278. "Here, I'm Giving Him Back to You."

"Hiashi, you must understand the village's difficulties."

"After being attacked and devastated by that mysterious organization, the lives of our villagers have been severely affected."

"Our top priority is to rebuild the village. We absolutely cannot recklessly start a war with Kumogakure!"

"Not to mention, with Danzo unconscious, Konoha is in a state of panic."

"And let's not forget, you saw it yourself that night—the Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eyes!"

"There are too many suspicious points in this matter, and it's likely connected to the Uchiha."

"With both internal and external troubles, if we go to war with Kumogakure, the other villages will surely swarm in and devour Konoha!"

Faced with Koharu Utatane's persuasion, Hiashi Hyūga, the head of the Hyūga clan, was filled with conflict.

While he wanted to help the village overcome this crisis, handing over two members of the main family was simply too outrageous, no matter how he thought about it.

The Hyūga clan had worked so hard for so many years, placing the Caged Bird Seal on all branch family members precisely to prevent the Byakugan, their kekkei genkai, from falling into enemy hands.

The loss of a single Byakugan to Kirigakure had already been a great humiliation for the Hyūga clan.

If they were to hand over two main family members this time, what would become of the Hyūga's dignity?

If they truly complied with Kumogakure's demands and handed over two main family members as compensation,
Within ten years, Kumogakure would undoubtedly have a large number of Byakugan users!

At that point, could the Hyūga clan still maintain their transcendent status?

However, as a clan that had always remained neutral, the Hyūga found it difficult to outright refuse the higher-ups' request.

They could only put on a conflicted expression to buy some time.

Koharu, naturally, saw through Hiashi's intentions. Just as she was about to continue pressuring him, a commotion erupted outside.

"What's going on?"
Hiashi turned to the branch family member who had come to report.

"Clan Head, it's the Kumogakure envoy team!"

Hearing that this involved Kumogakure, Koharu immediately stood up from her chair, urgently asking:
"What happened to the Kumogakure envoy team? Speak quickly!"

"The Kumogakure envoy team attempted to assassinate Lord Danzo but were discovered by Root ninja. They're currently engaged in battle!"

The branch family member reported.

"How is Danzo?" Koharu was on edge.

If something happened to Danzo now, the entire village would fall into chaos.

Fortunately, the situation didn't take the worst possible turn.

"The assassination attempt was discovered in time. Lord Danzo should be fine."

Hearing this, Koharu let out a sigh of relief, then a glint appeared in her eyes.

With her worldly experience, she keenly sensed an opportunity.

A chance to force Kumogakure to withdraw their troops!

Since the envoy team had committed such an outrageous act, Konoha could use this as leverage to pressure them into retreating!

"Who's handling this matter right now?"
Koharu suddenly asked.

"It seems to be Lord Danzo's disciple, Shisui Uchiha."

Hearing this answer, Koharu panicked.

"Damn it, why did it have to be that kid!"

As Danzo's disciple, Shisui had already earned the title of "Little Darkness of Konoha."

If he were to handle this matter, given his loyalty to Danzo, he might act impulsively and kill the envoy!

Thinking this, Koharu didn't even bother to say goodbye. She immediately dashed off, heading straight for Konoha Hospital.

Seeing this, Hiashi also furrowed his brows in concern.

Using his Byakugan to look at the distant commotion and the surrounding ruins, he couldn't help but sigh.

"Who knows how things will develop from here."

————————

Konoha Hospital.

Darui's body was already marked with several wounds.

He was now staring warily at the first disciple of the "Darkness of the Shinobi."

The opponent's strength far exceeded his expectations.

Whether in ninjutsu or taijutsu, he was completely outmatched.

Of course, the most despair-inducing aspect was that terrifying Mangekyō Sharingan.

Not only did he have to constantly guard against genjutsu, but the opponent could also summon that absurdly overpowered green giant.

Even his strongest Raiton techniques were useless against it...

This all-around suppression left Darui feeling hopeless.

With Konoha ninja quickly arriving, his chances of escaping were practically zero.

In that case...

His demeanor suddenly changed.

If he couldn't escape, he might as well go all out and cause as much damage to Konoha as possible!

With this in mind, he quickly gathered all his chakra into his hands.

"Storm Release: Raikōha!"

Ranton, a kekkei genkai formed by combining Water Release and Lightning Release,
Possessed both the offensive power of Lightning Release and the manipulative ability of Water Release.

Thus, when Darui unleashed this technique, a surging wave of Lightning Release chakra erupted from his hands.

The crackling lightning, enhanced by Water Release, took on the properties of water, surging toward Shisui like a tidal wave!

The purple lightning tsunami threatened to engulf all enemies in its path.

Seeing this, Shisui immediately summoned his Susanoo.

To be safe, he even activated the third stage of Susanoo—
The complete half-body giant form.

At this stage, the Susanoo's strength was significantly enhanced compared to before.

