Konoha Village.
After the great migration of the Ino–Shika–Chō clans ended and ANBU had finished their missions, the village had finally started to calm down a little.
Only now…
The villagers cautiously opened their doors. Seeing the ruins, the smoke, the devastation everywhere — fear flickered in their eyes.
Yes.
They were just ordinary villagers. To say they weren't afraid of shinobi battles would be a lie.
Not to mention—
The village was already in a state of war.
"What… what on earth happened?"
"Could another shinobi village have invaded?"
"That's impossible, isn't it? Isn't Konoha the strongest of the Five?"
"Then maybe it's fine. Things seem calmer now anyway."
"Let's wait for the Hokage's explanation."
"Wait—what's that?"
"…"
The villagers whispered among themselves.
But before they could even let out a sigh of relief, someone pointed into the distance in alarm.
Then—
they all saw a group of black-cloaked, masked shinobi.
ANBU!
As ordinary civilians, they had no idea what "Root" was. To them, masked shinobi meant only one thing — Hokage's ANBU.
Yet now—
before their very eyes, ANBU were fighting each other.
What was going on?!
Everyone panicked. But in the next instant, instinct kicked in. They rushed back into their homes, bolted their doors.
Yes.
The battles of shinobi were not something commoners could intervene in. All they could do was avoid them.
Still, in their hearts they couldn't help but wonder:
Why were ANBU killing one another?
But no one had the answer.
In moments—
the village, which had just calmed, descended into chaos again. Death was everywhere.
Only this time, to the civilians' eyes, it wasn't an enemy invasion — it was ANBU's own civil war.
About twenty minutes later—
BOOM!
A deafening explosion shook the village. Not far from the Hokage's office, the ANBU headquarters was blown sky-high. Flames roared, glass shattered across a five-kilometer radius.
And then—
a mushroom cloud rose into the sky.
Morning, 8:30 AM.
On the rooftop of the Hokage Tower.
Sarutobi Hiruzen gripped the railing, staring out at the ruins, at the ANBU headquarters reduced to rubble. His face was ashen, his body trembling with rage.
Yes.
He was dumbfounded.
Was this still the Konoha he knew?
If it had been an invasion, fine — at least that could be explained.
But now?
Not a single enemy in sight!
Taking a deep breath, his voice cut like ice:
"Who can tell me what in the hell happened to this village?"
"Who exactly is fighting who? Has the situation been investigated?"
"Where is the ANBU command?"
"Yamanaka Haichi—give me an explanation!"
Sarutobi's eyes burned with fury.
Yes.
He was truly enraged.
His reputation had already been plummeting in recent years due to one scandal after another. Even without today's disaster, he would likely have had to step down after the war to preserve his legacy.
But now?
This fiasco was the last straw.
No outside invasion, no foreign threat — just Konoha shinobi tearing each other apart.
How was he supposed to preach the Will of Fire like this? How was he supposed to inspire academy students now?
He nearly coughed up blood just thinking about it.
Damn it all!
Meanwhile, not far away, Yamanaka Haichi's face twitched.
Yes.
He was as dumbfounded as Hiruzen.
How had things spiraled so far from just a few clans defecting to the Uchiha?
Still, with no way out, he forced himself to speak:
"Lord Hokage…"
"My apologies — I don't know either. But something else happened this morning. In the Ino–Shika–Chō, the Nara clan's Nara Kazama — Uchiha Kai's teammate — secretly rallied a large number of clansmen who felt marginalized or had disputes with the leadership. At dawn, they openly defected to the Uchiha."
"Now the three clans are in complete turmoil."
"So as for the chaos in the village… I'm still at a loss."
Haichi bowed his head, face heavy with guilt.
His acting was flawless.
He might not match the Nara in cunning, but as a clan head, he knew how to put on a show.
Sarutobi: "…"
He froze.
What?!
The Ino–Shika–Chō too? And again tied to the Uchiha?
He almost spat blood on the spot.
Good grief!
The Uchiha were already powerful enough — and now they had drawn in a chunk of Ino–Shika–Chō?
Damn it!
Sarutobi's mind was a mess.
And yet… something didn't add up. Did the Ino–Shika–Chō truly turn against him?
He wasn't sure.
In the shinobi world, betrayers were despised — if discovered, they'd face condemnation from every side.
The Nara were no fools. Could they really not see that?
And wait—wasn't there a Nara in Uchiha Kai's squad?
It was too early to conclude.
Fine.
He'd speak with Shikaku later, then decide.
For now, the priority was Konoha's chaos.
Hiruzen sighed, then barked again:
"Where is Shisui?"
"He's been stationed with ANBU. Why isn't he here? Find him, now!"
Haichi nodded. He had the same thought: first clarify the truth.
So without delay, he activated ANBU channels and summoned Shisui to the Hokage Tower.
Time passed.
Ten minutes later, a blur flickered onto the rooftop — Shisui, bowing low.
"Lord Hokage!"
"Enough nonsense," Hiruzen snapped, waving him off.
"Tell me. What in the world happened this morning?"
"You've been in ANBU all this time — don't tell me you know nothing?"
"…"
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