Reclaim Ancestral Land!

Uchiha Fugaku led the team in person, and the terrifying pressure he exerted left them completely unable to move.

Under such circumstances, let alone escaping, even death had become a luxury.

"Fight to the death!"

The ninja's expression hardened as he erupted into action in an instant.

A massive amount of chakra began to gather rapidly.

"Wind Style: Wind Cutter!"

"Wind Style: Great Void Orb!"

The ninja unleashed two ninjutsu in quick succession, and the other ninjas behind him also rapidly formed hand seals.

They threw out ninjutsu as if it cost nothing, casting them frantically.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

As the terrifying sounds of explosions rang out, the spot where Uchiha Fugaku stood was instantly shrouded in a thick cloud of dust and mist.

"Hmm?"

"Keep attacking! Even the clan head of the Uchiha isn't invincible!"

"To be so arrogant—do they really think we're made of clay?"

The lead ninja was overjoyed at the sight.

The members of the Uchiha clan were arrogant and conceited; such a situation was only to be expected.

This... was their only path to survival.

As for escaping?

They were thinking too much; if they could easily escape while inside the village, the Uchiha might as well commit suicide.

If they could first injure the Uchiha clan head, perhaps there would be a glimmer of hope.

"Bang!"

Just as their second wave of ninjutsu struck, an orange-red arm instantly reached out from the dust.

It grabbed a ninja and crushed him in its grip.

"Puff!"

With just a light squeeze, the ninja's body went limp.

"Although I would have liked to take you in for interrogation, you have destroyed my clan grounds to this extent."

"You no longer have the qualifications to live."

An orange-red phantom instantly rose from the ground.

With a wave of its massive hand, the giant Susanoo appeared before everyone.

"Ding..."

"Is this that demonic power?"

"Susanoo... is this a power we can possibly contend with..."

"What kind of clan are we actually facing?"

In an instant, kunai fell powerlessly to the ground one after another.

The eyes of the ninjas were filled with a deep sense of helplessness.

"Boom..."

Following a massive shockwave, all the ninjas were killed.

Immediately after, the Uchiha clansmen used the kunai in their hands to leave wounds on their own bodies.

"Let's go. We will help our clansmen clear out the other invaders in the village."

Uchiha Fugaku retracted his Susanoo, turned around, and led his clansmen as they vanished rapidly from the scene.

Although he felt a bit of heartache over the buildings, the thought that he wouldn't have to pay for the repairs himself made the pain subside.

As the first rays of the morning sun spilled down, the entire Konoha began to stir.

"Officers of the Military Police Force, I've prepared breakfast! Come and eat with us!"

"Officers of the Military Police Force, thank you for saving me last night. This is a small token of our gratitude; please accept it, and please forgive our previous rudeness."

"Officers of the Military Police Force, you are the guardians of Konoha!"

"I suddenly realized that the Sharingan is truly beautiful!"

In an instant, the attitude of the ordinary villagers toward the Uchiha took a 180-degree turn.

They vied to offer food and gifts of gratitude.

Naturally, no one stood on ceremony regarding the food, and not a single gift of thanks was accepted.

Upon learning that the Uchiha had even seen their own compound destroyed in order to protect the villagers, the status of the Uchiha in their hearts rose once again.

Inside the Hokage Office.

"Lord Hokage, a total of 121 infiltrators were captured yesterday, and 62 were killed."

"The damage to the village's infrastructure is not severe; most of it can be repaired in a short time."

"The Uchiha Compound has been destroyed, and we are applying for reconstruction."

Uchiha Fugaku handed the file in his hand to Sarutobi Hiruzen and reported in a flat tone.

Looking at the information on the ninjas in the file, which even included over a dozen Konoha ninjas, Sarutobi Hiruzen could not help but knit his brows.

The impact of this incident was no longer just the result of a single Uchiha compound being destroyed.

It was that the entire Uchiha clan had begun to establish their own prestige within the village.

This was the last thing Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to see.

All the effort he had put in previously had been undone in a single night.

The suffocating feeling made Sarutobi Hiruzen even want to go and berate Shimura Danzō right then and there.

"Thank you for your hard work, Fugaku."

"Konoha will not forget your contributions this time."

"As for the restoration of the compound, it may require a large amount of funds, and the village is currently..."

A look of hesitation appeared on Sarutobi Hiruzen's face.

To put it bluntly, he simply did not want to pay.

"Lord Hokage, there is no need to rush the restoration of our compound."

"We are accelerating our interrogations and will soon know who is behind such an attack."

"There must still be hidden enemies in the village, and we will find them all."

Uchiha Fugaku said with a serious expression.

"This..."

"It is better to leave this to us to handle."

"Chief Fugaku, you are with the Military Police Force, responsible for maintaining safety and stability."

"When it comes to interrogations, we are the professionals."

Just then, Shimura Danzō appeared in the Hokage Office.

There was no excess emotion on his face, as if these matters had nothing to do with him.

"Lord Danzō."

"You have too many things to deal with every day; let us handle these matters."

Uchiha Fugaku responded in a neither cold nor warm tone.

Upon hearing Uchiha Fugaku's words, Danzō's expression darkened.

If these people were all members of Root, Danzō could rest easy.

After all, they were all under the Cursed Seal.

However, this operation had also involved some other ninjas.

If they discovered even a trace of evidence and eventually traced it back to him...

Thinking of the Uchiha Compound being destroyed, such a great humiliation, the Uchiha would certainly not let it slide.

When that time came, even he would be in great danger.

Coupled with the combat power Uchiha Fugaku had displayed yesterday, Danzō felt even more alarmed.

"The Uchiha Compound has been destroyed, so surely the Uchiha have many things to attend to."

"We have all seen the Uchiha's performance over these years."

"The Nine-Tails Incident likely had nothing to do with the Uchiha, so just move back to your original compound."

"That would be more convenient, and it would not require the village to spend extra funds on reconstruction."

Danzō quickly changed the subject.

"Hm?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Danzō in astonishment.

Had this guy gone mad?

How much effort had it taken back then to marginalize the entire Uchiha clan?

Allowing them to return to the central area of the village now would bring about consequences...

However, Danzo had no choice but to compromise at this moment.

After all, this matter... must not be traced back to him.

Not even the slightest hidden danger could be allowed to remain.

Otherwise, the upper echelons of Konoha would be shaken to their core...