For Konoha, which had just been gravely wounded by the Sand's and Orochimaru's assault, how could it refuse the return of the remaining Uchiha?
Especially when one of them possessed power not inferior to Itachi's, and brought along a group of jonin-and-above members. They weren't here to make trouble; they simply wanted to rejoin Konoha and let the past be the past.
After all, what happened back then was done by the Third and Danzo. The Council hadn't taken part, and they were displeased that Root did nothing during the recent attack, which led to the Third's death.
The Third, whatever else, was the Hokage—and was casually killed. Even if the perpetrator was one of the Sannin, it still slapped Konoha in the face. And what does slapping Konoha's face mean? Slapping the Council's face.
So even with Danzo's vehement opposition, it was useless. Another very important point: the Uchiha were being very generous—with Gato's money, of course.
And even if they disagreed, in its current state Konoha couldn't do anything to the Uchiha. The Anbu had taken a heavy blow the night of the Uchiha massacre and hadn't recovered since. Not long ago they suffered losses again in Orochimaru's Konoha Crush.
Most of Konoha's strength lay with the ninja clans. Most critically, the Third had died, and Konoha still had no Hokage. At the very top, there was only a crippled Danzo and a restless Jiraiya.
The only deployable combat unit was Danzo's Root. The key point: during the Konoha Crush, Danzo didn't even deploy. The Council may sound impressive, but they actually commanded fewer forces than some clan heads.
Konoha was already on shaky ground. If the other four villages struck now, trouble would follow—Konoha might be pulled off its pedestal.
At such a time, the addition of a Kage-level not weaker than Itachi, plus a crowd of jonin-and-above, was in some measure an enhancement of Konoha's strength.
So why would the leadership refuse? The Uchiha had shown ample sincerity. There were only a bit over twenty of them—absolutely impossible to launch a coup. Even if a coup succeeded intact, who would run Konoha? Give me a break. Back then, just the Police Force had them in chaos. As for Danzo? Not their problem—more than one Council member kept that attitude.
They blamed Danzo for burning them.
"Itachi, are these all your clansmen?" Even someone as strong as Kisame felt a bit uneasy under the gaze of more than twenty pairs of three-tomoe Sharingan.
Judging by the feel, there were at least several elite jonin among them. And even if they were all only jonin, Kisame couldn't handle it.
These were Uchiha jonin—born with hack eyes.
Kisame didn't have the Fourth's Flying Thunder God, and three-tomoe Uchiha jonin weren't those useless Iwa shinobi of Kikyo Mountain. Against elite Uchiha jonin of this caliber, he'd crush one on one, beat two, run from three.
Four… how was that supposed to be fun? Four elite jonin who could read his movements and came with copy, hypnosis, genjutsu reflection, and secret arts—the thought alone made him wince.
"Who are you?" Ignoring the others, Itachi stared straight at the one leading the group—a young-looking boy—Uchiha Musashi.
"Me? Heh, nothing much—just the current head of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Musashi." Worthy of Itachi—the shinobi world's top-tier prodigy, who'd reached near-peak Kage level in his teens—his eye was razor sharp.
Naruto and Sasuke could reach super-Kage-level in their teens because they were Asura and Indra.
The only ones who reached that at this age purely on talent were Itachi, Sakura, and Kimimaro.
"What!" "You're kidding!" "So young!" As Musashi's words fell, the jonin—besides Kakashi, who had mostly recovered—exclaimed in unison. Even Jiraiya had to glance over.
Who were the Uchiha? A clan of proud, arrogant types—actually recognizing as clan head a kid who didn't look much older than Sasuke. He definitely wasn't simple.
"I see… Kisame, we're leaving." Itachi gave Musashi a bland look, the same dead expression like someone owed him a fortune, and spoke to Kisame at his side.
As if whether the other was the Uchiha's clan head had nothing to do with him.
"Wait—leaving like this would be boring, wouldn't it?" Itachi, if you want to leave, you still have to ask whether I, Musashi, agree. Even if your Susanoo had several divine tools, so what?
