Chapter 566: I’m in a Hurry!

Chapter 566: Chapter 566: I’m in a Hurry!

Inside the Hokage Building.

Looking at the towering stacks of documents on his desk, the Third Hokage sighed and took the pipe out of his mouth.

Although he had stepped down from the position of Hokage, the Third was still buried in official duties. The village’s daily affairs, both large and small, still required his personal attention and decisions.

In fact, the Third had been somewhat puzzled by the situation.

Danzo had gone to extraordinary lengths to become Hokage. Logically speaking, now that he had successfully ascended to the position, he should have consolidated all authority in his own hands.

Yet, to the Third’s surprise, although Danzo had been making frequent moves since becoming Acting Hokage, he had shown considerable restraint. He had refrained from interfering excessively in many areas and had even delegated some of the village’s routine affairs directly to the Council of Elders.

This was truly unusual.

"What exactly is he trying to do?"

The Third couldn’t figure out what Danzo was thinking, but he had a vague feeling that Danzo was secretly plotting something.

Moreover, whatever it was, it had to be extremely important to Danzo—so important that he couldn’t even spare the attention to exercise his authority as Hokage.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Suddenly, a series of urgent knocks sounded from outside the office.

The Third pulled himself out of his thoughts and said, "Come in!"

Soon, a member of the Hyuga branch family entered the Third’s office, escorted by an ANBU shinobi.

Without wasting words, he briefly reported the incident of the Uchiha jonin barging into the Hyuga clan compound.

"What?!"

With a rustle, the Third sprang up from his chair, his brows tightly furrowed.

The Third had indeed initially intended to use the position of Ninja Academy Principal to appease and win over the Uchiha clan.

However, Shisui had clearly declined the opportunity at the time. Moreover, the Hyuga clan, represented by Hyuga Kagami, was also a prestigious clan that the Third was eager to win over. Thus, he had gone with the flow and assigned the position of principal to Hyuga Kagami.

He had never imagined that the Uchiha clan would become so arrogant as to openly barge into another shinobi clan’s compound and deliberately provoke trouble!

At the thought that a large-scale conflict might erupt between the Uchiha and Hyuga clans, the Third could no longer sit still.

He immediately instructed his subordinate, "Quickly assemble a squad of ANBU and accompany me to the Hyuga clan compound!"

...

On the main street of the Hyuga clan compound.

In the blink of an eye, two of their companions had already been taken down. The remaining six Uchiha jonin wore expressions of shock and bewilderment.

Not a trace of their previous arrogance remained, and all six were now on full alert!

Once they entered a genuine combat state, however, the six Uchiha jonin immediately demonstrated their exceptional tactical proficiency.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Amid successive sounds of air being torn apart, the six Uchiha jonin moved so quickly that they left afterimages behind.

In an instant, they split into three groups of two, surrounding Kagami from three directions!

Seeing this, Kagami smiled faintly.

Deliberately leaving an escape route for a surrounded enemy was a tactic commonly employed by the Uchiha clan.

Once the enemy could no longer withstand the pressure and chose to flee out of fear, the Uchiha shinobi would transform into the most experienced of hunters, expertly toying with an opponent who had already lost the will to fight!

At that moment, the two Uchiha jonin positioned in the center simultaneously formed hand seals, and the chakra within their bodies erupted!

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Wind Style: Wind Tornado!"

Fire rode the power of the wind, while the wind fueled the flames. The Fire Style and Wind Style techniques of the two Uchiha jonin complemented each other, instantly forming a mass of scorching flames that seemed to contain a raging storm, which violently surged toward Kagami!

Meanwhile, the four Uchiha jonin positioned on either flank stood ready to strike. The three tomoe in their Sharingan slowly rotated as they closely observed Kagami’s every movement.

As long as Kagami chose to retreat and evade the combined ninjutsu coming from the front, he would fall straight into their trap.

BOOM!

The enormous fireball, surrounded by swirling winds, hurtled directly toward Kagami!

As it traveled, it carved a deep, charred trench into the surface of the main street. The hard stone bricks paving the road melted like soft clay under the fireball’s scorching heat, turning into a glass-like substance and releasing wisps of smoke.

Feeling the scorching heat and violent force of the combined ninjutsu rushing toward them, the Hyuga clansmen lining both sides of the street cried out in alarm!

Rei’s heart practically leaped into her throat.

Having trained under Tsunade for some time, she understood very well just how powerful the combined ninjutsu unleashed by these two Uchiha jonin was.

A ninjutsu of this magnitude simply could not be blocked head-on!

In the distance, Hiashi, the clan head standing before the main family’s mansion, also wore a worried expression.

Although Kagami’s instantaneous defeat of two Uchiha jonin earlier had been impressive, there had undeniably been an element of surprise involved.

Now that the Uchiha jonin had begun taking the fight seriously, their entire approach to combat had changed in an instant.

Hiashi considered what he would do if he were in Kagami’s position and concluded that even he would probably be forced into a disadvantageous position from which there was no turning back.

Meanwhile, Hizashi had already assumed a Gentle Fist stance, preparing to intervene in the battle at any moment.

Many of the jonin-level Hyuga clansmen nearby had also quietly made preparations, just like Hizashi.

After all, regardless of their personal relationships with Kagami, they could not simply stand by and watch him be bullied by a group of Uchiha jonin through sheer numerical superiority within their own clan compound.

Neji, who was hiding behind Hizashi, narrowed his eyes, an expression of terror appearing on his face.

The combined ninjutsu unleashed by the Uchiha jonin was simply too ferocious. The scorching temperatures radiating from the fireball, amplified by the surrounding whirlwind, produced wave after wave of intense heat.

Even the immature Byakugan in his eyes could barely withstand looking directly at it, and his body began trembling involuntarily.

It was at precisely this moment that Kagami moved!

However, contrary to everyone’s expectations, he did not attempt to evade the combined Fire Release and Wind Release ninjutsu rushing toward him.

Instead, his figure flickered, and he charged straight toward it!

"Has he gone mad?!"

For a moment, the same thought flashed through everyone’s minds.

BOOM!

A thunderous explosion suddenly erupted beside everyone’s ears.

Yet Kagami, who appeared to be throwing an egg against a rock, actually broke straight through the violent fireball surrounded by swirling winds without the slightest obstruction!

He charged directly toward the two Uchiha jonin who had unleashed the combined ninjutsu.

"You...!?"

The two Uchiha jonin standing shoulder to shoulder had never imagined that such a situation could occur.

Even as Kagami appeared right in front of them, their faces were still filled with utter disbelief.

Kagami, however, did not waste a single word.

He immediately extended both hands, seized the two Uchiha jonin by their throats, and lifted them into the air.

At the same time, the chakra in his palms struck the arteries in their necks with surgical precision, causing both men to lose consciousness from insufficient blood supply to their brains.

Watching Kagami hold their two companions in his hands as though he were carrying a pair of helpless chicks, the remaining four Uchiha jonin were overwhelmed with humiliation and fury!

Kagami casually tossed the two Uchiha jonin onto the Uchiha jonin he had previously knocked unconscious with Kusanagimaru, piling all three unconscious men together in a heap.

Then, turning toward the remaining four, he said:

"Come on, keep going. I’m in a hurry!"