Uncle Snake Sends a Secret Message: Hurry Up, I'm Waiting!

Outside the door, Tsunade's suppressed sobs gradually faded away, finally vanishing into the chilly night wind.

Uchiha Xuan leaned against the door, slowly loosening his grip on the short blade at his waist.

"Bonds really do nothing but slow down the speed at which one draws a blade."

He gave a self-mocking smile. There was no longer any warmth in his deep black eyes.

From this moment onward, he had no attachments left in the village called Konoha.

Just as he turned around, preparing to put away the detailed retreat map on the table—

"Hiss..."

An extremely faint sound of scales scraping against the wooden floor suddenly rang out by his feet.

Xuan's gaze instantly turned cold, and his Golden Flame Divine Eyes instinctively tried to activate.

But when he lowered his head and saw what had arrived, his taut nerves relaxed slightly.

It was a tiny black snake, no thicker than a little finger.

The snake raised its head and glanced at Xuan with its cold vertical pupils.

Then, it slowly opened its mouth.

With a soft pop, the little snake spat out a miniature scroll the size of a little finger, covered in mucus.

After doing this, the little snake turned into a puff of white smoke and vanished into thin air.

"A message delivered by a summoned beast?"

Xuan raised an eyebrow. He used a kunai to pick up the scroll, flicked off the mucus in disgust, and only then unfolded it.

At a time like this, there was only one person in all of Konoha Village who could send him a message through such a covert method.

The handwriting on the scroll possessed a distinctly sinister yet unrestrained style.

It was unmistakably Orochimaru's handwriting.

The letter was brief. It did not even have a greeting, only a few short lines.

"Has the bird in the cage finally decided to fly away?"

"This truly is... enough to make one tremble with excitement."

As Xuan read those opening lines, he could practically picture Orochimaru writing this letter—licking his lips, his eyes burning with the fervor of a lunatic.

He continued reading.

"These past few days, the atmosphere in the village has been far too stifling. The old man—Hiruzen Sarutobi—has been frowning all day, while that old bastard Danzo has been biting at everyone like a mad dog."

"I know you are planning a grand performance."

"As your future most loyal 'partner,' how could I not offer a modest congratulatory gift?"

Seeing this, an intrigued smile curled across Xuan's lips.

Orochimaru really was a smart man.

Though he had not taken part in the Uchiha clan's defection plan, his sharp instincts had clearly sensed the gunpowder in the air, on the verge of exploding.

"I 'accidentally' entered an incorrect chakra frequency into the Sensory Unit's barrier system."

"So tonight, the sensory barrier northwest of Konoha, along the route leading to the Forest of Death, will 'just so happen' to have a blind spot for roughly half an hour."

"Furthermore..."

The final section of the letter was noticeably more hurried and messy, as though the writer had been in an exceptionally delighted mood.

"I also made a 'small' adjustment to the duty roster at the ANBU Command Post."

"The ANBU squads assigned to patrol the perimeter of your Uchiha Clan Grounds tonight will be transferred to deal with several 'sudden' civilian brawls."

"They will not be able to return for at least an hour."

"I have bought you the time."

"The rest depends on your performance, Xuan-kun."

At the end of the letter, Orochimaru had drawn a snake's head with its tongue sticking out, an image with an intensely personal flair.

Beside it was an outrageously arrogant closing remark.

"May you... enjoy yourself."

"Do not keep me waiting too long, Xuan-kun."

After reading the letter, Uchiha Xuan could not help laughing aloud.

"Orochimaru..."

He held the scroll over the candle flame and watched the thin sheet of paper turn to ash in the fire.

"He truly is a restless madman."

Still, he liked this madman.

A blind spot in Konoha's barriers, coupled with a gap in ANBU patrols.

For the Uchiha clan, which needed to relocate on a massive scale, this was simply timely rain!

This did not merely buy them time. It had forcibly torn open a gap in Konoha's ironclad defensive net, wide enough for them to escape alive!

"I'll accept this grand gift."

Xuan watched the ashes burn away, confidence gleaming in his eyes.

The reason Orochimaru had risked exposing himself to secretly help him—

On one hand, it was because of his twisted personality that reveled in chaos.

But the more important reason was what Xuan had told him that night.

"The world outside the cage."

For a genius like Orochimaru, who pursued ultimate truth yet was constrained at every turn by the village's morality and rules—

A brand-new stage without restraints or bottom lines, where he could freely unleash his talents, held a fatal allure.

And Xuan was the one who could provide him with that stage.

"It seems he has made his choice."

Xuan tightened the short blade at his waist and adjusted his fitted black outfit.

"A broader world, a world with fewer restraints, is waiting for us."

He pushed open the door and strode into the night.

The underground plaza of Nanga Shrine.

This was the largest gathering place in the entire Uchiha Clan Grounds, capable of holding over ten thousand people.

Yet at this moment, it was utterly silent.

Several thousand fully armed Uchiha shinobi stood in neat formation according to their prearranged squads.

Around them were the elderly, the weak, the women, and the children, all under tight protection. Each carried a simple pack and tightly covered their children's mouths, refusing to let them make even the slightest sound.

There were no torches, no clamor.

Only pairs of Sharingan gleamed scarlet in the darkness, like stars in the night, carrying resolute killing intent and yearning for the future.

Uchiha Setsuna and Uchiha Kagami stood at the very front of the formation.

The two exchanged a glance, each seeing the surging passion about to erupt in the other's eyes.

Tap, tap, tap.

Steady, powerful footsteps came from above the shrine stairs.

Everyone's gaze immediately converged in that direction.

Uchiha Xuan appeared at the very top of the stairs.

He was not wearing the green vest that represented a Konoha Chunin.

Instead, he wore a traditional pure-black robe emblazoned with the enormous Uchiha fan crest.

At his waist hung the short blade that had yet to leave its sheath.

His Golden Flame Divine Eyes, burning with golden fire, appeared incomparably eerie and imposing in the darkness.

Standing high above, he looked down upon this iron-blooded force that was about to follow him into a new world.

"Lord Xuan!"

Uchiha Setsuna stepped forward and dropped to one knee, his voice suppressing extreme excitement.

"The entire clan, a total of four thousand three hundred and twenty-one people, has fully assembled!"

"Supplies, ninja tools, and Explosive Tags have all been distributed to each squad!"

"We await only your final command!"

Xuan nodded slightly, his gaze slowly sweeping across every face before him.

"Very good."

He drew a deep breath and poured the vast Sage Jutsu Chakra within him into his voice.

His voice was not loud, yet it clearly reached the depths of every Uchiha clansman's soul!

"Clansmen."

Xuan's voice was icy, domineering, and filled with unrivaled arrogance!

"Konoha's alarm bells will soon ring."

"Those self-righteous rulers will soon discover that the lambs they saw as helpless prey have already become tigers capable of tearing out their throats!"

He abruptly drew the short blade from his waist and raised it high, its edge pointing straight at the heavens!

"Tonight!"

"We will sever every shackle!"

"With our Sharingan, we will make this rotten village tremble in the flames!"

"Move out!"

Xuan's roar was like thunder from the highest heavens!

"Destination: the Forest of Death!"

"Those who stand in my way..."

Murderous intent burst from Xuan's eyes as golden flames danced madly!

"Kill! Show! No! Mercy!"