Will of Fire (4K Mega Chapter, Please Subscribe)

Uchiha Obito, wearing a spiral mask, looked at the young man standing in his way, his voice turning cold.

"Uchiha… Shisui, instead of helping Konoha or the Uchiha Clan survive today’s Kalpa, you’re waiting for me here?"

The distant explosions had put Konoha on alert. Large numbers of residents began taking their families indoors and locking their doors, while Chunin- and Genin-level ninja rapidly evacuated civilians near the Hokage Office.

At the same time, they tried to protect the others assigned to guard duty.

Inside a small building, young Naruto, wearing goggles, hid alone in his home. He could not see the two powerful ninja confronting each other on the roof above him.

Uchiha Shisui took a deep breath. Seeing the distinct Three Tomoe in the single eye exposed by the spiral mask, he finally confirmed that everything Mercenary Tao had told him was true.

He shook his head.

"Itachi has already made his choice. No one can stop today’s slaughter. But you… Senior Obito, do you really intend not to spare even the last orphan left behind by your teacher and his wife?!"

Though members of the Uchiha Clan were prone to extremes, even Shisui had never seen anyone so extreme. Because he had suffered misfortune, he wanted everyone else to become miserable as well. Even the teacher and teacher’s wife who had once treated him so kindly were killed without hesitation, and now, for the sake of the Tailed Beasts, he had set his sights on their orphan.

Even Uchiha Shisui felt sickened by such behavior.

His two Three-Tomoe Sharingan stared quietly at Uchiha Obito as a short blade appeared in his hand.

Seeing Uchiha Shisui’s movements, Uchiha Obito knew that this rising talent of the clan had likely received some information and had deliberately come to protect Uzumaki Naruto.

Based on what he had witnessed during the Nine-Tails Attack, he could roughly infer that the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was Teacher Minato’s child. Yet he had never known the child’s specific identity until some information from within Konoha recently revealed Uzumaki Naruto’s identity to him.

Thus, after seeing Nagato being "bewitched" by Mercenary Tao, Obito had immediately understood. He secretly followed the others to Konoha as well, intending to capture the Nine-Tails while the Akatsuki carried out the "Konoha Destruction Plan."

That way, he could obtain the most difficult Tailed Beast without anyone noticing. Then, when war broke out later, even without the Akatsuki, he could use this group as a distraction to complete the Tailed Beast collection plan.

But he had not expected the strongest member of the current Uchiha Clan to be waiting here.

The reason Uchiha Obito’s gaze darkened was that this meant Mercenary Tao had already accounted for his actions in his plans.

"Does Mercenary Tao really think you alone can stop me?"

Uchiha Obito looked at Uchiha Shisui, who was ready to attack, and sneered.

"Or do you, the strongest Uchiha of this era, really think you’re the strongest Uchiha of all?"

Whoosh!

Shisui instantly appeared behind Uchiha Obito, driving his short blade into Obito’s chest. Obito ignored it completely; the spot the blade struck was utterly empty.

But Uchiha Shisui paid it no mind. Figure after figure, impossible to distinguish as clones or the real body, continuously lunged at Obito with stabbing attacks.

Seeing this, Obito’s gaze grew colder still. He sensed that someone had likely learned of his Mangekyō Sharingan ability.

And in the current ninja world, there were only a handful of people who could know such a thing.

Pfft!

A wooden spike suddenly erupted from the rooftop floor, piercing through several clones. More wooden spikes sprouted within the clones, and in an instant, countless clones and illusions vanished one after another.

Uchiha Shisui’s figure appeared at the edge of the rooftop.

His expression was grave. Uchiha Obito’s strength was indeed terrifying. Though he possessed an intelligence advantage, Mercenary Tao clearly had no intention of describing Obito’s abilities in great detail. Shisui only knew that Uchiha Obito possessed a Mangekyō Sharingan ability called Kamui, which could render his body intangible and evade any attack completely, while also teleporting himself and those nearby into the Kamui Dimension.

It was the most bizarre kind of space-time Mangekyō Sharingan ability.

And now, Shisui discovered that Obito not only possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, but also the legendary Wood Release—the Kekkei Genkai whose legacy had been severed in Konoha since the death of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama.

Uchiha Obito gave the wary Uchiha Shisui two cold laughs, then his body naturally sank down, vanishing through the rooftop and entering Uzumaki Naruto’s room directly.

He had not deliberately toyed with these ninja today because he was in a poor mood as well.

After witnessing too much darkness in the ninja world, he had lost patience with this world and wanted to use the Infinite Tsukuyomi to grant it true, eternal peace.

But returning to this homeland and seeing familiar people and things still stirred turbulent emotions within him once more.

