Outside the Uchiha district, beside the large genjutsu barrier—
Hearing the thunderous explosions echoing from within, more than a dozen ANBU exchanged looks and sighed.
"With that many explosive tags going off… looks like Root is doing the final cleanup."
"The Uchiha… the First Clan of Konoha… is about to disappear."
"After tomorrow, there won't be any such thing as the Uchiha clan in the ninja world."
"They'll become history."
One ANBU squad leader seemed to remember something. He signaled to the others, then flickered away into the night.
"I'll report to the Third Hokage."
After he left, another ANBU leader spoke coldly, face unreadable.
"Keep guarding the perimeter. No Uchiha shinobi—no civilians—are allowed to get out."
"Understood."
Hokage Office
"Hiruzen," Koharu Utatane said, impatience creeping into her voice, "has ANBU sent any news yet?"
"It's been long enough," she added, frowning. "By now, the Uchiha should be wiped out."
Homura Mitokado stretched, visibly exhausted, and clicked his tongue.
"Exactly. Danzō promised the elders he'd finish within five hours. And look at us—dawn's almost here, and we still haven't heard a thing."
Hiruzen's brow was tightly knit, but he kept his tone measured.
"Wait a little longer."
"The Uchiha are Konoha's largest clan. If it takes more time, that's normal."
Koharu and Homura exchanged glances. After a moment, they didn't press it.
Then—
Knock. Knock.
The door opened sharply. An ANBU rushed in, dropping to one knee.
"Third Hokage—latest report."
"Speak," Hiruzen said at once, satisfaction flickering across his face as he set down his pipe.
"The Uchiha district suffered a massive explosion. It should be Root finishing the cleanup," the ANBU reported, voice firm.
"Good."
"Excellent!"
Before Hiruzen could even respond, Koharu and Homura popped up from their seats, the fatigue of staying up all night instantly wiped from their faces.
"You may go," Hiruzen said, waving the ANBU away.
Then he took a deep, satisfied pull from his pipe, his mood rising like a tide.
There was nothing more comforting than that report.
If Root was "cleaning up," it meant the Uchiha extermination plan had succeeded—perfectly.
When the sun rose—
It would be time for the Hokage to perform.
He would publicly declare Uchiha Itachi the criminal.
He would dissolve Root as a gesture to calm the other clans.
And he would present it all as the village's necessary sacrifice—his "painful duty" as Hokage.
Everything would be under control.
Outside Konoha — Underground Cavern
In a damp, cold tunnel beyond the village—
A spiral of distorted space rippled open, and Obito stumbled out, collapsing hard onto the ground.
"Damn it…"
"Why did it turn out like this…?"
His face beneath the mask was vicious, contorted beyond recognition.
This plan had been his choice.
He'd inserted himself into it willingly.
And the result?
Not only had the plan failed—
He'd nearly lost his life in Konoha.
Obito yanked off the spiral mask and stared at his eye.
The Sharingan he'd implanted—his "ordinary" one—was now permanently blind.
Yes.
At the last moment, he'd used the Uchiha forbidden technique—
Izanagi.
"That Uchiha Ren… he hid too deep," Obito spat, voice hoarse. "Konoha's about to change."
Black Zetsu and White Zetsu surfaced from the ground beside him, merged together, both unnervingly quiet.
Their expressions were heavy.
Even they were shaken by Ren's strength.
"Damn it!" Obito roared, fists clenched so hard they shook.
He'd been taught a lesson tonight—one he would never forget.
And he swore to himself:
One day, he would grasp the ultimate power of the shinobi world, crush everything beneath him, and build a "perfect" world—one without war, one with eternal peace.
Then White Zetsu blinked, as if remembering something.
"Right… what about Itachi?"
"Implant Hashirama cells into him," Obito said coldly, without hesitation.
"Got it," White Zetsu nodded.
Black Zetsu said nothing.
Because Ren's sudden reveal—his power, his timing—had already pushed everything outside Black Zetsu's control.
Uchiha district — After the Explosions
Back in the Uchiha district, after the fires and damage were handled—
The clan's shinobi gathered again in the plaza.
The ground was ripped into trenches and scars, the square half-destroyed—
and yet their eyes were bright, excited, blazing with life.
"Ren—thank god you were here!"
"Ren, can you teach me taijutsu?!"
"If not for you… we really would've been exterminated."
"This village… Konoha… we don't need it anymore."
One after another, the Uchiha spoke with raw gratitude and heated admiration, all facing the man standing at the center.
Ren let the voices die down, then swept his eyes across them.
"Konoha's leadership tried to wipe out the Uchiha."
"Are you willing to swallow that?"
