"Lord Danzō!!!"
"My lord…?"
"How is this possible?!"
The Root members present could not move, yet they witnessed everything with their own eyes.
The Lord Danzō they revered like a god—after being pierced through by a ninja blade—gave no further response.
At this moment,
their faith collapsed like a rotting structure, crumbling into ruin.
Swish—swish—swish—
Beyond the forest, countless black figures leapt forward, rapidly closing in.
"Captain Yingyue, I'll cover the rear!!"
Uchiha Nanfeng roared.
He had already resolved himself to die.
The other Uchiha also wanted to declare their resolve—but suddenly realized they were once again controlled by Eight Thousand Spears, unable to utter a single word.
Nanfeng and the others flushed red, forcing their mouths open, yet they could not overcome the mental domination.
"Too noisy."
Yingyue said calmly.
He released his grip, left the ninja blade behind, and decisively led the team away.
He was keeping these people alive.
Because they were still useful.
Before leaving, he manifested his Mangekyō Sharingan and glanced back toward the forest's edge.
Footsteps surged like a tide.
Large numbers of ANBU poured into the forest—elite vanguards directly under Hiruzen Sarutobi's command.
"What happened here?"
An ANBU captain stepped up to the Root members standing at the forest edge and asked in a low voice.
No one answered.
The captain frowned deeply. Something felt wrong about these Root members, but he chose to lead his squad forward regardless.
The moment all the ANBU entered the forest—
The Root members moved.
In perfect unison, they drew their blades. Red light flickered in their eyes as the Eight Thousand Spears marks rotated. Like puppets, they slashed toward the nearest ANBU.
"AHHH!!!"
In an instant, half the ANBU were struck, screams ringing out.
"Withdraw from the forest!!"
The ANBU captain's eyes widened as he looked down at the blade piercing his abdomen, blood gushing forth. He kicked away a nearby Root member and roared.
"Captain! These Root members are all being controlled!"
"Then kill these beasts!!"
The Root members did not care about the curses hurled at them. They lunged madly at the reinforcing ANBU.
Though the cause was unclear, the ANBU would not tolerate this. They drew their blades and counterattacked, intending to subdue the insane Root members first.
A brutal clash erupted between ANBU and Root.
Boom—
Explosion tags detonated.
Blades clashed.
Kunai flew.
The sounds merged into a chaotic symphony, serving as the final requiem for this assassination.
Uchiha District Entrance
Little Sasuke, schoolbag on his back, ran anxiously through the streets.
Every explosion made him lift his head in panic, scanning his surroundings, before continuing onward.
It felt as though he were trapped in a war.
Lost. Helpless.
Then—
A familiar figure rushed toward him.
His restless heart finally found anchor.
"Mom!"
Sasuke beamed, stepping into the street, arms opening wide to welcome his mother.
In the darkness, she was like a beam of light.
While running, Mikoto saw Sasuke. She froze for a moment—then the confusion in her eyes melted away, replaced by endless tenderness.
But she could not speak.
She could not even control her body.
"Mom… what's wrong?"
Sasuke sensed something was off.
Bang—
Mikoto slammed into him at full speed. The immense impact sent Sasuke crashing into the wall. His head spun, consciousness fading.
"Mom…"
He collapsed to the ground and passed out.
Tears welled in Mikoto's eyes. Her beautiful, gentle face showed no change in expression.
She kept running.
Running.
Toward the forest outside the village.
Yet the heart that had already died was quietly reignited by that single word—
"Mom."
Mountain Peak
"Big brother… when are we leaving…?"
Domao asked weakly.
The others had done simple first aid. His injuries were stable, but without medical ninjutsu, infection could still kill him.
Yingyue was about to answer—
When text appeared in his mind.
[Side Quest]: Rescue
Condition:
Rescue someone within the Uchiha district.
Mission Complete!
Reward:
100 cubic meters of storage space.
Yingyue was slightly surprised.
At that moment, Mikoto emerged from behind the mountain, running toward them.
Uchiha Nanfeng and Uchiha Izumi instinctively drew their blades, but Yingyue waved a hand, signaling them to stand down.
Once they recognized her, gasps rang out.
"Clan leader's wife?!"
"Madam!!"
They never imagined Uchiha Mikoto could survive the massacre.
But when they noticed her silence, their gazes turned to Yingyue. Seeing his lack of surprise, they were stunned—
Was this also part of his plan?
"Everyone's here. Let's go."
Yingyue said calmly.
"Does this make us missing-nin now?"
Izumi asked sadly, looking back at the Uchiha district—now a battlefield of fire and smoke.
Aside from them…
there were likely no Uchiha left.
The others were equally mournful, occasionally glancing at Mikoto with complicated expressions.
Mikoto's mind was blank.
She didn't know why she was here.
Didn't know why these Uchiha were alive.
Suddenly—
Sobbing broke out.
Yingyue looked over to see Nanfeng and others crying uncontrollably. Their civilian families were gone forever.
Revenge had ended. Grief flooded in like a tide.
Eight Uchiha planted their blades into the ground and bowed ninety degrees toward the clan district.
"Hahaha, that felt great!"
Domao laughed weakly.
"Finally leaving this damn place!"
One Uchiha sucked his runny nose back in mid-cry.
For a moment, no one knew what expression to use toward this lunatic.
…
While they processed grief and pain, Yingyue focused inward, examining his reward.
The 100 cubic meters of space existed deep within his mind. With concentration, he could enter it.
A bright space—
7.4 meters long, 5 meters wide, 2.7 meters high.
With some tidying up, it could even be a one-bedroom apartment.
He wondered whether living people could be stored inside.
He placed his scrolls into the space, discovering he could freely organize and retrieve them at will.
Looking up at the massive moon hanging in the sky—
Yingyue gazed down upon Konoha.
Hokage Rock stood on the opposite mountain. Below it, the bustling central districts were still brightly lit, lively as ever.
The ruined Uchiha district and Konoha's core felt like two separate worlds.
The fighting in the forest was nearing its end.
Without the Uchiha—
This land seemed… unaffected.
When Yingyue saw the others stabilize emotionally, he scanned them. As expected, their ocular power had surged. Those who once had only two tomoe had broken through to three.
"Goodbye, Konoha."
Yingyue turned and walked away.
Izumi watched his back.
Time seemed to rewind—to their graduation day, their first mission.
Back then, she stood at the village gate just like this, watching this gentle, kind young man lead the team away.
He had always possessed a strange pull.
Without thinking, Izumi followed him in small steps.
Just like that day.
As long as Captain Yingyue was there, no matter how far they went, the mission would be completed.
The other Uchiha followed.
Only Mikoto remained fully under Yingyue's control.
Moonlight shone brightly.
At Konoha's edge, Yingyue effortlessly dismantled the barrier.
Stepping through—
They left Konoha behind.
At that moment, a heavy burden settled on the shoulders of nine Uchiha.
They had a premonition—
If they survived the road ahead, the next time they returned…
They would trample Konoha into the ground.
Under the pale moonlight—
With Domao carried on someone's back, eleven Uchiha vanished into the night, beginning their road of escape.
Yingyue led them northwest.
Beyond Fire Country lay the most chaotic region of the shinobi world—Rain Country, Bird Country, Grass Country, and other small nations forming a wartime buffer zone.
The journey ahead would be fraught with danger.
By dawn, Konoha would dispatch pursuit squads.
Before sunrise—
They had to run as far as possible.
To survive, Yingyue had already planned his escape route.
Everything had been prepared within a single week.
At the end of this road—
Someone would be waiting for them.
(End of Chapter)