The Tragic State Within the Clan Estate

"We didn't participate in the fighting, so we can loot the spoils of war first. How great!" the Cat-faced Anbu exclaimed softly as she rushed to the front of the squad.

But as she entered the Uchiha compound, the actual site of the battle, she suddenly stopped.

The bloody scene, bodies mangled by various jutsu, though ninjas were accustomed to such sights, she still gasped.

The scene before her was far more terrifying than an ordinary battlefield.

"Their... eyes?" she murmured softly.

She had held a sliver of hope for the Sharingan. Perhaps she couldn't use the Three Tomoe like Hatake-senpai, but even a Two Tomoe or Single Tomoe would be good.

But these corpses, lying askew on the ground, regardless of gender, age, or seniority, were left with only hollow eye sockets. The Sharingan that might have been within had long since vanished.

"The best spoils of war will never fall to us ordinary Anbu," the Tiger Mask Captain said, patting her subordinate's shoulder. She walked through the eyeless corpses, silently heading deeper into the inferno.

"Sigh, don't even think about the Sharingan. Even if we fought on the front lines, we wouldn't get them," the Leopard Mask Anbu, who had been at the very back of the squad, now walked up, sighing softly. "You should look for some secret Fire Style jutsu or ninjutsu insights instead."

After the Cat-faced Anbu also moved forward, only the Leopard Mask Anbu was left alone. He squatted down, covering his mask. The concentration of painkillers in his blood was constantly increasing, but his head ached even more.

He had known this day would come for a long time, he had been prepared, and he had already undergone psychological conditioning...

The most unbearable sight was the bodies of Aunt Xin and Uncle Lie next door. Beside them were their children, including Uchiha Tangwu, a genius Genin who had just left the Ninja Academy and had already activated his Single Tomoe Sharingan. Although outwardly proud, their family was exceptionally kind and humble within the clan.

Their bodies were no longer recognizable as human.

Uchiha Jie's family had sacrificed themselves on the battlefield long ago. He had grown up essentially being raised by the entire clan. Aunt Xin and Uncle Lie had helped him greatly.

And there were many more families like them.

But there would be no more.

Uchiha Jie had not failed to try. From the day he transmigrated, he had been preparing, first to survive himself, and then his friends, his clan.

But by the time he activated his Mangekyo Sharingan, the news of Uchiha Shisui's death had already arrived. The clan was already on a path of no return. Even if someone wanted to turn back, the hawks within the clan and the Konoha higher-ups would not listen to the advice of a mere Chunin, nor would they stop their actions.

Coupled with Uchiha Obito, the destruction of the Uchiha clan was irreversible.

He silently arranged the bodies of his clansmen in front of him, sighed, and proceeded inward along the small path within the compound. As he walked, he watched the Anbu count the bodies and inwardly calculated the number of slaughtered clansmen.

He had once hinted to some people about the tragedy that might occur in the future, but for any registered ninja, leaving Konohagakure without a valid reason was extremely difficult. Although the barrier was like a sieve against various enemies, for ordinary ninjas, it remained an insurmountable wall.

For the civilians within the Uchiha clan who had not become ninjas, after leaving the village, they would face prolonged surveillance by Root ninjas, or even be captured or assassinated.

"Hey! Where did you go!" Uchiha Jie, wandering aimlessly, had circled the compound. When he returned, he bumped into his teammate, the Cat-faced Anbu, who was carrying a fiery red scroll on her back. Her voice was cheerful, indicating she had reaped a good harvest.

"I've never been here before, just looking around. You know, I can't use Fire Style or Lightning Style," Uchiha Jie frowned, looking at the scroll on the Cat-faced Anbu's back. "What is this scroll?" he asked deliberately.

"Ha, don't get any ideas about this scroll," the Cat-faced Anbu patted the scroll on her back. "This is the Captain's spoil of war!"

"No, I mean, there's a requirement that the spoils of war we obtain need to be registered and undergo unified inspection before being reissued," Uchiha Jie pointed at the now pitch-black night sky and shook his head. "At least the operational manual that was issued requires us to cooperate as much as possible with Root's actions."

"To prevent the evil Uchiha clan from harboring evil weapons that could subvert the village, to discover the evil plans formulated by the evil Uchiha clan, right?" the Cat-faced Anbu's voice became playful.

"Come on, they're all dead, from top to bottom, men, women, old, and young, not a single one spared. What else is there to inspect? They clearly just want to snatch the good stuff we collected."

"It's no use explaining to me, you should explain to them." Uchiha Jie tilted his head, looking behind the Cat-faced Anbu. The patrolling Root members had already confiscated quite a few spoils of war belonging to the Anbu and had noticed the two of them, heading their way.

"Hey, hey! We're the Hokage-sama's direct subordinates, the Anbu!"

Before the Root members could speak, the Cat-faced Anbu preemptively announced her identity and backing, but the Root members wearing strange masks did not back down at all.

The leader of the Root squad, wearing a snarling fox mask, spoke in a low, hoarse voice.

"This operation is led by Root. Please cooperate," he said.

"The operation is over. If you have any objections to our actions, you can file a complaint with Hokage-sama," the Cat-faced Anbu remained unfazed, crossing her arms and looking at the gathering Root members with a half-smile. "Besides, this is our Captain's spoil of war. I'm just carrying it for her."

Although she appeared unfazed, she was actually quite panicked. When the Captain handed her the scroll, she had assured her that there were no problems, and she had believed her.

But looking at the Root members in front of her, all of them stained with the blood of the Uchiha, and recalling the corpses she had seen upon entering the Uchiha compound, as well as Root's usual methods, she suddenly felt a pang of regret.

The Root member wearing the fox mask frowned, his right hand secretly reaching for the ninja tool pouch at his waist. After slaughtering the Uchiha, they were brimming with confidence, but then his companion pulled him back.

"Captain, it's her!" someone whispered.

"Hmph, you're lucky!" someone spat out a harsh threat.

The Root members dispersed, as if the previous incident had never happened. It was only because the Anbu Captain wearing the Tiger Mask appeared on the rooftop. Another large scroll was slung across her back, but the sound of her landing was light and airy.

"Captain is so amazing! She scared those Root members away just by appearing!" the Cat-faced Anbu's voice became not only relaxed but also more proud. Anyone who had such a capable leader would naturally feel honored. Just by appearing, she had scared away those Root members.

"Just a bunch of rats from the sewers," the Tiger Mask Anbu's voice was a bit strange, as if something was muffling it. Her originally clear voice had become somewhat low, as if she had suddenly transformed from a girl into a woman.