Uchiha Obito landed in the room. There was only a young boy huddled on the bed, trembling, but with a single glance, he saw that it was a clone.

When he saw that Uchiha Shisui had not pursued him, he understood that Shisui had hidden Uzumaki Naruto away beforehand.

Obito sighed, then returned to the rooftop. Looking at Uchiha Shisui, he asked in confusion,

"Just because of a few words from Mercenary Tao, you’re willing to risk your life for his orders?!"

Wood Release: Cutting Technique naturally formed in his hands. If possible, he did not want to kill Uchiha Shisui so early. He had originally intended to harvest the Uchiha Clan’s Sharingan at a more suitable time.

But now that Mercenary Tao knew his objective, he could only complete it as quickly as possible, and then… kill everyone.

Uchiha Shisui recalled Mercenary Tao’s words. For the first time, clear fighting spirit appeared in his gaze as he looked at Uchiha Obito.

If the man before him truly was the mastermind hiding behind the Akatsuki, the culprit behind the Nine-Tails Attack that had caused the deaths of the Fourth Hokage and his wife and made Konoha hate the Uchiha Clan once more…

Then today, he had to defeat this man to resolve the clan’s predicament.

Uchiha Shisui closed his eyes. Uchiha Obito appeared before him in an instant, the terrifying Wood Release: Cutting Technique stabbing toward his body.

But in the next moment, Uchiha Shisui opened his eyes. The tomoe in his pupils instantly connected, transforming into the shape of shuriken.

Mangekyō Sharingan!

At the same time, green Chakra erupted violently from his body. The Cutting Technique struck that surging green Chakra and shattered instantly.

Uchiha Obito immediately turned intangible and leaped backward.

A massive skeletal frame appeared, followed by green flames seeming to envelop it as the Uchiha Clan’s strongest secret technique, Susanoo, began to manifest.

Uchiha Shisui stood calmly atop the building. The appearance of that Susanoo was instantly sensed by every powerful person in Konoha sensitive to Chakra.

It was the sight of a top-tier powerhouse displaying his strength without reservation, a sight Konoha had not seen in decades.

The supreme secret technique with which the Uchiha Clan had once dominated the Sengoku era—Susanoo—had returned to the world!

Uchiha Obito was somewhat stunned as well, drifting several hundred meters backward.

He covered his mask. His body was now wrapped in White Zetsu; although his physical abilities had been enhanced, the missing Sharingan had not been restored.

Without a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan, he could not activate Susanoo. Thus, even with Wood Release, he did not want to confront Uchiha Shisui head-on.

Obito began retreating at once, but the moment Uchiha Shisui activated Susanoo, he had already prepared for a fight to the death. Almost instantly, he blocked Uchiha Obito’s path.

Susanoo spread its arms, and an overwhelming pressure bore down.

Obito knew Kakashi was currently in the village, and his Kamui ability was special. No matter how powerful Susanoo was, protecting himself would not be difficult, so he led Uchiha Shisui’s Susanoo toward the battlefield.

Seeing this, Uchiha Shisui approached the battlefield as well, as though he had noticed nothing. The reason he had not chosen to use Kotoamatsukami was, first, because he still hoped to use it at a crucial moment to protect Konoha.

He could not judge whether Mercenary Tao, Pain, or Uchiha Obito before him was more dangerous, so he could not use Kotoamatsukami now.

Furthermore, after activating Susanoo, he possessed nearly unmatched frontal combat strength. He also intended to approach the main battlefield and restrain the Akatsuki and Mercenary Tao.

After the Hokage Office collapsed with a thunderous crash, large numbers of Jonin and Anbu instantly separated the members of the Akatsuki. These people divided the group apart almost regardless of casualties.

At the same time, the medical corps entered the scene, and someone dug out the severely injured Hyuga Hiashi.

Through Pain’s eyes, Nagato saw Mercenary Tao confronting the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen; the Uchiha youth being held back by Uchiha Fugaku; and Orochimaru being jointly blocked by several Anbu.

Only Konan and the Six Paths of Pain remained, facing nearly a hundred ninja.

Ninja from every Konoha division continued to gather. They attempted to use numbers to form formations and cast higher-level techniques to stop them.

Pain shook his head indifferently.

Konoha’s ninja indeed had high average quality, but compared to its prime, it now had surprisingly few powerful figures.

Those former Kekkei Genkai clans, such as the Senju, Kurama Clan, and Moonlight Clan, seemed to have withered away.

"Konoha’s ninja, feel the pain of war happening within your own village."

With a casual grasp, an Anbu fell into his hand. A black rod instantly pierced the man’s heart before Pain casually tossed him aside.

