The chaos was still ongoing.
But the battlefield had already shifted outside Konoha.
The offensive led by Uchiha Yashiro had indeed been ferocious at first, but as time passed and Konoha began reacting, the Uchiha suffered a powerful counterattack.
"Move!"
Seeing that they could not win, Yashiro immediately gave the order.
In truth, he had known from the beginning that this rebellion could never end in a complete victory.
The Uchiha might be Konoha's strongest clan at present—
But the Sarutobi clan was no small force either.
And beyond that, there was ANBU, Root, the Shimura clan, and the rest of Konoha's ninja clans.
There would be virtually no one willing to stand with the Uchiha.
Yashiro had originally hoped the Hyuga clan might show at least some response. In his view, the Hyuga had been targeted and suppressed by Konoha these past years just as the Uchiha had.
But they had not.
The Hyuga had shown no such intent at all.
In fact, they were contributing especially hard to suppressing the Uchiha.
"We can't place our hopes on anyone. The only ones the Uchiha can rely on… are ourselves."
Yashiro withdrew his gaze.
"No. Even within the Uchiha, many people cannot be relied on."
When he had first brought Uchiha Dou's corpse and led the attack on Uchiha Yamakaku, Yashiro's plan had been simple: kill Yamakaku first, then unify the entire strength of the Uchiha clan. Only then would a swift seizure of power even be possible.
It had to be swift because once Namikaze Minato, Jiraiya, or Orochimaru returned, the Uchiha would have no chance at all.
But what disappointed Yashiro was this—
Even after Konoha had treated the Uchiha to this extent…
Even with Uchiha Dou's corpse lying before their eyes…
There were still many Uchiha who refused to resist Konoha.
They would rather draw a line between themselves and Yashiro.
Yashiro found that incomprehensible.
But by now, he also understood that seizing power was impossible.
So once he realized that, he quickly calmed down and made his decision.
Charge into the Sarutobi clan. Charge into the Shimura clan. Kill as many as possible.
Then, once Konoha committed all its strength to reinforcing those two clans and surrounding the Uchiha compound, turn around immediately and lead the Uchiha out of Konoha.
Yashiro refused to believe that in a world as vast as the shinobi world, there would be no place for the Uchiha outside Konoha.
The grudge with Konoha could be repaid slowly, over time.
"Only this way can the Uchiha retain even a single chance of survival."
"Otherwise, we'll disappear beneath Konoha's suppression, until even our name is forgotten by the world."
Konoha shinobi pursued them from behind.
Danzo's face was gloomy as he issued an uncompromising order to the Root shinobi.
"Not one of them is to be spared!"
This time, the losses suffered by the Shimura clan were simply too severe.
From the very start, the Uchiha had gone straight for the Shimura and Sarutobi clans.
And compared to the Sarutobi, the Shimura clan was smaller, weaker—and a primary target for the Uchiha's revenge.
After all, the matter of Uchiha Kagami was from years ago.
But Uchiha Dou's death had happened just now.
The Uchiha who had seen Dou's corpse, who had seen those four bloody words, hated Danzo more deeply than anyone else.
And they knew the Shimura clan was weaker than the Sarutobi clan.
A softer target.
Images of his clansmen being slaughtered kept surfacing in Danzo's mind.
His face grew uglier and uglier.
"Yes, Danzo-sama."
In the forest, one member of the Sarutobi clan was pursuing an Uchiha.
Because he had watched his own clansmen die with his own eyes, he was furious to the extreme.
But he had not noticed that in his anger, he had chased too aggressively.
So aggressively that he had failed to realize his companions had not kept up.
The Uchiha in front glanced back, then gave a cold snort.
"Still chasing? Do you really think I'm afraid of you?"
"If you want to die that badly, I'll oblige."
Without warning, the Uchiha stopped. Before the Sarutobi shinobi could react, he rushed straight at him and flicked his wrist.
Whoosh!
A series of sharp whistles cut through the air as more than a dozen shuriken flew toward the Sarutobi ninja.
The Sarutobi shinobi's pupils contracted as he hurriedly dodged.
But that was only part of the Uchiha's attack. The moment he had thrown the shuriken, he had already begun forming hand seals.
Now, the seals were complete.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Jutsu!"
A pillar of flame erupted, roaring straight toward the Sarutobi shinobi.
Because he had been forced to evade the shuriken, his position had been locked down. There was no room left to dodge the incoming Great Dragon Fire.
Just as the Sarutobi shinobi was about to be struck—
Suddenly—
"Body Flicker Jutsu!"
A figure appeared in an instant, stepping in front of the Sarutobi shinobi.
His hands formed seals even faster.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
The two techniques collided, sending bursts of flame scattering everywhere.
"Uchiha Shisui!"
When Uchiha Daiki saw the newcomer who had saved the Sarutobi shinobi, his face darkened.
"You're betraying your clan to stand with Konoha?"
Uchiha Shisui removed his ANBU mask, revealing a conflicted expression.
"Daiki-senpai, there may be some misunderstanding between the Uchiha clan and the village."
Daiki let out a cold snort.
"A misunderstanding? Uchiha Shisui, do you even believe that yourself?"
"Forget everything else. Let me ask you this—is Uchiha Dou really dead? Were the wounds on his body caused by Wind Release: Vacuum Wave or not?"
"Since you've chosen to betray the clan and stand with Konoha, then there's nothing more to say."
"You can die with him."
Before Daiki had even finished speaking, he had already attacked.
But Daiki had underestimated Shisui's strength.
This junior, far younger than him, had already surpassed him in power. With ease, Shisui neutralized all of his attacks. If Shisui had actually intended to kill him, Daiki probably would not have lasted more than two or three exchanges.
The moment he realized that, Daiki stopped pressing the fight. Finding an opening, he withdrew and escaped.
Shisui did not pursue. Instead, he turned back and helped the Sarutobi shinobi to his feet.
Only to be shoved away.
"Drop the act, Uchiha Shisui. Your clan has already rebelled, so stop pretending to be a good person."
"So many members of the Sarutobi clan died at the hands of the Uchiha. We will never forget that."
Shisui's face dimmed, his eyes full of confusion.
He did not understand how things had suddenly come to this.
He did not know what the future would become.
Or what he himself was supposed to do.
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