At the Anbu bases in Iwagakure and Kumogakure, several battered ninjas staggered back.
They bore clear signs of battle. Their clothes were torn, and their eyes were filled with deep fear and exhaustion.
These were among the few survivors of the attempt to assassinate Uchiha Ying Yue.
Their faces were deathly pale and their expressions dazed, as if they still hadn't recovered from that nightmarish battle.
"The mission... failed." One ninja fell to his knees and spoke in a low voice.
"What?" The Iwagakure jōnin who had been assigned to receive them stared in disbelief. "The mission failed? We sent more than a hundred ninjas, including over twenty jōnin. How could it have failed?"
Another survivor struggled to lift his head, his voice trembling. "Uchiha Ying Yue... awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan... and even used Susanoo... We were no match for him..."
Their voices were steeped in fear and despair. Even recalling the battle seemed to make their hearts tremble.
The news soon reached Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki of Iwagakure and Third Raikage A of Kumogakure.
In the Tsuchikage's office in Iwagakure, Ōnoki read the battle report, his brows furrowed and his eyes filled with shock and worry.
With his hands clasped behind his back, he paced slowly around the room, weighing the situation.
"Uchiha Ying Yue... awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan?" Ōnoki muttered, unable to believe it. "He could even use Susanoo in battle? And that special ocular jutsu... It nearly wiped out all our jōnin..."
Recalling the terrifying power of Uchiha Madara, whom he had witnessed firsthand in his youth, Ōnoki felt an inexplicable chill rise within him.
He knew what the appearance of the Mangekyō Sharingan meant: power capable of laying waste to the world. And now, that power had emerged once again within the Uchiha Clan.
Meanwhile, in Kumogakure's