The night passed without incident.
At dawn, as the first light brushed the horizon, deep within the Uchiha Clan Grounds, Ryota slowly opened his eyes.
Morning sunlight streamed through the window, spilling into the quiet room.
Turning his head, he saw Ais and Lefiya lying peacefully at his sides, faint blushes still on their cheeks, their bodies half-concealed beneath a thin blanket that hinted at every graceful curve beneath.
Ryota gazed up at the ceiling, muttering to himself:
"This... might be the first time I've slept soundly in the ninja world."
He rose slowly, tugged the blanket up to properly cover the two girls, and left them undisturbed.
The very first time he'd arrived in this world had been after his intimate encounter with a dump truck.
What should have been his beginner's grace period of transmigration had instead dumped him right in the middle of the "Night of the Uchiha Massacre."
Desperate to survive, he'd hurried into the system's Trial Space.
He had struggled there for over half a year before being dropped into Orario.
And in that world, he had felt like a wound-up clockwork toy, never stopping for even a moment.
Now, back once again in the shinobi world, he had already slain Danzō and seized control of the Uchiha.
"Fate... really is an incomprehensible thing."
Without disturbing the two resting girls, Ryota quietly shut the door behind him and stepped outside.
The morning breeze carried a chill, brushing across the gravel and stone slabs of the courtyard, pricking the skin awake.
And then—
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Three figures appeared in the courtyard almost at once.
Uchiha Fugaku, with Setsuna and Inabi right behind him.
Their faces were tight with fatigue, eyes bloodshot and heavy. Clearly, none of them had slept a wink the night before.
"Clan Head!"
Fugaku was the first to speak, though his voice rasped from exhaustion.
Ryota glanced over them, his lips curling in a faint, amused smile.
"You three look like you just crawled back from the battlefield."
Fugaku let out a bitter laugh.
"Ah... the atmosphere in the clan was far too heavy. Not just us—no one managed to sleep last night."
A shinobi's body might endure sleepless nights, but no amount of conditioning could suppress that kind of mental pressure.
It was no wonder Fugaku carried such an expression.
After all, their opponent was the entirety of Konoha.
The Third Hokage, the Hyūga, the Nara... nearly every clan in the village had gathered. Just in sheer numbers, the gap was overwhelming.
And the Uchiha? How many did they really have?
Even with Ryota's Falna blessing every clan member, boosting their power far beyond what they had ever known... even with their wills drawn tighter together through that faint, unspoken divine link...
That gnawing unease from deep within still corroded them like a tide.
Yet despite that crushing disparity, not a single traitor had emerged. No one tried to flee.
Still, every Uchiha couldn't help but wonder: Can we really win?
The thought weighed heavy in Fugaku's eyes. He lowered his head, silent for a long while, until at last it simply sank.
He had once been clan head, the pillar who had watched the Uchiha through each step of their decline.
He knew too well: in the shinobi world, so-called "justice" and "order" were nothing but synonyms for strength.
And just then—Ryota chuckled.
"Fugaku."
"You bow your head like that—are you thinking... or just waiting to die?"
That calm, offhanded question struck like thunder.
Fugaku's head jerked up, his gaze meeting Ryota's clear yet fathomless eyes.
There was no anger, no mockery—only a steady, unshakable confidence. A power that seemed to have already seen through everything.
"Tell me," Ryota said, turning his gaze outward.
"What's the situation with Sarutobi Hiruzen?"
Fugaku sucked in a breath, forced his heart steady, and answered gravely:
"Judging by their movements... the assault will likely begin tonight."
Ryota nodded.
"Good. That suits me perfectly."
"Bring a few elites and come with me."
"Yes!"
Fugaku responded instinctively—then froze, realization dawning.
"Clan Head... leave? Where to?"
Not only Fugaku—Setsuna and Inabi also blinked in confusion.
At the very brink of annihilation, everyone wanted nothing more than to fortify the clan grounds to the utmost.
And now their clan head wanted to leave?
Go where?
They were still gaping when Ryota spoke again.
"What? You'd rather see the Uchiha grounds left in ruins?"
The words fell like ice.
Their eyes widened, pupils shrinking almost in unison.
—He wanted to strike first?!
Until now, they had all assumed today's battle would be a grim defense, holding the line until the very last breath.
But Ryota intended to do the opposite.
Not defend—but attack.
"Clan Head, you mean..." Inabi's voice trembled as he spoke.
"Instead of holding the clan grounds... we move first?"
Ryota smiled.
"What else?"
Footsteps approached from behind—Ais and Lefiya, already equipped and prepared.
They had heard Ryota's plan the night before.
Strike first.
Ryota looked back to Fugaku.
"Pick out ten."
The words hung heavy in the air.
