The Uchiha Clan Compound had been reduced to ruins.
Uchiha Yoru slowly dispelled his Susanoo and swept his gaze over the surroundings. He sneered, then casually dispatched several nobodies dressed in Anbu or Root uniforms, as if their presence meant nothing at all.
He looked up at the bright full moon. Its cold light flowed like water, and the night grew darker still.
Tonight was long, as ever.
Konoha's night seemed peaceful. Root ninjas moved about in silence, while most of the villagers slept soundly, as if all was well.
But this peace was never going to last.
The enormous Susanoo from earlier had shaken the earth. Almost no one could ignore its might.
Then the ground began to shake violently, sending villagers spilling out of their homes. Almost everyone saw the purple giant towering into the sky, radiating an overwhelming pressure, as if all of Konoha lay beneath its shadow.
Konoha's atmosphere grew tense in an instant. The residents' suspicion and fear intertwined, and a sudden tide seemed to swallow the once peaceful night.
At the same time, Konoha's High Command had realized how serious the situation was.
The atmosphere in the Hokage's office grew heavier by the moment. Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others looked grim.
Aside from Shimura Danzō, all the other members of Konoha's High Command had gathered.
Sarutobi Hiruzen repeatedly lit his pipe, and smoke filled the room, adding to the pressure weighing on the entire conference room.
Before long, Shimura Danzō entered the conference room, looking displeased. Seeing the atmosphere, he immediately frowned. "Hiruzen, I'm arranging for Root ninjas to maintain order in Konoha. Wasn't calling me here a waste of time?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen shot him a cold, sharp glance. "Danzō, why are you late? Are you hiding something?"
Shimura Danzō retorted furiously, "I have nothing to hide! Hiruzen, this is slander!"
"He's slandering me!" Shimura Danzō shouted angrily.
In truth, he had been in a hurry to check on the Uchiha Clan Compound, because the original plan had run into a snag.
The plan had been for Uchiha Itachi and the mysterious Masked Man to cooperate with the Root under Danzō's command tonight and wipe out the Uchiha Clan together.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had tacitly approved the plan.
However, that enormous Susanoo clearly wasn't something a brat like Uchiha Itachi could use. No matter how strong he was, he couldn't unleash power on such a massive scale.
An unforeseen turn of events was one thing, but how could Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly turn on him?
So the plan went wrong, and he was the one who had to take the blame?
Was there any justice in this world? Any reason?
Before Shimura Danzō could finish, Sarutobi Hiruzen cut him off. "You'd better not have done anything you shouldn't have..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen turned to the others and got down to business. "You've all seen the enormous figure that appeared in the Uchiha Clan's district..."
"That figure, if I remember correctly, should be..."
"Susanoo!"
Most of those present had seen Susanoo before. Aside from Danzō, who knew the details of Uchiha Shisui's case, the others remembered that the last time Susanoo had appeared was during the First's era.
Utatane Koharu couldn't help but feel a lingering dread. "That pressure was exactly the same as Uchiha Madara's back then!"
Mitokado Homura pushed up his glasses, apprehension in his eyes. "Back then, all it took was one Uchiha Shisui for the Uchiha Clan to stir up a coup. Now there's another powerful figure within the clan. I'm afraid..."
"The Anbu we sent to investigate have all gone missing."
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed helplessly.
At that moment, Konoha's High Command still knew nothing about the true situation at the Uchiha Clan Compound, and the identity of the person who had used Susanoo remained a mystery.
Even Shimura Danzō had no idea what had happened. All he knew was that tonight, two Uchiha turncoats were supposed to separately massacre the Uchiha Clan Compound and the Police Force.
The Root and Anbu ninjas originally assigned to monitor Uchiha Itachi had all been intercepted and killed by Uchiha Yoru. In the middle of such a large-scale slaughter, there was no way Uchiha Itachi could have found the time to report back to him.
And that Giant Susanoo was undoubtedly the biggest wild card.
Fortunately, the Giant Susanoo hadn't lasted long. It had soon disappeared, and it seemed the other party's actions were confined to the Uchiha Clan Compound.
This discovery put Konoha's villagers at ease, and Sarutobi Hiruzen breathed a sigh of relief as well.
"Our teacher said long ago that the Uchiha Clan is a clan born evil!" Shimura Danzō said gravely.
"Hiruzen, I'm going to check on the situation!" he said urgently.
Shimura Danzō had a similar idea to Uchiha Obito's. Though that Giant Susanoo had been awe-inspiring, the more dramatic a ninjutsu was, the more chakra it consumed.
By his reckoning, the person who had used it couldn't possibly have come away unscathed.
Right now, Shimura Danzō's most important goal was still to seize the Sharingan from the Uchiha Clan's corpses.
If someone else acted first, his dream of becoming Hokage would be dashed once again.
Sarutobi Hiruzen saw right through Danzō's intentions and said without hesitation, "Danzō, once the Jonin Squad is ready, we'll go to the Uchiha Clan Compound together!"
"Hiruzen, you!!" Shimura Danzō was furious, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes.
If that many people went together, there was no way he, Shimura Danzō, could openly take the Sharingan...
Damn Sarutobi Hiruzen. He ruined his plans every time!
Then, the iconic Hokage scene played out once again.
"Danzō, I'm the Hokage!!!"
"Hiruzen, you'll regret this!!!"
Bang!!!
The movements were swift and precise, as if they'd been rehearsed a thousand times. Shimura Danzō stormed out in a fury.
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't let his guard down. He calmly waved someone over and had them call Shimura Danzō back.
Shimura Danzō's anger had yet to subside, and his face was dark.
Sarutobi Hiruzen cleared his throat, his expression turning serious as he spoke in a low voice. "If there really is someone like Uchiha Madara, we must do everything in our power to protect Konoha, no matter what happens."
As soon as he finished, he was about to summon the Anbu and order the great ninja clans to prepare.
Suddenly, a commotion sounded outside.
"Who's there?" Sarutobi Hiruzen stared tensely at the doorway, instantly on alert.
Then came a wet squelch, followed by several broken screams. The sounds gradually faded, and silence returned.
The members of Konoha's High Command tensed and looked toward the doorway. The atmosphere grew even more strained.
"Creak..."
After a shrill creak, the door quietly swung open.
Then, with a heavy crash, the door and its frame, unable to withstand the force, came tumbling down with a loud bang.
The door had collapsed...
Everyone's eyes widened as they stared at the entrance. The air was thick with pressure, as if something unforeseen was about to happen at any moment.
A young man in a dark robe stepped into the room. His eyes glinted with red Tomoe, radiating a cold, bloodthirsty light as he fixed his gaze on them.
"Good evening, you beasts."
Before you continue