Protecting the Root of the Uchiha Clan

Unlike Shiba Inu Shiba's punctuality, Uchiha Obito had never been a punctual person since childhood.

When he was little, he was always late. As he grew up, he would even deliberately arrive a few minutes late, just to see the anxious look on others' faces as they waited.

However, tonight, he was not late. Instead, he was surprisingly early.

Obito moved like a shadow, darting into the darkness ahead of time, silently infiltrating the Uchiha Clan's territory.

"Tsk..." Obito clicked his tongue, standing behind a tall pagoda tree, coldly observing the street ahead. "Uchiha... still have a few tough nuts to crack."

The Uchiha's stronghold still had some elite ninjas remaining. They might not know that their clan was about to face destruction.

Even on the eve of its demise, the Uchiha's stronghold was still home to many seasoned ninjas with practical combat experience and formidable strength. Unlike ordinary clan members who only relied on their bloodline and Sharingan talent, these were elites forged through years of war in the Ninja World.

Uchiha Obito knew this well. He was not blindly confident. Although he had already arranged for Akatsuki Organization members to attack the clan compound, a sliver of unease lingered deep within him.

He knew that one Akatsuki team might struggle to quickly suppress these Three-Tomoe Sharingan users in a short period.

"A true leader," he stood on the large tree, overlooking the entire dark and lightless alleyways, his eyes beneath the mask icy cold, "should personally eliminate the most troublesome enemies."

Obito had never trusted anyone. He didn't trust the Akatsuki, he didn't trust Madara, and he no longer trusted the dreams he once held. He only believed in power, only in the path he carved out with his own hands. He decided to act early, to do some cleaning ahead of time. Besides, Root had already sealed off information from the outside.

Obito silently infiltrated the Uchiha stronghold with a clear objective. First, he would eliminate the truly threatening elite ninjas, clearing the way for the subsequent complete massacre.

This was not the first time he had attacked the Uchiha. Just a few days ago, he had teamed up with Uchiha Itachi to secretly deal with clan members who attempted to leave the family.

And tonight, it was another harvest, except this time, he was harvesting the core combatants who remained in the clan compound, those with true fighting power.

Obito took a step forward, like a phantom.

A blade sliced through the night, instantly piercing the throat of a patrolling ninja. The opponent didn't even have time to react; the last thing reflected in his pupils was a flash of red light.

But as he continued to advance, his brow suddenly furrowed.

"These people..." He squatted down, examining the face of one of the corpses, and remained silent for a moment. "Don't have Sharingan."

Not Uchiha?

He frowned, his gaze sweeping around. In the next instant, several shadows burst from the darkness, fearlessly lunging at him.

"Enemy attack!" one of them roared in a low, hoarse voice. "Target confirmed, masked man, surround and kill immediately!"

"You are..." Obito's blade flashed, his Katana slashing out in an instant. Two attackers fell to the ground, blood splattering the night.

But more people emerged from the shadows, their movements synchronized, their expressions stern and cold, silent.

"...Root?" The vigilance in Obito's eyes quickly turned to coldness.

These individuals were not Uchiha clan members, nor were they members of the Akatsuki. They were Danzo's subordinates, the secret unit of Konohagakure's Root.

"This is truly interesting..." Obito chuckled, a hint of mockery in his voice. "The enemy of my enemy should be my friend. Yet, you lot actually attacked me at this moment."

Deep within his eyes, the Mangekyo Sharingan quietly bloomed. Space twisted around him, swallowing him whole like a vortex. He vanished in an instant, only to reappear elsewhere.

But he quickly sensed something was wrong.

No matter how Obito used Kamui to transfer, the Root members seemed to accurately pinpoint his landing spots. It was as if every move he made was calculated in advance.

"I've been marked," Obito began to ponder.

"Was I targeted the moment I entered Konohagakure?" he speculated in his mind. "Or... did someone place a tracking seal on me?"

While blocking his enemies, he dodged to the side, a mere afterimage in the darkness. He knew he couldn't get dragged into a war of attrition. Even a monster like the Third Raikage would eventually run out of stamina and die under a siege.

Obito could leave at any time, but he didn't want to.

Uchiha Obito's true terror lay in the spatial power granted by his Mangekyo, Kamui.

This was a dojutsu capable of overturning the rules of the battlefield. In the face of Kamui, the boundaries between offense and defense were almost rendered void. He could instantly phase his body, causing all physical attacks to miss;

or, without any warning, he could instantly drag enemies into another dimension.

For him, whether to fight or flee was a matter of a single thought.

Even more terrifying was that this wasn't all.

Under Uchiha Madara's arrangement, he had transplanted Senju Cells, giving him a physical defense and recovery ability that made him nearly immortal.

