The next day, the Third Hokage summoned Fugaku and informed him of the elders’ final decision.
Fugaku listened, then nodded.
“Fugaku, that is the situation.
You may leave.”
Sarutobi lowered his head and approved another document.
When he looked up again, however, Fugaku was still standing there.
A trace of confusion flashed through his eyes.
“Is there something else, Fugaku?”
Fugaku recalled what his eldest son had told him that morning.
“Father, when you meet with the Hokage today, if he approves the clan’s relocation proposal, make sure he gives you an official document bearing his authorization.”
“Why?”
Fugaku had looked at him in confusion.
Qiyu merely smiled and replied with four words.
“Words alone prove nothing.”
With that, Qiyu had taken Itachi to school.
Returning to the present, Fugaku looked at the Third Hokage.
His gaze steadied, and he ultimately chose to trust his son.
“Lord Hokage, I would also ask that you issue an official written order.”
Sarutobi’s expression darkened.
“Fugaku, are you saying you do not trust me as Hokage?”
“No, Lord Hokage.
With an official document, I will be able to properly explain the decision to the clan.”
Fugaku spoke respectfully.
The Third Hokage stared gloomily at Fugaku, who remained standing before him.
After a moment, he sighed.
“Perhaps I have failed in my duties as Hokage.
I cannot believe I forgot something so important.”
He casually picked up a blank document from the side and began writing.
Before long, the order was complete.
He stamped it with the Hokage’s official seal, then slowly handed it to Fugaku.
Fugaku accepted the document and carefully reviewed its contents.
Finding nothing wrong, he bowed slightly.
“Lord Hokage, I will take my leave.”
With that, Fugaku turned and walked out of the office.
The moment the door closed, Sarutobi’s expression finally became unbearably gloomy.
At the same time, a figure emerged from the shadows behind him.
“Ambitious wolves.
The Uchiha clan truly cannot be trusted.”
“Have you investigated what happened during the Uchiha clan meeting?”
Danzo nodded.
“The one who proposed demanding compensation was Fugaku’s eldest son.
They put on quite the performance, presenting a united front from top to bottom.”
“The child who questioned the Will of Fire?”
Sarutobi frowned in disbelief.
“Is he not only six years old?
Would those arrogant Uchiha truly listen to a mere child?”
“Hmph.
That is precisely why I say the Uchiha harbour dangerous ambitions.”
A cold glint flashed through Danzo’s eyes.
“If our informant had not revealed the truth, how would we have known that Fugaku, who usually appears so honest and restrained, had been concealing such a move?
According to the report, his eldest son defeated one of the hardliners’ elders during the clan meeting.
He appears to have awakened some kind of new kekkei genkai.”
“Troubled times indeed.”
Sarutobi drew deeply from his pipe and slowly exhaled.
Watching the smoke drift through the room, he let out a weary sigh.
“Sarutobi, we need to test that little bastard’s strength.”
Danzo’s icy gaze remained fixed on him.
Sarutobi was silent for a long time.
“Do not take it too far.”
Danzo said nothing more.
His figure gradually disappeared back into the darkness.
That night, a pale full moon hung in the sky.
Qiyu walked along a quiet path within the Uchiha compound with Itachi and Izumi.
Each of them held a skewer of three-coloured dango.
“Qiyu, why is yours different from mine this time?”
Izumi asked with a slight pout.
“Because Izumi is already too sweet.
I suddenly felt like eating something salty.”
Qiyu answered teasingly.
Izumi’s small face immediately flushed.
“No fair.
I want to taste Qiyu’s salty one too.”
With that, she opened her mouth and leaned toward the savoury dango in Qiyu’s hand.
Qiyu did not pull it away.
Instead, he watched her fondly as her cheeks puffed up while she chewed.
“Eat as much as you like.”
Itachi silently watched the scene.
He lowered his gaze to the three-coloured dango in his own hand.
For some reason, even though his had twice the usual amount of sugar, it no longer tasted particularly sweet.
Suddenly, Qiyu sensed an intense feeling of being watched.
He stopped walking.
In an instant, his powerful spiritual sense spread outward.
Within the surrounding darkness, four shinobi wearing cat-faced masks were concealed among the shadows.
“Brother, what is it?”
Itachi looked at Qiyu in confusion.
Qiyu smiled faintly at Itachi and Izumi, both of whom were staring at him in bewilderment.
Izumi was still chewing.
“Itachi, I left something at the academy.
I need to go back and get it.”
He casually offered an excuse.
“Then we will wait for you, Qiyu!”
Izumi said, blinking her large, innocent eyes.
Qiyu was about to refuse when the four hidden shinobi suddenly moved.
“Forget it!
Itachi, stay alert!
We have enemies!”
Qiyu roared.
The Five Emperor Swords within his body instantly transformed into five figures, surrounding Itachi and Izumi.
At the same moment, Itachi activated his two-tomoe Sharingan.
Sure enough, four figures were charging toward them at astonishing speed.
Boom!
Before Itachi could react, he once again saw his brother transform into a living incarnation of flame.
Qiyu’s eyes glowed scarlet, as though fire burned within them.
Every strand of his fiery hair danced wildly in the waves of heat, making him resemble a fire god descending into the mortal world.
A scorching temperature, like the height of summer, erupted around him.
“Heh.
A pack of rats crawling through the gutter.”
Killing intent flashed through Qiyu’s eyes.
He had originally intended to let Itachi and Izumi leave first.
However, the enemy clearly had no patience to wait.
They had never regarded either child as a threat.
“Enough talk.
Kill him!”
The four cat-masked shinobi swiftly drew kunai and hurled them at Qiyu.
The four blades approached from different directions, each following a vicious trajectory toward one of his vital points.
Their sharp whistles tore through the night.
Qiyu looked disdainfully at the incoming kunai.
He did not even attempt to dodge.
The flames surrounding his body suddenly burned even more fiercely.
Their crimson light illuminated several dozen metres around him.
The waves of heat made Itachi and Izumi feel as though they were being roasted beneath the blazing sun.
Before the kunai could reach Qiyu, they melted into thick streams of molten iron.
The four Root shinobi were horrified.
“What kind of technique is this?!”
But they had no time to think.
Qiyu raised one hand and formed a single seal.
A violent wind suddenly appeared out of nowhere, whipping the flames around his body into a frenzy.
Sparks scattered in every direction, drifting through the air like a magnificent shower of falling stars.
Itachi and Izumi stared in astonishment.
“So beautiful…”
Izumi murmured dazedly.
The fire clone beside her immediately stepped forward.
It swiftly traced a circle around Itachi and Izumi.
“Remember.
Do not leave this circle under any circumstances!”
The fire clone warned them before chanting a brief incantation.
“Flame-Repelling Barrier.”
The moment the words fell, countless densely packed talisman markings rose from the circle and floated around Itachi and Izumi.
The unbearable heat vanished at once, replaced by a refreshing coolness.
At that same moment, Qiyu looked coldly at the cat-masked shinobi still charging toward him.
“Dao Art: Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain!”
Boom!
Every crimson spark drifting through the sky suddenly pulsed like a beating heart.
The countless sparks, each no larger than a fingernail, instantly expanded.
A vast sea of fire descended upon the entire street.
With the exception of the circle drawn around Itachi and Izumi, purple flames engulfed everything in sight, trapping every Root shinobi within the inferno.
The Root shinobi had paid little attention to the harmless-looking sparks.
Now, those same sparks transformed into a raging volcano and surged toward them from every direction.
The terrifying heat ignited their clothing in an instant.
And then the flames began spreading toward their flesh…
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