"Boom! Rumble!"
Deafening explosions thundered endlessly over Konoha like summer-night thunder!
Flames soared into the sky at the front of the Uchiha Clan Compound!
Fugaku and Shisui led two hundred Uchiha elites, pouring all their years of pent-up resentment toward Konoha into their ninjutsu!
"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"
Fugaku's Mangekyō Sharingan spun wildly as he opened his mouth and spewed a terrifying sea of fire large enough to cover the entire battlefield!
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Fire Nail Crimson!"
Not to be outdone, Shisui sent countless balls of flame wrapped around shuriken striking the defensive barrier in front of the Konoha Gate with the precision of homing missiles!
The two hundred Jonin worked in perfect coordination. Their various Fire Release Ninjutsu interwove into an impenetrable net of deadly flames. The world-destroying spectacle sent a shudder through even Hiruzen Sarutobi, who watched from the distant Hokage Building!
"They've gone mad! Those Uchiha have truly gone mad!"
Watching the sea of fire that threatened to ignite nearly half the village, Utatane Koharu turned deathly pale with fright.
"They intend to tear a great chunk of flesh from Konoha even as they die!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi gripped his pipe tightly, his expression grim.
"Relay my orders! All troops are to hold the gate's defensive line at all costs! Do not let them break through and bring the fighting into the residential districts!"
"Also, have everyone remaining in the Anbu and Root flank them! Tonight, we must eradicate the Uchiha cancer once and for all!"
Konoha's entire military force was firmly caught up in this spectacular suicide attack.
None of them imagined that behind this roaring sea of flames, a tense but orderly sweep was underway inside the Uchiha Clan Compound!
"Quick! Quick! Move faster!"
Uchiha Yashiro stood at the entrance to the secret medicine storehouse, loudly directing the clansmen.
Huge sealing scrolls were spread open one after another. Like ants moving nests, the clansmen swiftly packed them with crates of precious Military Rations Pills, blood-replenishing pills, and various secret medicines used to nourish the Sharingan.
Meanwhile, metallic clanging rang out from the ninja tool storehouse.
Elder Uchiha Shusa, a representative of the conservatives, had now become the most radical executor of their orders.
"Take every one of these specially made chakra metal swords! They're the fruit of our Uchiha smiths' painstaking work!"
"There's no time to take those standard-issue kunai and shuriken! Do as Lord Gen'yō said and melt them down with Fire Style! Don't leave those bastards so much as an iron nail!"
The entire clan, from top to bottom, old and young alike, worked toward the same goal.
That unprecedented unity brought tears to the eyes of many older clansmen.
How many years had it been?
The Uchiha Clan had never been as united as it was today!
Yet amid this orderly operation, a discordant voice suddenly rang out.
"Is this really the right thing to do?"
An elder with a graying beard and extremely high seniority leaned on his cane. As he watched the busy clansmen, his eyes filled with conflict and pain.
"This is our home. We've lived here for over a hundred years, yet now we must destroy it with our own hands."
His words slowed the movements of some younger clansmen nearby, and traces of uncertainty and reluctance appeared on their faces.
It was only human nature to find it hard to leave one's homeland.
"Elder Uchiha Setsuna! What nonsense are you spouting?"
Uchiha Shusa bristled with anger at those words.
"Is this the time to waver? Do you want to stay here and wait for Konoha's butchers to slaughter us all?"
"That's not what I mean!"
Elder Setsuna retorted heatedly. "I simply think Gen'yō's plan is too risky! What if Iwagakure refuses to accept us? Wandering out there with all our old and young would be a true dead end!"
That question haunted some of the more conservative clansmen like a curse.
For a moment, a crack seemed to appear in their soaring morale.
Just then, an icy voice came from behind them.
"Who said we're gambling on Ōnoki accepting us?"
Everyone whipped around to find Uchiha Gen'yō standing there, though none knew when he had arrived.
He had just emerged from the ancestral hall, holding a pitch-black scroll that emanated an ominous aura.
"Lord Gen'yō!"
Everyone respectfully bowed their heads.
Gen'yō ignored them and walked straight up to Elder Setsuna, looking down at him.
"Old fool, put away that useless, softhearted mercy of yours."
"Let me ask you. If someone came to you seeking cooperation, carrying your stolen family heirloom and throwing in a list of every covert operative belonging to your sworn enemy, would you agree?"
Elder Setsuna froze and answered instinctively, "Of course I would!"
"Then that settles it."
Gen'yō sneered.
"That's exactly the sort of heirloom and list I've prepared for Ōnoki."
"We aren't going to beg him to take us in. We're going to bring him a gift he's dreamed of receiving!"
"I'm the one choosing him, not the other way around!"
"So not only will he accept us, he'll revere us like his own ancestors!"
Gen'yō's words were domineering and arrogant, yet filled with a compelling power!
Everyone's doubts vanished in that instant!
Of course!
They possessed the strongest dōjutsu in the Shinobi World, and now they had a godlike leader in Lord Gen'yō!
Wherever they went, their Uchiha Clan should be eagerly sought after. How could they possibly end up homeless?
"My thinking was too narrow."
Elder Setsuna lowered his head in shame. Even the cane in his hand trembled.
Fugaku stepped forward and clapped him firmly on the shoulder. Then he turned to everyone and, with all his strength, made the loudest proclamation he had uttered since becoming clan head!
"From this day forward, Uchiha Gen'yō's will is the will of our entire clan!"
"His words are the Uchiha's highest orders!"
"Anyone who dares harbor disloyalty again, who questions him and shakes our morale-"
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan slowly emerged in Fugaku's eyes, murderous intent radiating from him!
"Will be killed without mercy!"
"As you command!"
Every clansman, including those elders who had once harbored ulterior motives, dropped to one knee and answered with a roar like crashing waves!
At that moment, the hearts of the Uchiha Clan were completely united!
[Ding! Clan cohesion has reached its peak. Unity: 100%!] [Main quest: Relocate the entire clan-completion progress greatly increased!] [Clan Procreation Points +5,000!]
Listening to the system notifications ringing in his mind, Gen'yō nodded in satisfaction.
He raised his head and looked toward the now-emptied secret medicine and ninja tool storehouses, a cold glint flashing through his eyes.
"Very good. Since we've taken everything."
"Next, it's time to see those old fellows who can't bear to leave off on their final journey."
What did he mean?
Everyone froze.
See the old fellows off on their final journey?
Could it be-