The instant the order was given, the Root ninjas surrounding the barrier sprang into action.
Countless ninjutsu bombarded the barrier wall—Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation, Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, Earth Release: Earth Flow Great River, along with a dense barrage of Explosive Tags that crashed down on the crimson Blazing Sun Formation like raindrops.
Explosions rang out in rapid succession. Smoke and dust filled the sky as heat waves surged.
Yet the crimson barrier stood as if forged from bronze and cast in iron, utterly unmoved. The flaming patterns across its surface only grew fiercer under the barrage of ninjutsu. Several Root ninjas who rushed too close were instantly swallowed by the rebounding flames, letting out shrill screams.
No matter how frenzied Root's attacks became, the Blazing Sun Formation remained as immovable as a mountain.
A dead formation that required six hours to break could hardly be shaken by their brief, indiscriminate bombardment.
Standing amid the smoke and dust, Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the unmoving barrier, watched the Uchiha clansmen within file toward the underground chamber, and listened to the endless urgent reports from the border. It felt as though all the strength had suddenly been drained from his body.
He staggered and braced himself against a broken wall, barely managing to stay upright. Nothing remained in his eyes but boundless despair and regret.
At last, he understood. From the very beginning, he had fallen into the trap Uchiha Natsu had laid.
That earth-shaking explosion, the Book of Seals, even Hidden Cloud's assault—all of it had been calculated step by step by that eleven-year-old boy.
And he, along with all of Konoha, had been played for fools by a child.
Inside the barrier, Natsu stood before the teleportation array and watched the last batch of clansmen step into the blue light. Then he turned toward the barrier outside, toward Uchiha Itachi, whose pale face was fixed on him as his Mangekyō Sharingan stared without blinking.
A cold smile curled across Natsu's lips. He made a throat-slitting gesture at Itachi, then turned and stepped into the deep-blue teleportation light alongside Fugaku, Kei, and the others.
The light abruptly flared, then instantly contracted.
The entire Uchiha Clan District fell into complete silence.
All that remained was the empty Blazing Sun Formation, still burning with raging flames, and beyond the barrier, a group of Konoha higher-ups whose eyes were bloodshot with fury yet who could do nothing.
The booms beyond the Blazing Sun Formation came one after another. The explosive crashes of colliding ninjutsu, Danzo's frantic roars, and the sharp crackle of flying rubble blended into a single chaotic din. Yet the crimson barrier wall only rippled with tiny waves beneath the unending assault. Not even a single crack appeared.
Scorching flames surged along the barrier's patterns, blocking every frenzied attack outside like an impregnable city wall and giving the Uchiha within an absolutely safe space to evacuate.
There was no panic, no wailing—not even hurried footsteps.
Along the bluestone paths of the clan district, the Uchiha clansmen formed two orderly lines and headed toward the underground chamber beneath Naka Shrine. At the front were the elderly, the weak, the women, and the children.
Women carrying swaddled infants held their children protectively against their chests, their steps steady;
Elders supported by younger clansmen held ancestral tablets tightly wrapped in brocade against their chests, their backs straight;
Even half-grown children who had only awakened One Tomoe carried packs full of dry provisions and followed the line ahead without making a sound.
Following close behind were the young and able-bodied ninjas pushing sealed crates.
The crates held the clan's Ninjutsu Scrolls, Secret Technique Inheritance, and the gold and supplies obtained from selling off their assets. Every step was firm and steady.
On both sides stood the Police Force elites under Uchiha Kei's command. Their Three-Tomoe Sharingan turned slowly as they vigilantly scanned their surroundings, yet there was no tense readiness for battle. They knew that as long as the Blazing Sun Formation remained, no one outside could take a single step inside.
Even Uchiha Setsuna, who had previously been at odds with Fugaku, now stood at the rear of the procession with his followers, maintaining the evacuation's order.
When Mikoto passed by carrying a child, he even shifted slightly aside and nodded to the clan head's wife.
Past factional struggles and ideological differences had long since vanished in the face of the clan's survival.
Within the underground chamber, the deep-blue light of the teleportation array flowed like a tranquil sea of stars.
Natsu stood at the entrance to the array with the clan roster in hand. His crimson Three-Tomoe Sharingan swept over every figure stepping into the light. Each time he finished verifying a group, he gave a slight nod to the clansman recording beside him.
There was not the slightest impatience on his face. Even his fingertips remained perfectly steady, as though the earth-shaking chaos outside had nothing to do with him.
Fugaku stood beside him, watching clansman after clansman calmly enter the teleportation array and vanish into the blue light. Complex emotions churned in his eyes.
He had guarded this clan district all his life. From the high spirits of his youth to the careful restraint he had exercised after becoming clan head, every blade of grass, every brick and tile here bore the marks of half his life.
Yet at this moment, he had no thought of looking back. He merely took the roster Natsu handed him and carefully crossed off the names of those who had evacuated, his fingers steady and without the slightest hesitation.
"The elderly, women, and children have all been teleported," Uchiha Yaoyu reported in a low voice as he hurried over. "The supplies and inheritance scrolls have all been sent over as well. Nothing was left behind."
Natsu gave a slight nod and looked toward the rear of the line. "Have the young and able-bodied ninjas enter in batches. The elites will bring up the rear."
Once the order was passed down, the line remained perfectly orderly. They entered the teleportation array ten at a time. The blue light flared and faded again and again. There were fewer and fewer people in the chamber, but absolute silence remained.
The attacks outside the barrier grew increasingly frenzied. Danzo even attacked personally, his Wind Release blades slashing against the barrier and erupting into flames that filled the sky. Yet the Blazing Sun Formation remained as immovable as a mountain.
The Sealing Team ninjas frantically shook their heads at Hiruzen Sarutobi, their faces deathly pale—six hours was required to break the formation, not a second less. There was no shortcut.
They could only watch helplessly as the Uchiha clansmen within the barrier completed their evacuation with unhurried composure, leaving them not even a trace of panic to exploit.
Half an hour later, most of the clan district had been emptied. After the final batch of ordinary clansmen entered the teleportation array, only Natsu, Fugaku, Uchiha Kei, Tao Huo, Yashiro, and more than twenty Elite Jonin remained in the chamber to bring up the rear.
"Young master, every clansman has been teleported. Not a single one was left behind." Kei closed the roster and dropped to one knee, unable to conceal the excitement in his voice.
A pale-blue system interface quietly flashed before Natsu's eyes. The Newbie Mission progress bar steadily jumped to 100%.
[Newbie Mission complete. System fully unlocked. Newbie Gift Pack issued.]
He raised his eyes and looked one last time toward the outside of the barrier. Through the surging wall of flame, he could clearly see Hiruzen Sarutobi's ashen face, Danzo's wildly twisted expression, and Uchiha Itachi standing at the very front, his Mangekyō Sharingan fixed on this place as his entire body trembled.
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