I, Naruto Uzumaki, don't need your approval.

If it's the masked man's scheme, will the Jinchūriki be in danger?

Distraction during battle is a major taboo. Seizing the opportunity, Shisui used the Body Flicker Technique, and his katana struck Itachi's shoulder.

The moment the sword struck, Itachi transformed into crows and scattered, heading towards the outskirts of the clan's territory, seemingly unwilling to continue fighting Shisui.

Watching Itachi's retreating figure, Shisui did not risk chasing after him; he was not entirely confident that he could defeat Itachi.

According to information from his clansmen, Itachi has already awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, meaning he has lost Kotoamatsukami and is no different in essence from a regular three-tomoe Jonin.

On the other hand, he also had the task of escorting his people to safety, to prevent the masked man from returning and killing them.

Shisui withdrew his gaze from Itachi, sighed softly, and pondered the future of his clan.

Originally, he planned to join forces with Itachi to deal with Fugaku, and then lead the clan to find a small ninja village to settle down in. However, he did not expect Itachi to betray the clan and kill his clansmen. It can only be said that plans can't keep up with changes.

However, he respects Itachi's choice, and even though their ideologies differ, they remain friends.

But friends are friends, and the next time they meet, he will not hesitate to kill Itachi. Itachi's existence threatens the future of the clan, and the act of killing so many clansmen must be punished.

……

Outside the Uchiha clan's territory.

The Third Hokage led the Anbu to lie in wait in the nearby streets, secretly observing the movements of the clan's territory.

Ideally, Itachi would be best to resolve to deal with his clansmen, thus dealing with the unwieldy security forces that had become too powerful for the village. If Itachi were to lead the security forces in a coup, the Anbu could react in time to prevent it.

Although this approach would severely damage the Dark Side, he had no other choice.

Compared to other options, limiting the battle area to the Uchiha clan's territory is the option with the least loss.

All they need to do now is wait for Itachi to make his choice.

After patiently waiting for some time, the Third Hokage heard sounds of battle within the clan's territory, but received no reinforcements from Root. He frowned and asked the Root ninja beside him:

"Where did Danzo go? Why hasn't he come back yet?"

"Lord Danzo..." The Root ninja hesitated, not knowing Danzo's specific actions, and could only say, "This subordinate does not know where Lord Danzo went."

The Third Hokage didn't make things difficult for the Root ninjas, so Danzo must be lying in wait somewhere else right now.

After all, Danzo might slack off on other missions, but he certainly wouldn't be absent from the operation against the Uchiha.

At that moment, the Third Hokage seemed to remember something and muttered to himself, "I wonder how Naruto is doing. He shouldn't be controlled by the Uchiha, right? Why hasn't Kakashi brought anyone to report yet..."

When it came to Jinchuriki, the Root ninjas nearby dared not speak casually, and their eyes darted away.

As far as he knew, Lord Danzo had been paying quite a bit of attention to Jinchuriki lately, so it was possible that he had taken the opportunity to make contact with one of them.

While the Third Hokage and the Root ninjas were preoccupied with their own thoughts, a rumbling sound came from afar, causing the entire earth to shake.

The shaking didn't affect the elite members of the Anbu, but the Third Hokage's expression turned serious.

He had witnessed the battle between Jinchuriki and knew that this was a sound that could only be produced after the Tailed Beast Ball exploded. In the village, only Naruto Uzumaki was capable of using the Tailed Beast Ball.

Chapter 73 The Homeless

Naruto doesn't go berserk for no reason.

Either the seal on the Nine-Tails has malfunctioned, or someone has attacked Naruto.

The Third Hokage immediately thought of the Uchiha clan in the village, and the mysterious masked man who attacked the village and created the Nine-Tails Night.

Thinking of all this, the Third Hokage's face turned ashen. If something happened to Naruto, it would be a huge problem.

The village doesn't have the ability to deal with both the police force and the Nine-Tails at the same time, and it could very well turn into a disaster like the Nine-Tails Night.

