"Let them see what true despair is!"
Uchiha Shō's fanatical and bloodthirsty roar was like a fuse igniting a powder keg, instantly detonating this death army that was already ravenous!
"Oh oh oh oh oh!"
The thousand Uchiha children showed no panic whatsoever at the sudden and overwhelming suicide attack. Instead, they all looked like children who had seen their favorite toys, their faces displaying cruel yet excited smiles that were completely out of character for their age!
In the hellish simulated training at " Hope Academy," they had already experienced countless war scenes that were far more brutal and complex than this.
These "Root" assassins, who only knew how to be fearless and straightforward, were, in their eyes, even more foolish and predictable than the AI robots in the training ground.
"First to fifth squads, deploy in a 'cross' formation! Fire Style: Suppression!"
"Squads six through ten, weave in a 'Z' formation! Clean up with Taijutsu!"
" Genjutsu squad, locate the enemy commander and take him down first!"
"The rest of you, form a 'tortoise shell formation' in place and protect the central army!"
There was absolutely no need for Uchiha Itachi to give orders.
Uchiha Yōko's clear and calm voice resounded throughout the entire battlefield in an instant.
Her Sharingan, with its Mitsudomoe, was like a highly precise tactical analyzer, discerning all of the enemy's attack routes in a fraction of a second and devising the most optimized and efficient countermeasures.
"Yes, Captain Yōko!"
Upon receiving the order, the Uchiha children, like the most sophisticated war machines, instantly split into several modules and began a brutal "cleanup" of the surging Root assassins!
At the forefront, a Root assassin, his eyes filled with determination, held a Kunai coated with deadly poison in each hand, and charged straight at an Uchiha girl who looked the youngest and was barely taller than his waist, like a cannonball.
He had already made up his mind: as soon as he could reach her, he would immediately detonate all the Explosive Tag on his body. Even if he couldn't kill her, he would use his own flesh and blood to defile these high and mighty descendants of "gods"!
However, when he was less than ten meters away from the girl, she didn't even glance at him.
She simply stretched out her small, fair hand and gently snapped her fingers in the direction he was rushing from.
"Snap."
" Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu."
Puff! Puff! Puff!
Dozens of fireballs, like bullets and imbued with Chakra, shot out from her fingertips at extremely tricky angles, tracing strange arcs in the air and precisely bypassing the Kunai he used to block, hitting all the Explosive Tag on his body that were already soaked with sweat!
boom--!!!!
The "Root" assassin didn't even have time to let out a scream before being blown into a dazzling, bloody mess by his own prized "weapon."
This is merely a tiny microcosm of the entire battlefield.
On the other side, three Root assassins formed a triangular formation and simultaneously surrounded Uchiha Shō from three directions.
Their teamwork was seamless, clearly a battle-hardened killing duo.
However, Uchiha Shō simply curled his lip in disdain.
He didn't even bother to draw his weapon.
Just as the three were about to get Setsuna—
Lightning Release: Chidori Sharp Spear!
Sizzle--!
A dazzling blue bolt of lightning, brimming with destructive power, suddenly shot out from his palm!
The lightning spear seemed to have a life of its own in his hand, changing direction and piercing through the air three times in succession at a speed that exceeded the limits of the naked eye!
Puff! Puff! Puff!
Three muffled sounds, like sharp blades piercing flesh, rang out almost simultaneously.
The three "Root" assassins froze abruptly, their faces still bearing the ferocious expressions they had when charging forward, but simultaneously, a terrifying hole the size of a bowl appeared in their hearts, its edges charred black by electric arcs.
"Rubbish."
Uchiha Shō sheathed his lightning spear, looked at the three corpses that had fallen like tattered sacks, and yawned listlessly.
In the center of the battlefield, even more "Root" assassins were plunged into an even more terrifying nightmare.
They had just climbed out of the sewer and hadn't even had a chance to see what was in front of them.
" Genjutsu: Sharingan!"
Dozens of Sharingan with Mitsudomoe simultaneously met their gazes.
There was no fierce confrontation, no struggle of will.
The bodies of those "Root" assassins trembled slightly, and then their crazy and resolute eyes instantly became empty and dull.
The next second, they all turned around simultaneously, pointing their weapons at their former "comrades" beside them.
What are you doing?!
"You've all gone mad! Have you all gone mad?!"
"No! Ah--!"
In an instant, the entire "Root" faction's assassins were fighting amongst themselves, in complete chaos.
They died without understanding why they had died at the hands of their own people.
This so-called "suicide attack" turned from the very beginning into a one-sided massacre filled with dark humor.
No, it didn't even qualify as a massacre.
This is more like a ruthless yet efficient "pest control" operation.
The Uchiha children had no expression on their faces.
There was no excitement, no pity, and not even the slightest reverence for life.
They are like a group of top-notch assembly line workers, calmly, precisely, and efficiently "processing" every "product" that appears before them.
For them, killing was no longer a taboo or a sin, but a natural and pure instinct, as natural as breathing.
Uchiha Yōko stood quietly in place without making a move.
Her clear eyes reflected this hellish scene of blood and fire.
She watched as the "Root" assassins, in Genjutsu, frantically plunged blades into their companions' chests.
She watched as those fearless charges turned into futile and laughable blood-red fireworks in the face of absolute power.
Her brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
For the first time, a thought that puzzled her arose in her little mind.
"Significance--"
What is the point of them doing this?
For a master who is long dead, for an organization that has long been destroyed, for a "will" that has long been abandoned by the times, to undertake such a hopeless, meaningless, and futile act of self-destruction, which wouldn't even cause the enemy the slightest disturbance?
She didn't understand.
These things were never taught to her in the textbooks at " Hope Academy ".
In her worldview, any action that does not bring benefits to the "master" or the " Uchiha " is foolish and should be despised.
But why did she feel a strange, inexplicable unease as she watched these "foolish" people turn to dust before her eyes?
Just as she was lost in thought, the "cleanup" work on the battlefield was nearing its end.
Hundreds and thousands of "Root" assassins were slaughtered in less than ten minutes.
Blood stained the main street of Konoha.
Limbs and severed bodies covered the entire ruin.
The air was thick with a nauseating stench of blood and burnt meat.
However, just when everyone thought this farce was about to end in the most cruel and hasty way, a "Root" squad leader, covered in blood and with half of his body blown apart, struggled to crawl out from the pile of corpses.
His eyes had lost all life, leaving only a last Kakkō of obsessive devotion.
He did not look at those Uchiha children who were like demons again.
With his last ounce of strength, he raised his remaining, bloodied arm and pointed it toward the Hokage Rock, a symbol of Konoha's highest authority that was now nothing but ruins.
A hoarse sound, like that of an old bellows, came from his throat.
Everyone thought he was about to utter some vicious curse.
However, he used the last glimmer of his life to roar out a sentence that no one expected.
"For--"
"For the Lord Third!"
After shouting that, his body completely lost all strength, and he fell heavily into a pool of blood, never to make a sound again.
The entire battlefield fell into a deathly silence once again.
Lord Third?
Hiruzen Sarutobi?
Shouldn't that old man have already been blasted to smithereens along with those Hokage in the previous artillery barrage?
Uchiha Shō looked puzzled.
When Uchiha Itachi heard this name, his usually calm and Mangekyō Sharingan suddenly contracted!
He considered a possibility he had overlooked!
He suddenly raised his head, his gaze shooting like lightning towards the devastated ruins of Hokage Rock!
"All personnel on high alert!"
For the first time, his cold and urgent voice carried a hint of seriousness!
"It seems our 'enemy' is down to just one!"
"And probably the most troublesome one!"