Fugaku's face changed, shock flashing clear as day.
"Ten... just ten people?"
"And you want to attack?!"
At first, he thought Ryota meant a scouting party. Or perhaps some attempt at negotiation.
But no—the unshakable certainty in Ryota's voice told him otherwise.
This wasn't a probe.
This was war.
Against the whole of Konoha, with only ten.
That was madness.
"Clan Head..." Fugaku swallowed hard, forcing the words out.
"The Hokage isn't alone. The great clans stand with him... hundreds of shinobi at least. And us... ten?"
Ryota nodded, his smile unchanged.
"Precisely. Because they have hundreds, we don't need more than that."
The three Uchiha: ???
The hell kind of logic is that?!
Fugaku's mouth opened, but in the end, he didn't argue.
"...Understood!"
Setsuna and Inabi exchanged grim looks, then darted off to select the ten elites.
But before they had gone more than a few steps—
BOOOOM!
An explosion thundered from the direction of the clan's main gate, shaking the entire compound.
"What—!"
The three froze, whipping around in shock.
Ryota lifted his eyes toward the rising dust and rumbled softly:
"So the old man really couldn't wait."
He began walking toward the gate.
"Clan Head!" Fugaku called, frowning deeply, voice low and tight.
"We'll rally the clan—prepare for battle!"
Ryota didn't look back, only lifted a hand in casual dismissal.
"Go."
The three exchanged heavy glances, then vanished in a blur toward the compound's heart.
---
Meanwhile—
Not far from the Uchiha grounds, on a ridge cloaked in morning mist, killing intent hung thick in the air.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood at the cliff's edge, Hokage robes draped about him, gazing down at the Uchiha compound.
His old, clouded eyes showed no hesitation.
To his left and right stood Hyūga Hiashi and Nara Shikaku.
Behind them, the clan heads of Konoha.
In the distance, rumbles shook the ground.
The Sarutobi clan had begun the first assault, hurling wave after wave of fire jutsu at the compound's edge.
Hiashi's eyes narrowed as he watched one corner of the Uchiha district already consumed by flame.
"Lord Hokage... isn't this excessive?"
"The Uchiha already number so few. And yet you've mobilized nearly the whole of Konoha. Isn't this... overkill?"
He paused, then added,
"And if other nations sense this much disturbance... they'll think something catastrophic has happened inside Konoha."
But Hiruzen only shook his head.
"Hiashi, you're still too naive."
"All of Konoha—no, all of the shinobi world—already knows Danzō died in the Uchiha compound."
"How many eyes are on us right now?"
"If we quietly dispatched a handful of assassins to erase the Uchiha, wouldn't that look like cowardice?"
"I need the world to see. That even the once-proud Uchiha, even with the Sharingan—if they defy the village's will, they'll be crushed all the same."
His voice hardened, sharp as steel.
"This isn't the extermination of a clan."
"This is a declaration—"
"Konoha does not tolerate defiance."
"Taking this chance to display our strength is no weakness."
The clan heads fell silent for several seconds.
Because Hiruzen's words weren't wrong.
The death of Danzō wasn't just another casualty. It was the fall of a Kage-level power.
News of that would spread like wildfire through the hidden villages.
And though the shinobi world looked peaceful, beneath the surface currents surged.
If they erased the Uchiha in secret, suspicion would fester.
Better to make a show of it. Root out the clan in broad daylight, scorch the earth, and reestablish the Will of Fire's authority with thunderous force.
Using Danzō's death as justification, the slaughter of the Uchiha became not only righteous but necessary.
Hiruzen's gaze hardened as he watched the flames rising.
"Go," he said.
"Tell every unit—"
"Tonight, no survivors."
But before the words had fully left his lips—
BOOOOM!!!
A deafening roar erupted from within the Uchiha grounds.
Not from Sarutobi flames.
The gathered shinobi turned, confusion flashing.
And then—
A pillar of blinding red light speared into the sky.
Before anyone could react, the sheer pressure slammed across the battlefield, forcing even jōnin to their knees, chests constricted.
And within that pillar—
A massive fox emerged.
Nine tails, swaying and writhing behind it.
"That's—"
"The Nine-Tails?!!"
Hiashi's eyes went wide, his voice breaking.
"Impossible...! The Nine-Tails should still be sealed in its jinchūriki—how can it be here, in the Uchiha grounds?!"
Hiruzen's eyes bulged, his old body leaning forward as his heart lurched.
"No!!"
"That chakra—something's wrong!!!"
The air froze.
Clan heads. Elite shinobi. All of them, no matter how battle-hardened, stood locked in utter shock.
The Nine-Tails.
Appearing in the Uchiha compound?!
Impossible. Unthinkable.
And yet... it was there.