The Second Step of the Plan Begins! The Book of Seals Is Ours!

At that moment, in the underground chamber beneath Naka Shrine, Natsu watched the teleportation array before him glow with an eerie blue light. Listening to the unceasing explosions and faint cries outside, he slowly turned to look at Fugaku beside him.

"The first step succeeded." His voice was calm, but a flash of crimson passed through his eyes. "Sarutobi and Danzo both think we intend to rebel and break through their encirclement, so they've focused all their attention on the outer blockade. They'll never imagine that we never planned to confront them head-on."

Fugaku looked at the flowing light across the teleportation array, then toward the chamber entrance.

The clan elders were leading the clan members toward the array in an orderly procession. The elderly, weak, women, and children went first, while the young and able-bodied ninja followed behind, carrying the clan's inherited treasures and heavy supplies on their backs.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the turbulent emotions in his heart, then nodded heavily.

"Pass the order. Begin the teleportation according to the planned sequence."

The roar of explosions continued rolling through Konoha's streets and alleys. Tremors shook dust from the walls, while scorching smoke and heat swept through every lane of the Hokage Administrative District.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had led the main Anbu force to the residential district where the fires burned fiercest, while Danzo had brought most of Root's elite and firmly stationed them before the blockade around the Uchiha Clan District.

The defenses surrounding the Hokage Building were instantly left more than half empty.

Within the shadows of the shattered ruins, Uchiha Taoho and Uchiha Tetsuka opened their eyes at the same time.

Their crimson Three-Tomoe Sharingan turned slowly amid the thick smoke, bright as two clusters of cold flame. The patrol routes of the few remaining Anbu sentries, where their gazes fell, even the intervals between their breaths—all of it was captured with absolute clarity by the Sharingan.

"Move."

Taoho uttered only that one low word. The two figures instantly became afterimages, their footsteps landing precisely beneath the thunder of each explosion. Every sound they made was perfectly concealed as they sped forward along a half-collapsed courtyard wall.

Their Sharingan locked tightly onto the guards' movements. They slipped through the blind spots of their enemies' vision like two wisps of wind blending into the smoke, reaching the side entrance of the Hokage Building within only a few breaths.

"Who's there?!"

The Anbu guard beside the door instantly tensed, his hand already moving toward the kunai at his waist. But before he could finish speaking, a pair of crimson Sharingan filled his vision.

"Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique."

Only a broken muffled groan escaped the Anbu's throat as his body was instantly nailed in place by the Genjutsu. His limbs felt as though invisible iron stakes had pierced through them, leaving him unable to even move a finger.

The next second, a sharp kunai sliced through the air and precisely severed his carotid artery. Warm blood splattered against the cold wall as he collapsed limply to the ground, unable to even sound the alarm.

The guard on the other side had just sensed something was wrong and was about to raise his hands to form seals when Tetsuka appeared silently behind him. His kunai tore through the air with a sharp whistle and pierced straight through the man's heart.

"Tetsuka, take two men and watch the perimeter. If anyone approaches, kill them without question." Taoho flicked the droplets of blood from his kunai, keeping his voice extremely low. "The other two, come in with me."

The three darted into the Hokage's Office. Scattered documents and overturned desks and chairs littered the floor, all debris shaken loose by the explosions.

The Sharingan swept over every inch of the room—the walls, floor, and hidden compartments in the desk—and instantly locked onto several chakra seal nodes.

The three did not hesitate for even a moment. They immediately began dismantling the seals and searching through the room, their fingers moving so quickly that only afterimages remained. Every second felt like dancing along a blade's edge.

The explosions outside continued one after another, but Tetsuka's tense voice still carried through the door. "Taoho, hurry! A squad of Anbu is heading this way. They'll be here in thirty seconds!"

"Found it!"

As the words fell, a Jonin pried open the deepest hidden compartment in the desk. His fingertips touched the heavy scroll within, and when he unrolled it, the words Flying Thunder God Technique came clearly into view.

He quickly scanned the scroll's contents, confirmed there was no issue, and immediately called out in a low voice.

Taoho glanced at the scroll and gave the order without the slightest hesitation. "Withdraw!"

The three instantly stopped what they were doing, turned, and rushed from the office to join Tetsuka outside. Without pausing for even a moment, the figures vanished into the shadows of the Hokage Building beneath the cover of smoke.

Only a few breaths later, an Anbu squad charged into the empty office. Seeing the corpses of their two comrades on the floor and the pried-open hidden compartment, the squad leader's face instantly turned pale. He shouted in horror, "The Book of Seals! The Book of Seals has been stolen! Quickly! Sound the highest alert!!"

But by then, Taoho and his group had already followed their planned route and met up with Uchiha Kei, who was waiting outside the Hokage Building to receive them. Using the blazing firelight and chaotic crowds as cover, they silently made their way toward the Uchiha Clan District.

Dozens of meters underground, the Root Base was shaken by the relentless explosions above. Dust fell from its rock walls, and cold fluorescent tubes embedded in the stone cracks flickered through the tremors, casting ghostly shadows across the narrow corridors.

Danzo had taken more than ninety percent of the base's elite with him, leaving fewer than a squad of ninja behind to guard the core Laboratory.

Now, the sounds of explosions on the surface traveled through the earth and made their eardrums ache. The Root ninja left behind had long since lost their composure. One after another, they clutched their communicators and listened for news from outside, even their patrol steps falling into disarray. No one noticed that uninvited guests had already slipped into the darkness.

From the shadows at a corridor corner, Uchiha Yakumi raised a hand to halt the people behind him. His crimson Three-Tomoe Sharingan slowly turned in the darkness.

Every concealed surveillance barrier in the passage, every guard's position and visual blind spot, even the direction of airflow within the ventilation ducts, was precisely analyzed by the Sharingan and seen with perfect clarity.

He gave Uchiha Yashiro and Yaoyu at his side a silent signal. The three immediately split into three paths, leading the ninja behind them as they slid soundlessly into the darkness like venomous snakes.

The two Root ninja guarding the Laboratory entrance had just turned toward the source of the tremors when a pair of crimson Sharingan suddenly filled their vision.

Yaoyu's Genjutsu spread without a sound. The two instantly froze in place, and before either could even release a muffled groan, Yashiro's kunai precisely pierced their throats. Their bodies were steadily caught as they fell, making not the slightest sound.

The Laboratory's sealed lock was no different from useless decoration before the Sharingan. Within three breaths, the heavy alloy doors slid open without a sound.

The sight inside sent chills through their eyes—Sharingan soaked in nutrient fluid were neatly stacked in three full layers, bloodstained surgical tools lay scattered across the experiment tables, and countless human experiment samples were stored in refrigerated cabinets along the walls.