Chapter 194: Retreating Directly Is Also a Good Option
Why did Hiruzen arrive so quickly?
Kenichi narrowed his eyes. In his understanding, the Third Hokage should have been dealing with the attack at Konoha's main gate right now. And the Uchiha were unpopular to begin with. Even if something happened on this side, it would have been normal for reinforcements to arrive slowly.
Yet Hiruzen had appeared in a frighteningly short time.
There was only one explanation.
After reaching the main gate, Hiruzen had immediately turned around and rushed back toward the Uchiha district.
"Was that Obito's doing?" Kenichi's expression darkened. It was the only possibility that made sense.
But there was no time to dwell on it. The Uchiha had already poured into his airship. There was no reason to clash with Hiruzen here.
Kenichi was annoyed that Obito had played him, but it was not exactly unreasonable.
He had tricked Obito into attacking Konoha to draw attention away from the extraction. Turning around and getting tricked in return was almost poetic.
Cause and effect. Retribution. The ninja world loved that kind of balance.
"If that's the case, then I'll scare Hiruzen first, then use Wind Release to launch the airship immediately."
Kenichi stepped forward to meet him, while one of his shadow clones hurried to secure a rope to the airship.
Hiruzen's gaze sharpened the instant he saw the masked attacker approach.
Kenichi formed hand seals at once, then roared loud enough to shake the air.
"Sage Art! Wood Release! True Several Thousand Hands!"
The earthen wall behind Kenichi began to tremble violently, as if some colossal monster were about to burst out from within.
"What?" Hiruzen's pupils contracted.
Sage Art. Wood Release. True Several Thousand Hands.
Those words were not something you tossed out casually.
Wood Release belonged to the First Hokage.
Hashirama Senju was called the God of Shinobi, and he had been dead for a long time. Most people only knew the legend, not the jutsu. But Hiruzen knew. He had seen the old records. He had heard his teacher speak of it.
And tonight, the Uchiha had already given him enough headaches.
Among the shinobi who fled earlier, Shisui had been there.
That green monster from before should have been Susanoo.
It had even flown away, which made the situation worse.
The Mangekyo Sharingan had shown itself, but it was used by an Uchiha. It had nothing to do with Kenichi, which made everything complicated. Then, before Hiruzen could confirm anything, the masked man in front of him chose to run.
Hiruzen's mind moved fast, and so did his hands.
He opened his mouth, chakra surging.
A fire dragon blasted forward.
In the next instant, a wall of water dropped like a curtain and swallowed the flames head on. Steam erupted immediately, turning the air white and choking.
Hiruzen's heart tightened.
What if the opponent really could use that technique?
But then, something huge shot up into the sky from behind the shaking wall.
A massive object rose, tearing through dust and debris as if the earth itself had been forced to give way.
At the same time, the masked man was yanked upward as well, hauled into the air by the rope.
Hiruzen stared.
He did not know what the flying object was, but he was not about to stand there and watch it escape.
Not when there were Uchiha on it.
"You're trying to fool me." Hiruzen's voice went cold as the truth snapped into place.
He formed a hand seal and split into shadow clones.
Then he launched a five shot barrage into the sky toward the unidentified object.
A half giant appeared below the airship.
Green, burning like flame, towering over the treetops.
It swung its weapon and took the barrage head on.
Kenichi's eyes narrowed despite himself.
So Shisui could use Susanoo too. It seemed you only needed the Mangekyo Sharingan to bring that monster out.
"Susanoo. And it's green. It's a bit ugly," Kenichi muttered, seeing it clearly now.
Below, Hiruzen drew a slow breath, his expression sinking further.
"Susanoo…" The old Hokage's voice was heavy.
An Uchiha who could use Susanoo was not supposed to exist in this era. It was the kind of legendary power his teacher had once described, a single person who could destroy a country.
Hiruzen had lived a long time. He knew far more than most.
In his eyes, the Uchiha had once been a massive threat.
But as the years passed and he took the Hokage seat, that threat had seemed to fade. The current Uchiha could barely reach three tomoe. Anything beyond that felt like a myth.
