Reclaiming the Compound!

Uchiha Fugaku led the team in person. His terrifying pressure left them completely unable to move.

In a situation like this, let alone escaping, even death had become a luxury.

"Fight!"

The ninja's expression tightened, and he erupted into action.

Vast amounts of chakra began to gather rapidly.

"Wind Release: Wind Slash!"

"Wind Release: Great Ball of Wind!"

The ninja quickly unleashed two ninjutsu, while the others behind him rapidly formed Hand Seals.

They hurled ninjutsu one after another as if they cost nothing.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

As terrifying explosions rang out, the area where Uchiha Fugaku stood was swallowed by thick clouds of dust.

"Hm?"

"Keep attacking! Even the Uchiha Clan leader isn't invincible!"

"He's actually that arrogant? Does he really think we're made of mud?"

The leading ninja was overjoyed at the sight.

The Uchiha Clan were proud and arrogant, so this sort of thing was only to be expected.

This... was their only chance to survive.

As for escaping?

Dream on. If they could escape so easily in the village, the Uchiha might as well give up.

If they could wound the Uchiha Clan leader first, they might still have a slim chance of survival.

"Thud!"

Just as they launched their second wave of ninjutsu, an orange-red arm suddenly reached out from the dust.

It grabbed one of the ninja in its fist.

"Urgh!"

With only a gentle squeeze, the ninja's body went limp.

"I'd like to take you in for questioning, but you've destroyed my clan's compound like this."

"You no longer deserve to live."

An orange-red silhouette instantly rose from the ground.

With a sweep of its enormous hand, a massive Susanoo appeared before them.

"Clang..."

"So this is that demonic power?"

"Susanoo... Is a power like that even something we can fight...?"

"What kind of clan are we even up against?"

One by one, Kunai fell limply to the ground.

A deep sense of helplessness showed in the ninjas' eyes.

"Boom..."

A massive shockwave struck, killing every last one of the ninjas.

Then the Uchiha Clan members each used the Kunai in their hands to cut themselves, leaving wounds on their bodies.

"Let's go. We'll help our people deal with the other intruders in the village."

Uchiha Fugaku dismissed his Susanoo, then turned and quickly left with his clan members.

He felt a little sorry about the buildings, but then he remembered he wouldn't have to pay for them himself, and the feeling passed.

As the first rays of morning sunlight fell, all of Konoha sprang into action.

"Honored members of the Military Police Force, I've prepared breakfast. Please, join me!"

"Honored members of the Military Police Force, thank you for saving me last night. We've prepared a few gifts as thanks. Please accept them, and forgive us for being rude before."

"Honored members of the Military Police Force, you're the protectors of Konoha!"

"I just realized how beautiful those Sharingan are!"

In no time, the ordinary villagers' attitude toward the Uchiha had completely reversed.

They gratefully offered them food and gifts.

Of course, the Uchiha accepted the food, but not a single gift.

When the villagers learned that the Uchiha had protected everyone in the village at the cost of losing their own compound, their opinion of the clan rose even higher.

Inside the Hokage Office.

"Lord Hokage, we captured 121 infiltrators yesterday and killed 62."

"The damage to the village's buildings isn't severe. Most of them can be repaired in a short time."

"The Uchiha Compound was destroyed. We request permission to rebuild it."

Uchiha Fugaku handed the files to Sarutobi Hiruzen and gave his report in an even tone.

As Sarutobi Hiruzen looked through the information on the ninjas, he saw that more than a dozen of them were from Konoha.

His brows drew together.

The consequences of this incident went beyond the destruction of the Uchiha Compound.

The entire Uchiha Clan had begun to earn a reputation of its own in the village.

That was the last thing Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to see.

After all that effort, everything had gone back to square one overnight.

The feeling was so unpleasant that Sarutobi Hiruzen almost wanted to go and curse out Shimura Danzō right then and there.

"You've worked hard, Fugaku."

"Konoha won't forget what you've done."

"As for repairing the compound, it may require a large sum of money. The village is currently..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked troubled.

In other words, he didn't want to pay.

"Lord Hokage, there's no need to rush into repairing our compound."

"We're speeding up the interrogations. We'll soon find out who was behind this attack."

"There are bound to be other enemies hiding in the village. We'll find them all as well."

Uchiha Fugaku spoke with a solemn expression.

"Th-this..."

"Leave this matter to us."

"Captain Fugaku, you're part of the Military Police Force. Your duty is to maintain security and order."

"We're the experts when it comes to interrogations."

Just then, Shimura Danzō appeared in the Hokage Office.

His face betrayed little emotion, as though none of this had anything to do with him.

"Lord Danzō."

"You have so much to deal with every day. Let us take care of this."

Uchiha Fugaku replied blandly.

Hearing Uchiha Fugaku's words, Danzō's expression darkened.

If all these people had been members of Root, he could have felt at ease.

After all, they had all been branded with Cursed Seals.

But this operation had also involved other ninjas.

If they knew even the slightest clue and eventually traced everything back to him...

Given the humiliation of having the Uchiha Compound destroyed, the Uchiha certainly wouldn't let this go.

When that happened, even he would be in danger.

And the strength Uchiha Fugaku had displayed yesterday had only made Danzō more uneasy.

"The Uchiha Compound was destroyed. I imagine the Uchiha have plenty to deal with."

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

"The Nine-Tails Incident likely had little to do with your clan. You can move back to your original compound."

"That would be more convenient, and the village wouldn't have to spend additional money rebuilding."

Danzō quickly changed the subject.

"Hm?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Danzō in surprise.

Had the man gone mad?

How much effort had they put into marginalizing the Uchiha Clan?

Now he was suggesting they return to the central part of the village. The consequences...

But at this point, Danzō had no choice but to compromise.

After all, this matter couldn't be traced back to him.

There couldn't be even the slightest risk of that.

Otherwise, the Konoha High Command would be shaken to its foundations...