The Hokage Building... Exploded!!!

"Good evening, you animals."

The boy's voice was low and frigid, laced with provocation and contempt, as if announcing the arrival of a catastrophe.

"You..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen furrowed his brows, just about to speak, but Shimura Danzō had already seized the initiative. With zero-frame execution, he instantly formed three hand seals.

Rat—Rabbit—Dog!

"Wind Style: Vacuum Great Sphere!"

His chrysanthemum-like face puffed up, and he spat out a wild torrent. Chakra was compressed at high speed into wind bullets, pouring forth like a machine gun.

Uchiha Yoru flickered, using a few simple Body Flicker steps to easily evade the incoming wind bullets. The residual force of the Wind Style remained undiminished, slamming into the wall and instantly piercing through it, leaving behind a dense cluster of holes.

However, the next moment, Uchiha Yoru's figure vanished from the spot with eerie fluidity.

Swish!

In an instant, he had appeared right in front of Shimura Danzō!

Shimura Danzō's pupils constricted violently. Almost as a reflexive instinct, he flung out several kunai, and a chakra shuriken even sprang from his sleeve, aiming straight for Uchiha Yoru's vitals.

However—

Uchiha Yoru merely tilted his body slightly, and every attack missed its mark.

He lunged forward, his five fingers hooking like claws, and clamped onto Danzō's wrist.

"Too slow."

Before the words had even faded, a terrifying surge of chakra erupted. Uchiha Yoru twisted his wrist, and accompanied by a crisp sound of bone fracturing, Danzō's right arm was snapped clean off!

"Ugh!" The intense pain forced a muffled groan from Danzō, veins bulging on his forehead, but he had no time to tend to his injury; his other hand was already quietly forming a seal.

Poof!

Danzō's figure transformed into a puff of white smoke—it had been a Shadow Clone.

His true body had already appeared at the doorway, staring at Uchiha Yoru's scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan, his face deathly grim: "Uchiha... I knew it!!!"

All of this transpired in the blink of an eye. By the time Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others reacted, they were all on high alert.

—A strange Uchiha appearing here suddenly could only mean one of two things.

Either this person had defeated Uchiha Itachi and the masked man, and had now come for revenge.

Or—Uchiha Itachi, the masked man, and this peculiar Uchiha were all in league together, and everyone had been played for fools!

Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression darkened. Without a second thought, he took the lead, launching a sweeping kick aimed viciously at Uchiha Yoru's lower stance.

However—

Uchiha Yoru merely gave a slight hop, landing a foot squarely on Sarutobi Hiruzen's sweeping leg.

"Aaaah—!!!"

Agonizing pain shot up from his lower leg, and Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but groan, cold sweat streaming down his forehead.

Uchiha Yoru took the momentum to leap up, landing lightly on the desk where Sarutobi Hiruzen usually worked, looking down at them with eyes as cold as ice.

"Hiruzen!"

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura cried out in alarm, their eyes filled with shock.

Mitokado Homura stared fixedly at Uchiha Yoru, complex emotions flickering in his eyes, and he barked a question: "Is the Uchiha clan trying to betray Konoha?!"

Upon hearing this, the corners of Uchiha Yoru's mouth curled into a mocking smile, then his expression turned abruptly cold. The Three-Tomoe Sharingan in his eyes rotated slowly, and killing intent saturated the entire office.

"Betrayal?" He scoffed, his tone low and sarcastic, "It's truly ironic to hear that word coming from the mouths of you old geezers."

The members of the Konoha F4 all wore expressions of deep displeasure at these words.

Utatane Koharu attempted to use medical ninjutsu to treat Sarutobi Hiruzen, while Sarutobi Hiruzen gritted his teeth against the pain, a flash of resolve crossing his eyes.

"Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!"

He quickly formed seals and slammed his hands onto the floor, chakra surging!

Boom—!

A thick mud wall rose from the ground, hurtling toward Uchiha Yoru in an attempt to seal his movements.

However—

Swish!

The next second, Uchiha Yoru's figure vanished from the spot like a ghost. The Earth-Style Wall struck nothing, smashing into a corner of the office and sending dust flying everywhere.

"Go!"

Taking advantage of the gap, Sarutobi Hiruzen and his group didn't hesitate. Activating the Body Flicker technique, they turned into afterimages and vanished from the building in an instant.

Inside the office, only Uchiha Yoru remained.

He slowly looked up at the Hokage Rock above, the killing intent in his scarlet Sharingan growing ever more intense.

At the same time, several afterimages of the Body Flicker technique streaked across the street; Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others had already appeared on a rooftop dozens of meters away from the Hokage Building.

The biting night wind whipped against their somewhat disheveled figures.

"That evil Uchiha brat must be eliminated immediately!"

Shimura Danzō growled through gritted teeth, his right arm hanging limply at his side. Despite his best efforts to endure the pain, it was clear the limb was broken, with blood dripping from his sleeve onto the ground.

"Danzō is right!"

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura exchanged a glance, their expressions grave and their eyes filled with undisguised apprehension.

Sarutobi Hiruzen endured the pain in his leg and took a deep breath, his gaze turning cold and solemn before he finally spoke:

"It seems the Uchiha clan has truly forgotten the Will of Fire..."

His tone was melancholic, as if lamenting some great regret, yet in the next second, his eyes became incredibly resolute. He turned slowly toward Shimura Danzō and said in a deep voice:

"You are right. For the sake of the village, and for the sake of the people within it, the Uchiha... must be eradicated."

Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others felt a heavy weight in their hearts; they had realized that Uchiha Itachi's plan had likely already failed.

Swish!

The sound of air being torn apart rang out as several figures descended rapidly!

The first to arrive were the heads of the Ino-Shika-Chō clans.

"Lord Hokage!" Nara Shikaku, head of the Nara clan, spoke in a deep voice. His gaze swept over the group, and he frowned—he had noticed that Sarutobi Hiruzen was injured.

"What happened?"

At the same time, more figures appeared one after another, and the elite jōnin of Konoha quickly assembled.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze was cold as he issued a stern order—

"The Uchiha clan is in rebellion; you must annihilate them!"

In an instant, killing intent surged, and everyone's expression turned grim.

Hyuga Hiashi frowned slightly. As the head of another noble clan in Konoha, he wanted to say something, but ultimately kept his silence.

Kakashi stood among the crowd, his fists slightly clenched, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

However, just at that moment—

"Look!"

In the direction of the Hokage Building, a strange, eerie purple light suddenly flared!

As the light flickered, it rose like a new moon, and the next moment—

"BOOM—!!!"

A violent shockwave swept in all directions, and the Hokage Building... exploded!!!

Countless fragments of stone and wood splattered everywhere, and the shockwave surged outward, whipping up a violent gale.

The jōnin of Konoha retreated one after another, crossing their arms to shield themselves from the impact, their faces changing drastically.

"That is..."

As the aftermath of the explosion dissipated, a towering purple giant slowly stepped out from the smoke and dust.

"Perfect Susanoo!"