Even if injured, he could heal rapidly in a short period, and even suppress the side effects of his dojutsu power with the strength of the Senju Cells.

"Someone like this, once out of control, would even give me a headache." This was Uchiha Madara's evaluation of Obito in his later years.

Precisely because of this, when Uchiha Madara entrusted his plan and power to Obito, he did not completely let down his guard. He knew that Obito's Mangekyo ability was too unique, and if it went out of control, almost no one could effectively restrain him. Therefore, to prevent future changes, Uchiha Madara had implanted a special control mechanism in his heart.

"I must shake them off and find a breakthrough," Obito calmly contemplated his tactics, his gaze beneath the mask icy. "Who... actually started this chaos?"

Root, were they after me? Weren't they my "teammates"?

Root believed that the Akatsuki Organization had ordered Uchiha Itachi to attack them, resulting in the deaths of four Root elites, and even Danzo being beaten. As the symbol of Root, Danzo's honor was Root's honor. This humiliation made him determined to launch a retaliatory strike against the Akatsuki Organization. According to Uchiha Rekka's intelligence, the Masked Man was Akatsuki.

Originally, Root planned to move against the Uchiha Clan, and Uchiha Obito also planned to destroy the Uchiha Clan. Logically, the enemy of my enemy should be my friend. But ironically, these enemies of enemies were now fighting each other. Root's forces had, to some extent, become reinforcements for the Uchiha Clan, helping them resist Obito's attack; while Obito, in turn, had become the blade against Root's invasion.

"Every time I appear, I'm tracked. It must be Sensory Ninjas."

Konohagakure had many Sensory Ninjas, and successive Hokages knew their importance. Uchiha Obito was no exception. This time, he specifically targeted Sensory Ninjas.

The Hyuga Clan, the Aburame Clan. Every move was clean, precise, and swift. On the battlefield, Root's Sensory Ninjas were decreasing.

His position was still accurately locked onto time and time again.

"Not a Sensory Ninja... it's something else."

He pondered, entering the Kamui Space to withdraw from the battlefield.

Within the Kamui Space, Obito stood on a void platform. He reached out and pulled open his shirt, sensing the subtle abnormality. His body carried a faint, almost imperceptible scent, like... a mark of some kind. It had been left behind since his last visit to the Root base. He had initially dismissed it as the stench of Root.

"So, back then... Danzo was already targeting me."

Obito's expression turned grim. Silently, he changed into a spare set of clothes, and the scent on his body noticeably faded.

Since the scent was the key to the mark, someone or some Ninja Beast must be relying on it to track his movements.

"It's a Ninja Hound."

"Then I'll cut off the source."

When he returned to the battlefield, the wind had changed.

He transformed into a spectral shadow, plunging into the night. The Katana in his hand flashed like a stream of light, severing not just the air, but also Root's last Scout Dogs. Those Ninja Hounds didn't even have time to whimper before they were cut in half, blood splattering the ground.

Root's Sensory Chain was thus broken. Obito's figure once again became an Illusionary Shadow, advancing and retreating without a trace. The enemy's reactions suddenly dulled, and the tide of battle immediately turned.

"Retreat!" The Battlefield Commander for Root began to issue orders, but it was already too late.

Uchiha Obito weaved through them like a Shinigami, one strike after another, showing no mercy. He was less like a human and more like a beast. Soon, the entire Root squad suffered heavy casualties and fled the battlefield.

Root, the Chain that was supposed to secretly blockade the Uchiha, was the first to be eliminated tonight.

Unless Danzo was willing to personally enter the fray, Root had already lost its voice in this Shadow War.

"Now, only the Uchiha remain." A twisted glint appeared in Obito's eyes.

Uchiha Obito had completely lost himself in the slaughter. He had originally been a Black Hand hidden behind the scenes, but now he had personally transformed into a bloodthirsty Sharp Blade.

The Uchiha Clan had always been fanatical, each more stubborn and powerful than the last—and their power often stemmed from that near-pathological obsession. The more fanatical, the stronger; the stronger, the more fanatical.

Obito's thoughts also gradually slid towards extremism. Even without Uchiha Itachi, he could personally exterminate the entire Uchiha Clan. He no longer needed anyone's assistance, nor did he have any room for retreat. The outer Guard Teams of the clan were simply no match for his advance.

Thus, he charged all the way into the Core Area of the Uchiha Clan Compound, ruthlessly eliminating all the Hawk Faction powerhouses along the way.

But just as he was about to step into the Core Courtyard, a Slender Figure blocked his path.

It was a young girl, appearing no older than fourteen or fifteen, about the same age as Uchiha Itachi. Her expression was cold, her eyes resolute. She possessed the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, yet showed no sign of fear.