Chapter 71: Luring the Tiger Away from the Mountain
The Konoha Police Force building was a place that villagers usually bypassed, and tonight, it felt particularly deathly.
There were no lights, no sound of patrolling footsteps, and not even the gate guards were to be seen.
Bang—the gate of the Konoha Police Force was kicked open with brute force, shattering into pieces in mid-air, and then a group of masked figures swarmed in.
Danzo Shimura walked in with his cane, stepping over the debris.
"Move."
There was no need for unnecessary chatter; tonight's mission was a purge.
As long as all the Uchiha here were labeled as "rebels," even if Hiruzen flew into a rage afterward, he could only stare helplessly at a pile of corpses—provided he survived the night.
"Hmph... what peace talks; this is clearly a trap. Hiruzen, your naivety will be your undoing."
The Root Ninja scattered instantly, like sharks smelling blood, pouncing into every corner of the building.
First floor lobby, empty.
Second floor archives, empty.
Interrogation rooms, armory, detention center... all empty.
The entire building was deserted, with only the howling of the wind passing through the broken gate, as if mocking these uninvited guests.
Danzo stood in the center of the hall, a flicker of suspicion flashing in his single eye.
Something was wrong.
According to intelligence, the entire Police Force should have been assembled tonight.
Even if Uchiha Itachi had led away a portion of the radicals, it was impossible for them to have cleared out so thoroughly.
"Danzo-sama! The entire building has been searched, and no Uchiha Clan Members have been found."
"Impossible..." Danzo muttered, slamming his cane hard against the ground.
"Those lunatics who talk about honor would rather die in battle than flee. Unless..."
Unless this was a setup.
Just then, a Root Ninja left behind at the base stumbled in.
Several wounds on his body were still bleeding, and he carried the scent of scorched earth.
"Danzo-sama! It's bad! The base... the base has been attacked!"
Danzo felt his heart skip a beat, his fingers gripping his cane turning white.
"What are you panicking about!" Danzo barked, suppressing his subordinate's panic with his authority.
"How many enemies are there?"
"One... just one."
The Root Ninja swallowed hard, seemingly still reliving his previous encounter: "It was a man wearing an orange tiger-striped mask, claiming... claiming to be Uchiha Madara!"
Danzo's mind went blank.
That imposter he was working with? Wasn't that guy supposed to be with Uchiha Itachi, purging the Uchiha?
Why would he go attack the Root base?
Did he sense that Danzo intended to discard him, so he struck first?
Or was this a "luring the tiger away from the mountain" strategy from the very beginning?
Regardless of the situation, Danzo could no longer sit still.
That place held most of the Ninjutsu scrolls, experimental data, operating funds, and the few Sharingan he had on hand that he had collected over the past few decades.
If something went wrong there... then Danzo Shimura's life goal would never have a chance to be realized.
"Everyone, return to reinforce the base immediately! You must hold that person down! Dead or alive!"
"Yes!"
A dozen black shadows vanished instantly from the spot, speeding toward the Root base.
In the vast Police Force hall, in the blink of an eye, only Danzo and his personal guard—codenamed "Terai"—remained.
Danzo took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
As long as the main force returned in time, that so-called "Madara" would have nowhere to run.
His immediate priority was to figure out what exactly had happened with the Uchiha.
Abandoned area.
The already dilapidated streets were now nothing but broken walls and ruins.
Boom—boom—boom—
A giant skeletal fist smashed into the ground again and again, kicking up clouds of dust.
As the dust settled, the man with the tiger-striped mask was still standing there, his body seemingly not existing in this space, completely unscathed.
"It's about time to accept your fate."
"Madara" tilted his head, the single eye under the mask flickering with red light.
"Your ocular power should be running low."
"Huff... huff..." Uchiha Fugaku panted heavily.
His left eye was already blurring with double vision; this was a sign of overdrawing his ocular power.
The moment he revealed his Mangekyo Sharingan, Uchiha Fugaku had used his left eye to cast "Tsukuyomi."
"Madara" had been dragged into the world of Tsukuyomi, but—
It was meaningless.
Even though he had imprisoned "Madara's" consciousness with Tsukuyomi, the opponent seemed to have entered an intangible state in advance.
Uchiha Fugaku couldn't inflict any damage on him, even when "Madara" stood there motionless.
Even more troublesome was that, unlike others, "Madara" could resist Tsukuyomi.
Not only could Uchiha Fugaku not control the Tsukuyomi world as he wished, but the opponent had completely broken free of Tsukuyomi within half a minute.
Seeing that "Madara" was about to rush right in front of him, Uchiha Fugaku immediately activated Susanoo, which prevented him from being grabbed and sucked away by the weird space vortex.
"The Mangekyo Sharingan is very rare; it would be such a waste to use it until you go blind..."
"Madara" stood on the ruins, arms crossed, looking down at him.
"If you surrender, I can promise to spare your life and only take your eyes. How about that?"
"Don't look down on me!" Uchiha Fugaku roared, driving his ocular power once again.
"Yasaka Magatama!"
Another Yasaka Magatama was fired, and once again, it passed through the opponent's body, exploding on the ruins behind him.
The Susanoo enveloping Uchiha Fugaku was also gradually becoming illusory...
"This is the difference in strength." A hand reached out like lightning, grabbing toward Uchiha Fugaku's body.
"I'll take the Mangekyo Sharingan."
Just at this critical moment.
Bang!
A thick, long black staff knocked "Madara" flying from behind.
"Who is it?!"
"Madara" flipped and landed steadily on a stone pillar not far away.
The Third Hokage retracted his staff and blocked in front of Uchiha Fugaku.
"Uchiha Fugaku, are you alright?" Hiruzen did not turn his head, just stared fixedly at the masked man in front of him.
Seeing the appearance of this old man, a complex emotion flashed in Uchiha Fugaku's eyes.
"Hokage-sama, I..." Uchiha Fugaku opened his mouth, his voice somewhat dry.
"We'll talk about other things later."
The Third Hokage interrupted him, his Chakra rising steadily, and the aura belonging to the Third Hokage released without reservation.
"Right now, you are a Konoha Ninja, and this one in front of us... is an intruder."
"Heh..." Uchiha Fugaku let out a miserable laugh, supporting himself on his knees as he stood up shakily.
"I couldn't ask for more."
Meanwhile, the Konoha Police Force.
After the Root unit left, the empty building was deadly silent, and a foreboding feeling grew stronger in the depths of Danzo's heart.
"Let's go."
He made a prompt decision, deciding not to waste time here; it was likely difficult to find any clues anyway.
In any case, he would return to the Root base or the Hokage Building first.
Zzz—
The street lamp overhead flickered twice, then went out completely.
The entire street plunged into darkness instantly, with only the pale light cast by the moon in the sky, stretching the shadows on both sides of the street long.
Danzo stopped in his tracks.
As a battle-hardened old schemer, he was too sensitive to killing intent.
Although it was so quiet around that there wasn't even the sound of insects, he could feel a pair of eyes staring at him in the darkness.
"Since you've come, come out."
It seems the real target of this "luring the tiger away from the mountain" was himself.
Want To Read More Chapters? Check Out 80+Advanced Chapters At PA Treon
patreon.com/SloppyGuy