Hashirama Cells Secured, Gekko Hayate's Death

Yakumi's gaze swept over the room once before locking onto the temperature-controlled container at the very back of the refrigerated cabinet. Suspended in the pale green nutrient solution was a mass of cell tissue brimming with vigorous life—the living sample of Hashirama Cells, the core objective of their mission.

He carefully removed the container and sealed it inside a specially prepared sealing scroll. Through his fingertips, he could clearly feel the nearly violent life chakra emanating from within the scroll.

With their first priority secured, he immediately nodded at Yaoyu.

Yaoyu moved so quickly that only afterimages remained. His fingers flew as he stuffed the locked Hashirama Cell propagation records and years of experimental data from the lab bench into a sealing scroll in one sweep.

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded from the end of the corridor, followed by a Root ninja's harsh shout. "Where are the guards at the entrance?! Report immediately!"

"Go!"

Uchiha Yashiro made his decision without hesitation, raising his hand to slap several Explosive Tags onto the laboratory's load-bearing pillars.

The instant everyone turned and rushed out of the lab, the Explosive Tags detonated. Rubble collapsed in an instant, completely sealing off the passage behind them and cutting off the pursuing enemies' shouts beyond the wreckage.

No one lingered to fight, and no one grew greedy. Following the escape route Natsu had mapped out in advance, they slid through the abandoned ventilation ducts of the Root Base into the underground sewers. With the continuous explosions above masking their footsteps, they darted through the tangled underground pipe network like fish.

They encountered two groups of Root ninja hurrying back to reinforce the base along the way, but used the darkness and the Sharingan's genjutsu to slip past them without a sound, leaving no trace behind.

In less than fifteen minutes, they had burst out of the underground pipe network. Shielded by the sea of flames and the panicked crowds, they successfully reached the designated rendezvous point.

Uchiha Kei, Taoho, and the others had long been waiting there. Seeing everyone return safely with the sealed scroll intact, the tension in their hearts finally eased.

"Mission complete?" Kei asked in a low voice.

Yakumi patted the sealing scroll against his chest, a cold smile flashing in his eyes. "The core target's secured, and we brought out all the data too. Clean and quick."

"Good." Kei nodded, then looked toward the Uchiha Clan District, tightly surrounded by barriers and blockades. With a wave of his hand, he said, "Go! Back to the clan district! It's time to go home!"

More than a dozen figures didn't pause for even a moment. They melted back into the darkness and sped toward the clan district.

Behind them, Konoha was still trapped in flames and chaos. No one knew that the Hashirama Cells they treasured so dearly, along with the core forbidden techniques from the Book of Seals, had all fallen into Uchiha hands.

Using the billowing smoke and dust as cover, Taoho and his group advanced rapidly along the shattered walls and ruins. The Book of Seals was held tightly against his chest as their footsteps landed amid the aftershocks of explosions, so fast that only afterimages remained.

They were only two streets away from the Uchiha Clan District. As long as they turned through the alley ahead, they could meet up with their support.

But the instant Taoho led his people around the corner into the alley, a frigid chakra suddenly locked onto them.

"Stop."

Gekko Hayate slowly stepped out from the alley's shadows. An Anbu cat-faced mask concealed most of his face, leaving only the bluish corners of his eyes exposed. His katana had long since been drawn, its tip angled toward the ground. Four elite Anbu stood behind him, forming an encirclement that blocked the alley entrance, their chakra drawn taut.

He had been leading his squad to inspect the explosion damage when he unexpectedly sensed this sharp chakra bearing Uchiha's distinctive mark, as well as the unique sealing fluctuations of the Book of Seals.

"Uchiha?" Gekko Hayate kept his voice low and couldn't help coughing twice. Yet the hand gripping his sword remained utterly steady. "Did you steal the Book of Seals from the Hokage Building?"

The Three Tomoe in Taoho's eyes spun instantly. Without wasting a word, he merely gave the two people beside him a signal.

The next second, three figures moved at once.

There was no probing, no pointless talk. They went straight for the kill. Taoho's figure split into three afterimages in an instant—it was Uchiha Style's Body Flicker Technique—as he lunged directly at Gekko Hayate's face.

The Sharingan saw the trajectory of the other's katana with perfect clarity. Gekko Hayate had only begun the first half of Leaf Style: Crescent Moon Dance when Taoho precisely predicted where the strike would land. His Kunai tore through the air with a sharp whistle and stabbed straight at Hayate's sword hand.

The alley instantly erupted with the sharp crash of colliding chakra. Crisp metal clashes mixed with the roar of explosions, and the exchanges came so fast that the moves could barely be seen.

But before the absolute dynamic vision of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, the Anbu's movements were as slow as footage played in slow motion.

In barely thirty seconds, four muffled groans rang out in succession. The four elite Anbu didn't even manage to unleash a complete technique before their vital points were precisely pierced, and they fell into pools of blood.

Gekko Hayate's katana was knocked away, and a Kunai carved a bone-deep wound across his chest. He staggered half a step back and was just about to form hand seals to raise the alarm when Taoho appeared directly before him, his scarlet Sharingan locking firmly onto Hayate's pupils.

Genjutsu spread in an instant. Gekko Hayate's body suddenly stiffened, and in the next moment, a Kunai pierced his throat.

Warm blood splattered across the cold wall. He fell with his eyes wide open, unable to utter a complete warning even in death.

Just as Taoho shook the blood from his Kunai and prepared to lead the others onward, an incredulous cry suddenly came from the alley entrance.

"Hayate?!"

Yuhi Kurenai stood at the alley entrance, staring at Gekko Hayate lying in a pool of blood and the Anbu corpses scattered across the ground. In an instant, half the blood seemed to drain from her body.

She had been evacuating civilians nearby and rushed over after sensing the intense chakra fluctuations here. She hadn't expected the sight that awaited her to be this.

Her pupils contracted sharply. Her hands immediately formed seals as genjutsu chakra surged around her fingertips. But the three Uchiha elites facing her attacked the very instant they saw her, without the slightest hesitation.

Three figures lunged at her together, their scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan locking onto her in unison as genjutsu and physical attacks struck simultaneously.

Yuhi Kurenai's greatest specialty was genjutsu, but before three pairs of top-tier Sharingan, her illusions were like mud sinking into the sea, unable to stir even the faintest ripple.

In a single exchange, Taoho's genjutsu forced her back step by step. Her back slammed hard against the wall, and a Kunai was already pressed to her throat as the chill of death instantly wrapped around her entire body.

At that critical moment, a black shadow suddenly crashed in from the side. Akimichi Choza's Partial Multi-Size Technique activated instantly, and his massive arm smashed fiercely toward Taoho, forcing him to withdraw his Kunai and flash away.