“Something’s wrong!
Get out of here!”
The Root shinobi leading the squad roared.
Now that they had realized the flames were anything but ordinary, the Root shinobi no longer dared to charge at Qiyu.
One after another, they hurriedly used the Body Flicker Technique to escape.
One of them even began weaving hand seals at full speed.
“Water Release: Water Formation Wall!”
He tried to surround himself with water, hoping to extinguish the raging flames consuming his body.
To his horror, the Water Formation Wall failed to put out the purple fire.
Instead, the water began boiling the instant the spreading flames touched it, releasing clouds of dense white steam.
In the blink of an eye, the overconfident Root shinobi was cooked alive by the scalding water.
A bloodcurdling scream tore from his throat before the pain overwhelmed him and he lost consciousness.
His bright-red body slowly collapsed into the sea of fire, where the flames continued to consume him until nothing remained but drifting ash.
The others fared no better.
Every Root shinobi who had been touched by even the smallest spark was now engulfed in increasingly violent flames.
They rolled across the ground, screaming as they desperately tried to smother the purple fire.
Their struggles accomplished nothing.
All they left behind were scattered clusters of purple flame and scorched craters burned into the street.
They could only watch helplessly as the fire devoured their bodies inch by inch.
The process was agonizingly slow.
The flames Qiyu wielded were no Intermediate fire.
Although they could not compare to the legendary Samadhi True Fire, they were already infinitely close to the level of Liuding Jia Fire—a flame cultivators specifically used for refining pills and forging artifacts.
Its temperature was unimaginably fierce.
Once it touched someone, extinguishing it was virtually impossible without a fire-warding art or water of extreme yin.
Of the four cat-masked shinobi, three had already been eliminated.
The only one left was the Root captain, who had sent in a shadow clone at the beginning while his true body remained hidden nearby to gather intelligence.
Watching from the shadows, the Root captain’s pupils contracted sharply.
A bone-deep chill swept through him.
So this was the genius of the Uchiha Clan?
He was a monster.
No.
He had to get back immediately and report everything to Lord Danzo.
What he failed to notice was the tiny spark drifting silently toward his hiding place.
A cold smile tugged at Qiyu’s lips.
Shinobi methods were barely worth mentioning before a cultivator.
The Root captain believed his concealment flawless, but beneath Qiyu’s powerful divine sense, he had nowhere to hide.
“Heh.
I’m afraid you won’t be going anywhere.”
“Danzo, huh?
I’ll let that old bastard keep jumping around for a while longer.”
Cruel amusement flickered across Qiyu’s face.
Then his figure vanished.
The Root captain had just turned to flee when the spark before him—no larger than a fingernail—suddenly erupted.
A figure wrapped entirely in flames stepped out from the inferno.
A small, burning hand shot forward and clamped around the captain’s throat.
Sizzle!
The scent of roasted flesh filled the air.
Disbelief flooded the Root captain’s eyes.
“When did you—”
His thoughts lasted only a few seconds.
Then unbearable heat tore through every nerve in his body.
The agony of being burned alive shattered what remained of his composure, and a shrill scream burst from his throat.
“AAAAAGH!”
Amid his screams, the Root shinobi rapidly blackened in Qiyu’s grasp before crumbling into a cloud of charred ash.
“A pack of fools who never understood their own limits.”
Qiyu slowly withdrew the flames surrounding his body, along with the sea of fire spread across the battlefield.
Before the clan meeting, an ambush like this might have caught him off guard.
Now, killing a jonin was as effortless as crushing an ant.
Itachi and Izumi stood within the fireproof barrier, staring blankly at the scene before them.
Itachi’s small throat bobbed as he swallowed.
His brother was too strong.
Was this really the same brother he had always known?
They were nearly the same age, yet Qiyu had effortlessly defeated enemies who terrified even him—and he had done it alone against four of them.
“What’s wrong?
Have you two little ones been frightened senseless?”
Qiyu chuckled at their dazed expressions.
“Qiyu-kun… have you really become this strong?”
Izumi murmured in disbelief.
“Brother, who were those enemies?
Were they spies from another village?”
Itachi quickly recovered and asked.
Qiyu patted his little brother on the head.
“You saw their masks yourself.
Who wears masks like that besides ANBU shinobi?”
“That’s impossible.
Why would Lord Hokage do something like this?”
Disbelief filled Itachi’s young eyes.
“That’s enough.
Children shouldn’t involve themselves in adult affairs.
Let’s go home.
Not a single Konoha shinobi has appeared after all this time.
Clearly, this was only a probe.”
As Qiyu spoke, coldness crept across his face.
So Konoha could no longer tolerate even a six-year-old child?
The thought filled him with contempt.
At that very moment, inside the Hokage Building, the Third Hokage sat in heavy silence after witnessing the entire battle through his crystal ball.
Danzo, seated across from him, looked no better.
“Hiruzen, that little bastard cannot be allowed to live.
Did you see how mercilessly he slaughtered shinobi from the village?
Once he grows older, who knows what he’ll become?”
“And what do you suggest?”
Hiruzen gave Danzo a flat look.
“Find an opportunity to kill him?
Are you certain the Uchiha Clan won’t revolt if we do?”
Danzo opened his mouth to respond, but the Third Hokage cut him off.
“We will leave the matter here for now.
The Uchiha cannot be touched yet.”
“Hiruzen, we cannot simply let this continue!”
Danzo roared.
A wave of irritation surged through Hiruzen.
“Then what do you propose?”
His voice dropped dangerously low.
A sinister gleam flashed through Danzo’s eyes.
“In a little over a year, we arrange for him to graduate early.
Then we send him outside the village.”
As he spoke, Danzo dragged a finger across his throat.
The hand Hiruzen was using to tap ash from his pipe trembled.
“And if he refuses?
He is only six years old.”
“Fugaku’s second son seems rather fond of you, doesn’t he?
If the elder brother refuses, then arrange for the younger one to graduate early.”
A malicious smile spread across Danzo’s face.
“With the pride of the Uchiha Clan, that little bastard won’t be able to endure it for long.
Being surpassed by his own younger brother is not an easy thing to accept.”
After returning home, Qiyu waited until his mother was busy washing the dishes before telling Fugaku about the ambush.
Fugaku’s pupils contracted slightly.
“Qiyu, were you injured?”
Qiyu spread his hands.
“Do I look injured to you?”
“You said they were ANBU?”
Fugaku still had not fully processed what he had heard.
“Yes, Father.”
Qiyu’s answer was calm.
Fugaku’s eyes turned cold.
“I’m going to confront the Third Hokage and demand an explanation.”
He immediately prepared to stand.
“Forget it, Father.”
Qiyu spoke in a leisurely tone.
“You won’t get an answer.
They may even accuse you of attacking ANBU.
When that happens, who do you think the village shinobi will believe—the Third Hokage or you?”
In his previous life, Qiyu had watched enough of the series to understand exactly how shameless Konoha’s elder council could be.
Fugaku froze.
After a long silence, he slowly sat back down.
“Qiyu…”
Fugaku looked seriously at his exceptionally gifted eldest son.
“What do you think we should do?”
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