And now, the myth was standing in front of him, green and furious, protecting an airship full of escaping Uchiha.
If the Uchiha could hide one Mangekyo user, they could hide a second. Or a third.
How many were there?
What exactly did the Uchiha want?
Hiruzen's mood plummeted. A danger he had allowed himself to overlook had suddenly grown teeth, and it had been growing right under his nose.
"Uchiha… you really are something…" Hiruzen opened his mouth again, fire roaring upward toward the sky.
Above, the airship's interior swallowed the sound.
It was extremely well soundproofed. Kenichi also used chakra to craft a simple sound blocking device, sealing away the outside chaos into a distant rumble.
On the deck near the rope, Shisui moved fast.
He had jumped out, used Earth Release to create a foothold, then immediately summoned Susanoo to cover the airship's ascent.
Kenichi had been thinking about how Shisui would return, but Shisui answered that question himself in the next second by climbing the rope barehanded.
His reaction speed really was frightening.
Shisui hauled himself up, then steadied his breathing, eyes bright with adrenaline.
He looked at Kenichi and smiled.
"It's you, isn't it? The Heavenly Demon. The one who attacked the Hidden Cloud Village and Konoha."
Kenichi did not bother denying it. It was just the two of them here, and they had not even entered the lounge yet.
"Yes. It's me."
Shisui's shoulders loosened slightly, as if a weight had fallen off him the moment Konoha disappeared behind them.
After leaving Konoha, he felt inexplicably lighter. The decision was irreversible now. There was no going back.
Kenichi glanced at him. Shisui was not old, but he had carried pressure for too long. Thinking through everything in an instant was impossible.
Humans were still humans. Not monsters who could process a lifetime in a heartbeat.
"The Uchiha will settle in the Land of Rice Fields for now," Kenichi said calmly. "Later, we'll move to somewhere safer. Until then, you'll need to find your own place to live and your own food. Is that acceptable?"
"No problem." Shisui took a slow breath, eyes firming. "Don't underestimate the Uchiha. We are an inextinguishable flame."
Kenichi's gaze shifted past him, into the cabin.
Itachi was inside, calm and composed, one arm around Sasuke as he tried to soothe him.
Sasuke looked shaken, face pale with confusion and fear.
Kenichi paused, genuinely puzzled.
"But why are Itachi and Sasuke here?" he asked. "I remember they're Fugaku's sons."
Shisui's expression turned complicated as he looked at the two boys.
"Our clan leader sent me up here with Itachi and Sasuke," he said quietly.
These two children, especially Sasuke, should have been with their parents.
Instead, Shisui had taken them away from Konoha.
Kenichi climbed into the airship, scanning the anxious crowd inside. He then glanced back at Shisui and raised an eyebrow.
"It seems you were quite well prepared."
Shisui did not answer. He only looked at his clansmen, trying to decide whether his choice was right or wrong.
But the moment they left Konoha, there was no longer a right or wrong that mattered.
Only survival.
Only what came next.
Far below, hidden within the forest, Obito watched the scene with narrowed eyes.
The green giant.
The shinobi inside it.
"That's Susanoo," he muttered, frowning.
Madara had told him before. Susanoo required a complete Mangekyo Sharingan to use.
Obito's gaze tracked the rope, then the masked man being pulled upward.
The Susanoo user was not Kenichi.
That annoying guy was the one tied to a rope and flying upward.
Obito's jaw tightened.
He had deliberately lured Hiruzen over there to test Kenichi's strength. He had expected Kenichi to show something decisive under pressure, something that would reveal whether Kenichi had obtained Obito's Sharingan.
Instead, Kenichi retreated.
He ran.
Obito's eyes swept the airship again, and his gaze caught another detail.
"But why is Itachi there?" Obito's voice turned colder. "Isn't he the clan leader's son?"
If Kenichi was not the one, then Obito would have to test him slowly in the future.
Kenichi looked innocent on the surface, but Obito truly did not know who else could do such a thing besides Kenichi.
And he did not know whether the clan leader and the others would be implicated.
