Madara Uchiha!

"What?! Yemo and Kakashi are gone!"

Upon hearing Chiyuki Uzumaki's explanation, Kosuke instinctively called out. He and Minato had just fought their way out of the encirclement and arrived at the foot of the Sacred Mountain, preparing to find Yemo and Kakashi, those two brats, to escape.

The Uzumaki Clan is doomed unless Konoha sends reinforcements now. It seems that the major Kekkei Genkai families have poured all their resources into completely annihilating the Uzumaki Clan with overwhelming force.

Kosuke and Minato have already done more than enough by blocking the Uzumaki Clan from such a distance, but the most awkward problem now is that Yemo and Kakashi have disappeared.

Minato, "Wait, Kosuke, let's hear what Miss Chiyuki has to say?"

Chiyuki Uzumaki replied, "After Yemo escorted me here, he stayed on the road outside the village. He said he would wait for you to arrive together. You will definitely see him when you evacuate from the village. As for the other Konoha Ninja, he was with us at first, but then he disappeared without a trace."

"It seems these kids have gotten together and gone off to do something without following orders," Kosuke thought without even thinking. His tone revealed a hint of helplessness. He had taught some young ninjas before, but he had never seen anyone so prone to recklessness.

Minato rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought, "Given the current situation, where else would Yemo and Kakashi go?"

As he thought about it, a flash of inspiration struck Minato, and he quickly looked up at the summit of the Sacred Mountain.

Seeing this, Kosuke followed Minato's gaze and immediately realized what was happening, muttering to himself, "That must be it, those two must have gone there."

Listening to the two's cryptic conversation, Chiyuki Uzumaki looked up in the same direction as Minato, only to find that Minato was looking at the summit of Mount Sacred Mountain.

Chiyuki was extremely intelligent, and something flashed through her mind instantly. She immediately shouted angrily, "Yemo Uzumaki dares to secretly infiltrate the altar! What is he trying to do? Has he not given up yet? My grandfather and the others have sacrificed so much for the clan, even their lives, and he still has doubts."

As she spoke, Chiyuki Uzumaki grew increasingly furious. Her grandfather had been working tirelessly for the clan, and his fate was still unknown. She would never allow anyone to tarnish her grandfather's reputation.

"Notify the altar guards to capture Yemo Uzumaki and that Konoha Ninja on the altar," Chiyuki Uzumaki ordered the Jonin.

Upon hearing this, Kosuke snorted coldly and said, "Miss Chiyuki Uzumaki, I advise you not to concern yourself with what Yemo is doing right now. The enemy is about to arrive. Instead of wasting your time on this, you should think about how to stop the approaching army."

Hearing Kosuke's advice, Chiyuki Uzumaki paused, her anger vanishing and replaced by despair. The Uzumaki Clan had few remaining ninja capable of fighting; her grandfather and the other three elders were all missing, and the ninja squad leader Uzumaki Himaru, was nowhere to be found. How could such a small force possibly withstand the approaching army?

Chiyuki quickly concealed this hint of despair. As the current leader of the Uzumaki Clan, she was determined to remain calm, even if others could cause chaos.

"Ah..."

"What the hell is this? Help!"

"Someone please save me, please save me..."

Suddenly, a shrill scream and cries for help came from behind. Minato and the others' expressions changed simultaneously, and they all looked behind them.

Behind them, amidst the dense crowd, enormous tree roots appeared out of nowhere. These thick roots, like giant Orochi, rampaged through the crowd, knocking down groups of people in their wake.

The ninjas quickly launched an attack on the tree roots, but the roots seemed to be made of steel, and their attacks had no effect whatsoever.

That wasn't the most terrifying part. What was truly terrifying was that vines sprouted from each of those tree roots, trapping the Uzumaki Clan nearby.

Whether ordinary people or the elderly, weak, women and children, anyone trapped by the vine gate had no power to resist and instantly fainted. Then their bodies withered at a visible speed, and their skin turned as white as lime.

The tree roots seemed to have entered an uninhabited land, and more and more people were trapped by the vines. In the blink of an eye, more than half of the dense crowd had disappeared.

Upon seeing this, even the well-traveled and knowledgeable Kosuke was dumbfounded, instinctively muttering, "What the hell is that?"

Chiyuki placed the remaining ninjas primarily on the front defensive line, with ordinary people and many Genin maintaining discipline behind them.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Chiyuki Uzumaki quickly ordered some of the ninjas to deal with the strange tree roots, but she still underestimated their power.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

From the crowd, a Jonin sprang to life, spitting out a massive fireball that shot towards one of the thick tree roots. But the root easily flicked its wrist, shattering the fireball. Then, vines sprouted from the root, bursting through the flames and binding the Jonin with lightning speed.

Like any ordinary person, the moment he was bound by the vines, the Jonin powerless and fell unconscious, his body rapidly shriveling up.

"The tree roots are quite strange. Not only are they impervious to water and fire, but they also possess a strange and powerful force. Anyone bound by the vines, whether an ordinary person or a powerful ninja, will instantly lose their ability to resist and fall unconscious. Moreover, their blood and Chakra will be completely devoured by the vines." Minato's observation skills were undeniably meticulous, and he analyzed the tree roots clearly in a short time.

Kosuke nodded, unable to resist commenting, "What's wrong with the Uzumaki Clan? They're all strange creatures."

The ninjas sent out by Chiyuki Uzumaki were all wiped out in the blink of an eye. Seeing this, many Uzumaki Clan ninjas were frightened, and an atmosphere of panic spread among the crowd.

Even Chiyuki Uzumaki would find it difficult to remain calm in the face of such a situation. After all, she was just a young girl, unlike ninjas like Kosuke and Minato who had experienced numerous life-or-death dangers and strange events. She would find it difficult to remain calm in the face of such a situation as they had.

At this moment, on a tall tree halfway up the Sacred Mountain, stood a dark figure. This person was dressed in a long black robe, entirely in black, with only his eyes, nose, and a mouthful of White Fang that only appeared when he smiled.

If Yemo were nearby, he would definitely gasp in surprise, because this guy is Black Zetsu, a product of Otsutsuki Kaguya was sealed away, and has been carrying out the plan to revive Otsutsuki Kaguya for thousands of years.

Now, seeing the carnage below, Black Zetsu wore a smug smile, his White Fang gleaming brightly in the flames.

"Is that old man finally making his move? Years of planning have finally come to fruition."

Meanwhile, some distance away on a high mountain, just tens of meters below, no one would have guessed that this desolate place housed a massive base.

In a room somewhere within the base, a very imposing middle-aged man sat on a high stone bench, looking as if he were the master of the world.

When he raised his head, his blood-red Three-Tomoe Sharingan emitted an eerie light in the slightly dark space. This person was none other than Madara Uchiha, whom everyone in the world thought was dead after the Battle of the Valley of the End.

A White Zetsu walked over from the side gate, knelt down before White Zetsu, and reported, "Lord Black Zetsu is in Uzushiogakure."

"The Uzushiogakure?" A deep voice echoed in the vast space. Madara Uchiha continued, "That guy is carrying out that plan he prepared a few years ago."

"Yes, Lord Madara," Black Zetsu replied from below.

Snort...

Uchiha snorted dismissively, saying, "What value is there in the bloodline power of the Uzumaki Clan? It would be more worthwhile to capture some Senju Clan members instead."

After saying that, Madara Uchiha of Chakra erupted. The White Zetsu kneeling below was torn to shreds by this Chakra, without even uttering a scream.

Uchiha, seated high above, slowly closed his eyes, as if gently crushing an ant. The vast space once again became silent and eerily quiet.