Heiyan and his companions emerged from the sea.
As soon as they set foot on Uzu Country's land, a grim and bloodstained aura surged toward them from beneath the darkened sky in the distance.
It was the echo of raging war.
Uzu Country had once been a beautiful and prosperous nation. Now, its people were facing the darkest hour in their homeland's destiny.
On their way to Uzugakure, the first town they passed through was already drenched in blood, filled with screams and cries of battle. Within the town's ruins, numerous foreign ninja were wantonly looting and slaughtering civilians of Uzu Country.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Hiashi fired over a dozen arrows into the air from hundreds of meters away. The arrows tore through the air like lightning, screaming as they slammed onto the streets, killing many invaders instantly.
Fugaku quickly followed up, charging straight into the enemy ranks, cutting through them with ruthless efficiency. Using the Sharingan's genjutsu, he subdued an elite Jonin from Kiri village and extracted intelligence about the invading forces.
The trio received troubling news: the vanguard unit from Kirigakure, numbering over three thousand ninja, had already begun advancing toward Uzugakure under the command of the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist.
"Even just the vanguard has over three thousand ninja?"
"They say the Seven Swords are all elite Jonin from Kiri. Together, those seven could wipe out an entire small country overnight."
Though Fugaku and Hiashi had braced themselves, at that moment, they couldn't help frowning deeply.
"We're running out of time. We must act quickly," Heiyan said, then created several Shadow Clones to clear out any remaining enemies in the town. Meanwhile, the three of them continued rushing toward Uzugakure at full speed.
Two hours later.
From ten kilometers away, Heiyan and his companions could already see flames and thick smoke rising high into the sky from the direction of Uzugakure. Explosions occasionally echoed far across the battlefield.
The great decisive battle for Uzugakure had already begun.
Just as Fugaku and Hiashi prepared to accelerate to their maximum speed and rush forward into the battle, Heiyan suddenly stopped, slightly furrowing his brow.
"What's wrong?" both asked in unison.
Heiyan felt the presence of his Flying Thunder God formula.
So far, he had placed his Flying Thunder God formulas on five individuals—Mito Uzumaki, Fugaku, Hiashi, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, and Danzo.
Right now, what he detected was the formula he had secretly inscribed on Danzo's cane during their earlier confrontation at the Hokage Tower.
So Danzo had indeed come to Uzugakure.
This came as no surprise to Heiyan. After all, in the original timeline, Danzo was able to use various Sealing Techniques—most likely stolen from Uzugakure's treasure vault.
This was the perfect chance to take down Danzo.
Realizing this, Heiyan spoke to Fugaku and Hiashi:
"The situation is urgent. I will proceed ahead using the Flying Thunder God technique and might temporarily separate from you two."
Because he could sense that the location marked by Danzo's formula wasn't within the battlefield area of Uzugakure itself. Rather, it was at the very end of an underground passage leading out of the village—precisely where the large transportation array was located.
Regardless of Danzo's intentions, Heiyan had to stop him immediately and kill him on the spot.
Therefore, after briefly explaining the situation to Fugaku and Hiashi, Heiyan formed another hand seal and created a Shadow Clone infused with thirty percent of his original chakra.
"In my absence, my Shadow Clone will act alongside you two. Please be cautious during this time—don't act recklessly or show off unnecessarily."
Heiyan solemnly warned his two companions. After they nodded in agreement, he activated the Flying Thunder God technique and instantly vanished from the spot.
"We should move quickly too. We can't always be dragging Heiyan down."
The moment Heiyan vanished, Fugaku blurted out, his Sharingan eyes locked on Uzugakure, burning with battle fervor.
"That's right. But let me make myself clear first—I'll claim four of the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist for myself when we reach the battlefield. The remaining three will be your job. Hey, I hope you're up to it?"
Hiashi smirked at Fugaku while engaging in his usual banter.
"Sorry, but I've decided to wreck all seven of them by myself. As for you, just cheer me on from the sidelines and mop up the rest."
Fugaku replied, his tone even cockier than Hiashi's.
Without missing a beat after he finished speaking, he darted forward like an arrow and charged toward the battlefield of Uzugakure.
"Don't think you can steal my glory!"
Hiashi shouted and immediately lifted into the air using telekinesis, overtaking Fugaku in no time.
"Those two again..."
Watching their departing figures, Heiyan's Shadow Clone sighed helplessly. Obviously, the two had completely ignored his previous warning.
Perhaps, he had gravely underestimated how much they'd grown over the past year.
