Kill, wreak havoc. The stage is already set.

"BOOM!"

A deafening clap of thunder suddenly exploded over Konoha, the pale lightning illuminating the entire world in a flash of stark white.

Following that, a torrential downpour descended, recklessly shrouding the entire village of Konoha.

Mist filled the air, and the wind let out a mournful wail.

The weather at this moment was exactly like the situation in Konoha.

Precarious and hanging by a thread.

In the southern district of the village, within the compounds of Konoha's two great clans, the atmosphere in the Hyuga Clan was entirely different from the murderous tension of the Uchiha compound.

It was deathly silent.

"Has the list been drafted?"

The voice of Hiashi Hyuga was somewhat hoarse, his pure white eyes filled with an inescapable gloom.

Compared to the high-spirited, steady, and dignified clan head of the past, he looked more like a failure pushed to the brink by reality, forced to make a choice he didn't want to make.

"It is basically finalized..."

Standing to the side, Hyuga Riwo paused, his tone equally heavy. "Aside from those who secretly went to the battlefield, everyone else has been accounted for."

As he spoke, he handed over the list.

Hiashi Hyuga reached out to take it, his gaze slowly sweeping across the paper.

Row after row of familiar names came into view.

Most were core members of the Main Branch or ninjas secretly cultivated by the clan. Yet, not a single name of the Branch Family members, who truly supported the bloodline and combat power of the Hyuga Clan, appeared on the list.

Hizashi Hyuga was not there.

Hyuga Qinglan was not there either.

"Evacuation... is this really what we must do?"

Hiashi Hyuga looked at those familiar names, his heart aching as if pierced by knives.

The Branch Family was being used as shields on the front lines to be whittled down, while the Main Branch was discussing escape routes in the rear.

As the head of the Hyuga Clan, had he truly... made a mistake?

"Hiashi, this is to preserve the bloodline of the Byakugan."

Hyuga Riwo looked at him and finally let out a sigh, his tone filled with helplessness and the cruelty of reality.

"If Konoha hadn't collapsed, our Hyuga Clan would naturally have no need to make such an evacuation decision; we could even continue to send people to the front lines to provide support."

"But Konoha as it is now..." Hyuga Riwo shook his head. "Even the Third Hokage and the Yellow Flash might not be able to stabilize the situation. Why should we, the Hyuga, continue to wade into these muddy waters?"

"Defeat in this war is almost inevitable. When that time comes, those guys from the Cloud Village and Kirigakure will likely swarm in like mad dogs smelling blood, specifically targeting our Byakugan."

"..."

Hiashi Hyuga fell silent.

The room was left with only the sound of the rain pattering against the windows and the breeze blowing through.

A moment later, Hiashi Hyuga suddenly raised his head, and for the first time, a near-resolute sharpness emerged within his usually calm white eyes.

"If a clan is left with nothing but a group of eyes that only know how to survive by fleeing..."

He slowly set down the list, his voice not loud, yet every word was as firm as iron.

"Then what dignity is there left to speak of?"

Having said this, he stood up and straightened his clan head's kimono robes.

At this moment, that face, once calm and weary, finally regained the dignity and determination befitting a clan head.

"Have Hizashi take the children of the Main Branch and the elders, and leave through the secret passage. Head to the backup stronghold on the border of the Land of Fire."

"What about you? Hiashi!" Elder Riwo's expression changed drastically, and the words blurted out.

"Me?"

Hiashi Hyuga turned his head, his expression calm, yet a long-lost fighting spirit ignited in the depths of his eyes.

"I am going to the front lines. I will lead the Branch Family ninjas into battle."

"If I flee before even fighting, then the name Hiashi Hyuga does not deserve to be written into the genealogy of the Hyuga Clan."

He paused slightly, his gaze calm and firm.

"Qinglan is still on the battlefield."

"As the head of the Hyuga Clan, I cannot afford to lose by too wide a margin... can I?"

Meanwhile.

On the other side of the southern district, within the Uchiha compound, the atmosphere was completely different from that of the Hyuga Clan.

There was no despondency, no deathly silence here.

What remained was a surging battle intent that threatened to tear through the roof.

"You are all the final hope of our Uchiha clan."

Inside Naka Shrine, Uchiha Setsuna stood at the very front, his voice resonant and every word ringing with conviction, echoing throughout the grand hall.

"And precisely because of that, even though the village has reached its most critical hour, it is not yet time for you children to step onto the battlefield—neither for the sake of the clan nor the village."

Within the shrine, aside from those who had already rushed to the front lines, the remaining members were almost entirely the elderly, the weak, women, and children.

Yet, even so, everyone straightened their backs, their gazes fixed collectively upon Uchiha Setsuna on the dais.

The aging middle-aged ninjas, the silent elders, and the children with their tender expressions were all waiting for what this elder had to say next.

"The current Third Hokage, though appointed by that old dog Senju Tobirama..."

Uchiha Setsuna's tone turned abruptly cold, "He utilizes the Uchiha, yet he fears the Uchiha and suppresses the Uchiha!"

He let out a cold snort, his tone shifting, "But it cannot be denied that Konoha was ultimately created by Madara and Senju Hashirama. When the village is in trouble, the Uchiha clan cannot, and will never, sit idly by!"

"Leave the matter of supporting the battlefield to the adults."

As Uchiha Setsuna said this, a sinister smile curled the corners of his mouth.

"As for you children..."

His gaze fell once again upon the younger generation, including Shisui and Itachi.

"Only when you have awakened the Three-Tomoe can you talk about going to the battlefield!"

"Boom!"

A pale bolt of lightning tore through the firmament, and a deafening roll of thunder exploded outside the shrine.

The heavy rain fell faster and harder, as if the heavens themselves were weeping for this disaster-stricken village.

Uchiha Setsuna turned around, leading the adult ninjas of the clan toward the shrine gates.

But at that very moment, a clear and firm voice came from behind him, carrying an unquestionable resolve.

"Elder, I am going too!"

Uchiha Shisui, who had been silent and sitting in the corner, spoke with an exceptionally firm tone.

And those eyes, usually as gentle as water, had now transformed into scarlet...

Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Deep within the curtain of rain, on the muddy mountain path leading to the Rock Battlefield.

A ninja army was sprinting rapidly through the gale and downpour; mud splashed everywhere, yet their footsteps did not falter for even a second.

"All that scheming for nothing..."

Hyuga Qinglan maintained a steady rhythm of breathing as he sped through the ranks.

His gaze passed over the layers of the ninja army, landing on the figure at the very front who still possessed an imposing presence.

He had gone to the trouble of summoning Ao to specifically provoke Hanzo.

He hadn't expected that while this guy seemed somewhat indecisive, he was actually quite swift and resolute when it came to final execution...

"Moreover, a few words of instigation seem to have ignited that ambition of Hanzo's to become the 'pinnacle of the ninja world'..."

Be confident.

Be arrogant.

When you finally fall from the heights and are smashed to pieces.

That pride will be thoroughly crushed.

Hyuga Qinglan chuckled inwardly, though his expression remained as calm as ever.

At the same time, the forbidden jutsu from the Konoha scroll played through his mind like a revolving lantern.

He intended to harvest his own benefits to the extreme amidst the chaos of this battle.

And to purify his bloodline, increase the concentration of his Tenseigan, and even locate the remains of the Otsutsuki once more—

The jutsu required for this was related to Senju Tobirama.

"Kill, wreak havoc. The stage has already been set."

"The rest shall be left to Orochimaru..."