Immediately after, Nara Shikaku’s Shadow Imitation Technique instantly spread over, tightly binding the feet of the other two Jonin.
Yamanaka Inoichi’s Mind Invasion struck at the exact same time, forcing the two to hold their breath and focus their minds to break the genjutsu.
The current generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio appeared together.
“Kurenai, step back.” Shikaku’s voice was so calm it lacked even a ripple of emotion.
His hands maintained the hand seal posture, his shadow firmly locking the opponents’ movements, his eyes full of solemnity.
He could clearly sense that the three Uchiha in front of him were all bona fide elite Jonin; not a single one of them was to be trifled with.
Taohuo steadied his stance.
Looking at the Ino-Shika-Cho trio blocking Kurenai Yuhi, the killing intent in his eyes surged.
Just as he was about to order a full-frontal assault, a flurry of hurried footsteps suddenly echoed from the entrance of the alley.
Uchiha Yakumi, leading Yashiro, Yakugo, and their group, arrived at the alley entrance right on time.
They instantly took their places beside Taohuo, evening out the numbers on both sides.
The tense, explosive atmosphere instantly reached its peak.
The chakra in the alley was drawn as taut as a bowstring; a single spark could set it off.
Shikaku’s brow furrowed even tighter.
He hadn’t expected a second batch of Uchiha elites, and the chakra of every single one was so fierce it made his scalp tingle.
Just as the two sides were about to clash, a dark silhouette landed silently at the top of the alley.
Uchiha Kei’s voice, carrying an unquestionable command, rang out from above, “Stop!
Retreat immediately!” Taohuo looked up sharply.
Seeing Kei’s hand signal, the killing intent in his eyes instantly receded.
He knew that if Kei was giving the order to retreat, it meant the compound was ready.
Tangling with them here would only delay the clan’s grand plan.
He swept a cold glance over Shikaku’s group and, without a shred of hesitation, waved his hand.
“Let’s go!” Over a dozen figures turned simultaneously, instantly blurring into afterimages.
Using the smoke and dust as cover, they sprinted toward the Uchiha compound.
In just a few breaths, they vanished at the end of the alley.
Shikaku didn’t order a pursuit.
He simply lowered his hands, releasing the seal, and stared in the direction they had vanished, his brows knotted tightly.
He could feel it—if the enemy had truly gone all out in that moment, even if they managed to win, they would have paid a disastrous price.
Kurenai Yuhi slumped to the ground.
Looking at Gekko Hayate in the pool of blood, her fingertips trembled uncontrollably, a trace of complex sorrow flashing across her face.
No matter what, Hayate had been her classmate at the Ninja Academy.
Inoichi closed his eyes to sense the surroundings for a moment before snapping them open, looking at Shikaku with a deathly pale face.
“This is bad!
They’re all heading toward the Uchiha compound!
Also, the laboratory in the Root base has been blown up!” Shikaku’s pupils shrank abruptly, his heart skipping a beat as sudden realization dawned on him.
This wasn’t some simple theft, nor was it a probing attack for an Uchiha rebellion.
From the very beginning, their objective had been terrifyingly clear.
And all of them had been played for fools by that earth-shattering explosion.
The sky full of flames dyed Konoha’s night sky a murky blood-red.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, leading the remaining Anbu elites, sprinted madly toward the Uchiha compound, trampling over scattered rubble and boiling puddles.
The hem of his Hokage robes was singed with a string of holes from the sparks, and his face was smeared with soot and blood.
The sea-willow pipe he had clutched for half his life had long been lost during the frantic rush.
His features, usually bearing a gentle smile, now held only monstrous fury and bone-chilling coldness.
The Scroll of Seals stolen, the Hashirama cell samples taken, Gekko Hayate’s squad completely wiped out, half of Konoha blown to ruins…
Each and every incident was like a poisoned dagger stabbing viciously into his heart.
The Konoha he had protected his entire life had been played for a fool by the Uchiha right under his nose.
Just as he turned the corner, the sight before him made him stop dead in his tracks.
The entire Uchiha compound was completely enveloped by a massive, crimson barrier.
Blazing flame patterns flowed across the barrier’s surface.
It was the Uchiha clan’s ultimate trump card for defense—the Blazing Sun Formation.
Even from dozens of meters away, the scorching waves of heat made one’s skin pull tight, the air distorting from the extreme temperature.
A few red-eyed Root ninjas who tried to force their way in had barely touched the edge of the barrier before sudden bursts of flame burned right through their forehead protectors and shinobi uniforms.
They rolled on the ground screaming, and in an instant, fell completely silent.
Shimura Danzo stood at the very forefront of the barrier.
His single eye beneath the bandages stared fixedly at the interior, the hostility radiating from his body almost tangible.
Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi arrive, he snapped his head around, his voice filled with decades of suppressed resentment and rage.
“Hiruzen!
Open your eyes and look!
This is the Uchiha you’ve protected your whole life!
This is your so-called ‘considering the big picture’!” Hiruzen ignored his roaring.
His gaze was nailed to the crimson barrier, his fingertips turning white from clenching his fists so hard his knuckles cracked.
He knew the power of the Blazing Sun Formation all too well.
This was the Uchiha’s trump card to fend off the annihilation of their clan; without a massive, collective infusion of chakra, it was impossible to activate.
Right at that moment, a figure landed silently beside the two of them.
Uchiha Itachi took off his Anbu cat mask.
His knuckles were white from exertion, and his face was completely drained of color.
He had sprinted all the way from the fire.
The news he heard along the way was like a series of thunderclaps, blasting his mind blank—the Hokage Monument collapsed into rubble, the Scroll of Seals stolen, the Root laboratory blown up, and now this Blazing Sun Formation before him, which required the united effort of the entire clan to sustain.
He had always thought he held the key to balancing the clan and the village.
He thought he could protect everything from the cracks in between.
But it wasn’t until this moment that he clearly saw he had been kept completely in the dark from the very beginning.
The crimson three-tomoe Sharingan flared to life uncontrollably.
His gaze was fixed on the barrier, his fingertips trembling without end.
Just then, two figures inside the barrier slowly walked to its edge.
Separated by the churning flame patterns, they gazed at the crowd outside from afar.
Walking in front was Uchiha Fugaku.
He had taken off the plain kimono he usually wore and changed into the orthodox black haori of the Uchiha clan head.
The fan crest on his chest was blindingly red in the firelight.
The forbearance and hesitation of the past were gone from his face, replaced only by an absolute, point-of-no-return resolve.
His gaze calmly swept over Hiruzen Sarutobi outside the barrier, without the slightest evasion.
Beside him stood the eleven-year-old Uchiha Kain.
The youth wore a light gray robe, his hands clasped behind his back.
The crimson three-tomoe Sharingan spun slowly in his eyes.
His gaze first swept over the ashen-faced Hiruzen Sarutobi, then brushed past the hostility-ridden Danzo, and finally landed on the deathly pale Itachi.
The corners of his mouth curled into an undisguised sneer of mockery.