers, but after the Jinchuriki appeared, Danzo's Root had erected a one-sided barrier, likely to shield the village from the Nine-Tails' attacks.
Even Mirai's Byakugan couldn't penetrate it.
"The Nine-Tails?!"
Tekka and the others were stunned. They hadn't even planned to target the beast, yet Konoha had unleashed it first.
And wasn't the Jinchuriki less than seven years old? At that age, even a brush with the tailed beast's chakra would be fatal!
"Squad Leader, we..."
"Kaze, Aoki—take a squad and escort Itachi back to the clan. No matter who demands it, don't release him. If anyone tries to interfere, kill them immediately!"
Tekka's tone was firm. His last warning referred to Fugaku's wife, Mikoto. If she saw Itachi in this state, she might plead or even attack to free him.
But the traitor had to die—even Fugaku's orders wouldn't stop it. If Mikoto tried to intervene, she would share his fate as a clan traitor.
"Understood, Squad Leader."
The assigned members nodded. With Tekka's orders, they could act without hesitation.
"The rest of you, come with me to support the clan leader!"
Tekka turned to Mirai, who smiled and spoke first: "I'll join you. My mission is to bring the Uchiha clan to the Sand Federation, after all."
"Then we're in your debt, Hyuga-kun."
Speaking with Mirai felt as effortless as talking to Kansuke. Tekka quickly dismissed the thought and led the group toward Fugaku's location.
Along the way, Mirai used medical ninjutsu to heal them. Even before his defection, the Uchiha had heard of Mirai's reputation as an unrivalled "medical saint." His treatment left them nearly unscathed, their chakra replenished.
This earned Mirai even more goodwill. Soon, they arrived at Fugaku's position.
"Clan leader!"
Tekka appeared beside Fugaku in a flash, quickly briefing him: "The clan is safe. Others are guarding the evacuation. We're here to help."
Fugaku could barely maintain his Mangekyo now. Even the three-tomoe Sharingan strained him. Across from him, the Jinchuriki had unleashed three tails and lost all reason—had he been sane, the Mangekyo's genjutsu might have worked.
"Good... Tekka, the clan is yours now. I never thought Danzo would use the Jinchuriki... he's insane."
Fugaku coughed blood weakly.
"He's not insane," Tekka replied coldly, his eyes shifting into the Mangekyo's triangular pattern. He placed a hand on Fugaku.
"Mangekyo!"
As the ocular jutsu activated, Fugaku felt his body miraculously restoring—not healing, but reverting to its original state.
Seeing blood trickle from Tekka's left eye, Fugaku urged, "Tekka, stop. I'm fine now."
Apart from his drained ocular power, Fugaku felt as though he'd never fought.
"Clan leader, have you seen Danzo?"
Tetsuka reverted to the three-tomoe Sharingan, his voice icy. Root ninja surrounded them, likely waiting to capitalize on their exhaustion, but Danzo was nowhere in sight. As the mastermind behind Kansuke's death, Tetsuka wouldn't let him escape.
"No. The old fox is hiding well. And we don't even know who cast the Sharingan genjutsu on the Nine-Tails..."
Before Fugaku could finish, Naruto's Nine-Tails chakra surged violently.
"ROAR!!!"
A thunderous roar unleashed a chakra shockwave, stronger than a B-rank wind jutsu. Buildings dozens of meters away were torn from their foundations.
(End of chapter)