Chapter 284: A Perilous Path Ahead, Konoha's Strange Move!
Standing amidst the ruins,
Gazing at the collapsed surroundings—
The shattered dome, broken stone bricks, and fallen beams—
And beneath it all, the helpless citizens of the Land of Lightning, sprawled across the ground like fish out of water, gasping for breath in agony.
The air was filled with chaotic shouts, heart-wrenching wails, and the rapid spread of horrifying news throughout the city.
Uchiha Ci's heart sank.
Everything was happening too fast!
The Daimyō—how had he been assassinated again?
If he remembered correctly, this should be the third time that birdbrain had been attacked.
The moment Uchiha Ci heard the news, his first instinct was to lift his gaze toward the grand and opulent city center.
After a brief moment of thought, he more or less pieced together what had happened.
The first explosion had been an accident—
Triggered when he lost control due to the special ability gained from the Two-Tails' chakra, causing the Rat Jade Flames to detonate.
Then, considering Kakashi's earlier warning that Kumo had set its sights on him,
It was likely that, during their investigation, Kumo had uncovered Sasori's whereabouts and dispatched forces to deal with him.
And Sasori just so happened to possess a certain forbidden weapon—
A chakra cannon that Kumo had kept secret.
The moment the two sides clashed, conflict was inevitable.
Sasori must have used the chakra cannon he had originally intended to unleash against Uchiha Ci's Susanoo skeleton—
Thus triggering the second explosion.
As for the third explosion—
It was undoubtedly connected to the intelligence he had received earlier.
The members of the Immortal Heretics Cult—who had been captured by Kumo and were set to be publicly executed—had been rescued.
But the ones who broke them out...
Or rather, the ones who used their identities as cover...
Were actually forces from other hidden villages infiltrating the city.
They didn't even bother waiting for nightfall—
They launched their assassination attempt on the Daimyō in broad daylight!
At this thought, Uchiha Ci frowned.
Having arrived late to the city, he was already struggling to grasp the situation—
And now, he had no way of knowing whether Hidan was among those who had been rescued earlier.
As for his little brother...
Right now, he was probably being used as a human shield,
Being carried straight toward the Daimyō's chambers!
A sense of urgency welled up within him.
He turned to Kakashi and spoke:
"Kakashi, since you're here with Minato, you must be part of Konoha's diplomatic envoy for the Five Great Nations' summit. If you reveal your identity, Kumo won't dare act against you."
"Stay here and help save as many people as you can. I'm heading over there."
With that, Uchiha Ci turned his sights on the Tenshukaku at the heart of Yunming City.
However—
Just as Kakashi snapped back to his senses amidst the chaos, he suddenly grabbed Uchiha Ci's arm, his expression grave.
"No! Wait! You can't go there now!"
"You can't reveal your identity, and you absolutely cannot let the Land of Lightning or Kumo know that you're still alive!"
"You're supposed to be dead!"
Uchiha Ci blinked in confusion.
What did Kakashi mean by saying he was already dead?
Wasn't he standing here, alive and well?
He could still eat ten bowls of rice in one sitting!
How was he dead?
"Konoha needs you to be dead— At least until after the Five Kage Summit concludes and everything is decided!"
Kakashi's expression darkened as he stared intently at Uchiha Ci.
"Do you realize what's happening?"
"The entire shinobi world is watching you now!"
"The intelligence from Hell Valley has been leaked!"
"Everyone knows you might still be alive."
"You've lost your eyes, your Tailed Beast, and your Bloodline Limit—at best, you're just a crippled Jōnin now."
"But despite that, your bounty is enough to tempt countless shinobi— Because outside of Konoha, you alone possess the information on the tenth Tailed Beast—Zero-Tails."
"Even without any sealing techniques, you were able to merge with it."
"Did you ever wonder why Sensei—why Minato—put an Eight Trigrams Seal on you?"
"Because everyone wants to extract the truth from you! They want to know where Zero-Tails is, And how to control that terrifying power!"
"And do you understand— Compared to the 'Uchiha Ci' running around Yunming City, Your head is what truly matters to the Daimyō and the Third Raikage."
"They need your death— To cleanse the disgrace of Kumo's defeat!"
"And your execution will serve as the banner, The rallying cry for Kumo to march to war— To ignite the Third Great Shinobi War!"
At this moment, in Kakashi's eyes, Uchiha Ci's actions were utterly reckless.
A Bloodline Limit shinobi who had lost his bloodline,
A Jinchūriki who had lost his Tailed Beast—
What did he have left?
If Uchiha Ci revealed himself now, he would be walking straight into his own death!
Konoha's carefully laid plans would be disrupted,
And their mission would be thrown into jeopardy.
And for someone like Kakashi—whose creed was "the mission comes before everything"—
This was unacceptable.
"For the sake of the mission, I can't let you appear before the Daimyō!"
"Sorry, Uchiha Ci."
As he spoke, Kakashi drew the White Fang short sword, took two steps forward, and turned— His expression cold as he blocked Uchiha Ci's path!
However, rather than being deterred, Uchiha Ci merely raised an eyebrow.
Ignoring the long-winded lecture,
He zeroed in on one particular statement from Kakashi.
"Konoha needs me dead?"
Why?
Was it to facilitate the agreement between the Daimyō and the Third Raikage?
To direct Kumo's war machine exactly where Konoha wanted?
But who was their target?
Which nation? Which village? Or could it be—
A realization struck Uchiha Ci like lightning.
His mind raced back to the original timeline—
To one particular legendary battle from the Third Shinobi War!
The very battle where the Third Raikage stood alone against the entire Iwagakure army!
How had that war even started?
The answer...
Lay within Konoha's current, eerie actions.
Despite knowing full well that the other villages were pushing for Kumo to attack Konoha again, Kakashi—on orders from Konoha—was simply waiting.
Waiting for a week.
Waiting for things to settle.
Doing nothing.
Almost as if—
Konoha wanted Kumo's war machine to turn toward a different target...
As if Konoha wanted Kumo's wrath...
To be directed at themselves!
A smirk crept onto Uchiha Ci's lips.
His gaze locked onto the silver-haired youth blocking his way.
"Kakashi, if that's the case... then I have even more reason to stay alive."
"And not just to survive— I have a mission to complete, And comrades to save!"
His eyes burned with determination as he declared:
"For that— Even if I have to put my life on the line— I will not back down!"
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