"Uchiha Itsuki, how dare you lay a hand on the Root's people?"
"Do you want to betray the village?"
These words screamed wildly in the heart of the Anbu ninja.
On the outside, though, he maintained a calm expression, not making a sound.
"Shh!"
"Don't say anything."
"Otherwise, you'll definitely get beaten."
"Who wants to be a fool and get beaten?"
"Certainly not me!"
"As for Root getting beaten up, what does that have to do with Anbu?"
"Besides, their leader lost his as well, so it's only normal for his subordinates to lose a couple too, right?"
"It-suki!"
Fugaku couldn't help but step forward and reprimand, "Don't just attack people randomly."
"Who attacked randomly?" Itsuki retorted, dissatisfied. "I was clearly very serious when I beat him."
"We need to respect others!"
"Fugaku, have you been the clan leader for so long that you're out of touch now?"
Looking at the Root ninja lying on the ground, clutching his groin, body convulsing, Fugaku felt even more of a headache.
"Is now really the time for you to be this unserious?"
"Itsuki, about your Flying Thunder God..."
He wasn't the only one who wanted to ask.
Everyone present was curious.
Looking at their constipated expressions, it seemed like Itsuki had better give an explanation to clear things up.
"Danzo taught me," Itsuki insisted.
Even if you kill Danzo, it was still him who taught me.
"How could that be possible?"
No one believed that Danzo would teach Itsuki the Flying Thunder God.
He may be blind, but he wasn't stupid!
Itsuki explained, "Danzo said he just wanted an Uchiha to learn Flying Thunder God!"
"And by the way, he laughed smugly at that time."
Everyone: "..."
If he puts it that way, it does kind of make sense.
Having an Uchiha learn a forbidden technique, especially Uchiha Itsuki at that—that was clearly a setup to get rid of him!
Many people had a darkened expression.
The Uchiha, in particular, had killing intent in their eyes.
This was too much!
However!
Danzo probably didn't expect Itsuki to actually learn the Flying Thunder God.
This top-tier technique, developed by the Second Hokage and mastered only by the Fourth Hokage, was incredibly powerful.
Without Flying Thunder God, it's unlikely that the Fourth Hokage would have become Hokage in the first place.
And indeed!
No one else had managed to learn it besides the Fourth Hokage!
It all made sense now!
Otherwise.
It would've been hard to explain how Itsuki had learned Flying Thunder God.
All forbidden techniques were sealed and kept personally by the Hokage.
Uchiha Itsuki would have no opportunity to obtain it.
In fact, no Uchiha would ever get access to a forbidden technique—not even a chance!
"Alright, let's leave this to the Third Hokage to handle," an Anbu member stepped forward. "Since Itsuki is here, let's continue our earlier discussion about the Third Hokage's proposal..."
"I disagree!" Itsuki suddenly declared.
The Anbu was speechless, saying, "Itsuki, I haven't even said anything yet!"
This opposition was too sudden!
At least listen to what it's about!
"I disagree with everything!"
Itsuki gave a sidelong glance at the Anbu and sneered, "If it's a proposal from the Third, I disagree with it all, unless you give me a satisfactory explanation for the incident with the Hidden Cloud. You went too far."
The Anbu was left speechless.
Clearly, we suffered the most losses, so why are you acting so aggrieved?
Everyone else fell silent too.
Well, what do you know!
Impressive, indeed!
It ended before it even began.
One had to admit... well done!
Itsuki continued, "I followed orders from the Third, but the Anbu left me behind to complete the mission alone. If I weren't strong enough, I'd probably be dead by now."
"The Uchiha clan followed orders and went to the Hidden Sand, with over twenty excellent ninjas. In the end, only one and a half returned."
"And now, what are you trying to do again?"
Itsuki sneered and said, "What? Are you guys planning to go against the Uchiha?"
The Anbu's faces changed immediately. "Itsuki, you can't just say things like that."
Fugaku said in a low voice, "I agree with part of what Itsuki said."
As for which part he agreed with, you'd have to guess.
"Anbu ninjas, the Uchiha have never been afraid to die. We are willing to sacrifice ourselves for the village, but in Itsuki's case, we need an explanation!"
"Hmph!"
A Hyuga member couldn't help but snort coldly.
The Hyuga clan had also sacrificed six jōnin and over twenty family elites, which made Hiashi's heart ache.
Yet the Hokage hadn't said a word!
Do they really look down on the Hyuga that much?
What left him speechless was that nobody else seemed to consider the Hyuga's feelings.
They were the ancient Hyuga!
The second largest clan in Konoha!
They had dignity, too.
They were going too far!
The Hyuga ninjas cursed bitterly in their hearts.
The Anbu captain, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, felt a headache coming on.
He knew this time the Uchiha wouldn't be easy to deal with.
Damn it, Danzo, what exactly did you do?
According to Shinnosuke, they should just throw Danzo out.
But his father was unwilling.
After so many years of bearing the blame, he'd gotten used to it. If they threw Danzo away, where would they find another scapegoat?
Besides!
Not just anyone could bear the kind of blame Sarutobi Hiruzen carried!
After thinking for a long time, Shinnosuke finally said slowly, "The matter with Sunagakure was a normal mission. Sacrifices were made, and we're saddened by it. We'll provide more compensation."
"As for Kumogakure..."
Shinnosuke said solemnly, "We will give you an explanation."
As for what kind of explanation... Dad, you can worry about that.
Itsuki's eyes sparkled. "How about I give you a suggestion?"
The Anbu gave an awkward smile and turned to leave.
They were determined not to be tormented anymore.
"Don't leave! Hey, don't forget, besides being a ninja, I'm also a boss!"
Itsuki jumped up and down in place.
Shinnosuke never looked back the entire time.
The others looked at Itsuki, their expressions shifting.
Flying Thunder God!
Uchiha Itsuki actually learned the Flying Thunder God!
This time, the already unstable Konoha was going to be stirred up even more.
...
"Buzz!"
When Itsuki opened his eyes, he found himself standing on the finger of a giant statue.
The Akatsuki!
The Ten-Tails' shell!
"Tsk, tsk, fresh as always!"
Itsuki chuckled lightly, "You've gathered everyone. What's up? Something big happening? Is Pain dead?"
At this moment.
In the cold and eerie hall, there was only the giant Ten-Tails' shell.
Standing on each of its fingers were ten figures.
All ten members of the Akatsuki were here?
Itachi was clearly still in the village as the deputy clan head, plotting to take down his father.
Even if Itsuki had taken his position, why was everyone here at this point in time?
"Hmph!"
With a cold snort, Pain turned his icy gaze towards Itsuki.
"Stop!"
Itsuki raised a finger at him and said, "Don't look at me like that, it makes me dizzy."
"Your eyes... they're not decent!"
"Pfft!"
Konan couldn't help but chuckle.
Even though it was just a projection, everyone could feel Pain's darkened expression.
"Heh heh!"
A deep laugh echoed as Sasori stared at Itsuki, his voice raspy. "Uchiha?"
He looked Itsuki up and down, his eyes glinting with desire.
Itsuki turned his head to look at him, surprised. "A puppet? The Akatsuki really has all kinds of stuff. This big toy is rare outside of Sunagakure."
Sasori's voice suddenly rose, "A big toy? What did you say?!"
For Sasori, who saw his puppets as everything, killing intent surged from his body.
(End of Chapter)