A brutal riot was unfolding in Konoha—or more accurately, a one-sided suppression.
Led by the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Konoha's forces had fully invaded the Uchiha clan district, leaving destruction in their wake.
Yet, for all that noise, they met almost no real resistance.
It was as if the Uchiha rebellion was nothing but a bluff. Konoha's forces advanced through several key strongholds with absurd ease.
"Where have you taken Naruto?"
A young Uchiha was dragged before Morino Ibiki, head of Konoha's Interrogation Unit.
"I don't know any Naruto," the young man said, shaking his head.
"Where is your clan leader, Uchiha Fugaku?"
"I don't know."
"And the rest of the Uchiha?"
"I don't know anything about that," the Uchiha sneered. "What I do know is that your intrusion into our compound is a blatant violation of procedure, Lord Ibiki."
Ibiki narrowed his eyes. "I don't care about 'procedure.' This is Konoha's law. Do you still consider yourselves part of Konoha? You know perfectly well what you're planning."
"We are, of course, part of Konoha," the Uchiha replied smoothly. "Whether you are part of Konoha or merely part of Sarutobi's faction… that's another question."
"And what exactly are we 'planning'? Is that what you're using to justify invading our home?" He let out a cold laugh. "Using other people's thoughts as 'evidence'—no wonder you're head of Interrogation. You're very good at forcing confessions."
"You'll have plenty of time to experience our methods," Ibiki said flatly.
The awkward part was that the Uchiha hadn't actually started their rebellion yet—and they were already under attack.
As the side that struck first, Konoha had no real justification, no matter what they said. Even knowing the Uchiha had abducted Naruto, without concrete proof—without catching Fugaku in the act—they couldn't justify invading the Uchiha compound.
But if Fugaku completed the extraction of the Nine-Tails from Naruto, it would be too late for regrets.
So, even if they looked unjust for the moment, Konoha had to break into the Uchiha district and find Naruto before Fugaku succeeded.
The Uchiha clearly understood this.
Most of the clan had already vanished, and those who remained offered only token resistance.
They were obviously following unified orders. As long as they didn't fight back, Konoha wouldn't dare kill them outright.
Aside from the initial Lightning–Water Dragon Bullet launched by a furious Hiruzen—which had killed a large number of Uchiha—the rest of the clashes were relatively restrained. The Uchiha's minimal resistance let them cast themselves as the wronged party under Konoha's invasion.
Even so, Ibiki could tell from a few exchanges of words that these captives knew nothing useful. Fugaku wouldn't have risked his plan by sharing his whereabouts with disposable pawns.
Konoha's heavy strike felt like punching cotton. Until they could prove the Uchiha's crimes, they were essentially powerless against them.
"Lock him up," Ibiki ordered.
The prisoner's smugness curdled into fury.
"I'll kill you!" the young Uchiha shouted, struggling against his restraints as if he'd been deeply insulted.
Ibiki didn't even spare him another look.
"Next."
As another Uchiha was dragged forward—
Bang.
A signal flare shot into the sky and blossomed into a vivid red flower of light.
…Hm?
Ibiki noticed that all the Uchiha captives' expressions changed the moment they saw it.
"Failure…" the young Uchiha from before murmured, his spirit collapsing all at once.
Failure? Ibiki frowned.
What does that signal mean?
"If the Nine-Tails appears, the flare is the signal to fight," another Uchiha sighed. "If it doesn't, the flare is the signal to surrender."
"It's over, Tetsuo."
"…After all that preparation, how can it just be over!!" Uchiha Tetsuo roared.
In the next instant, his shackles fell away.
Before the surrounding Konoha shinobi could react, Tetsuo sprang into the air.
Hands flashed through seals. He took a deep breath.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
The blazing fireball engulfed several Interrogation Unit shinobi who had no time to defend.
Ibiki clicked his tongue and retreated as another Uchiha lunged at him with a kunai.
"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"
An ANBU stepped between them, stone rising to block the attack. He shouted over his shoulder:
"Captain Ibiki, go! The Uchiha in hiding are converging here!"
"They've gone mad!"
"Go where?" Tetsuo's eyes spun into three-tomoe Sharingan, his aura turning vicious. He grinned at Ibiki. "Didn't I tell you? I'm going to kill you!!"
…
The earlier, half-hearted resistance in the Uchiha district had lulled Konoha into a false sense of security.
The red flare shattered that illusion.
All over the compound, Uchiha shinobi activated their Sharingan and fought with desperate ferocity. One Uchiha could delay—or even overwhelm—three shinobi of similar rank.
With Danzo's Root watching coldly from the shadows, Konoha's forces, who had been on the verge of fully securing the Uchiha district, were suddenly pushed back.
"That flare wasn't a signal to surrender," Nara Shikaku said grimly as reports poured in. "It was the signal to break through."
"Even in failure, they never planned to stay in this village."
"Uchiha hidden throughout Konoha are starting fires everywhere!"
"Where is the Hokage? The Uchiha are about to break the encirclement—we need reinforcements!"
Shikaku pointed out the window with a bitter smile.
"If nothing's changed… the Hokage is on that battlefield."
Everyone looked up.
Far away, a towering, ten-meter-tall, ethereal blue giant stood in the middle of the devastation, wielding a bead-chain weapon. It was locked in combat with multiple high-level Konoha shinobi.
This was Konoha's fatal miscalculation:
They had underestimated the power of the Uchiha.
Reinforcements?
What reinforcements?
Everyone who could still move was already fighting that Susanoo.
"Who found the Uchiha clan leader's location in the first place?" Shikaku suddenly asked, tracing the chaos back to the source.
The rebellion had begun without the Nine-Tails ever appearing before the village.
Which meant someone had found Fugaku's hideout prematurely.
"It was Neiki of the Hyuga clan," the ANBU replied.
"And the other Hyuga?" Shikaku's frown deepened. "Didn't the Hokage send a plea for their assistance?"
"No response. We don't know what's happening inside the Hyuga compound."
Without the Byakugan:
Konoha couldn't locate the hidden Uchiha scattered across the village.
They couldn't pinpoint Fugaku quickly enough.
And they lacked the mid-ranking elite needed to grind down the Uchiha in direct engagements.
This was Konoha's first bitter taste…
Of what it meant to lose the Hyuga clan.
PS:
Morino Ibiki - Head of Konoha's Interrogation Unit.
Uchiha Tetsuo (a.k.a. "Tetsu") - An Uchiha clansman involved in the coup preparations.
Susanoo (Fugaku's)- A gigantic, ethereal warrior formed from Mangekyo Sharingan chakra.
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