The electronic screen scrolled.
The names for the third match lit up:
Uchiha Sasuke vs. Rock Lee
Lee leaped down from the viewing platform and began loosening up his limbs in the arena.
However, Uchiha Sasuke was nowhere to be seen. Hayate Gekko called his name several times, but no one appeared.
"What's going on? Where's Sasuke?" Naruto looked around anxiously.
Yao frowned as well.
Before he went down to fight Naruto, his little brother was still here. How could he disappear in the blink of an eye?
Did he go to the toilet to take a dump?
"Yao, just now... while you and Naruto were fighting!"
Sakura hurriedly spoke up, "I saw a cat-masked Anbu ninja say something to Sasuke!"
"Then Sasuke left in a hurry and hasn't come back."
"Anbu?"
Yao's brow furrowed even tighter. The Anbu reported directly to the Hokage. At a time like this, taking Sasuke away in such a manner?
Something was wrong!
Very wrong!
The Third was right here at the arena; he wouldn't have called Sasuke away!
Could it be Danzo?
"That old dog... I didn't go looking for trouble with him, yet he dares to jump out on his own. He's really asking for death!"
Yao scoffed coldly.
Just then.
Without anyone noticing, countless white feathers began to drift down from the sky.
They were light and dreamlike, falling like snowflakes in winter, carrying a weird sense of tranquility.
Upon seeing the feathers, the audience in the stands immediately began yawning continuously, their eyes heavy with sleep, and soon passed out.
Not just the ordinary spectators.
Many Genin, and even Chunin, couldn't resist the drowsiness sweeping through the venue and fell asleep one by one.
In the Contestant Viewing Area.
"Ah... so sleepy..."
"What's happening..."
"Feathers..."
Naruto let out a huge yawn, swayed twice, then slid down against the railing, snoring.
Beside him, Shikamaru, Kiba, Choji, Ino, Karin, Tenten, Shino, and others also fell victim.
Even the referee in the arena, Hayate Gekko, and Lee, who was waiting for his match, had their eyes glaze over as they fell into a deep sleep.
The arena, which had been buzzing with noise just moments ago, fell into a weird, dead silence.
The stands were filled with sleeping crowds, and feathers continued to fall.
In the distance...
The faint sounds of explosions and the boom of ninjutsu clashes could be heard!
Yao also felt a strong wave of drowsiness washing over him, attempting to erode his consciousness, making his eyelids heavy.
"Kabuto Yakushi has made his move!"
Yao's heart skipped a beat.
Without a doubt, the Konoha Crush Plan had indeed begun!
"I thought that after I displayed enough power to suppress Shukaku, Orochimaru would be wary!"
"I thought he might postpone or even cancel the Konoha Crush Plan."
"It seems I was naive! Perhaps seeing me display Perfect Wood Release made him even crazier!"
"But that's fine!"
Yao immediately disrupted the chakra flow within his body to dispel the genjutsu.
The heavy drowsiness quickly dissipated, and his eyes regained their clarity.
This kind of large-scale genjutsu, while covering a vast range, had mediocre power.
If one's spiritual power was slightly stronger, the genjutsu would struggle to take effect.
For example, Sakura also broke free from the genjutsu and regained clarity.
"Yao, what's going on?" Sakura was somewhat panicked.
Whoosh!
Kakashi appeared in a flash and shouted, "There's a sudden enemy attack! The situation is unclear, but it's definitely a major crisis!"
"Yao! Sakura!"
"Wake Naruto and the others up immediately, protect the non-combatants, and prioritize evacuating to the safety shelters!"
"I'm going to provide support elsewhere! Remember! Be quick!"
With that, Kakashi vanished in a blur.
Yao looked at Kakashi's retreating figure, then exchanged glances with Sakura.
"Let's wake them up first!"
"Mmh! Okay!"
"Wake up... Naruto! Stop sleeping! Something's happened!"
With Yao and Sakura's help, Naruto and the others quickly woke up.
"What happened?"
"Why did we all fall asleep?"
"Those explosions are..."
Just as they were bewildered, a figure suddenly appeared.
Wearing a fox mask and Anbu uniform, his aura was cold.
He ignored Naruto and the others, walking straight up to Yao and speaking in an unquestionable tone:
"Uchiha Yao, your brother Uchiha Sasuke is suspected of trespassing in a confidential area of the village—the Root base!"
"Please come with me to Root immediately to assist in resolving this matter!"
"What?!"
"Sasuke trespassed into the Root base? What the hell is a Root base?"
"Root?"
"Where is that?"
Naruto, Sakura, and the others looked at each other, confused.
Root?
Was there such a place in the village? Why didn't they know about it?
"Enough! Stop arguing!"
Yao raised his hand to interrupt his companions' surprised questions, then looked at the fox-masked Anbu:
"Luring Sasuke to Root, then using him as bait... to come and 'invite' me over!"
A cold arc curled at the corner of Yao's mouth, his voice indifferent:
"A very crude method! Indeed, very fitting of that person's style!"
"But you succeeded!"
"However..."
"I hope you, and especially that lord behind you, are prepared to bear my wrath!"
First, Sasuke was lured away, and now they were using Sasuke to lure him.
Without a doubt, this was a tactic Root was using against him!
Yao had actually been wondering whether he should take advantage of the Konoha Crush Plan to storm the Root base and take out Danzo.
And then.
Take Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan from Danzo.
Good grief!
He hadn't even started his move yet, and Danzo couldn't hold back first.
What else was there to say?
Time to flip the table!
Yao looked at Naruto, Sakura, Shikamaru, and the others, speaking rapidly:
"Listen!"
"The village is under attack by unknown forces. Naruto, Shikamaru, you guys need to move immediately!"
"Don't rashly go to where the fighting is most intense; that's not something you can handle right now! Prioritize rescue and self-preservation above all else! Understand?!"
"But Yao, you and Sasuke..." Sakura was on the verge of tears.
"Don't worry about this; it's not something you can interfere in! I'll go handle it personally!"
Yao waved his hand and said coldly to the fox-masked Anbu:
"Lead the way!"
Root base... hidden deep underground in Konoha, with a secretive entrance and winding passages leading down.
Yao followed the Anbu through several heavy doors until the view opened up, finally arriving at Root.
In the center of the massive underground space lay a wide stone bridge.
Below the bridge was a bottomless darkness, and the other end connected to a platform resembling an observation deck.
At this moment, the platform and the bridge were filled with ninja.
Wearing various animal masks and Anbu uniforms.
Standing silently in the shadows like statues.
And at the very front of the bridge, Shimura Danzo, with half his body wrapped in bandages, stood leaning on his cane.
His exposed single eye was as sharp and cold as a hawk's.
Not far from Danzo, Uchiha Sasuke was half-kneeling on the ground, his body stiff and completely immobilized.
Weird black ribbon-like patterns covered his neck, cheeks, arms, and entire body.
It was Root's Cursed Seal binding technique—Self-Cursing Seal!
These patterns writhed slightly like living things, completely sealing off Sasuke's chakra and ability to move.
Only his Sharingan burned with anger, humiliation, and a trace of anxiety as he stared fixedly at the approaching Yao.
"You've come!"
Danzo's voice was raspy and flat, betraying no emotion.
"My foolish little brother, let me guess why you fell for it?"
Yao ignored Danzo and looked at Sasuke instead. "It must have been a reason related to Uchiha Itachi, right?"