Clan Extermination Plan Moved Up

Faced with this situation, Sarutobi Hiruzen could only stall the other side with words first, trying to find his weakness.

"Who exactly are you? What are your intentions in coming to Konoha?"

In response to Sarutobi Hiruzen's questioning, the Masked Man still replied with mockery in his voice.

"Heh, I'm merely a wandering soul of the Uchiha, that's all. As for my intentions, weren't you the ones who invited me here?"

Upon suddenly hearing that one of their own had invited him, Sarutobi Hiruzen did not hesitate. He turned and glared furiously at Shimura Danzō, clearly believing that Shimura Danzō had invited this dangerous man as outside help in order to wipe out the Uchiha Clan without causing Konoha any further losses.

What Sarutobi Hiruzen did not know was that this was merely Uchiha Itachi's contingency plan. To preserve the last shred of dignity for his clan, he had secretly invited the Masked Man, another Uchiha, to ensure the plan went without a hitch.

However, this was not the time to dwell on it. With a cold snort, he temporarily let Shimura Danzō off.

"Then how do you explain last night's attack on Root?"

Faced with Sarutobi Hiruzen's overbearing attitude, Obito Uchiha looked coldly at him without a trace of emotion.

In fact, as early as the day before yesterday, the White Zetsu under his command had informed him that one of the White Zetsu assigned to monitor the Uchiha Clan had mysteriously disappeared.

The unexpected news had greatly surprised him. White Zetsu's concealment abilities were among the very best in the entire Ninja World, yet one had vanished without leaving the slightest clue. Had it been discovered, or was there some other unknown reason? He very much wanted to know what had happened.

Thus, he immediately came to Konoha. While searching himself, he also dispatched numerous White Zetsu to look for clues.

Then, when Root underwent a sudden change last night and the Konoha High Command urgently gathered at the Hokage Building, it naturally caught his attention, especially with the Uchiha Clan extermination plan about to be carried out. So he went directly to participate in that night's meeting from start to finish.

That was how he learned that someone with a Mangekyō Sharingan had impersonated him to attack the Root Base and had also taken away the Hashirama Cells.

Of course, Shimura Danzō had not mentioned that the Hashirama Cells in the base had also been lost. After all, those were part of his private experiments, and he could not let Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others know about them.

But under the surveillance of White Zetsu, which were spread throughout the Ninja World, even such secrets naturally became known to Obito Uchiha.

The other party's actions made Obito Uchiha extremely wary. Not only did they know of his existence, but they had also used his identity to steal the Hashirama Cells. With a Mangekyō Sharingan and Hashirama Cells, one could not help but wonder whether they already knew the secret that Hashirama Cells could restore the Dojutsu Power of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Moreover, the other party could imitate his Kamui and likely possessed a similar Space-Time Dōjutsu. This forced him to raise his guard to the utmost. Such a powerful enemy, one who might threaten his plans, had to be found immediately—either brought under his command or eliminated.

Therefore, even knowing this was a trap, Obito Uchiha had still chosen to meet Uchiha Itachi here. One of his purposes was to join forces with Konoha and find this enemy lurking in the shadows.

Though he was highly dissatisfied with these people's lofty attitude, he still spoke for the sake of his goal.

"Then you should ask your own people. I agreed to come help you suppress the Uchiha rebellion, yet something like this happened at such a critical moment. It seems another remarkable person has emerged within the Uchiha Clan. You failed to investigate even this kind of intelligence. That truly makes one wonder whether Konoha still has the strength to remain the number one Ninja Village."

Although the Masked Man was mocking Konoha's intelligence-gathering abilities, he was also making it clear that he had not been the one to infiltrate the Root Base.

Since I agreed to help you wipe out the Uchiha Clan, I naturally wouldn't add unnecessary complications by invading Root at a time like this. Any other time would have worked, so why would I give the Uchiha Clan breathing room now? It would be completely pointless.

Besides, what you should really be paying attention to is the newly awakened Mangekyō Sharingan within the Uchiha Clan. That is the true culprit.

Shimura Danzō did not care much for the Masked Man's explanation. In his view, such a distinctive Space-Time Dōjutsu could not be casually imitated.

What was more, the other party was acting so arrogantly, and with the barrier in place, they held an overwhelming advantage. Even if he had not done it, obtaining a Mangekyō Sharingan with a Space-Time Dōjutsu would still be an enormous gain.

Thus, Shimura Danzō did not wait for Sarutobi Hiruzen to continue wasting words with him and directly gave the order.

"Attack!"

At once, another barrage of ninjutsu and concealed weapons flew toward the Masked Man. This time, Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others standing on the perimeter saw it clearly: every attack passed through the Masked Man's body, failing to strike his physical form at all.

"How is that possible? Space-Time Ninjutsu? This barrier was developed by the Fourth Hokage specifically as a Sealing Barrier against Space-Time Ninjutsu. How can you still use Space-Time Ninjutsu within it?"

Obito Uchiha was growing impatient as well. His icy voice emerged from behind the mask.

"Heh, who do you think I am? I am Uchiha Madara! Did you really think this mere Sealing Barrier could trap me?"

"As the price for attacking me, you must find the person who dared impersonate me. Although Hashirama is gone and I no longer have any interest in this village, since you chose to attack me, I do not mind doing something to this village again!"

Having said that, he did not linger any longer. Spiral-like ripples spread through the air, and his figure vanished into the vortex.

Seeing this, Konoha's side understood that the barrier truly could not do anything to him.

Watching the Masked Man leave, Uchiha Itachi stood there in a daze. Earlier, within the Tsukuyomi Space, Obito Uchiha had explained the situation and reached a new plan with him.

To prevent any further unforeseen developments, they would launch the Clan Extermination War ahead of schedule. This would not only prove that he had not attacked the Root Base, but also dispel the Konoha High Command's suspicions of him and force the hidden Uchiha to reveal himself.

Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others did not pay much attention to the at-a-loss Uchiha Itachi. They hurriedly checked whether there was a problem with the barrier, and before long, they confirmed that it was still functioning. The Masked Man's mastery of space-time far exceeded the barrier's limits. For a moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō's expressions became exceedingly grim.

Misfortunes never came alone. While Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others were still frustrated over failing to capture the Masked Man, an Anbu hurried over with bad news.

"Reporting, Hokage-sama! The Hokage Building has come under attack. Advisor-sama is requesting reinforcements!"