"Of course not!"
"We've bled for this village—what right do they have to exterminate us?!"
"Danzō led Root openly. That means the higher-ups approved it."
"So what can we do?"
"Then we go down fighting!" a hot-blooded Uchiha snarled. "If we're going to die, we'll drag them with us!"
Some looked helpless—rage trapped behind reality.
Others, especially the hardliners, were practically foaming, ready to storm the Hokage's office and use Hiruzen's head as a chamber pot.
"Good."
Ren inhaled slowly.
A faint wave of Conqueror's Haki rolled out—light, controlled—but enough to make every Uchiha's heart tighten.
The plaza fell silent instantly.
"I didn't want to act," Ren said, tone almost casual.
"But Konoha made their choice."
"If they insist on exterminating us… then I'll make them pay."
His gaze sharpened.
"To solve the problem… to teach Konoha's leadership a lesson…"
"Before dawn breaks…"
"We'll wipe out every shinobi in the Sarutobi clan."
Dead silence.
The words landed like a blade through the chest.
Kill… all Sarutobi clan shinobi?
Even Fugaku's body jolted.
The shock rolled through the crowd like thunder.
The Sarutobi were one of Konoha's major clans—founding-era veterans.
After Hiruzen took power, their status only rose higher.
And after the Uchiha were pushed to the village edge, the Sarutobi had swallowed a huge portion of territory and resources that used to belong to the Uchiha.
Now Ren was saying—
They would repay blood with blood.
"Why?" Ren asked coldly, watching them. "You're afraid?"
"Afraid?!" someone snapped back. "Why would we be afraid?"
"Ren—tell us what to do!"
"If we hit the Sarutobi, we're openly at war with Konoha's leadership," another Uchiha said, teeth bared, "but I'll still say it—why can they exterminate us, and we can't kill them?"
"Then we do it," a third growled. "We slaughter the Sarutobi and be done with it."
The anger that had been trapped in their chests finally erupted.
Ren nodded once, decisive.
"Jōnin and Elite Jōnin who specialize in stealth—come with me."
"Everyone else stays here and recovers."
He didn't hesitate.
After tonight—after Danzō's death—there was no "reconciliation" left to chase.
If Konoha's leadership was the enemy, then there was no reason to show mercy.
First, wipe out the Sarutobi shinobi.
Warm up.
Fugaku clenched his fist, breathing hard.
"So it begins…"
He understood it clearly now:
From the moment Ren stepped forward, the clan's fate had tied itself to his.
Sarutobi District — Late Night
The Sarutobi were an old clan—one of the village's founding-era lineages. And after Hiruzen became Hokage, their prestige only grew year by year.
In the dead of night, most of the Sarutobi district was asleep.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh.
More than twenty figures cut through the air.
After quietly removing the outer sentries, Ren and more than twenty Uchiha slipped into a small courtyard deep inside the district.
Then—
Without warning—
A terrifying pressure surged outward under Ren's control.
It spread across the Sarutobi district like an invisible tide.
This was Conqueror's Haki.
And at Ren's current level, he could control it with precision.
He didn't unleash it fully. He didn't want to alert the entire village.
He only blanketed the Sarutobi district.
Boom—!
In an instant, countless Sarutobi shinobi—still asleep—were knocked unconscious where they lay.
Even some jōnin woke just long enough to feel their brains ring—
then collapsed into darkness.
Only a handful of Elite Jōnin managed to resist long enough to sense that something was wrong.
Their faces turned pale, minds scrambling:
Who would dare attack the Sarutobi district?
But after barely a minute, Ren's attention "found" them too.
Their eyes rolled back.
They fell.
"Move," Ren said quietly. "Fast and clean."
He was the first to vanish.
And after that—
It was simple.
With the Sarutobi shinobi unconscious, the Uchiha became executioners.
Blades fell like harvest sickles.
Clean.
Efficient.
Brutal.
Dawn — Uchiha district Barrier Lifted
At daybreak, just as the sky began to lighten—
ANBU dismantled the genjutsu barrier around the Uchiha district.
Curiosity got the better of a few of them, and they went inside to check.
What they found was… strange.
There were clear signs of battle and explosions.
The air reeked of blood.
But—
There weren't any bodies.
Not a single corpse.
At first, the ANBU assumed Root had cleaned the scene.
So they went to Root for details.
After all, the Third Hokage and the elders hadn't slept all night—waiting for the "good news."
But the moment they tried to find Root…
they discovered something far more unsettling:
Shimura Danzō and the Root operatives assigned to the Uchiha extermination plan…
hadn't returned.
It was as if they had vanished into thin air.
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