Reactions from All Sides

"What are these Konoha ninja chasing? To wipe out three squads without a sound... this person's strength is not simple. Could it be that Uchiha hiding within Konoha?"

Inside a secret base, Obito recalled his previous encounter.

That guy who could control shadows and seemingly possessed space-time abilities had rescued a female Uchiha right from under his nose.

This was no major matter.

With so many members in the Uchiha clan, he didn't care if one or two died.

What he cared about was that the guy also appeared to have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. With a fresh pair of Mangekyō right before his eyes, Obito had no intention of letting them go.

So, not long after the massacre, he seized an opportunity to strike, but to his surprise, the woman who had been rescued had also awakened the Mangekyō. Facing two pairs of Mangekyō simultaneously, Obito suffered a setback and was forced to sacrifice a three-tomoe Sharingan to activate Izanagi just to escape.

"If those two set an ambush in advance, it wouldn't be hard to kill three Anbu squads... These two are truly good at hiding!"

Thinking of this, Obito felt annoyed.

Ever since that loss, he had been trying to get even, but unfortunately, the two seemed to have evaporated into thin air, suddenly vanishing without a trace.

It was said that Konoha later found their location, but not only did they fail to capture them, the top floor of the Hokage Building was destroyed—a heavy slap to Konoha's face.

Because of this, Konoha ninja had been searching the world like madmen lately. Obito had run into several squads himself, two of which even discovered his trail; fortunately, he had Kamui, making it easy to slip away.

"That guy also has space-time abilities, so it won't be easy for Konoha ninja to find him. However, when it comes to space-time ninjutsu, no one is my equal. Your eyes—I will get my hands on them sooner or later."

At the thought of two more pairs of Mangekyō waiting for him, the greed in Obito's heart became impossible to suppress.

Meanwhile, inside Amegakure.

"Konoha ninja killing each other?"

After hearing Konan's report, Pain silently closed his eyes.

"Yes. According to intelligence, the Uchiha clan was wiped out not long ago by Konoha and Uchiha Itachi. But strangely, a few days later, Konoha was attacked, and the top floor of the Hokage Building was sliced off. I suspect this battle is related to that attack," Konan said slowly.

She was the chief administrator of Amegakure and also responsible for consolidating intelligence.

All external information had to pass through her before being handed to Pain, so such matters could never be hidden from her.

"Konoha... Uchiha Itachi... That attack must have been carried out by those survivors."

Beyond that, Pain could think of no other possibility.

"I think so too. After attacking Konoha, the Uchiha survivors fled and were then hunted by the village. But there is something strange here: the survivors' movement patterns are incomplete. There are no clues showing how they appeared in this vicinity or how they left."

Konan frowned slightly; she had pondered this question for a long time without an answer.

"Don't dwell on it. Anyone capable of escaping Konoha must have their own unique abilities."

Pain shook his head and opened his eyes.

"Konan, try to find those survivors. Once found, do not engage. First, establish contact and ask if they are willing to join the Akatsuki."

"Invite them? If we do, it will be equivalent to becoming an open enemy of Konoha."

Konan was clearly worried.

"We will be enemies with Konoha sooner or later. Just be careful to seal the information; as long as Konoha doesn't find out for a short time, it will be fine," Pain said dismissively.

"But what about Uchiha Itachi..."

Uchiha Itachi was already confirmed to join the Akatsuki. If both parties met here, there was a high probability they would fight immediately, and the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Do not worry. I will handle their conflict. You only need to find them and extend the invitation."

"Very well, I understand."

Konan nodded and said nothing more.

Konoha, Hokage Office.

Looking at the twelve neatly arranged corpses before him, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot.

The expressions of the others in the room were equally grim.

"Hiruzen, where were their bodies found? What mission were they executing? Why did it end up like this?" Mitokado Homura asked with a heavy tone.

"The bodies were found on the border of the Land of Rain. The mission they were executing..."

Danzo spoke, but paused halfway, looking toward Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"They were responsible for hunting down the survivors of the Uchiha clan—the ones who attacked the Hokage Building," Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a dark face.

"Three squads, twelve people in total. The weakest was at the level of a Special Jonin, and the strongest were no less capable than any Jonin. For such a team to be completely wiped out... Hiruzen, I want the truth. Exactly how many Uchiha survivors are there? How strong are they? Do they really possess the Mangekyō Sharingan?"

Utatane Koharu took a deep breath, steadied her emotions, and asked in a low voice.

"The number is uncertain, but they definitely possess the Mangekyō Sharingan, and it is of the space-time variety."

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke slowly.

He had not fully disclosed this intelligence to the other two before. While they were nominally Hokage advisors, they were primarily responsible for the village's administrative affairs and rarely intervened in Anbu matters.

He had hoped to keep the impact to a minimum, which was why he had only dispatched the Anbu and kept the relevant information from everyone else.

Three squads totaling twelve Anbu—this force was more than enough to deal with even a weaker Kage. He had been full of confidence, believing that even if the mission failed, these people would be able to return safely.

Yet, he had not expected such a massive turn of events; not only did the mission fail, but everyone who carried it out was dead.

These were twelve elite Jonin-level powerhouses, and just like that, they were gone. Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart was bleeding.

"Space-time ninjutsu? Hiruzen, with an enemy this troublesome, one can never be too careful. How could you be so reckless? You are gambling with the lives of our comrades in the village!"

Mitokado Homura could no longer hold back and shouted his interrogation.

"Homura..."

Utatane Koharu felt her friend's tone was too intense and tried to stop him.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, however, reached out a hand to stop her.

"I admit that I was careless, but it is too late to dwell on that now. Let us discuss what to do next, and whether we should continue to hunt down the survivors. Since you are both here, I would like to hear your thoughts."

He looked up at his two old friends before him, his tone sincere.