Slaughtering the Sarutobi Clan Again

Night hung heavy.

The Sarutobi Clan Compound blazed with lights, its grand residences stretching one after another.

Uchiha En stood on a distant rooftop, looking over the sprawling estate. He could not help clicking his tongue.

"Well, well. Look at the size of this place. Look at the splendor."

He curled his lip.

"And the Third Hokage said he wasn't corrupt?"

"If he wasn't, how did the Sarutobi Clan become Konoha's biggest clan?"

He glanced down at his Akatsuki cloak, then touched the Tiger-Skin Mask on his face.

"Fine. Tonight, you'll learn what payback feels like."

His right eye stirred.

An instant later, he appeared inside the Sarutobi Clan Compound.

Several guards walked past him, chatting and laughing, utterly unaware that anything was wrong.

"The Mangekyō Sharingan sure is handy."

Uchiha En grinned.

He stepped behind the last guard and tapped him on the shoulder.

The guard turned.

A pair of scarlet Sharingan eyes met his gaze.

"Shh!"

The guard's eyes went vacant.

The kunai in En's hand slashed across his throat.

Shhk.

Blood sprayed.

The guard crumpled to the ground.

"That's one."

Uchiha En walked on as though nothing had happened.

"The Sage of Six Paths must be lonely in the Pure Land. I'll send a few more people to keep him company."

He spoke to himself, sounding as relaxed as if he were strolling through his own garden.

Around the corner, he encountered two more guards.

Before either could speak, Uchiha En activated his Sharingan.

Genjutsu: Sharingan.

The guards' eyes lost focus. They stood rooted to the spot like wooden posts.

Uchiha En walked between them and struck each with his blade.

Thud.

Thud.

Both bodies hit the ground.

"Two. Three."

"Onward."

He kept walking, killing as he went.

Anyone alone fell under his genjutsu and died with a single slash.

When guards traveled in pairs, he used Space Flash to get behind them and picked them off one by one.

Not one of them managed to sound the alarm.

Until...

"Stop!"

A furious shout came from ahead.

A middle-aged man in a Sarutobi Clan jonin uniform blocked his path.

His gaze was sharp, and he radiated the pressure of an Elite Jōnin.

"Who are you?! How dare you sneak into the Sarutobi Clan Compound!"

En tilted his head.

"Guess."

The Elite Jōnin's face darkened.

"Do you know where you are?"

He stepped forward, his presence bearing down on En.

"This is the Hokage Family!"

"You dare trespass on the Hokage Family? Konoha won't let you get away with this!"

En fell silent for two seconds.

Then he laughed.

"The Hokage Family?"

He took a step forward, mockery thick in his voice.

"Well, listen to you..."

The Elite Jōnin's expression grew uglier.

"You're dead!"

His hands flew through a series of seals.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"

Boom!

A massive column of fire roared toward En. Heat slammed into him, and the air warped in the flames.

En stood where he was, motionless.

Just as the fire was about to engulf him...

His left eye turned.

Time slowed.

The world slowed in an instant.

The column of fire advanced inch by inch, as though in slow motion.

En stepped aside, circled the flames, and walked toward the Elite Jōnin.

Every step was unhurried.

The fire dragon swept past him without so much as touching the hem of his cloak.

The Elite Jōnin's pupils contracted sharply.

"What—"

Before he could finish...

En's right eye turned.

Space shifted.

En appeared right in front of him.

A kunai pressed against his throat.

"Not bad, your ninjutsu."

En sounded as though he were commenting on a dish.

"Too bad it's so slow."

"Who... who the hell are you?!"

Terror filled the Elite Jōnin's eyes. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

"Just a passing Uchiha."

En drew his kunai across the man's throat.

Shhk!

Blood gushed out.

Clutching his throat, the Elite Jōnin slowly sank to his knees, disbelief filling his eyes.

His mouth opened as if to speak, but only a few muffled gasps came out.

Then he hit the ground with a thud.

En looked down at him.

"In your next life, remember not to threaten people with the Hokage Family."

"I'm absolutely terrified..."

With that, he stepped over the body and continued deeper into the compound.

The Hokage Office.

Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk, a pipe between his lips and smoke curling around him.

Shimura Danzō stood by the window, both hands resting on his cane, his face expressionless.

Both men were waiting.

Waiting for news of the Uchiha Clan Massacre.

"Itachi should have started by now," Danzō said evenly.

The Third Hokage nodded in silence.

Just then—

"Report!"

An Anbu Ninja burst in and dropped to one knee, his voice urgent.

"Lord Hokage! Something's happened!"

The Third Hokage frowned.

"What is it?"

"The Shimura Clan Compound... has been attacked by an unknown assailant!"

"What?!"

The Third Hokage nearly dropped his pipe.

Danzō spun around.

"What did you say?!"

"The Shimura Clan Compound was attacked by an unknown assailant. There are heavy casualties!"

The Anbu Ninja's voice trembled.

"And..."

"And what?!"

"The Sarutobi Clan Compound... has been attacked too!"

Boom!

The air in the office seemed to freeze.

The Third Hokage shot to his feet, his face ashen.

"The Sarutobi Clan was attacked too?"

Danzō looked just as grim.

He gritted his teeth and said coldly:

"Wasn't the Uchiha Clan supposed to be the one under attack?"

"How did it turn into the Sarutobi and Shimura clans?!"

Their eyes met.

This was not what they had planned.

Not at all.

"Mobilize everyone in Root!" Danzō ordered coldly.

"Deploy all Anbu!"

The Third Hokage's voice was just as cold. He slammed his pipe down on the desk.

"Come with us to both compounds at once. We must find the attacker!"

"Yes, sir!"

The Anbu Ninja left to carry out the order.

Elsewhere.

At the Konoha Military Police Force headquarters.

Obito Uchiha watched police ninja rush out one after another, trying to reach the clan compound and help.

And one after another, he drew them into the Kamui Dimension.

"I told you not to be in such a hurry."

"See? There you go rushing off again."

Obito's voice was calm, as though he were chatting with a friend.

His gaze passed over the distant lights toward the Uchiha Clan Compound.

There, Itachi was carrying out his mission.

A place that had once been familiar.

People he had once known.

Soon, all of them would be gone.

There was not a ripple of emotion in Obito's eyes.

Only a world where Rin existed could be perfect.

Her figure appeared in his mind.

A black top, a purple jacket tied around her waist, soft short hair, and purple markings on her face.

"Rin..."

Obito murmured under his breath.

"I'll create a world where you exist. I swear it."

"In that world, there'll be no war, no smoke from battle."

"Only peace and stability."

His gaze grew distant.

It was as if he could see Rin standing ahead, beckoning to him.

"Heh heh heh..."

Obito laughed, madness in his smile.

A moment later.

His eyes hardened once more.

His scarlet Sharingan slowly began to spin.

"Soon... it'll be soon..."

He looked down at the Konoha Military Police Force ninja still struggling below.

"Until then..."

"Anyone who stands in the way of the plan dies."

Kamui activated.

Space warped.

Another ninja was sucked into the Alternate Dimension before he could even scream.

Obito vanished from the spot.