First Wave of Rescue

Above the ruins, dust billowed.

Boom!

One of the Nine-Tails' giant feet came down, and the earth rolled like waves.

Umino Iko crawled out of the rubble, his face covered in blood. His right leg had already been crushed, but he had no time to care about the pain.

"Iruka! Take Mom and go!"

He roared at his wife and child behind him.

Above his head, a massive concrete crossbeam was swaying on the verge of collapse. It was a chain reaction caused by the Nine-Tails' earlier stomp; the entire building was toppling toward them.

"Dad!"

Young Iruka cried as if his heart were being torn apart. Clutched tightly in his mother's arms, he watched helplessly as that crossbeam came crashing toward his father with a deathly howl.

"Run!!" Iko roared in despair.

But he himself could not move.

His broken leg was wedged between stones, and he could only watch as death descended.

Was this the end?

As a chunin, dying while protecting his family might have been a kind of fate.

Iko closed his eyes.

"Susanoo!"

A low shout exploded beside his ear.

The agony he had imagined did not come.

There was no sensation of being crushed into paste.

Iko felt a warm wave of air rush against his face.

He opened his eyes.

In that instant, he thought he had seen a god.

A huge green skeletal frame appeared out of thin air, like a giant hand, forcefully holding up the concrete crossbeam that weighed dozens of tons.

The skeleton radiated a glowing green chakra light, driving away the surrounding darkness.

At the center of the skeleton stood a Uchiha youth wearing a green vest.

It was Shisui Uchiha.

Blood streamed from his eyes, and his Mangekyo Sharingan spun wildly. The tremendous pressure forced him down onto one knee, and the ground cracked beneath it.

"Why aren't you leaving?!"

Shisui clenched his teeth, his voice squeezed out between them.

Taking this level of physical impact head-on, even with a Susanoo enhanced by Hashirama cells, made his organs churn.

Iko froze.

He had never imagined that the person who saved him would be a Uchiha. That Uchiha who was usually proud, cold, and quietly gossiped about by the villagers.

"What are you standing there for?!"

Shisui roared again.

At the same time, two shadow clones behind him charged out.

One shadow clone hoisted the crippled Iko over his shoulder, while the other picked up Iruka and his mother.

"Follow me! To the Third Shelter!"

The shadow clones wasted no words and sprinted toward safety with the family of three.

Iruka lay on the shadow clone's shoulder, looking back at the green giant.

That youth kept holding it up until he confirmed they had run beyond the danger zone. Only then did he abruptly withdraw Susanoo and vanish from the spot with the Body Flicker Technique.

The crossbeam crashed to the ground, kicking up smoke and dust that filled the sky.

But in Iruka's young heart, that figure's back was taller than the statues on Hokage Rock.

And it was not just Shisui.

Amid these ruins ravaged by the Nine-Tails, countless similar scenes were playing out.

"Chidori Current!"

A flash of blue lightning streaked past.

The short blade in Itachi Uchiha's hand was wrapped in Lightning Release chakra, and it instantly cut through a high-voltage utility pole that was about to fall toward the crowd.

Electric sparks flew everywhere, yet not a single civilian was hurt.

"Run that way. Don't look back."

Itachi was only five years old, and his voice was young but exceptionally calm. He pointed toward the safe passage the Police Force had constructed, then turned and rushed to the next rescue point.

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

The squad led by Yashiro Uchiha slammed both hands onto the ground.

Four solid earthen walls rose up, blocking the gusts kicked up by the sweep of the Nine-Tails' tail and providing a temporary air-raid shelter for the dozens of wounded behind them.

"Medical team! Hurry! We have critically injured here!"

Yashiro roared into his headset, completely devoid of his usual gloomy air.

Efficient.

Precise.

Cold.

The Uchiha Clan's rescue operation was like a precision machine running at full speed. They did not speak of warmth, did not listen to sobbing pleas, and pursued only the highest survival rate.

"Stop crying! Can you cry the Nine-Tails to death? Run!"

