If You Don't Save Me, Others Will!

Inside the Root base.

Danzo watched the Nine-Tails wreak havoc within the village, a look of terror etched onto his face.

Is this... the power of a Tailed Beast?

Behind him, Aburame Torune knelt on one knee and reported in a low voice:

"Lord Danzo, the Nine-Tails is rampaging through the village. Shall I dispatch the Root ninja to intercept it?"

Danzo did not answer.

His eyes were locked firmly onto the rampaging Nine-Tails.

A group of Chunin rushed before the Nine-Tails.

Over a dozen men, kunai gripped in their hands, shouting something.

Then, the claw of the Nine-Tails descended.

Just one swipe.

Those dozen or so men were instantly reduced to a pile of flesh and blood.

Danzo's eyes narrowed.

His expression then turned grim as he said:

"Pass on my order: all Root ninja are to remain stationary!"

Aburame Torune froze for a moment, then looked up:

"But, Lord Danzo... the people of Konoha are under attack..."

Danzo whipped his head around.

"Hmm?"

It was only a single syllable.

Yet, Aburame Torune felt as if something had seized his throat, cold sweat breaking out all over his body.

"Do you... wish to defy my orders?"

"I dare not!"

Aburame Torune immediately lowered his head, his voice trembling noticeably:

"This subordinate would not dare!"

"Then why have you not gone to relay the order?"

"Yes... yes!"

Aburame Torune stood up and quickly retreated from the room.

After a moment of silence, Danzo muttered to himself:

"Root... must preserve its strength."

"For the future of Konoha... necessary sacrifices are unavoidable."

Inside Konoha.

Flames soared into the sky.

The tails of the Nine-Tails swept past, and rows of houses collapsed as if made of paper.

Debris flew everywhere, crashing into the crowds desperately fleeing for their lives.

"Ah!!!"

Screams rose one after another.

Someone was pinned beneath a collapsed beam, half their body unable to move, reaching out in despair:

"Help... someone save me..."

More people were running.

Running for their lives.

But the tail of the Nine-Tails swept over again.

BOOM!

Another row of houses collapsed, followed by another chorus of screams.

"Lord Danzo!!!"

Someone shrieked in despair.

"Lord Danzo said he would protect us!"

"Lord Danzo! Where are you!"

However, the only response they received was the roar of the Nine-Tails and the crackling of flames.

No one came.

The Root ninja they trusted, worshipped, and believed would be the first to charge to the front...

Not a single one came.

Fortunately, as time passed, rescue finally arrived, though it was not the Root ninja.

Several dark shadows swept across the rooftops; they were the Anbu under the direct command of the Third Hokage.

They wove through the sea of fire and ruins, dragging injured civilians one by one from beneath collapsed houses and carrying them to safety.

"Quick! There's someone alive over here!"

"Medical Team! Where is the Medical Team?!"

"Take this child away, his parents have already..."

At the same time, figures clad in the uniforms of the Konoha Military Police Force also rushed into the burning area.

Uchiha Fugaku charged at the very front, his hands weaving seals at lightning speed.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A massive fireball slammed into a giant boulder flying toward the crowd, blasting it into smithereens.

"Uchiha Inabi! Take your men to the east side!"

Fugaku ordered loudly.

"Tekka! The west side is yours!"

"Yes!"

In addition, the great ninja clans like the Ino-Shika-Cho also took action one after another.

Members of the Yamanaka Clan wove through the ruins, using their sensory abilities to search for survivors buried beneath the debris.

Members of the Akimichi Clan transformed into giants, using their massive bodies to block rubble crashing down toward the civilians.

Members of the Nara Clan cast large shadows upon the ground, binding those who couldn't escape in time and forcibly dragging them out of the Nine-Tails' range of attack.

"Move quickly!"

"Run that way! It's safe over there!"

"Don't look back! Faster!"

"Bang!"

Another tail swept past.

A middle-aged man was struck in the thigh by a flying rock, letting out a miserable scream as he collapsed to the ground.

He tried desperately to crawl up, only to find his leg was broken; bone fragments had pierced through his skin and flesh, and blood pooled on the ground.

"Ah!!! It hurts so much!!!"

He lay on the ground, looking around in despair.

"Whoever you are... please, come save me... I beg you..."

Suddenly, he remembered something, and his expression turned ferocious.

"Damn it! Where are the Uchiha?!"

He screamed at the top of his lungs:

"Are the people of the Konoha Military Police Force just useless eaters?! Didn't you hold some evacuation drill yesterday?!"

"Where the hell did the Uchiha die off to!"

"Come save me already!!!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a figure landed in front of him.

A green flak jacket, with the Uchiha Clan's fan crest embroidered on the back.

It was Uchiha Inabi.

He glanced down at the man's broken leg and, without a word, leaned over to move the stone pinning the man down.

The heavy rock was shifted away bit by bit.

"Don't move."

Uchiha Inabi said in a low voice.

"Almost there."

The stone was finally moved aside.

Uchiha Inabi reached out his hand:

"Hurry, climb onto my back, I'll take you to a safe place."

The man froze for a moment, and then, his first words were:

"Damn Uchiha, why didn't you come to save me sooner!"

Inabi's hand froze.

He looked up, staring at the face twisted by pain and fear.

The man continued to curse:

"If you had come sooner, my leg wouldn't be broken! This is all your fault!"

Inabi's gaze grew cold, bit by bit.

He stood up and looked down at the man:

"Yesterday, Fugaku requested your participation in the evacuation drill, but you refused to cooperate."

"You said that the Uchiha were unnecessary, and that Danzo would protect you."

He paused, then asked:

"May I ask, where is Danzo now?"

The man opened his mouth, momentarily speechless.

But soon, his expression turned vicious again:

"I don't care! Protecting the citizens is the duty of the Uchiha! If you don't fulfill it, I will report you to the Hokage!"

Inabi stared at him for two seconds.

Then, he smiled.

"Fine."

He nodded.

"In that case, please go and report us right now."

With that, his figure flickered and vanished from the spot.

The man was stunned.

He stared blankly in the direction where Inabi had disappeared, taking a long time to react.

"You... you come back here!"

No one responded.

He began to panic.

"Damn Uchiha... if you won't save me, plenty of others will!"

He screamed at the top of his lungs:

"Help! Someone save me! I am a villager of Konoha! Someone..."

However, the only response was the roar of the Nine-Tails in the distance and the crackling of flames.

No one came.

The Anbu darting through the ruins and the clan ninjas desperately saving lives were all too far away.

He tried to move his body, but the excruciating pain in his leg made him give up immediately.

Just then, the ground began to shake.

He looked up, his pupils shrinking violently.

The Nine-Tails was moving in his direction.

With every step of that massive red body, the ground trembled.

The nine tails, thrashing wildly, crushed everything in their path into fragments.

He finally began to panic.

"No... no..."

His voice started to tremble.

"Don't... don't come over here..."

The Nine-Tails drew closer and closer.

He finally broke down.

"I was wrong! I was wrong!!!"

He shouted at his surroundings with all his might:

"Come back and save me! I beg you! I was wrong! I shouldn't have cursed you!"