Uchiha's Retaliation

Looking at the devastated plaza, where a massive crater had appeared, eight Uchiha guards' bodies lay arranged in neat rows.

Their fingers still clutched their ninja tool pouches tightly.

The two surviving chunin and the Medical Ninja were dragging their wounded bodies through the ruins, collecting the bodies of civilians and ninjas sent back from the front lines.

Countless civilians emerged from all corners of the silent Clan grounds and voluntarily joined in gathering the dead.

Nearly a hundred clan members' bodies were laid out neatly in the plaza, looking as though they were asleep amid the morning mist.

When the first ray of sunlight pierced the clouds, the stone door to the secret chamber burst open. In the children's clear eyes were reflected the three tomoe of blood-red Sharingan.

When the explosion rang out last night, Kosuke had jolted awake from his dreams.

In the darkness, he fumbled into his clothes.

Then, he quietly opened his door, just about to go outside and see what had happened.

Suddenly, a familiar scent filled his nostrils.

Mom!

Kosuke looked at the shadow on the floor and slowly raised his head.

What entered his sight, however, was a familiar yet stern face.

A pair of scarlet Three Tomoe rotated slowly.

Within Kosuke's originally dark pupils, the three tomoe in Aoba's clone's eyes were reflected in the blink of an eye.

The next second, he fell into an illusion and peacefully drifted back to sleep.

His body suddenly went limp like mud.

Aoba's clone scooped him up with one hand, carrying Kosuke's limp body in her arms.

She gently pushed the door open with her foot and slowly walked to the bed that still retained a trace of warmth.

She carefully laid Kosuke down and tucked the blankets around him.

"Little Kosuke, this isn't something you can be involved in right now. Get some proper sleep."

Aoba's clone flashed into the courtyard and raised her hand to activate the invisible trapping barrier her father had set up while he was alive.

Then, her figure vanished from the courtyard as the barrier flickered into existence.

In the morning light over the Uchiha Clan grounds, Kosuke, who had appeared in the plaza at some point, stared blankly at the invaders' bodies that had been casually piled together by the clan members.

Red hair?

The Uzumaki Clan?

Then these black-haired ones must be from the Senju Clan.

But that didn't match the timeline he knew from his past life.

Why was that?

Kosuke turned toward the plaza, his gaze sweeping over the neatly arranged bodies of his clansmen.

Mournful cries rang endlessly in his ears, tightening his throat as bone-deep hatred toward the two clans slowly filled his eyes.

"Captain Aoba, eight guards were killed. Fifty-four ninjas who were discharged from the hospital two days ago were killed. Fifty-five civilian clan members were killed. Five Medical Ninjas were killed. The number of deaths at the destroyed medical site has been confirmed at six hundred and forty-four."

"Captain Aoba, should we send someone to the front lines to request aid from the Clan Head?"

As she looked at the cold corpses of more than seven hundred clan members, Aoba's voice was chillingly cold.

"I've already sent a Shadow Clone to explain the situation to the Clan Head. First, settle our clan members. Send people to clear the ruins within the clan. The Medical Ninjas are to build a new treatment site and transfer the clan members injured last night there."

"Understood, Captain Aoba."

After receiving their orders, the two guards turned and left, swiftly passing along Aoba's commands.

One reorganized the guards and had them patrol around the Clan grounds; the other gathered a large number of people to begin clearing the ruins.

The Medical Ninjas, meanwhile, dispatched several ninjas to find a place to rebuild the treatment site.

As morning light seeped over the broken walls and ruins, a group of dirty-faced children gathered around Kosuke once more.

Seeing the expectant looks in their eyes, he organized them again and led them in doing whatever they could.

"Clan Head, Uchiha Aoba, who remained behind in the clan, requests an audience."

"Uchiha Aoba?" Tajima, who had been discussing tomorrow's direction of attack with the elders, heard the report from outside the military tent. A trace of confusion flashed through his eyes. "Let Aoba in!"

With a puzzled expression, Tajima stared solemnly toward the tent entrance.

Could something have happened within the clan?

The six elders exchanged glances, each with a flicker of confusion in their eyes, and all turned their attention toward the entrance.

The instant Uchiha Aoba stepped into the tent, everyone immediately recognized her as a Shadow Clone.

Before Tajima and the others could speak, Aoba's Shadow Clone swiftly explained how the clan had been ambushed by Death Warriors from the Senju and Uzumaki Clans.

"What?!!"

The Three Tomoe Sharingan in everyone's eyes abruptly activated, the tomoe spinning wildly within seven pairs of blood-red eyes.

Tajima's eyes actually showed signs of advancing toward the Mangekyo stage.

"Those damned Senju Clan and Uzumaki Clan!!"

"They actually broke the unspoken rules of the Ninja World!! This is not the conduct of gentlemen—are they trying to make our Uchiha wipe out their clan?!"

"Rules? You're the only old fool still abiding by them!!"

"This is war!!"

"Clan Head, I request permission to fight! Tonight, I'll lead men around their side and launch a devastating attack on their clan grounds!"

"Enough!! Quiet down!!"

At Tajima's furious roar, the tent instantly fell silent.

Only the Dojutsu of the Sharingan surged wildly through the tent, filling every inch of space.

Tajima's trembling gaze, driven by extreme fury, fixed itself viciously on Aoba's clone.

The gazes of the six elders were likewise locked tightly onto her.

Crushed beneath the invisible pressure, the clone's face darkened as she glared back. "Put away your auras. I'm a clone, not the original body! Keep this up, and believe it or not, I'll blow one up to open your eyes?"

As soon as Aoba's clone said this, the imposing pressure gathered by Tajima and the others immediately vanished.

Tajima let out a heavy breath. "Enough. Put away your auras. Go back and tell Aoba that we'll end the battle as soon as possible and return to the clan. The clan members will be relying on her during this time."

"Got it. After this attack, I doubt they'll continue launching raids. You, on the other hand—the battlefield changes constantly. Be careful in case those disgusting two clans pull some underhanded trick on you."

After nodding at Tajima and the others, Aoba's clone had barely finished speaking when, with a Bang, she turned into a puff of white smoke and vanished.

With extremely grim expressions, the group tacitly abandoned the next day's attack plan and instead began studying today's night raid.

A night raid, was it?!

They wondered whether Uchiha Fire Release combined with Exploding Tags would be enough to repay this grand gift?!

At that moment, Uchiha Aoba, who was recuperating within the Uchiha clan grounds, abruptly opened her eyes.

The instant the clone sent to the front lines dispersed, a vast flood of memories appeared in her mind.

The complicated memories made the veins on Aoba's forehead throb, and cold sweat instantly soaked her beautiful hair.

As she abruptly opened her eyes, three tomoe spun madly within her pupils.

Swoosh~

The wooden door and its frame scraped across the floor, producing a faint sound.

"Mom, I want to build an Academic Research Lab in the forest behind the Ancestral Hall."

Before Kosuke's figure even stepped inside, his voice echoed through the room first.

"Hm?" Seeing his mother's current state, Kosuke's heart immediately clenched with anxiety. "Mom, your eyes?"

His urgent cry rang beside Aoba's ears.