The Blood Moon Approaches, Layout for the Return to Konoha

Hanging in the sky, the blood-red moon cast a crimson halo around itself as dark clouds obscured the stars.

Kabuto stared at the sheet of paper before taking the intelligence delivered by a miniature summoned beast at the laboratory console.

Konoha's latest deployment map was on it, densely marked with the rotation times of each barrier squad and the Anbu's hidden positions.

"Lord Ye..."

The area had already been circled in red, and Kabuto raised a hand to point at the center of the deployment map.

"Nonō has confirmed it. The higher-ups, uh, issued the order to seal off the streets three hours ago."

His finger moved along the outer edge of the red circle, passing over four city blocks.

"The surrounding civilians have all been evacuated. Two Anbu battalions, plus those Root people, have sealed off every escape route."

His gaze settled on the Uchiha Compound as Ye stood beside the console, his eyes sweeping over the southern gate.

The red line on the map meant that no one would be leaving that area tonight.

At that moment, the system's electronic voice rang out in his mind.

Ding. Detected that the host is about to intervene in the Uchiha clan massacre incident. A side quest selection has been triggered.

Option One: Bring the intelligence to warn Uchiha Fugaku, beg him to join forces against Konoha, and receive one custom-made Will of Fire banner as a reward.

Option Two: Take advantage of the chaos to sneak to the edge of the compound, secretly take away several talented civilian children, and flee immediately. Reward: Advanced Body Flicker Technique mastery.

Option Three: Charge in alone and confront them head-on. Regardless of their defensive arrangements, establish your authority before Konoha's higher-ups and the masked man. Reward: Super S-rank space-time ninjutsu, improved seal-less Flying Thunder God, plus increased Sage Eye pupil power.

Ye let out a sound through his nose as he looked at the translucent panel before him.

He felt it was a waste of time to even look twice. That clan head who had entrusted his entire clan's fate to his traitorous son was too stupid; choosing Option One was simply seeking death.

Option Two was nothing more than sneaking around, incapable of producing the result he had waited a year for.

"Three... I choose Three."

Ye gave the command directly in his mind without hesitation.

Countless streams of information intertwined and entered the depths of his consciousness, while the laws of space appeared in his mind with perfect clarity.

As long as the target was within his sight, or its chakra position was captured by Kagura Mind's Eye, he could instantly cross space without hand seals or a kunai as a medium.

The improved Flying Thunder God had eliminated the preliminary motions of casting.

A warm sensation soon replaced it, and a faint pain came from his eyes.

His optic nerves changed along with it, completing their enhancement as the life force within his Sage Body flowed into his eyes.

Even the free-floating chakra particles in the air appeared within his vision, and the world before him rapidly became clearer.

His Mangekyo pupil power increased dramatically as a result.

An abandoned building downstream of the Naka River was located within Konoha.

His mask pushed up onto his head, Uchiha Itachi stood deep in the woods in Anbu combat gear, his Mangekyo Sharingan already activated.

Drop after drop of blood fell into the dead leaves at his feet, sliding down the blade.

Obito, wearing a tiger-striped mask, stepped out of space as the air five meters away twisted.

His figure was completely concealed beneath the loose black robes hanging from his body.

Obito merely nodded once at Itachi. Neither of them made any other move.

Itachi turned and walked alone toward the Uchiha Compound.

They had already prepared for the slaughter. There was no need for words.

A great tree stood in the wind on the outskirts of the village, a thousand meters from Watchtower One.

His clothes billowing in the wind, Ye stood alone atop the tree in a black robe.

The smell of blood drifted into his nose on the wind. He looked up at the red moon, his chest rising and falling with each breath.

A sensory barrier invisible to the naked eye lay before him.

Several ninja sat in the monitoring room, watching the unchanged chakra water mirror and occasionally yawning.

Without refining chakra in his body or moving his hands, Ye took a step forward.

The seal-less Flying Thunder God activated immediately after.

His figure vanished directly from the tree, without a sound or even a ripple in the air.

A moment later, Ye was already standing on a rooftop inside the barrier.

The water mirror in the monitoring room showed no reaction whatsoever.

Konoha's defense system was useless before the improved Flying Thunder God.

Ye crossed several blocks in a few leaps, walking across the rooftops with unhurried steps.

Even the stray dogs that usually lingered in the alleys were nowhere to be seen. The shops were tightly shut, and not a sound could be heard in the streets.

No one noticed another figure moving above them as Anbu squads occasionally passed below.

After several consecutive spatial jumps, Ye landed on high ground opposite the Security Department building.

From this height, he could see the entire Uchiha Compound.

The beams crackled in the flames, and several homes were already engulfed in fire.

Blood washed over the bluestone paving and flowed downhill through the cracks. More than a dozen corpses lay in the streets.

Not a single sound could be heard. Outside, Konoha remained quiet, with all sound trapped within the barrier.

Ye closed his eyes as Kagura Mind's Eye unfolded.

Thousands of chakra light spots appeared within it, their sensory range spreading through his mind.

He directly ignored the signals representing Itachi and the Anbu, filtering out the faint light spots belonging to civilians.

His target had long been decided: the person whose death he found most regrettable.

His sensory range rapidly narrowed, finally locking onto an alley to the left of the Security Department building.

A chakra light spot that was rapidly weakening entered his perception.

That was Uchiha Izumi's location.

Ye opened his eyes, their irises turning into crimson patterns.

He touched his chin, his gaze fixed on that alley.

After a moment, Ye bared his teeth in a smile.

It had begun.

"Obito, you'd better catch what I've prepared for you."

Only the night wind passed through the steel framework. The top of the high-voltage tower was already empty.