Black Zetsu's voice drifted beside him, scratching at the problem like a knife.
"That thing on top," it said, rubbing its head lightly, "it's a little useful. It transports people well."
Zetsu's gaze followed the airship's ascent.
"But it's easy to be discovered. It doesn't look like it has many protective measures. Shinobi would have to go down and protect it."
Obito's eyes stayed fixed on the shrinking shape.
"Will that thing be helpful to our plan?" he asked, still disappointed.
Black Zetsu's expression shifted, thoughtful and wary.
Kenichi's methods were strange.
And Kenichi himself was worse.
"That guy Kenichi really knows some bizarre things," Zetsu muttered.
For now, all Obito could do was gather more intelligence.
To some extent, what he had just seen probably meant one thing.
Kenichi did not obtain Obito's Mangekyo Sharingan.
Back in Konoha, the aftermath hit like a wave.
An ANBU report arrived fast.
A sudden earthen wall had been discovered outside the walls surrounding the Uchiha compound.
And the attackers at the main gate had already left.
That was why Hiruzen had arrived so quickly.
He had initially rushed toward the gate to see what kind of madman dared attack Konoha, especially after the Hidden Cloud shinobi had only just left.
But before he even reached the gate, he saw words made of flame rising into the sky.
"Susanoo."
Hiruzen had taken a deep breath, then immediately turned back toward the Uchiha district.
And now, after the failure to stop the airship, the internal confrontation began.
Danzo's eyes were sharp, hands clenched tight.
"This is treason by an entire clan," he sneered.
He looked at Fugaku like a butcher measuring meat.
"Clan Head Fugaku, didn't you see that thing just now? So many members of your Uchiha have betrayed Konoha. Are you plotting rebellion?"
Fugaku's expression was ugly.
He had expected Danzo to be shameless.
He had not expected Danzo to become shameless this quickly.
Hiruzen stood nearby, silent, cigarette in hand. His eyes flicked to Danzo, and a quiet irritation surfaced.
That old codger was already thinking of using this as an excuse to strike the Uchiha again.
Now Hiruzen had handed Danzo the perfect excuse.
Danzo's own expression was not good either. He had indeed said those words to Shisui, but he had not expected them to become Fugaku's shield. Root's investigation had confirmed it. The Uchiha really had lost a large amount of money.
Fugaku spoke with a puzzled face, as if he could not understand what Danzo was talking about.
"Elder Danzo, what makes you say that?" Fugaku said. "I heard Shisui say the village needed our contribution, so he sent my clansmen without hesitation. He even took a lot of money to the Hidden Cloud Village to support their repair work."
Danzo's lip twitched.
He could only deny it shamelessly.
"Did I say that? That's just your excuse."
He leaned into the lie as if it were armor.
"It was only me and Shisui at the time," Danzo continued, voice hard. "You can claim whatever you want."
Hiruzen took a long drag from his cigarette.
He understood what his friend was implying.
Some members of the Uchiha had escaped. That conclusion was already set.
Instead of wasting time assigning blame, it would be better to consider how to contain the damage and prevent the situation from spiraling into open conflict.
Still, Hiruzen's gaze remained heavy as he looked at Fugaku.
"Clan Head Fugaku," he said at last, voice low, "do you have anything to say about this?"
Fugaku met his eyes, expression carefully controlled.
"Third Hokage," Fugaku replied, still wearing that mask of confusion, "I don't understand what you mean."
Above the village, the airship was already far away.
Inside it, Kenichi's voice was calm, his eyes narrowed as he looked toward the future.
"Yes," he said quietly, almost to himself. "In the future, the clan is the village, and the village is also the clan."
He would not be like Tobirama and Hiruzen, forever wary of the Uchiha as if they were a disease.
As long as they served him obediently, that would be enough.
Shisui heard it and understood the direction immediately, even if it sounded insane.
"You want to establish a ninja village?" he asked, cautious. With their strength, would that not invite Konoha's retaliation?
Kenichi spread his arms as if embracing the horizon.
"No," he said. "I want to build a nation."
.....
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