Fortunately, as time went by, the scene of the Nine-Tails wreaking havoc on the ninja village did not occur, which eased the Third Hokage's expression, but he still couldn't help but worry about the village.

Just then, a guard from the Hokage Building approached the Third Hokage and whispered:

"Third Hokage, the Hokage Building was attacked half an hour ago..."

The Hokage Building has been attacked… The Third Hokage looked at the guards and frowned as he said:

"Why weren't you notified of something this important sooner? How much damage did the Hokage Building suffer?"

The guard did not attempt to explain, and then reported: "There are no casualties so far. The attackers' target was the Book of Seals. After taking the Book of Seals, they fled. We are worried that this is a ploy by the attackers, so we did not send too many people to pursue them."

After listening to the report, the Third Hokage looked towards the Hokage Building and fell into deep thought.

Just when one problem seemed to be resolved, another arose. Before the Uchiha and Naruto issue could be settled, the Scroll of Seals was stolen.

However, although the Book of Sealing is precious, fortunately there is a backup, so the ninjutsu recorded on it will not be lost.

He was even more worried about the risks of the Book of Seals being leaked, as many of the ninjutsu contained therein were enough to change the course of a war, and in a sense, could even influence the ninja world.

At this moment, Wei seemed to remember something and continued, "By the way, Lord Hokage, Lord Danzo has personally gone to arrest the criminals. I believe they will be brought to justice soon."

The Third Hokage nodded slightly; no wonder Danzo hadn't reported to him yet.

With Danzo's abilities, capturing the thief who stole the sealed book should have been a piece of cake.

But for some reason, the Third Hokage still felt uneasy. The village's affairs were gradually slipping out of his control, and he could no longer strategize as he used to.

They remained on the outskirts of the Uchiha clan's territory, observing the situation.

Not long after, Danzo led the Root group to the outskirts of the Uchiha clan's territory.

The arrival of Root caught the attention of the Third Hokage, who keenly sensed that Danzo was acting strangely.

First, Danzo's expression was extremely grim. Second, the number of Root ninja he brought with him was less than half, which didn't fit his understanding of Danzo, unless Danzo's pursuit had failed.

But if even Danzo fails, then the attackers' strength...

Despite having many questions in his mind, the Third Hokage did not have time to ask Danzo, as Itachi appeared before them.

Itachi crouched on a telephone pole, blood still dripping from his kunai. His appearance immediately alerted the ANBU ninjas, who stared intently at him, ready for a fierce battle at any moment.

Itachi glanced at the surrounding Anbu members, his blood-red Sharingan making them tremble and dare not make a move.

Immediately afterward, Itachi teleported to Danzo's side and said in a low voice:

"I have stopped the Uchiha coup, but if Sasuke is in trouble in the village, I will expose all the village's information and secrets to the public."

Danzo neither objected nor agreed, but only showed a wary look in his eyes.

Itachi brushed past Danzo and said in a light tone, "Of course, Lord Danzo can send someone to assassinate me, but I have no interest in ordinary ninjas."

Upon hearing this, Danzo's pupils constricted sharply. He had indeed sent a ninja to assassinate Itachi...

Judging from Itachi's tone, the Root assassination attempt had clearly failed.

Danzo's face was extremely grim. He had failed in his previous pursuit of the Jinchuriki, and now he was being threatened by Itachi Uchiha. The only good news was that the Uchiha had been massacred, which would allow him to replenish the Sharingan he had lost.

After threatening Danzo, Itachi glanced at the Third Hokage in the distance, then transformed into a crow and disappeared into the street.

The Third Hokage nodded slightly, then headed towards Danzo's location, asking softly, "Danzo, have you found the ninja who attacked the Hokage Building?"

"Of course we found them. The ninja who attacked the Hokage Building was a good Jinchuriki you trained."

"Naruto attacked the Hokage Building?"

The Third Hokage didn't believe it at all, suspecting it was just an excuse for Danzo to take over the Jinchuriki.