A Police Force member grabbed a terrified civilian and tossed him straight to a teammate behind him in a relay.

This almost rough method quickly brought order to the crowd that had been in utter chaos.

Obito stood atop the Nine-Tails' head, looking down at the Uchiha clansmen scurrying everywhere like fleas.

His attacks missed again and again, or were defused.

These guys... were too slippery.

And their coordination was infuriatingly seamless. Often, the moment the Nine-Tails' claw had just lifted, the people in that area had already been evacuated or protected.

"A swarm of flies..."

Obito grew irritated. He wanted to activate Kamui and suck people in, but he was always watched by several pairs of Sharingan at once. As long as he materialized, several Great Fireballs or shuriken would immediately fly at him.

This was not the Uchiha Clan in his memory at all, fighting separately and swollen with arrogance.

This was an army.

Meanwhile, at the gate of the Uchiha Clan Compound.

A squad of ninja wearing masks and gray cloaks appeared without a sound.

They were Root.

The Root captain at the front looked at the tightly shut gate, a trace of killing intent flashing through his eyes.

"Lord Danzo has given an order."

The captain raised his right hand and made a gesture.

"The Uchiha Clan is suspected of controlling the Nine-Tails and plotting rebellion. The entire clan is confined to the compound! Anyone who attempts to leave the compound is to be killed without mercy!"

This was Danzo's plan.

Taking advantage of the Nine-Tails' Attack, he would nail the Uchiha Clan to the pillar of shame as "suspects." As long as he trapped them in the compound and prevented them from joining the battle, once the Nine-Tails was subdued, he could pin the charge of "standing by and letting others die," or even "mastermind behind the scenes," on them.

"Move out!"

The Root ninja instantly scattered, preparing to surround the entire compound.

However, one minute passed.

Five minutes passed.

There was no movement at all.

No resistance, no questioning, not even a dog barking.

The entire Uchiha Clan Compound was as quiet as a grave.

The Root captain felt that something was off.

He made a hand gesture and led the charge through the gate.

The streets were completely empty.

The shop doors on both sides were tightly shut, and the streetlights shone all alone.

There were no patrols, no pedestrians, not even a stray cat.

The captain kicked open the door of the house closest to the gate.

No one was inside. The food on the dining table had only been half eaten, and the chopsticks were still resting on the bowls.

He charged into another house.

Still no one. The water in the bathroom was still running, steaming hot.

The captain's heart sank.

He led his men straight to the clan head's residence.

With one kick, he smashed open the door to Fugaku's study.

On the desk, a cup of tea was still steaming. Beside it lay an open copy of Make-Out Paradise.

But where were the people?

"Captain..." a Root ninja reported in a trembling voice, "we've searched... the entire compound... there isn't a single person."

"What?!"

The captain grabbed the cup of hot tea and smashed it hard onto the ground.

"Hundreds of people! How could they vanish into thin air?!"

Root's underground base.

Danzo Shimura sat in the shadows, leaning on his cane.

He was waiting for good news. Waiting for the Uchiha Clan and the Nine-Tails to both suffer losses, or for the Uchiha to be implicated by the Nine-Tails and have their reputation utterly ruined.

"Report—!!"

A Root ninja stumbled in and dropped to his knees.

"Lord Danzo! The Uchiha Clan Compound... is empty!"

"What did you say?"

Danzo abruptly opened his one eye, and the sinister gloom in it nearly spilled out.

"Empty?! Where did they go? Have they rebelled? Are they attacking the Hokage Building directly?"

"N-no..."

The Root ninja swallowed and pointed outside.

"They're at... the front line."

Just then, a burst of earthshaking cheers faintly came from above ground.

Those were the villagers' cheers.

Those were their exclamations when they saw the purple Uchiha Flame Formation rise, when they saw that huge barrier trap the Nine-Tails.

With a crack, the cane in Danzo's hand was snapped in two by his grip.

His face instantly turned darker than the bottom of a pot.

"Uchiha Fugaku..."

Danzo squeezed the name out through gritted teeth.

"You actually... dare to play the hero?!"