"Not you!?" Hiruzen was stunned for a moment, then reacted, "You came here to stall me, to prevent me from going to the rescue?"
Hiruzen found it very strange from the beginning.
Since Itachi had already started acting on his own, there was absolutely no need to come and say so much to him.
But now he understood. The reason Itachi came to say so much to him was to stall him.
Taking the initiative to expose the Mangekyo Sharingan, exposing a genjutsu like Tsukuyomi...
Its essence was a show of force.
Itachi did not want to fight him, but had to stall him. Therefore, he explained the entire ins and outs of the plan to him and exposed a portion of his trump cards.
Itachi hoped he would give up Danzo for the sake of the big picture, and also hoped the portion of strength he revealed would make him back down in the face of difficulties.
Sure enough, Itachi's words in the next second confirmed his conjecture.
"Lord Hokage, you are the person I respect the most. That has never changed, whether in the past or present. Therefore, I do not want to fight you."
As he spoke, the surrounding space twisted for a moment and then shattered.
Itachi canceled Tsukuyomi, but that pair of snowflake-patterned Mangekyo was brimming with fighting intent. "Lord Hokage, I do not know if I can defeat you, but if it is just stalling for time, I think I can still manage it."
"..."
Hiruzen fell silent once again.
He leaned against the back of his chair, arms crossed, pipe in his mouth, eyes lowered, staring intently at the desktop.
He was thinking.
He had never fought against the Mangekyo, but Konoha had quite a bit of information about the Mangekyo, and he was also very clear about Itachi's strength.
Even without the Sharingan, his strength could squeeze into the ranks of Jonin. With the Sharingan's assistance, he was one of the top experts even among Jonin.
Hiruzen did not know how much of a substantial combat power increase the Mangekyo would bring to Itachi, but even without the Mangekyo, Itachi could stall for a period of time.
Moreover, today was the Spring Festival, and most ninjas were on holiday.
There would not be many ninjas rushing over quickly upon hearing the sounds of fighting.
Only when those ninjas on holiday rushed over upon hearing the news could he break free from Itachi's entanglement.
But during this time, could Danzo hold on?
Hiruzen's brain worked rapidly.
Root ninjas were different from ninjas of other departments. They were all people without a home to return to. They only had a period of rest time after executing missions.
Therefore, the current Root was as heavily guarded as usual.
Wanting to assassinate Danzo in Root, even with Itachi providing intelligence, was almost an impossible task.
But since Itachi had made such a plan, it proved he had the certainty to kill Danzo.
Hiruzen understood Itachi very well, especially his calm personality and brain. The plans he made almost never failed.
In other words, the key lay in whether Danzo could hold on until he rushed over to support.
Thinking of this, Hiruzen's eyes narrowed, and he abruptly stood up.
Itachi pushed off the ground with one hand, his entire body flying backward. A black shadow chased after him a step too late, constantly enlarging in his field of vision.
It was the Hokage's robe.
As the Hokage of Konoha, how could Hiruzen not know how to fight against the Sharingan? The moment he stood up, he tore off his robe and threw it at Itachi.
The robe blocked the line of sight, and Hiruzen followed closely behind.
Jumping onto the desk, he bent his knees and stomped.
"Bang!"
The old man wearing tight armor erupted with powerful strength like an old ape, charging at Itachi like a cannonball.
"Riiip!"
Itachi drew the long sword from his back and severed the robe with a single slash.
But Hiruzen had arrived right in front of him. His body rotated, and a flying kick accurately struck Itachi's chest.
"Poof!"
The long leg kicked through the chest, and Itachi transformed into several crows flying in all directions, circling above Hiruzen's head.
At the same time, the surrounding environment changed once again, turning into a ruined and withered wasteland. The dim setting sun was replaced by a giant, slowly spinning Sharingan.
"Genjutsu? When?"
Hiruzen warily surveyed his surroundings. Itachi's figure coalesced not far away, but it was not solid, like a tattered flag blowing in the wind, liable to pass away with the wind at any time.
"From the very beginning," Itachi said indifferently. "I knew Lord Hokage would not give up Danzo. Therefore, when dispelling Tsukuyomi, I used another genjutsu."
"Then why didn't you just use Tsukuyomi to strike me down directly?" Hiruzen stared intently into Itachi's eyes, wanting to see something from them.
Only to be disappointed.
From the start of the battle, Itachi's eyes had been as placid as water from beginning to end. It was simply impossible to see anything from them.
"I do not want to hurt Lord Hokage," Itachi said indifferently. "I said before, I made two-handed preparations. This is an action that Konoha absolutely cannot stop at present."
"Konoha..."
Hiruzen's heart stirred, noticing a slight difference in Itachi's wording.
He wasn't just referring to Hiruzen himself, but the entirety of Konoha...
Is Itachi being too arrogant, or is there something I don't know?
"That is right, Konoha."
Seeming to see through what Hiruzen was thinking, Itachi continued, "The person who is cooperating with me to kill Danzo, currently there is no one in Konoha who can stop him. Even if you go over, Lord Hokage, it will merely add one more life."
"..."
Hiruzen was shocked speechless.
At first, he thought Itachi was bluffing.
But on second thought, a person who could infiltrate Root alone to assassinate Danzo must inherently possess formidable strength to achieve it.
In that case, the possibility that that person was even stronger than he imagined was not non-existent.
"Who is that person?" Hiruzen was both shocked and angry.
"He calls himself Madara."
"Madara?" Hiruzen was stunned, subconsciously asking, "Which Madara?"
"Uchiha Madara."
"What!?"
"The culprit who controlled the Nine-Tails to attack Konoha six years ago is precisely him. When I was investigating the time of the Nine-Tails' attack on the village, I discovered his tracks."
Itachi looked at Hiruzen indifferently and said, "That guy is very strong. Even after suffering severe injuries, he is still far stronger than I am. Furthermore, he has been glaring like a tiger watching its prey at Konoha. Me wanting to eliminate Danzo fits perfectly with his intentions, so..."
"Wait, didn't Madara die?" Hiruzen interrupted Itachi, his gaze fixed dead on him.
Uchiha Madara.
What this name meant, an old man like him who had survived since the founding of Konoha had the most right to speak.
Itachi was stunned for a moment, then asked, "Do you want me to slowly explain it to you? It does not matter to me, but Danzo..."
"I cannot care so much right now. If it is him, then..."
"Alright, I understand." Itachi slowly closed his eyes and then opened them. "I will slowly explain everything about Uchiha Madara to you in detail. When the time comes, you will understand why I must leave as a missing-nin."
...
The villagers were completely unaware of the dark tides surging in Konoha.
They were wearing new kimonos, playing happily on the streets with family and friends.
Jokichi also blended into it alongside Naruto.
"Jokichi, look quickly, there is a balloon shooting activity ahead. As long as you use a shuriken to break 10 or more balloons, you can get a reward. Let's go quickly!"
Having just come out of the goldfish scooping stall, Naruto impatiently pulled Jokichi toward another stall in the distance surrounded by many people.