The Third Hokage Is in Trouble: Konoha Is Gone

Elsewhere, Obito Uchiha stood at the edge of what had become Konoha's ruins, searching for traces of Uchiha Shadian. Suddenly, his heart clenched, and his eyelids began twitching violently.

"What's going on? Why did I suddenly feel uneasy?" Obito Uchiha pressed down his twitching eyelid. "Did I overuse my eyes?"

Once his eyelids stopped twitching, Obito Uchiha assumed it was merely from overusing his eyes and put the earlier unease out of his mind.

"Where exactly did Uchiha Shadian take that woman?" His movement speed could not match Uchiha Shadian's Flying Thunder God Technique. By the time he had evaded Konoha's many sensory ninja and returned to the village, Konoha had already been reduced to ruins in just a few minutes. Jiraiya and Uchiha Shadian's battle had also ended quickly, so he had not witnessed their fight.

The only thing he cared about now was the woman Uchiha Shadian had summoned, the one who looked so much like Rin Nohara. He had to confirm whether she really was Rin Nohara.

He hoped she was not. He did not want Rin Nohara to know that he had turned dark and fallen into darkness. Even less did he want her to know that he had caused the deaths of the teacher and mistress she loved most. He did not want to change the bright image she had of him.

"Where is Jiraiya? Didn't he chase after them on his summoning beast? Why is there no sign of him? With him here, how could Konoha have become ruins in barely ten-odd minutes? Damn it, what happened here?" Obito Uchiha was terribly agitated. His once-calm mind had been thrown completely into disarray by the appearance of that woman who looked so much like Rin Nohara.

If anyone in this world could still disturb his heart, it would undoubtedly be Rin Nohara. She was the purest, most beautiful white moonlight in his heart.

Inside the cave.

Uchiha Shadian looked calmly at Rin Nohara. "You and Naruto stay here. I'm going to clean up the battlefield."

"Brother Shadian, can you take me with you? I've already prepared myself mentally." Rin Nohara took a deep breath.

"Have you prepared yourself to watch the people of Konoha fall beneath my sword?" Uchiha Shadian confirmed.

Rin Nohara's gaze was firm. "I've thought it through. I've already died once. Brother Shadian, you were the one who revived me. This time, I'll stand with you. I believe in you."

Uchiha Shadian said, "I'm glad you can think that way."

"I will definitely let you personally kill the enemy who murdered your teacher."

"Brother Shadian, do you know who killed Teacher Minato?" Rin Nohara asked.

"I do, but now is not the time to tell you."

"But you should prepare yourself. The truth will exceed your expectations."

"Exceed my expectations? Who is it, Brother Shadian?" Rin Nohara pressed curiously.

"Don't ask. You'll find out someday." Uchiha Shadian had no intention of telling Rin Nohara yet that Obito Uchiha had caused the deaths of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.

"Oh!" Rin Nohara nodded and did not ask further.

"This cave is shielded by a barrier. Sensory ninja outside cannot detect its location, so Naruto will be safe here. Since you want to come with me and take a look, come here!" Uchiha Shadian opened his arms.

Seeing this, Rin Nohara's face reddened slightly. She obediently walked up to Uchiha Shadian.

Uchiha Shadian scooped Rin Nohara up in a princess carry. Her face immediately flushed even redder, like a ripe red apple—soft, pink, beautiful, and enticing.

With a thought, Uchiha Shadian activated the formula and used the Flying Thunder God Technique.

The next moment, he and Rin Nohara vanished from the cave.

Space rippled.

The next moment, Uchiha Shadian and Rin Nohara appeared directly inside a large tree hollow.

This was a Flying Thunder God coordinate Uchiha Shadian had set up long ago.

Once they stepped out of the tree hollow, they could see the battle in the distance.

Far away, Hiruzen Sarutobi led Konoha's many ninja in a difficult battle against Izuna Uchiha and the Nine-Tails.

A steady stream of Konoha ninja came from all over the Land of Fire to reinforce them.

Almost every few minutes, a small squad of Konoha ninja arrived as reinforcements.

They were Konoha ninja who had been carrying out missions elsewhere and had rushed back at top speed after receiving the summons.

Izuna Uchiha now bore quite a few wounds. Although he was extremely powerful, he was not Madara Uchiha. There was still a considerable gap between his strength and Madara Uchiha's. Facing the endless stream of reinforcing ninja, he had ultimately expended a great deal of chakra and ocular power.

However, compared to Izuna Uchiha's injuries, Konoha's losses were far more severe.

Kakashi Hatake had lost his left arm. Blood streamed from both of Itachi Uchiha's eyes. Hiruzen Sarutobi was doing better. That old bastard had hidden in the rear, casually unleashing ninjutsu of every attribute, so he had not been injured. He had merely consumed a great deal of chakra. Konoha's so-called "strongest" Hokage Professor truly had some skill.

As for the other jonin and chunin, the casualties were devastating.

Blood covered the ground, staining the earth red.

"Third Hokage-sama, this is bad!"

A genin ran up to Hiruzen Sarutobi, panting heavily as he shouted.

"What is a genin like you doing here?" Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned.

"Third Hokage-sama, Ko-Ko-Konoha is gone," the genin said urgently.

"What do you mean, gone? Explain yourself clearly."

"The village is gone. It's all gone," the genin said.

"What?" Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression changed drastically. "What happened? Didn't Jiraiya go there to provide support?"

"Someone saw Lord Jiraiya lose. His heart was pierced through, and then he seemed to have been taken away by his summoning beast. As for the village, it was swallowed by a terrifying pit. It seemed to contain endless ghosts and was unbelievably horrifying. Many people in the village were dragged into the pit and sucked inside. Their whereabouts are unknown."

"How could this happen?" Hearing that, Hiruzen Sarutobi staggered and nearly collapsed to the ground.

"Konoha is gone? Jiraiya's fate is unknown? How is that possible?"

Kakashi Hatake and Itachi Uchiha's expressions also changed sharply upon hearing this.

"Oh? Looks like my junior took care of your headquarters."

"Ha ha ha!"

Izuna Uchiha did not take the chance to attack. Instead, after hearing this, he stood atop the Nine-Tails' head and burst into laughter.

"Where is Danzo? Root, which he leads, was clearly entirely within Konoha. Could it be that he also..."

"From beginning to end, there has been no sign of Lord Danzo's people, nor has a single Root ninja appeared to stop it."

"Danzo, how could he dare do this?" Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately understood Shimura Danzō's purpose. "At a moment when Konoha's survival is at stake, he's still trying to scheme. That bastard..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi gritted his teeth. He should never have agreed to let Danzo establish Root.