The green giant stood amidst the flowing purple lightning, like a reef enduring the relentless erosion of the waves!

Seeing that his strongest attack still couldn't break through the enemy's defense, Darui had no choice but to abandon Shisui as his target.

He turned his attention to the gathering Konoha ninja outside.

If he was going to be captured anyway, he might as well take a few more with him!

With this thought, he used a Lightning Release technique to blast through the ceiling.

In a flash, he appeared on the hospital rooftop, preparing to unleash a large-scale ninjutsu to inflict casualties on the surrounding crowd.

Unfortunately, Shisui had already seen through his plan.

The moment Darui stepped onto the rooftop, dozens of Shisui clones appeared around him, surrounding him completely.

"Is this your signature 'Phantom Teleportation Technique'?"

Darui's expression turned grim.

As the top disciple of the "Darkness of the Shinobi" and a genius Uchiha who had awakened the Mangekyō,
Shisui's abilities displayed during the Third Shinobi World War had been thoroughly studied.

This "Phantom Teleportation Technique" had even earned high praise from the Fourth Raikage candidate, A.

Thus, Darui recognized it immediately.

Fortunately, he had already prepared a countermeasure.

"Damn Konoha, don't underestimate us Kumo-nin!" Darui coldly spoke, then unleashed his original ninjutsu.

"Storm Release: Thunder Dragon Blade!"

As he raised his hand, waves of lightning rippled outward, rapidly spreading in all directions.

The illusions in their path were instantly sliced in half, demonstrating the technique's immense power!

Seeing this, Darui smirked in triumph.
Just as he was about to use a Body Flicker to escape Shisui's entanglement, the clones he had sliced apart suddenly melted away.

To be precise, they split into countless black crows!

With their eerie cries, the crows flapped their wings and scattered in all directions.

In an instant, Darui's vision was filled with black feathers.

"Is this genjutsu?" His heart sank.

He immediately clasped his hands together, preparing to dispel the genjutsu, when a crow emerged from the sea of feathers and opened its eyes.
A crimson eye with black patterns swirling within its deep depths.

Oh no!
This was Darui's final thought.

He hadn't forgotten that his opponent was a genius from the Uchiha clan.

In the shinobi world, there was one fundamental rule when fighting an Uchiha:
Never look into their Sharingan.


Unfortunately, it was too late.

The terrifying ocular power dragged Darui into a genjutsu.

The sea of crows quickly coalesced into the figure of Shisui Uchiha.

He descended from above, his sharp tanto piercing through Darui's shoulder and pinning the Kumo-nin to the ground!

Amidst Darui's agonized screams, everyone knew the battle was over.

Shisui stepped on Darui's body and pulled the tanto from his shoulder.

The blade dripped with crimson blood.
Shisui's eyes coldly radiated terrifying killing intent.

This bone-chilling killing intent made Darui realize:
This guy really wants to kill me!

"Shisui Uchiha, think carefully! Konoha is in ruins right now. If you kill me, Kumogakure's army will immediately launch an attack!"

"At that point, the other villages will also take military action, and Konoha will become the target of all!"

"Under these circumstances, do you really dare to kill me?" Darui's face twisted into a manic expression, as if urging Shisui to kill him quickly.

Facing these words, Shisui narrowed his eyes.

His only thought was to personally kill the man who had dared to assassinate his teacher!

Just as Shisui slowly raised his tanto, ready to finish off Darui, Koharu finally arrived.

"Stop, Shisui!!"

"The Kumogakure envoy team attempted to assassinate Danzo, committing a grave offense."

"We can use this to pressure Kumogakure into withdrawing their troops and ending the war!"

"Don't act impulsively!"

Koharu's voice was filled with urgency.

She was truly worried that Shisui, in his youthful impulsiveness, would ruin this golden opportunity.

Hearing this, Darui, pinned beneath Shisui, burst into laughter.

"I knew it, I knew it!"

"Konoha doesn't dare to kill me!"

"Hahaha, just wait! Kumogakure's iron hooves will trample Konoha into the ground!"

"Along with your teacher's grave!!"

Darui bared his teeth, mercilessly provoking the young man before him.

But no matter what he said, Shisui's expression remained calm from start to finish.
"I know you're trying to provoke me into killing you, to eliminate any chance of Kumogakure withdrawing their troops."

Shisui looked down at the figure beneath his foot, his indifferent gaze seeming to see through everything, momentarily making even Darui feel uneasy.

He slowly raised his tanto, speaking in a slow but resolute tone:
"Since Kumogakure is so eager for war, I'll grant your wish."
"However, the victor won't be Kumogakure—it will be Konoha."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shisui, under the fearful and anticipatory gazes of everyone, swung his blade.

In his final moments, Darui's eyes widened in shock.

He clearly hadn't expected Shisui to be so resolute)l.
But regardless, it was too late to change anything.
Facing Koharu's anger, fear, and shock,
Shisui kicked Darui's head toward her.

"Here, I'm giving him back to you since you want it. "