But it was already too late. He reached out, tore out his heart, and then kicked the corpse flying away.
"I said it before—every time I see you, I'll kill you." His cold voice burned amidst the flames.
A missing-nin of Konoha—this time he was branded as one for sure.
He turned back, his eyes glowing red, scanning the sealing unit in front of him. They quickly retreated, while the Uchiha charged forward.
"Susanoo!"
The massive armored warrior appeared again, sweeping everything before it. At the same time, Shinsu Senju (True Several Thousand Hands) was still there.
Everyone who saw this scene could hardly believe their eyes. Either of those jutsu alone was something they had never witnessed before. But the most unbelievable thing was that Shigeo could control both at the same time.
Some of the Konoha jōnin knew—controlling two high-level techniques simultaneously was essentially impossible. Unless chakra from two people was perfectly fused, producing a new technique, no shinobi could hold two different techniques together.
On the battlefield, waves of fire surged, swallowing everything. The Uchiha once again gathered their strength, unleashing Katon (Fire Release) against the Susanoo in front of them.
The fists of the True Several Thousand Hands smashed Uchiha Shisui's Susanoo until it collapsed. He fell to the ground, coughing blood. Uchiha Fugaku rushed forward with Uchiha Itachi, managing to pull Shisui back from the final blow.
As the True Several Thousand Hands vanished, Shigeo charged forward. With Susanoo leading the assault, the entire Uchiha clan was left heavily injured on the ground.
He hadn't delivered killing blows. He knew this was the Third Hokage's scheme—using his hand to slaughter the Uchiha clan. He would not let Hiruzen have his way.
Susanoo vanished. Shigeo's cold gaze swept over the area, including the ANBU from the other four great villages hiding in the distance.
This was meant as an explanation to Konoha, but without their witness, how could it be credible?
Shigeo wanted to explain that he had never declared war on the Five Great Nations, but he knew such explanations were meaningless. The moment he revealed he carried seven tailed beasts, his fate had already been sealed.
A weapon like him—if they couldn't control it, then killing him was the only option that benefited all shinobi villages.
What they cared about wasn't misunderstandings or false accusations. What they feared was the beasts within him—and his power.
If Hiruzen had thought the same way as the other villages, it would have been one thing. But since he repeatedly tried to capture him for experiments, Shigeo decided to give him a "gift."
He looked around. Within the flames, faces distorted by heat waves looked grotesque.
They were all on edge, surrounding the clearing, yet none dared charge in recklessly. The burning forest lit up the sky, heavy smoke spiraling upward.
The glowing chakra waves had faded. It was as if the entire world had gone silent.
Shigeo laughed, turning toward the Torii Gate at the center of the clearing. Step by step, he muttered aloud:
"You people—do you even think? How could I declare war on the Five Nations? What good would it do me? To be hunted, forced to wander? You take me for a fool?"
"Don't—" Uchiha Itachi tried to shout, but his father, Fugaku, clamped his mouth shut.
"What are you doing? He isn't worth your concern."
The next second, Shigeo's foot stepped into the range of the Torii Gate.
The clearing exploded with light. The Eight Trigrams Formation activated, its chakra-restraining seals taking effect. The sealing corps seized their chance to attack again.
The ANBU from the other villages gasped, stepping forward in shock as they watched.
What was going on? Why had he stepped into the trap on his own?
Itachi struggled against his father's grip, shaking his head. Why? Why step into such an obvious trap? Was he insane?
Shigeo stood within the formation, raising his hand to look at his fist. He couldn't gather chakra anymore.
He looked around. His expression was cold, killing intent radiating from him, but his lips curved into a faint smile—as if everything had been part of his plan.
Everyone charged at once, throwing sealing cloths toward him.
"He can't use chakra now—this is our chance!" the sealing corps leader shouted.
Over twenty shinobi coordinated, rushing forward. A sealing barrier appeared overhead, pressing down, while sealing cloths wrapped layer after layer around Shigeo.
"Ahhh!" His muffled resistance came from within the cloth.
Suddenly, a massive golden light burst out. Before anyone could understand what had happened, an explosion erupted from the center of the formation.
The entire valley shook. The blinding flash forced people's eyes shut. A powerful shockwave spread outward, knocking every shinobi, including the ANBU hidden in the woods, bleeding from their mouths.
The sealing corps—more than twenty of them—were obliterated instantly, vanishing like smoke in the shockwave.
"Shigeo!" Itachi's cry echoed through the valley.
He was dead?
Not just those present—even in the Hokage's office, Hiruzen was stunned. He collapsed into his chair, grief in his eyes. He couldn't believe what he had seen.
"How is this possible? His power was so great… How could he die so easily? Could it be…" Hiruzen's eyes widened, muttering the last words in disbelief:
"Did he commit suicide?"
No way forward. Hunted everywhere. He had sought peace and understanding, but the five Kage gave him no chance. How could he live? To wander the world, hunted, at only nine years old?
So he gave up? Ended his own life?
…
"Suicide my ass! Hurry up and get me out, damn it!"
Inside the sealing cloth, Shigeo had waited long enough. Hearing the nearby shinobi's guesses, he couldn't hold back from cursing.
Only then did the crowd realize—he wasn't dead.
They didn't know what caused the explosion, but the boy was still there, wrapped tightly in white sealing cloth under the Torii Gate, struggling against it.
"He's alive! He's still alive!"
Not just the Uchiha—even the ANBU from the other villages sighed in relief. For someone like this to die that way would have been too wasteful.
But Shigeo would never give up his life. To him, nothing was more important than survival.
The explosion had been deliberate—to break the sealing runes suppressing his chakra. Without doing that, he couldn't continue with his next move.
The Uchiha quickly lifted the sealing bundle and carried it toward Konoha.
Not far behind, the wounded ANBU from the four villages followed. They had to see with their own eyes that Shigeo entered Konoha.
…
(End of Chapter)
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