Shaking his head with a faint smile, Heiyan muttered under his breath before hurrying to catch up with them.
...
Several kilometers behind Uzugakure, deep underground...
Deep within an underground tunnel, inside a spacious chamber, a transportation array leading to Shikkotsu Forest had been completed just a few hours earlier. However, activating this transportation array not only required an unimaginable amount of chakra, but also a Summoning Contract with Shikkotsu Forest.
To put it simply, only Heiyan could activate this transportation array across the entire ninja world.
At that moment, over a hundred women, children, and elderly members of the Uzumaki clan trembled anxiously before the transportation array.
Though everyone had long foreseen the coming of war, they had nowhere else to go.
For the Uzumaki clan, leaving Uzugakure would mean even greater danger—the outside world teemed with enemies eager to pounce. Their only choice was to defend the village to the death and repel the invaders.
Several days earlier, clan head Ashina Uzumaki had issued orders for all non-combatants in the village to retreat into these tunnels, waiting until the transportation array was ready so they could flee to Shikkotsu Forest.
Meanwhile, Ashina himself led the young and able-bodied Uzumaki ninja in a desperate fight on the surface, buying time for their escape through sacrifice.
As for the aid they once hoped for from Konoha...
It turned out that not only did Konoha refuse to assist Uzugakure, but they had actually joined the war against the Uzumaki clan, further taking advantage of the chaos to strike when the enemy was weak.
Because just a moment ago, a group of Konoha ninjas had suddenly stormed into the tunnel, killing several guards without warning and even defeating the clone left behind by Sage Slug.
This group was none other than Root—the elite faction of Konoha—led by Danzo and Orochimaru.
While traveling to the Land of Whirlpools, they received top-secret intelligence leaked from within Uzugakure. This led them directly to the hidden underground passage.
"As agreed, these people belong to me now."
Orochimaru looked at the more than one hundred Uzumaki clan members before him, instinctively licking his lips. His serpentine eyes gleamed with excitement. To him, these were perfect candidates for human experimentation.
"Wait until I find out where Uzugakure's treasure vault is first."
Danzo said coldly, scanning the crowd with his sinister gaze before it settled on the transportation array behind them.
"What's this? Could it be the entrance to the treasure vault?"
Danzo's eyes flickered as he quickly strode toward the array, preparing to inspect it closely.
At that moment, Orochimaru and the others suddenly saw a blur, and to their shock, a figure appeared out of nowhere directly behind Danzo.
"Lord Danzo, watch out!" a Root agent immediately shouted.
"Hmm?"
A sense of unprecedented danger surged in Danzo's mind. Every hair on his body stood on end. Instinctively, he tried to sidestep aside.
But he was too late.
Zzzzzt!
In the hand of this mysterious attacker, a dazzling ball of lightning erupted forth, letting out the cry of a thousand birds, impaling straight through Danzo's body.
[Lightning Release: Chidori]
"Ahh!"
Danzo let out a pained scream as the Chidori pierced half his body, leaving a bloody gaping hole in his chest.
"Protect Lord Danzo!"
More than ten Root agents rushed forward together, pulling Danzo away to safety. The assassin didn't try to stop them. Instead, he calmly turned around, revealing his true identity.
He wore a white armored battle cloak, carried a large scroll on his back, and had long black hair, along with a cold and stern expression.
"Heiyan?"
After recognizing the intruder, Orochimaru was visibly startled.
The only time Orochimaru ever met Heiyan was during his visit to Jiraiya in the hospital. From there, Heiyan quickly rose like a shooting star, becoming known across Konoha as its Greatest Prodigy.
Moreover, like Danzo, Orochimaru had also received orders from Black Zetsu, instructing him to eliminate Heiyan whenever possible. However, engrossed in his research on Hashirama cells, Orochimaru hadn't taken the order seriously.
Never did he expect they would cross paths again like this.
Of course, if he knew that earlier this week, the catgirl who had ransacked his lab and stolen the original Hashirama cells was actually Heiyan himself, Orochimaru's reaction right now would have been far more intense.
His sudden appearance sent shockwaves through the Root forces, sparking murmurs among them.
After all, even if a ninja like him had gone missing entirely for a whole year, within Konoha's shinobi circles, he remained one of the most talked-about figures.
"Heiyan, you are a Konoha ninja! How dare you secretly infiltrate here and launch a sneak attack against Lord Danzo? When did you turn traitor to the village?"
At that moment, one of Root's ninjas stepped forward and shouted furiously at Heiyan.
