Strong Assault

Outside the Root Base stood a massive tree serving as camouflage.

The downward tunnel entrance seemed to swallow all light.

The Uchiha group stopped once they reached the entrance, and everyone looked to Zhengye.

They waited for his next instruction.

Zhengye glanced at the downward tunnel and sneered. He was here to kill, not to throw away lives.

"Spread out. Guard anywhere there's smoke!"

As he spoke, he took the ten smoke bombs he had drawn from the system rewards and hurled them into the passage.

A cloud of pitch-black, choking smoke immediately billowed up.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

The more perceptive clan members had already used Wind Release to blow the thick smoke deeper into the tunnel below.

The smoke from all ten smoke bombs floated in the air like a mass of black cotton, so thick that one could not see one's hand before one's face, with a harsh, choking stench.

Once the smoke flooded the passage, violent coughing and chaotic footsteps rang out from within.

A few seconds later, three Root members suddenly rushed out from the entrance. They covered their mouths and noses with wet cloths, formed a back-to-back triangular formation, and pointed their swords outward as they attempted to break through.

But the Uchiha's blades were faster.

With blades raised and lowered, all three fell at once.

They did not even have a chance to struggle.

The Uchiha clansmen sheathed their blades expressionlessly, red light flickering in their eyes.

Root had caused the Police Force no end of trouble in the past. Today, they would pay it back with interest.

More clan members scattered out to search the area for other exits.

At the side, Tekka ordered people to chop down trees, using more dead branches and rotting leaves to build fires and intensify the smoke.

Itachi had visited the Root Base several times and was familiar with the area. Relying on his sharp instincts, he repeatedly calculated in his mind before telling the clan members several likely locations.

Creak!

"Cough, cough, cough..." About seven hundred meters from the main entrance, the ground suddenly bulged, and a two-meter-square hatch abruptly flipped open.

More than ten Root members crawled out from below, coughing.

"Kill!"

Unexpectedly, Uchiha Inabi had already been waiting there!

With a flash of his blade, he beheaded the first man.

The other dozen or so Root members had no ability to resist at all and were slaughtered on the spot.

As Tekka continued pouring smoke inside, the smoke below grew thicker and thicker.

Smoke had begun seeping out from certain patches of ground.

Those were the ventilation shafts and emergency exits!

Creak...

Creak...

Some exits were pried open by the Uchiha, while others were opened by Root members who could no longer endure the smoke and fled outside.

Without exception, all of them were killed by the Uchiha clansmen.

More than forty Root corpses were added to the count.

Yet Danzo was still nowhere to be seen.

At that moment, dense footsteps approached as the Third Hokage arrived in combat gear.

Behind him followed dozens of ANBU, as well as Hyuga Hiashi and the elites of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans.

They surged in from all directions, surrounding the Uchiha completely.

Yet facing enemies several times their number, Uchiha Missile felt no fear. Instead, every one of them looked excited.

They instinctively opened their Sharingan. Their scarlet pupils flickered in the night like ghostly flames.

It was as though Konoha's people were the ones surrounded.

Boom!

Three hundred meters away from their group, a hatch disguised as grass was violently thrown open. Danzo, wearing what looked like a mask, emerged from underground under the protection of Yamanaka Fu and Aburame Torune.

He removed his gas mask and let out a string of cold laughs.

"Uchiha, you truly are a pack of ambitious wolves. You actually dared to attack my Root Base today!"

"Hiruzen, a ninja clan like this cannot be allowed to remain!"

"Uchiha Fugaku! What are you doing!?"

Anger colored the Third Hokage's voice. His gaze swept around, but he did not spot Fugaku immediately.

Everything about today's events was strange from beginning to end. He did not know why the Uchiha Clan had reacted so strongly.

But if Konoha went to full-scale war with the fully prepared Uchiha, it would be an utter disaster for Konoha!

The Uchiha's desperate counterattack would cost Konoha a great many elites.

And then Hidden Stone, Hidden Cloud, Hidden Mist Village, Hidden Sand Village...

A chill ran through the Third Hokage's heart. At last, he found Fugaku among the crowd, but Fugaku stood behind a young man.

When the Uchiha saw the Third Hokage arrive, all their gazes fell on Zhengye as they waited for his next command.

Zhengye coldly swept a glance over the Third Hokage and ignored him.

He knew the Third Hokage was hesitating—if the Uchiha and Konoha went to full-scale war, there would be countless casualties, and the other ninja villages would certainly seize the opportunity.

That old fox would not take such a risk.

So...

"All ninja clans, listen up. Danzo assassinated Shisui and stole Shisui's Sharingan. Today, the Uchiha Clan has come for revenge."

"Anyone who dares stand in our way will be treated as having declared war on the Uchiha. There will be no end until one side is dead!"

Hyuga Hiashi frowned and looked toward the Third Hokage.

The three Ino-Shika-Cho clans exchanged glances as well, but did not immediately give the order.

The Uchiha's declaration of vengeance put them in a difficult position.

"Kill!"

With that, Zhengye took the lead and led the clan's elites straight at Danzo.

Danzo's expression stiffened. He had not expected the Uchiha to refuse to surrender without a fight.

Even while surrounded by the Third Hokage, they still dared to attack. Rage filled his face as he slammed his staff against the ground.

"Stop them!"

The Root members had all been brainwashed by Danzo. They surged forward like a human wall to block the way.

"Danzo, you bastard! You dared steal the Uchiha's Sharingan! I'll kill you!"

Uchiha Inabi charged at the very front.

Facing the blades of three Root members, he neither dodged nor retreated. The Three-Tomoe Sharingan in his eyes spun rapidly!

In an instant, they transformed into the Mangekyō Sharingan!

"Susanoo!"

Boom!

Crimson chakra erupted from Inabi like a storm, instantly condensing into a massive skeleton around him.

Three long blades struck the skeleton at once, throwing up sparks without leaving even a single crack.

"The Uchiha's legendary..." Fear filled one Root member's voice.

Before he could finish, Susanoo's massive arm swept across.

Three figures flew away like rag dolls, crashing into tree trunks with the bone-cracking sound of fractures.

"The Mangekyō Sharingan!?"

The Third Hokage looked stunned. He had not expected another Mangekyō Sharingan expert to emerge among the Uchiha!

Danzo's eyes, meanwhile, gleamed. "Good, good, good! Get in there and wear him down!"

He had never believed in one man defeating a thousand. With so many people in Konoha, he had no concern for his own safety.

"Control the Uchiha first! We must save Elder Danzo!"

The Third Hokage did not want to start a direct war. Especially after seeing that the Uchiha had another Mangekyō, he became even more wary.

The ANBU beside him rushed toward Root to provide support.

Just as the people of the other clans were about to move—

Boom! Another wave of surging chakra swept over the area!

A purple-black Susanoo rose from the ground, taller and larger than Inabi's!

It was no longer merely a skeleton. Flesh had even grown over its body!

That was Uchiha Fugaku—his Mangekyō had awakened years ago, and his mastery far surpassed Inabi's.

"Fugaku has a Mangekyō too!" A civilian ninja's voice cracked.