"What do you want?" Same eternal expression, same eternal tone. Perhaps only Sasuke could change his attitude—damn siscon.
"A fight. Let me see what skills you've got to be called the man who wiped out my Uchiha clan." This was also to show our strength in front of Sasuke, lest Orochimaru lure him away. Indra must not simply leave.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" Itachi didn't waste words—his seals were near-instantaneous as he launched a massive fireball at Musashi.
Legend has it he's the fastest at forming seals in the Naruto world—six seals per second. Truly Itachi—no wonder he stayed single so long—those hand speeds are different.
Itachi's Great Fireball wasn't like Sasuke's—just big flames, however big still scattered.
His Great Fireball was like a small sun—dense, at extremely high temperature, and, most importantly, rolling. The Uchiha were renowned for Fire Release across the world for a reason. On fire jutsu alone, Itachi could roam the shinobi world unhindered.
"Impressive. But I can do it too—and better. Fire Release: Great Fireball Fusion Technique!" His hand speed was no worse than Itachi's—in fact faintly surpassing.
Another massive fireball appeared. The two collided, and Itachi's fireball visibly dissolved, actually being absorbed by Musashi's.
After absorbing Itachi's Great Fireball, Musashi's grew to more than double, radiating even more scorching flames.
But although it grew and strengthened, a technique of this level could not hit Itachi. He dodged it with ease and launched his attack at Musashi. Where the huge fireball passed, nothing remained, as if scoured by lava.
"Good lord… even my Water Release would struggle to block that. The Uchiha really are monsters." Watching the destructive might, Kisame gulped.
Itachi didn't rely on the Sharingan alone. In taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu, he had high mastery. Taijutsu was perhaps the weakest of the three—but that was only relative to specialists. Ordinary taijutsu users were no match.
Besides Fire Release, the Uchiha had another art famed across the ninja world—projectiles. Uchiha shurikenjutsu was razor sharp—often striking from impossible angles.
The original had several depictions—unbelievable arcs hitting the bull's-eye, and the wire-guided Phoenix Sage Fire Technique. Before everyone's eyes, the two put on a brilliant projectile duel.
One mind-boggling projectile technique after another left the crowd thrilled—if not for certain concerns, they would have cheered.
For the first time, a thought arose in every shinobi's mind: so projectiles could be used to such strength.
Those blossoming shuriken strikes weren't inferior to some A-rank ninjutsu at all.
Even an old powerhouse like Jiraiya couldn't help admiring—Konoha's geniuses never ceased. He hadn't expected to see such a strong genius after the White Fang.
Unfortunately, these geniuses… Jiraiya suddenly thought of Orochimaru—his former teammate, once a genius.
No—this couldn't drag on. This guy was very strong—at least not weaker than Jiraiya. If they kept at it, Konoha's other units would arrive—then things would get complicated. End it quickly. Looked like eye overuse today was inevitable.
"Amaterasu!" Without warning, black flames burst from Itachi's right eye.
"Hmph ╭(╯^╰)╮ So quick to go all out? Honestly, I haven't had my fun yet. Still, a gift delivered to my door—I'll gladly accept it." Musashi looked at the oncoming black fire with delight rather than fear.
The instant the black flames touched Musashi, his right eye suddenly turned pitch-black. The black flames gathered toward it as if drawn by something—and the moment they touched that pitch-black eye, they vanished, as if eaten. Yes—this was the ability of Musashi's right-eye Mangekyo Sharingan: absorption. It could absorb all energy-based attacks in existence. Not only that, it could release them—meaning the energy the right eye absorbed could be fired back out.
That wasn't all. The last function—and the strongest of this ability—was digestion.
Digestion—meaning it could digest absorbed energy, enhancing his own abilities and mastering the absorbed energy. In other words, after the right eye absorbed and digested Amaterasu, Musashi would then be able to control the black flames of Amaterasu himself.
It would just take a bit longer to digest Amaterasu. It was a downright broken ability. The only pity—he couldn't absorb physical attacks. But that already was enough. Worthy of someone meticulously cultivated by Meruem.
(End of Chapter)
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