Danzo, too lazy to argue with the Third Hokage, simply said, "The Jinchuriki's defection is a fact. If you don't believe me, you can ask your subordinates in the Anbu who are responsible for monitoring the Jinchuriki. Haven't they lost contact with you a long time ago?"

Upon hearing this, the Third Hokage was taken aback; he indeed had not received any message from Kakashi.

Danzo said meaningfully, "Hiruzen, I told you that your way of controlling Jinchuriki is wrong. The Anbu you sent to monitor the Jinchuriki were dealt with by the Jinchuriki long ago."

The Third Hokage seemed to remember something and asked in confusion, "So, Naruto has been captured by Root?"

Danzo's expression changed instantly. He couldn't very well say that he did have such thoughts, but he didn't have the strength to capture a Jinchuriki and had even been forced to use Izanagi by the Jinchuriki.

From this perspective, Hiruzen Sarutobi was quite skilled at training Jinchuriki, and their strength reached the level of elite Jonin.

Danzo remained silent, which the Third Hokage took as tacit agreement. He began to consider how to deal with Naruto, at least to get Naruto to explain why he stole the Scroll of Seals, and whether someone had secretly instigated him or something.

Naruto is a child with the Will of Fire, so it's impossible for him to have any thoughts of betrayal.

As for handing Naruto over to Danzo for training, that's absolutely impossible.

Danzo's method of training Jinchuriki was too extreme. While the cursed seal could control the behavior of Jinchuriki, they were already among the village's strongest fighters; they weren't so easily controlled.

Only by binding the shackles of love and bonds can the heart of a Jinchūriki be firmly secured.

However, the most urgent task at present is to deal with the Uchiha clan's territory. Whether it's collecting the bodies or issuing a notice about Itachi Uchiha's massacre and defection, both require time to prepare.

While the Third Hokage was exchanging ideas with Danzo, the Anbu and Root also completed their exploration of the Uchiha clan's territory.

The ANBU squad leader approached the two, his eyes filled with terror beneath his mask:

"Lord Hokage, a massacre has occurred within the Uchiha clan's territory. Many Uchiha were killed in their homes. The initial assessment is that it was done by Itachi Uchiha, but strangely, the eyes of the corpses have been gouged out."

"The Sharingan has been taken away?" The Third Hokage glanced at Danzo beside him.

Danzo had the motive and the ability to remove the Sharingan from the corpse, but he was always by his side and had no time to do so.

Could it be that Itachi Uchiha took the Sharingan?

Danzo frowned as well. His subsequent experiments and his life-saving Izanagi were inseparable from the Sharingan. Although Orochimaru had cloning technology, he could not clone the Sharingan.

However, the existence of the corpse proves that Itachi Uchiha did indeed fulfill his promise to take action.

As the two pondered, several Konoha ninjas appeared on the streets of the clan compound, accompanied by a whooshing sound.

The Third Hokage frowned. These ninjas were members of Konoha's defense force; why had they left their posts without authorization?

"What are you doing here? Has the village been attacked by foreign enemies?"

The Konoha ninja shook his head and said, "The village was not attacked by the enemy, but the ninjas of the security forces attacked the squad guarding the city walls and took a large number of Uchiha clan members away from Konoha."

"My subordinates suspect that the garrison troops are planning to defect! That's why we rushed here at great personal risk."

The security forces defected... The Third Hokage and Danzo exchanged a glance, wondering if they had misheard. If the Uchiha had defected, whose corpses were those in the clan's territory?

The Third Hokage and Danzo did not believe the words of the Konoha ninja.

But the Konoha ninja brought a video recording. After seeing the footage, the two men's expressions became extremely serious, and a guess gradually appeared in their minds.

Itachi Uchiha was not on the side of the village; all his actions were intended to mislead them and provide cover for the Uchiha clan's defection. However, another question also arose in front of them.

So many Uchiha people died tonight, was it all just to leave Konoha?!

Thinking about this, the Third Hokage couldn't understand the Uchiha clan's thoughts. If he wanted to know the truth, he would probably have to meet with Itachi again later.