Clad in a black cloak and wearing black sunglasses, with a purple marking on the right side of his face, this man was Tatsuma Aburame—Danzo's most trusted subordinate and a member of the Aburame clan.
The Aburame clan could feed their own chakra to "Parasitic Bugs," allowing these insects to live inside their bodies. They could then control the bugs to attack, defend, or carry out reconnaissance.
Tatsuma Aburame was an exceptional member of the clan.
While berating Heiyan loudly, he secretly activated a ninjutsu. Countless Parasitic Bugs began crawling toward Heiyan from beneath his feet. These insects were extremely tiny—completely invisible to the naked eye—making them nearly impossible to guard against.
However, what Tatsuma didn't know was that his underhanded maneuver had been completely seen through by Heiyan's symbiotic Byakugan hidden beneath his chest clothing.
Heiyan replied with an ironic smile, his tone steady and unshaken:
"The Uzumaki are Konoha's allies. What exactly did you just do to them? Was this operation approved by the Third Hokage? It seems I'll have to ask him about this once I return."
As soon as those words were spoken, everyone was shocked and wore grim expressions.
Just then, they watched Heiyan lift one leg and complete hand seals using only one foot before stomping down onto the ground.
[Lightning Release]
Zzzt!
A dazzling burst of Lightning Release shot out from beneath his foot, surging across the ground in all directions. It killed all of Tatsuma's Parasitic Bugs instantly and caught Tatsuma himself off-guard, shocking him severely and leaving him gravely injured.
All of this happened in an instant.
"If you're planning to ambush me next time, feel free to tell me directly first. That way, I can warn you ahead of time about the consequences of doing so."
Heiyan revealed Tatsuma's plot coldly, causing further fear among Root members, who subconsciously took steps backward in apprehension.
After momentarily stunning the group,
Heiyan turned around to face more than a hundred Uzumaki clan members.
"Lord Heiyan!"
From within the crowd came two voices—Uzumaki Haruna and Kiyomi Uzumaki, filled with both surprise and gratitude. Heiyan turned to look and recognized them as the mother and daughter he had rescued from the Golden Exchange (a black-market currency exchange and underground trading hub) on Mist Island.
This time, Heiyan finally smiled. His smile brought immense comfort to the Uzumaki people, who were overcome with emotion, hugging one another tightly and bursting into tears.
"Lord Heiyan has come to rescue us."
Full of hope, this group of mostly women, children, and elders fixed their gazes upon Heiyan. Following his signal, they walked one after another into the transportation array.
"Everyone, close your eyes, hold hands with the person beside you—there's no need to be nervous or afraid."
In a gentle voice, Heiyan gave them this considerate reminder. Then, under the suspicious yet uncertain gazes of Orochimaru and others, he let out a low shout and pressed his palms together.
Buzzzzz!
As massive waves of ocean-like chakra surged forth from Heiyan, his long black hair floated up and danced behind him. At the same time, the entire transportation array emitted a blinding white light so intense it was impossible to look directly at.
Several seconds later, when the bright light faded,
only Heiyan remained inside the transportation array. More than a hundred Uzumaki clanspeople had already successfully arrived at Shikkotsu Forest.
From the moment he left Konoha over a day ago, to his swift arrival at Uzu Country, and then using Flying Thunder God to descend into the underground secret passage, intimidating Root and activating the transportation array to evacuate the clan members...
Heiyan had carried out a rescue mission in a whirlwind of action.
"So it was a transportation array after all?"
Orochimaru murmured to himself, both shocked by Heiyan's vast chakra reserves and beginning to suspect something. Soon enough, he deduced that Heiyan had most likely transported the Uzumaki clan members to Shikkotsu Forest.
Such a shame.
With that, his plans for this trip were ruined.
Just as Orochimaru felt regret, a sudden low chuckle rang out from beside him, filled with boundless rage and murderous intent.
He turned his head and saw that Danzo's wounded body had already been largely healed by Wood Release cells, appearing nearly fully recovered.
Danzo stared daggers at Heiyan, eyes sharp enough to kill.
Two days earlier during their clash inside the Hokage Tower, he had suffered a crushing defeat at Heiyan's hands—forced to kneel before him in public, an unprecedented disgrace.
Never did Danzo expect Heiyan would actually walk right into his grasp again; truly, fate had gifted him with a perfect chance for revenge.
At that moment, Heiyan's gaze swept across the Root agents standing opposite him before he spoke once more:
"Will you come one at a time, or all together?"
With the Uzumaki clan members safely evacuated, he was finally free to unleash hell.
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