"Lord Danzō!!!"
"Lord?!"
"How is this possible?!"
The Root operatives, immobilized, watched their godlike Lord Danzō, pierced by a katana, fall silent.
Their belief, like a collapsed shrine, crumbled into ruins.
Whoosh—Whoosh—Whoosh—
From beyond the forest, countless shadows leaped, arriving nearby.
"Captain Tsukikage, I'll cover the rear!!" Uchiha Minamikaze roared, resolved to die.
The other Uchiha wanted to voice their own resolve, but Yachihoko's control silenced them, their faces flushing as they struggled against the mental grip.
"Noisy," Tsukikage said flatly, releasing the katana and leading the team away.
He kept them alive for a reason.
Before departing, he activated his Mangekyō, glancing at the forest's edge. Footsteps surged like a tide.
A flood of ANBU poured in—vanguard troops under Sarutobi Hiruzen's direct command.
"What happened here?" an ANBU captain asked a Root operative at the forest's edge, voice low.
No response.
The captain's brow furrowed, sensing something off, but led his team deeper.
As the ANBU entered, the Root operatives moved, drawing katanas, their eyes glowing red with Yachihoko's seal. Like puppets, they slashed at the nearest ANBU.
"Agh!!!" Half the ANBU fell, screaming.
"Retreat from the forest!!" The ANBU captain, blood gushing from a stabbed abdomen, kicked a Root operative away, roaring.
"Captain, the Root operatives are all controlled!"
"Then slaughter these beasts!!"
The Root operatives ignored the ANBU's curses, lunging at the reinforcements. The ANBU, pride wounded, fought back, aiming to subdue the frenzied Root.
ANBU and Root clashed fiercely.
Boom—
Explosive tags detonated, katanas clashed, and kunai whistled, a symphony marking the assassination's finale.
---
Uchiha Clan Grounds Entrance.
Sasuke, backpack slung, hurried through the streets, glancing up at each explosion, lost, then resuming his run.
He felt trapped in a war, bewildered.
A familiar figure raced toward him, anchoring his restless heart.
"Mom!" Sasuke beamed, standing in the street, arms open to embrace his mother.
A ray of light pierced the darkness.
Mikoto, sprinting, saw Sasuke. She froze, her dazed eyes melting like snow, brimming with tenderness.
But she couldn't speak or control her body.
"Mom… what's wrong?" Sasuke sensed something amiss.
Thud—
Mikoto collided with him, the impact hurling Sasuke into the street, crashing against a wall. Dazed, he collapsed, unconscious, murmuring, "Mom…"
Tears welled in Mikoto's eyes, her serene face expressionless. She ran on, toward the forest beyond the village, her deadened heart faintly stirred by Sasuke's "Mom."
---
Mountain Peak.
"Big Brother, when do we leave…?" Tamao asked weakly.
The Uchiha had bandaged his wounds, stabilizing him, but without a medical ninja, infection loomed.
Before Tsukikage could answer, text appeared in his mind:
[Side Mission]: Rescue
[Conditions]:
1. Rescue someone in the Uchiha clan grounds.
[Mission Completed!]
[Reward]:
100 cubic meters of storage space.
Surprised, Tsukikage saw Mikoto's figure emerge from behind the peak, running toward them.
Minamikaze and Izumi drew katanas, but Tsukikage waved them down.
Recognizing her, they exclaimed:
"The clan leader's wife?"
"Lady Mikoto!!"
They hadn't expected Uchiha Mikoto to survive the massacre. Seeing Tsukikage's calm, they realized—was this his plan?
"Everyone's here. Let's go," Tsukikage said calmly.
"Are we rogue ninja now?" Izumi asked, face heavy, gazing at the Uchiha grounds, now a ravaged battlefield, flames and smoke rising.
No Uchiha survived but them.
The others shared her grief, casting strange glances at Mikoto, who stood blank, unsure why she was here or how these Uchiha lived.
Sobs broke out. Minamikaze and others wept, their civilian families lost forever in the clan grounds.
After vengeance, grief drowned them. The eight Uchiha planted their katanas in the ground, facing the clan grounds, offering a deep bow.
"Hahaha, awesome!" Tamao laughed. "Finally free from this worthless village!"
One Uchiha's sniffles were sucked back at Tamao's words, unsure how to react to this whimsical guy.
Tsukikage, as the others processed their pain, focused on his reward. The 100-cubic-meter space, nestled in his mind, was accessible by will—a bright area, 7.4 meters long, 5 meters wide, 2.7 meters high.
He mused it could make a cozy one-room apartment, wondering if it could hold living people.
He stored his scrolls inside, arranging them effortlessly.
Gazing at the full moon, Tsukikage overlooked Konoha. The Hokage Rock faced this peak, streets sprawling below, the bustling district aglow, radiating vitality.
The Uchiha grounds, a battlefield, seemed a world apart from Konoha's core.
The forest battle was nearing its end. Without the Uchiha, the land seemed unaffected.
As the Uchiha steadied, Tsukikage noted their enhanced ocular power—those with two-tomoe Sharingan had reached three-tomoe.
"Farewell, Konoha!" Tsukikage turned to leave.
Izumi watched his back, memories flashing to her graduation, their first mission. She'd stood at the village gate, captivated by this gentle youth leading the team, his charm drawing her.
She followed, small steps, as she had that day, trusting this kind captain to guide them, no matter how far from the village.
The others followed, Mikoto still under Tsukikage's control.
Under the bright moon, at Konoha's edge, Tsukikage breached the village barrier.
Stepping out, they left Konoha.
A weight settled on the nine Uchiha. They sensed that, if they survived, their return would be to raze Konoha.
In the moonlight, with Tamao carried, eleven Uchiha shadows, led by Tsukikage, began their fugitive journey.
Tsukikage headed northwest, toward the ninja world's most chaotic regions—Rain, Bird, Grass, and smaller nations' wartime buffer zones.
The path promised peril.
Tsukikage calculated Konoha would send pursuers before dawn. They had to flee as far as possible by then.
To survive, he'd planned this escape in a week, with someone waiting at the journey's end.
(End of Chapter)