Night of the Extermination

However, Naruto still had a vague impression of the general plot.

Including the events of the Night of the Massacre.

In the original story, there wasn't such a massive commotion, was there? No, strictly speaking, there wasn't even the slightest sound. It didn't cause any stir at all. In just one night, the vast Uchiha Clan was wiped out, leaving only three people behind, while the rest were slaughtered completely. Moreover, it was a quiet extermination; at the very least, not a single resident in the Hidden Leaf Village discovered the Uchiha Clan had been wiped out that night.

The layout by the higher-ups, the participation of an inside man.

If that could still cause a ripple, it would be a miracle.

Therefore, in the original story, everyone in the entire Hidden Leaf Village only found out the next day that the Uchiha Clan had been wiped out by one person (excluding those involved).

The cause, the process, the result!

While Naruto only remembered the general outline, the one thing he could clearly remember and be certain of was that the Night of the Massacre was a deal between Uchiha Itachi and the Hidden Leaf higher-ups. He used the lives of the Uchiha Clan to trade for peace and the survival of his own younger brother. For this, Uchiha Itachi could even lay a hand on his own parents!

The massacre was likely carried out by Uchiha Itachi alone.

But Naruto was absolutely certain that before Uchiha Itachi made his move, the area around the Uchiha compound must have been swarming with Anbu, or perhaps members of Root, monitoring the situation and even setting up barriers. Only in this way could the commotion be kept to a minimum, ensuring it wouldn't attract the attention or panic of the entire village, allowing the Uchiha Clan to perish in silence.

However, the scene before his eyes far exceeded Naruto's expectations.

This seemed to deviate significantly from the established plot.

"Could it be that someone in the Uchiha Clan discovered the conspiracy of the Hidden Leaf higher-ups? And started a counterattack!?"

Naruto's heart jolted as he considered another possibility. After all, this was the most prominent clan in the Hidden Leaf, perhaps even the entire ninja world; surely they couldn't all be fools? Was there a chance they had noticed some clues, realized something was wrong, and organized a rebellion in advance?

Yet, such a thought.

Only crossed Naruto's mind for a fleeting moment.

After all, there were still too many things that couldn't be explained.

Looking at the sky-high flames not far away that seemed impossible to extinguish, and the Hidden Leaf Village, which had already become incredibly noisy.

Naruto's brows furrowed even tighter, but after only a short while, his tightly locked brows quietly relaxed.

"Regardless of the reason, and regardless of the outcome, what does this have to do with me right now? I might as well go to sleep."

Naruto gave a self-deprecating smile, shook his head, then pulled the curtains shut and returned to his bed.

The continuously spreading firelight and the sounds of fighting vaguely carried on the wind—it seemed that, in the distance, Naruto could faintly hear the wails and screams coming from that far-off place.

However, at this moment, Naruto could only be a bystander.

Even such a bystander.

Naruto didn't even want to be.

Whether it was because of his own strength or his stance, the destruction of the Uchiha Clan had absolutely nothing to do with him.

In a bloody night like this, the greatest original sin in this world was having no power.

Naruto shook his head, took one last deep look at the sky-high flames through the curtains, then crawled back under his covers and slowly closed his eyes.

Tomorrow, for the Hidden Leaf, and perhaps even for the Land of Fire, it would truly be a different scene.

The destruction of the greatest noble clan.

This was the most realistic portrayal of a great ninja village gradually declining.

The next day, news of the Uchiha Clan's destruction spread rapidly throughout the village.

At the moment the commotion from last night broke out.

The general public throughout the village had been speculating about what exactly happened.

The scent of smoke, the roar of explosions, the faint sounds of fighting and screaming, and the sky-high flames—it would be strange if anyone hadn't noticed. Some people were even speculating whether there had been an invasion by foreign enemies, or if a new round of the ninja world war was about to break out.

And before these speculations could spread throughout the village.

The Hidden Leaf higher-ups, led by the Third Hokage, quickly announced what had happened the previous night.

The content of the announcement.

Was exactly as Naruto had anticipated.

The most talented ninja of the Uchiha Clan—Uchiha Itachi—had colluded with foreign enemies to rebel, attempting to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village. His clansmen discovered this, leading Uchiha Itachi to directly slaughter the entire Uchiha Clan, before being repelled by the Hidden Leaf ninjas who arrived later.

Uchiha Itachi, who had defected from the village.

Was now designated as an S-rank missing-nin of the Hidden Leaf Village!

When this news spread throughout the Hidden Leaf, everyone in the village was in an uproar. Those ninjas and civilians—over ninety-nine percent of whom did not know the truth—wore expressions of disbelief the moment they heard the news.

That genius of the Uchiha Clan, who graduated from the Ninja Academy at 7 and was promoted to Chunin at 10, had actually colluded with foreign enemies to rebel? And attempted to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village?

This news alone was already shocking enough.

And what followed—that the Uchiha Clan had been almost entirely wiped out (except for the survival of Sasuke Uchiha).

Caused the entire Hidden Leaf to tremble.

One must know that the Uchiha Clan held an extremely important status and significance in the Hidden Leaf Village. As one of the two ninja clans that founded the village, and as the most powerful ninja clan in the Hidden Leaf and the entire ninja world at the time, they had been wiped out so easily?

It was not a matter of disbelief, but rather that it was hard to believe.

Such a piece of news.

And not just within the Hidden Leaf Village.

It was foreseeable that from this day on, once this news spread out from the Hidden Leaf Village.

The entire Land of Fire.

And even the entire ninja world would be shaken by it.

Likewise, the incident of the Uchiha Clan's annihilation would inevitably draw the prying eyes of the other four great ninja villages; what was the truth behind it all?

Had the Hidden Leaf Village's combat strength been compromised?

These were all things that the Sand Ninja, Mist Ninja, Rock Ninja, and Cloud Ninja—the four great ninja villages—would be most concerned about!

And as someone who knew the general plot, Naruto was naturally not going to be deceived by the "truth" announced by the Hidden Leaf's upper echelons.

In fact, regarding this so-called "truth," Naruto even felt like laughing.

What was the truth, really?

What roles the Hidden Leaf's upper echelons—namely the Third Hokage, Shimura Danzo, and those two advisors—had played in this truth, Naruto knew better than anyone.

When it came down to it.

In this matter.

While the Uchiha Clan certainly had brought it upon themselves, the Third Hokage and Shimura Danzo had also acted dishonorably.

Furthermore.

In Naruto's view.

Acting dishonorably was one thing.

After all, as the leaders of a village, if they could be a bit thick-skinned and ruthless for the sake of the village's interests, it wouldn't be much of an issue.

But!

The most critical point was this.

The annihilation of the Uchiha Clan.

Especially the affairs involving Shisui and Uchiha Itachi.

All of it made Naruto feel that the Hidden Leaf's upper echelons were truly stupid.

Naruto did not hide his malicious speculation in his heart; if the First Hokage and Second Hokage knew their successors were this foolish, they probably wouldn't be able to keep their coffin lids down, would they?