Explosion, Panic, First Step, Complete!

Meanwhile, in Root's command room, Danzo watched Konoha burn in the surveillance feed, then looked at the utterly motionless Uchiha Clan District. His lone eye was filled with rage and disbelief.

"Lord Danzo! The Administrative District has been bombed! Lord Hokage has taken the Anbu to put out the fires! What do we do?! Keep surrounding the Uchiha, or go provide support?!" The squad captain rushed up to him, panic thick in his voice.

Danzo clenched his fist. Veins bulged across the arm beneath his bandages, and the Sharingan embedded in it twitched wildly.

He knew he'd been played. The explosions were a feint, meant to draw away all of Konoha's defensive forces and create an opportunity for the Uchiha!

But on the surveillance feed, the Uchiha Clan District remained perfectly quiet. There wasn't even the slightest chakra disturbance. He had no proof they had acted at all.

"Trash! What are you panicking for?!" he growled, his lone eye cold and sinister. "Pass down the order! The outer blockade doesn't move! Keep the Uchiha surrounded. Don't let even a fly out! The rest of you, come with me to the Administrative District! I'd like to see what tricks these Uchiha can pull!"

At that moment, beneath the shadow of Hokage Rock, Uchiha Kei watched Konoha descend into chaos and slowly put away the detonator in his hand.

The Feihong Three Tomoe flashed through his eyes as he silently slipped toward the Hokage Building along the planned route.

The first step of the plan had succeeded.

All of Konoha was consumed by explosions and panic. No one noticed that deep within the tightly surrounded Uchiha Clan District, in the underground chamber beneath Naka Shrine, a massive teleportation array had already begun to glow with a ghostly blue light.

The blasts still echoed through Konoha's streets when Danzo led two personal guards out of the Root Base. His bandaged lone eye remained fixed on the Uchiha Clan District, Feihong light churning within it.

He knew all too well that the explosions were the Uchiha's handiwork. They were drawing the tiger from the mountain, dragging Konoha's defenses into the fire so the Uchiha could create an opening for themselves.

"Pass down my absolute order!" He abruptly stopped and snarled at the messenger ninja behind him, killing intent nearly solidifying in his voice. "All Root members currently outside are to abandon fire relief immediately and converge on the Uchiha Clan District!

"Fill all three layers of the blockade! The barrier unit is to deploy a full-range sealing barrier at once! Seal everything, even twenty meters underground! Any Uchiha, no matter who it is, who dares step one foot outside the clan district is to be killed without mercy!"

"Lord Danzo, but Lord Hokage's side..." The messenger ninja hesitated for a moment.

"Lord Hokage has his considerations, and I have my methods!" Danzo whipped around. The savagery in his lone eye made the messenger instantly lower his head. "If anything happens, I'll bear full responsibility! Carry out the order!"

The command spread through every Root outpost like a tide.

Root ninjas who had been scattered throughout Konoha instantly abandoned their firefighting efforts and surged toward the Uchiha Clan District like a black flood.

The number of sentries doubled at once. The barrier unit rapidly formed hand seals, and a pale violet sealing barrier rose along the walls of the Uchiha Clan District, covering even the sky and turning it into a truly airtight iron barrel.

Root ninjas in animal masks pressed close to the barrier's edge, their kunai already drawn. They watched every inch of movement within the clan district, waiting only for the people inside to reveal the slightest opening before pouncing to tear their targets apart.

Meanwhile, at the very heart of the inferno, Hiruzen Sarutobi had just used Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall to block falling rubble from crushing a group of children. The scorching smoke made him cough without pause. The Sea Willow Pipe in his hand had long since been crushed to pieces, wood chips and sparks falling to the ground, yet he didn't notice at all.

Around him were villagers weeping and screaming, houses collapsing one after another, and medical ninjas shouting in urgency.

He had served as Hokage for his entire life and protected Konoha for his entire life, yet he had never seen the village fall into such chaos.

Hokage Rock had collapsed. Half the commercial district had become ruins. Countless villagers had lost their homes, and some were even buried beneath the rubble.

"Lord Hokage! The fires in the western residential district can't be contained! The wind is blowing that way!"

"Lord Hokage! The medical corps is running out of bandages and medicine!"

"Lord Hokage! Stray Explosive Tags are still detonating one after another! We can't keep up with the inspections!"

Report after urgent report crashed into his ears. Hiruzen Sarutobi drew in a breath thick with gunpowder smoke, forcing down the overwhelming fury surging in his chest. He suddenly looked toward the Anbu squad captain beside him, his voice hoarse but carrying unquestionable authority.

"Pass down my order! All Chunin, Genin, and ninjas outside the combat ranks are to join civilian evacuation and firefighting efforts! The Police Force in every village and town is to immediately establish temporary shelters and gather the displaced villagers! The medical corps is to spare no expense in treating the wounded. Any medicine we're short on is to be transferred from the Hokage Vault immediately!"

He paused, his gaze shifting toward the Uchiha Clan District. It remained deathly silent, a glaring contrast to the sea of fire behind him. He knew this was the Uchiha's true objective—to keep him trapped at the fire scene, unable to attend to anything else.

"All remaining Anbu elites and every member of the Jonin Corps are to head to the Uchiha Clan District immediately!" His voice turned cold as he spoke each word distinctly.

"Coordinate with Root and completely seal off the entire Uchiha Clan District! Without my written order, no one, regardless of age or gender, is allowed in or out! The moment you discover any sign of the Uchiha gathering or attempting a breakout, suppress them immediately without seeking permission!"

"Yes!"

The Anbu squad captain accepted the order and turned, leading the few dozen remaining Anbu elites behind him as they raced toward the Uchiha Clan District.

More than a dozen Elite Jonin from Konoha's Jonin Corps immediately gathered as well. They pushed rapidly through the streets and soon joined Root's blockade, laying down another impenetrable net outside the barrier.

The whole of Konoha had been forcibly split in two.

One half was a disaster zone engulfed in flames and cries, where countless ninjas raced through the inferno, doing everything they could to save trapped civilians;

The other was the Uchiha Clan District, tightly encircled by two layers of blockade and a massive barrier. Inside, it was eerily quiet—not a single light, not a single pulse of chakra. Like a colossal beast lurking in the darkness, it was surrounded so completely that all the ninjas outside felt an inexplicable chill in their hearts.

Danzo stood at the very front of the barrier, his lone eye filled with greed and viciousness.

He could barely wait any longer. The moment there was even the slightest movement inside, he would immediately give the order and lead Root in to slaughter the entire Uchiha clan.