A Parting Gift

"Sakumo, what happened?"

"The Uchiha Clan... has disappeared!"

Hearing Hatake Sakumo's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned even more deeply. "Disappeared?"

"What do you mean?"

"They're gone." Hatake Sakumo said in a deep voice, "I just led people through the entire Uchiha Clan Land, but we didn't find a single Uchiha clansman."

"All the Uchiha vanished as if into thin air, without leaving behind any trace."

Hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi abruptly rose to his feet and slammed his palm onto the desk. "Sakumo, you aren't joking with me, are you?"

A bitter smile appeared on Hatake Sakumo's face as he could not help saying, "Hokage-sama, how could I dare joke with you about something like this..."

Before he could finish, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already strode to the office door. "Sakumo, tell me as we walk."

On the way to the Uchiha Clan Land, Hatake Sakumo gave a detailed account of how the Uchiha clansmen had all vanished overnight.

The more Hiruzen Sarutobi listened, the more alarmed he became.

This was downright unbelievable.

How could something like this possibly be done?

Even if the Uchiha Clan had some method of freely entering and leaving the barrier without being noticed, he had Anbu watching them around the clock!

Even if the Uchiha Clan's Elite Ninjas could evade the Anbu's surveillance, what about the elderly, the weak, women, and children?

Surely they could not all possess the ability to fly through the sky and burrow into the earth?

When they arrived at the Uchiha Clan Land and he saw the bizarre scene with his own eyes, Hiruzen Sarutobi was at a loss for a moment as well.

In the end, he could only say, "They must be hiding somewhere. Send more people to search the place thoroughly again."

Hatake Sakumo issued orders to the Anbu before saying, "Hokage-sama, I don't think there's much hope of finding them. I even searched the Secret Room within Naka Shrine, where the Uchiha Clan kept their things, but still found nothing."

"All the ninjutsu scrolls, cultivation supplies, and other items are gone."

"This was definitely carefully planned."

After hearing Hatake Sakumo's explanation, Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze gradually sharpened.

He stared fixedly at Hatake Sakumo and asked, "Sakumo, you were always responsible for monitoring the Uchiha Clan. Didn't you notice anything unusual?"

Faced with Hiruzen Sarutobi's suspicion, Hatake Sakumo had grievances he could not voice and could only force himself to explain, "No. Every Anbu member can testify for me..."

"Enough."

Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand impatiently. "Tell the Anbu not to reveal any information to the outside world."

"Return to the office first."

Hokage Building.

Hokage's Office.

Shimura Danzō, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura hurried inside.

The moment Mitokado Homura saw Hiruzen Sarutobi, he immediately asked, "Hiruzen, what's going on with the Uchiha Clan?"

Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was about to speak, Shimura Danzō spoke first. "Hiruzen, you bear full responsibility for the Uchiha Clan vanishing into thin air!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his brow with a headache. He ignored Shimura Danzō and merely said slowly, "The Anbu should have already told you everything. I called you here to discuss a response."

Mitokado Homura frowned upon hearing that. "Hiruzen, how exactly did the Uchiha Clan disappear overnight?"

"I don't know."

Utatane Koharu stepped forward and analyzed, "Could they have used Space-Time Ninjutsu?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head. "Impossible. Leaving aside whether the Uchiha Clan even has a method to cultivate Space-Time Ninjutsu, even if they do, it's impossible for every one of them to have mastered it, right?"

"If you forcibly teleport people who have not mastered Space-Time Ninjutsu, the Chakra required increases exponentially."

"The amount of Chakra needed to move so many people at once is simply unimaginable."

Shimura Danzō said coldly, "If you ask me, the only way they could have done this was by escaping through underground tunnels."

"How massive would such a project have to be?"

"Hmph! Perhaps those people started digging tunnels from the very day Konoha was founded."

Shimura Danzō sneered, then said, "It's good that those Uchiha have disappeared. They were a group of uncontrollable people. I've long found them unpleasant to look at."

Now, he could finally wipe out the Uchiha openly and rightfully seize their Sharingan!

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu exchanged looks, both wearing excited expressions.

Since every member of the Uchiha Clan had left the village, didn't that make their assets ownerless?

After all, a great Ninja Clan like the Uchiha had countless assets under its name.

They had to claim those treasures before anyone else could react!

Thinking of this, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura immediately ordered their subordinates outside the office, "Notify the clan's elites. Occupy the Uchiha Clan Land immediately and make sure to protect everything inside."

Shimura Danzō likewise whispered a few words to the Root members beside him.

Hiruzen Sarutobi made no move.

From the very beginning, he had already used the Anbu to investigate the situation within the Uchiha Clan Land.

There was nothing inside worth fighting over now.

What truly mattered were the Uchiha Clan's properties throughout the Land of Fire outside Konoha.

Watching the four people who held the village's highest authority, Hatake Sakumo felt a complicated mix of emotions.

Shouldn't the most important matter now be figuring out the Uchiha Clan's purpose and whereabouts?

Thinking this, Hatake Sakumo said in a deep voice, "Hokage-sama, I'll go outside the village to investigate and see whether I can find any clues."

"Go on, go on."

Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand carelessly and continued lowering his head to review documents.

Without another word, Hatake Sakumo left the Hokage's Office, chose a direction at random, and rushed out of the village.

Daytime quickly passed. Under Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others' lockdown, most people in the village did not notice anything unusual.

As night fell, Uchiha Yuzuru sat atop the Second Hokage's face on Hokage Rock, watching the ninjas swarm into the Uchiha Clan Land like cockroaches. A cold smile appeared on his face.

"Greedy parasites, this is my parting gift."

Uchiha Yuzuru brought his hands together, and a thunderous boom instantly echoed throughout Konoha.

Amid a sea of fire, the Uchiha Clan Land was blasted into ruins by the huge number of Explosive Tags that had been planted in advance.

The ninjas within the Uchiha Clan Land were instantly reduced to nothing but dust and bones.

Uchiha Yuzuru shook his head regretfully.

Unfortunately, he had not yet learned the Great Spiraling Ring. Otherwise, it would have been even more fitting.

Outside the Uchiha Clan Land, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura watched flames suddenly soar into the sky and wailed loudly, "Naturally evil Uchiha, we will never rest until one side is dead!"

Those who died inside...

Were all elites from their clans!

Seeing Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu nearly faint, Hiruzen Sarutobi was somewhat disdainful.

Was that all they could handle?

They were truly an embarrassment to the Hokage Faction.

Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was about to say something, an Anbu appeared before him.

"Hokage-sama, this is bad."

"Kushina Uzumaki is gone!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi swayed, feeling as though the world were spinning around him.

There was no need to think about it. This had to be the Uchiha Clan's doing.

The Uchiha Clan disappearing was one thing. It might not necessarily be bad.

But Kushina Uzumaki was the future Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails!

Without her, who could suppress the Nine-Tails after Mito Uzumaki died?

Damn Uchiha, are you trying to destroy Konoha?!