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 upon arriving at the entrance, and everyone looked toward Zhengye.

They waited for his next instruction.

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

"Spread out. Guard anywhere you see smoke!"

As he spoke, he took the ten thick 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 Style: Great Breakthrough!"

The more perceptive clansmen had already used Wind Style to blow the thick smoke down into the passage below.

The smoke produced by all ten smoke bombs floated through the air like a mass of black cotton, so dense that one could not see a hand in front of one's face, and it carried a harsh, choking stench.

Once the smoke poured into the passage, violent coughing and chaotic footsteps sounded 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 blades outward as they tried to break through.

But the Uchiha's blades were faster.

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

They did not even get the chance to struggle.

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

Those Root men had caused plenty of trouble for the Police Force in the past. Today, they would repay it with interest.

More clansmen spread out, searching the area for other exits.

Beside them, Tekka ordered people to chop down trees and set more dead branches and rotting leaves ablaze, intensifying the smoke.

Itachi had visited the Root base several times and was familiar with the place. Relying on his sharp instincts, he repeatedly calculated in his mind before telling the clansmen 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 was abruptly thrown open.

More than a dozen Root members crawled out from below, coughing violently.

"Kill!"

Uchiha Inabi had already been waiting there!

With a single slash, he beheaded the first man.

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

As Tekka kept pumping smoke inside, the smoke below grew thicker and thicker.

Smoke had begun to seep out from some parts of the ground.

Those were ventilation ducts 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, every one of them was killed by the Uchiha clansmen.

Over forty more Root corpses were added to the tally.

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 families.

They surged in from all directions, surrounding the Uchiha.

Yet faced with enemies several times their number, Uchiha Missile showed no fear. Instead, every one of them looked exhilarated.

Their Sharingan opened involuntarily. Their crimson pupils flickered in the night like ghostly flames.

It seemed that Konoha's people were the ones being surrounded.

Boom!

Three hundred meters from their formation, a hatch disguised as grass was violently flung open. Danzo emerged from underground wearing what looked like a mask, protected by Yamanaka Fu and Aburame Torune.

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

"Uchiha people 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!?"

The Third Hokage's voice carried anger. 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 drastically.

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

The Uchiha's desperate counterattack would consume a huge number of Konoha's elites.

Then there would be Hidden Stone, Hidden Cloud, Hidden Mist Village, Hidden Sand Village...

A chill ran through the Third Hokage's heart. His eyes finally found Fugaku in the crowd, but Fugaku stood behind a young man.

When the Uchiha saw the Third Hokage arrive, their gazes all turned to Zhengye, waiting for his next command!

Zhengye coldly swept his eyes over the Third Hokage and ignored him.

He knew the Third Hokage was hesitating. Once the Uchiha and Konoha went to war in full, there would be countless casualties, and the other ninja villages would surely take advantage of the opening.

That old fox would not take such a risk.

Therefore...

"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 considered at war with 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 families exchanged glances as well, not immediately giving any orders.

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

"Kill!"

With that, he took the lead and charged toward Danzo with the clan's elites, targeting him with precision.

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

Surrounded by the Third Hokage, they still dared to make a move. His face twisted with rage as he slammed his cane 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!"

Charging at the very front was Uchiha Inabi.

He neither dodged nor retreated before the blades of three Root members. 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 gigantic skeleton around him.

Three long blades struck the skeleton at once, scattering sparks, but they did not leave even a crack.

"The legendary Uchiha..." A Root member's voice trembled with fear.

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

Three figures flew away like torn rags, smashing into tree trunks with bone-breaking cracks that made one's teeth ache.

"Mangekyō Sharingan!?"

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

Danzo's eyes, meanwhile, gleamed. "Good, good, good! Go! Wear him down until he dies!"

He had never believed in one man defeating a thousand. With so many people from Konoha present, he was not worried about his own safety at all.

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

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

The ANBU beside him darted toward Root's side to provide support.

Just as the members of the other clans were about to act—

Boom! Another surge of overwhelming chakra swept through the area!

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

It was not merely a skeleton; flesh had even formed 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!