At the Hidden Leaf Village Entrance, when Chiri and the others rushed back to the village, every one of them wore a grave expression, sensing that something was terribly wrong.
"Just as expected..."
They stepped over the shattered gates. A faint wail rode the breeze, and a gust carrying a pungent stench swept across their faces. It was not the smell of the sea, but the smell of blood. The streets and buildings had been devastated beyond recognition, while the cracked earth was riddled with deep pits. Countless plumes of scorched smoke gathered together, lingering without dispersing.
They stared at one another in shock. Other than Uchiha Nen, everyone's face darkened.
"We were too late!" Chiri said quietly, her voice filled with self-reproach.
"Damn it! Those lunatics actually attacked the village!" Tsunade spat hatefully, stomping her foot so hard that it left a crater in the ground.
In Hell Valley, after they joined forces to subdue that shop assistant from the Blood Pond Clan, Chiri immediately used an Illusion Technique to interrogate him for all the information he had.
Just as Chiri had expected, the so-called "Hell Valley Disconnection Incident" had indeed been a scheme by the current Uchiha Clan Head to restrain his competitors. Those Uchiha clansmen had not truly gone missing either. They had simply hidden themselves on his orders, all to lure her into the trap.
But something had gone wrong along the way.
Several months earlier, worried that his position as clan head might be taken from him, the newly appointed Uchiha Clan Head had devised a vicious scheme:
He had his confidants pretend to reach an agreement with the Chinoike Clan in Hell Valley. As long as they eliminated the targets entering the valley, he would completely lift the Barrier and restore their freedom.
But