Pain, possessing the Rinnegan, was already a taijutsu expert. Combined with an obscure ability like Banshō Ten’in, ordinary ninja found it impossible to resist him.

Suddenly, a massive shadow covered the ground. Pain looked up and saw an enormous toad descending from the sky.

The Six Paths of Pain instantly leaped backward. Jiraiya had finally returned to Konoha at a critical moment with his Summoning Beast.

This made Sarutobi Hiruzen feel slightly relieved.

But seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen’s reaction caused Bai Cangshu’s gaze to turn cold.

"Fighting me, and you still have the mind to pay attention elsewhere…"

"Tch. Looks like I’ve played around with you for too long."

Bai Cangshu had already lost interest in fighting Sarutobi Hiruzen. His opponent had abundant combat experience and fought with extreme "slipperiness." After realizing Bai Cangshu’s strength, he had continuously used the Body Flicker Jutsu, Substitution Technique, and Clone Technique to evade, trying to wear Bai Cangshu down.

Bai Cangshu knew that if this continued, that old bastard would definitely be unable to outlast him in the end, but that kind of battle was utterly boring.

Purple Satsui no Hado spread through his eyes. Since Sarutobi Hiruzen had chosen to fight so halfheartedly, Bai Cangshu would naturally show him what a beast denied satisfaction would choose to do.

Bai Cangshu suddenly raised his left foot high. The exaggerated movement was unlike ordinary taijutsu.

Such a move, full of obvious openings, seemed to signal that he was about to use an extreme tactic.

Sarutobi Hiruzen instinctively retreated again. In his battle against this Mercenary Tao, he felt increasingly powerless. He had struck his opponent several times, yet Bai Cangshu had shown no reaction at all.

Neither shuriken nor ninjutsu could inflict effective damage on him. On the contrary, every attack brought inexplicable Fire Release attacks upon himself.

This forced him to use every method available to maintain distance during the battle and gather intelligence.

The next moment, that raised foot slammed down onto the ground.

Boom!

The ground shook violently, followed by cracking sounds. Moments later, the earth suddenly shattered.

A massive cloud of dust rose.

Purple light flashed through the air for an instant.

Bang bang bang bang…

The terrifying sound of countless fists pounding a human body rang out. Sarutobi Hiruzen’s heart jolted, and he immediately formed hand seals.

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!

Whoosh~

The fierce wind scattered the dust. The tall man’s entire body was wrapped in a purple aura like flames, constantly flickering with an eerie, sinister quality.

Then, he turned his head halfway and met Sarutobi Hiruzen’s eyes. His pupils had become completely blank, and his face was filled with a cruel smile.

In his hand was his old friend, Mitokado Homura, who had once been nearly as strong as himself. One of Bai Cangshu’s fists had pierced through Homura’s chest, blood continuously flowing from his mouth and nose.

The kunai in Mitokado Homura’s hand had also pierced Bai Cangshu’s abdomen, but Bai Cangshu acted as if he felt nothing and casually withdrew his arm.

A flood of blood and organs poured down instantly, along with Mitokado Homura’s life.

This Konoha high-ranking official, who had once fought across battlefields, could only futilely clutch his chest in his final moments. His body grew colder, trembled a few times, and then his consciousness sank into eternal darkness.

At death’s door, he had chosen to attempt a mutual-kill strike with Bai Cangshu. That choice made Bai Cangshu regard him slightly more highly. Rather than blasting apart his corpse like the others, he left him an intact body.

You killed Hokage Advisor Mitokado Homura, obtaining 1000 Dimensional Points

You obtained E-rank Anomaly Point*1

Your reputation with Konoha has decreased. Current: Hatred (92/100)

Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at the battlefield in shock. His disciple Orochimaru had also slowly lowered his combat stance. Of the ninja and Anbu surrounding him, only severed limbs remained scattered across the ground. Around six or seven ninja had been brutally killed in that brief instant.

Sarutobi Hiruzen saw Mercenary Tao tilt his head toward him. The icy purple gleam in his eyes made him seem like an evil ghost, like an Asura.

"You… bloodthirsty ferocious beast…"

Bai Cangshu smiled cruelly, then charged toward the others again, but Sarutobi Hiruzen was already standing in his path.

The Third Hokage, worn down by politics for far too long, carried resolve and calmness in his eyes.

"You want a fight. You want this old man’s life…"

Bai Cangshu stopped. He sensed the surging fighting spirit rising from his opponent, the finest nourishment for Satsui no Hado.

Then the two of them sprinted directly toward Hokage Rock.

This sight left Shimura Danzō, hiding in the shadows, with a complicated expression. But in the end, he merely turned away coldly, waved his hand, and led the Root ninja toward the Uchiha Clan compound.

Hiruzen, you truly have grown old. Your heart has softened…