Uchiha Sasuke's heart-rending scream was the final note that brought the night of the Uchiha clan's destruction to a close.
On the hill, within the barrier, the surviving Uchiha heard the cry. Their suppressed sobs immediately became uncontrollable mourning. They had lost their loved ones and their home, and now even the future of their clan seemed to rest on a single child, lost in trauma.
Uchiha Izumi pressed both hands tightly over her mouth. Tears slid silently down her cheeks, and her shoulders shook violently. She mourned not only the dead, but also felt heartbroken for Uchiha Itachi, who had taken everything upon himself and stained his hands with the blood of his closest family.
Ling stood quietly at the edge of the barrier, gazing down at the Uchiha Clan Compound, now sunk in silence and firelight. His expression was complicated. He had changed part of history and saved these people, but he couldn't erase all the pain this tragedy had caused.
"Lord Ling," Haku said softly, coming to his side and offering him a waterskin, concern on her face. "Are you all right?"
Ling took the waterskin and drank. The cool liquid roused his exhausted mind a little. "I'm fine. Take a headcount and calm everyone down. We can't let our guard down before dawn."
"Yes." Haku nodded obediently and turned to continue her work.
Nearby, Zabuza leaned against a tree trunk, wiping down his Decapitator Blade. His voice carried a hint of gravity that was difficult to detect. "Tch. I didn't expect the Uchiha to be so bloodthirsty among themselves. That young man, Itachi, is one ruthless bastard."
Kimimaro stood silently at Ling's side, guarding him like the most steadfast rock.
The darkest hour came just before dawn. Ling sensed a familiar chakra outside the barrier—it was Uchiha Itachi.
He signaled everyone to stay quiet, then walked out of the barrier alone.
Itachi stood in the faint light of dawn. His Anbu uniform was stained with blood that had dried black, and a heavy, unrelenting silence and exhaustion clung to him. His face was as pale as paper, but his Mangekyō Sharingan remained unfathomably deep, its coldness chilling to behold.
"It's over." Itachi's voice was terribly hoarse, as though every word were threaded with blood. "The Konoha High Command will believe that Uchiha extremists staged a coup and were suppressed. The survivors will be considered missing or dead in the chaos."
He handed Ling a scroll. "This is your new hiding place, near Tanzaku Town. There are enough supplies and forged identification papers. Root will be here to search soon. This place isn't safe anymore."
Ling took the scroll and nodded. "Sasuke..."
"He hates me. That's enough." Itachi cut him off, his voice utterly flat. "He'll gain power and follow the path I laid out for him." He paused, and for the first time, his gaze truly settled on Ling's face. "Remember your promise, Ling. Protect them, and keep an eye on Sasuke."
"I will," Ling promised solemnly.
Itachi said nothing more. His body turned into a flock of crows and vanished into the brightening sky. He would then set out on the path of a rogue ninja, join Akatsuki, and continue keeping watch from the darkness.
Ling returned to the barrier and immediately organized all the survivors. With Haku's Ice Mirror Passage and Kimimaro and Zabuza guarding them, they left this place of sorrow without a sound and made their way to their new hiding place. The entire move was swift and discreet, leaving no trace.
When daylight had fully broken and Konoha's ordinary citizens awoke, all they knew was that a massive explosion had taken place at the Uchiha Clan Compound the night before, after which Anbu had completely sealed off the area.
The atmosphere in the Hokage's office was so heavy it seemed to drip with water.
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Uchiha Itachi's final statement and the preliminary findings of the Anbu. His face was livid, and he seemed to have aged another ten years overnight. The report clearly stated that Uchiha Fugaku and his faction of extremists had launched a coup, which Uchiha Itachi and the Anbu had suppressed. All the coup's core members had been killed, while some relatives had gone missing in the chaos.
"The Uchiha..." The Third Hokage sighed deeply, filled with helplessness and grief. He sensed that things were not so simple. Itachi's statement had deliberately obscured the number and details of the "missing" people, and there were traces at the scene that defied explanation, such as the thick mist that had appeared briefly before vanishing. But with things as they were, he could only accept this "official explanation" for the sake of the village's stability.
However, not everyone accepted it.
"Hiruzen!" The office door was shoved open. Shimura Danzō walked in, leaning on his cane, his face gloomy and his single eye glinting coldly. "Why are there so many 'missing persons' after the Uchiha's destruction? The chakra traces left at the scene are mixed. This couldn't have been Itachi's doing alone! And where were Uchiha Ling and that unknown young descendant of the Kaguya clan who's always with him last night? There's more to this than meets the eye!"
Danzō's instincts told him he had missed something. The Uchiha's Kekkei Genkai and those precious Sharingan should never have gone missing in such great numbers!
Hiruzen raised his eyes and looked at him coldly. "Danzō, it's over. The Uchiha coup was put down. That's the result. As for Ling and the boy, they were under surveillance and never left their residence last night. What evidence do you have that they were involved?"
He deliberately protected Ling, partly out of lingering guilt toward the Uchiha, and partly because he was wary of Danzō's ambitions.
"Surveillance?" Danzō sneered. "Surveillance at that level may not be reliable! Hiruzen, your weakness and indecisiveness will bring ruin to Konoha sooner or later! I'll investigate this myself!"
With that, he ignored the Third Hokage and strode out. The sound of his cane striking the floor echoed through the silent corridor, carrying an ominous note.
Danzō returned to Root's base and immediately summoned his most capable subordinates.
"Step up the search for clues about every missing Uchiha! Keep a close watch on Uchiha Ling and anyone suspicious who comes into contact with him! Also, find out exactly what that mist hovering over the Uchiha Clan Compound last night was!" Danzō's voice was icy and resolute. "The power of the Sharingan must not be left at large, much less fall into the hands of an unknown force!"
"Yes!" A respectful reply came from the shadows.
Konoha appeared to have returned to normal, but beneath the surface, the undercurrents stirred by the Uchiha massacre—especially the suspicions and investigation targeting Uchiha Ling and his Dawn Wind organization—had only just begun.
Far from Konoha, in an abandoned shrine, a spatial vortex appeared, and Obito emerged. He spoke to the empty darkness.
"Tell Zetsu to keep a close eye on a boy who may have mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique and is connected to both the Nine-Tails and the Uchiha, as well as... the new force that may be gathering around him."
The net in the shadows was quietly being cast.
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