Over the next two days, the entirety of Konoha was steeped in a low-pressure atmosphere, like a gathering storm.
Even the patrolling Genin instinctively lightened their steps, patrons in the taverns no longer dared to laugh loudly, and the sound of the wind whistling through the Konoha gates carried a hint of drawn-sword tension.
The Uchiha Clan had completely locked down the borders of their compound; even the ordinary clansmen who usually ran shops and small businesses on the street had all retreated deep into the Uchiha Clan Compound.
The street-facing shops were locked overnight, leaving only empty door panels creaking in the wind.
Any Ninja with even a bit of sensory ability could detect that outside the walls of the Uchiha Clan Compound, countless hidden presences were lurking—from the Anbu and the Root, like a pack of wolves on a hunt, staring fixedly at this land covered in red maples twenty-four hours a day.
Not even a flying insect could enter or leave without escaping their eyes.
The setting sun sank bit by bit behind the Hokage Rock, and a moon as round as a silver plate climbed into the sky.
Cold moonlight spread across the streets and alleys of Konoha, wrapping the spires of the Hokage Building, the walls of the clan compound, and every plant and tree on the street in a layer of cold white gauze.
At first glance, the entire Village was quiet and peaceful, no different from countless previous nights.
The night grew deeper; the Hour of the Pig passed, and the Hour of the Rat approached.
Konoha’s lights went out one by one.
Villagers clutched their heaters and sank into dreams, and even the Ninjas on duty couldn’t help but lean against corners and yawn.
In the courtyards of the Uchiha Clan Compound, most lights were also extinguished.
Ordinary clansmen, carrying expectations for the ancestral sacrifice, had long since fallen fast asleep.
But in this dead silent night, within those courtyards where the lights seemed to be out, pairs of eyes suddenly snapped open.
There were clan elites who had followed Fugaku for years, loyal subordinates left behind by Shin’s father, and even Uchiha Setsuna—who usually clashed with Fugaku and had always advocated for a hardline stance against Konoha—who opened his eyes at the same moment along with the clansmen under his command.
Crimson Three-Tomoe slowly rotated in the darkness, devoid of any sleepiness, showing only a resolution to burn one’s bridges.
The night deepened into the darkest Hour of the Ox.
The entire Village of Konoha was completely silent, and even the wind had stopped.
Only outside the Uchiha Clan Compound, Ninjas from the Root and Anbu were still patrolling noiselessly, their eyes behind masks scanning every inch of the walls with vigilance, yet they failed to realize that the true storm had already been gathering strength right under their noses.
In that moment when even breathing seemed to stop.
“BOOM—!!!”
A deafening explosion suddenly roared, and the entire Hokage Rock shook violently!
Soaring flames tore through the night, dyeing half the sky blood-red!
Immediately after, a second, a third…
continuous explosions like rolling thunder ground their way from the Hokage Rock all the way to the Residential Areas, and then slammed hard into the Administrative District!
The earth shook frantically, houses collapsed with a crash, and sleeping villagers woke up screaming.
The entire Village of Konoha was instantly dragged from its peaceful slumber into a literal sea of fire!
The deafening roar still echoed in the valley; the entire Hokage Rock, which had carried Konoha’s glory for decades, had completely shattered amidst the soaring flames.
The majestic stone head of the First Hokage was the first to explode.
The hard granite was as fragile as dried mud under the continuous impact of a hundred thousand Explosive Tags.
Countless pieces of rubble, carrying world-destroying force, poured down toward Konoha Village at the foot of the mountain.
Next were the stone statues of the Second and Third Hokage.
Half of the mountain, along with the Hokage carvings that had been there for decades, collapsed with a roar in the successive explosions.
Multi-ton giant rock fragments fell like out-of-control beasts from the hundred-meter-high cliff.
“RUMBLE—!!”
The largest rock fell straight into the busiest Commercial Street below.
A three-story Ninja Tool Workshop was instantly crushed to powder.
Wooden houses collapsed in clusters under the impact, and flying stone chips swept through street-facing shops, lampposts, and the panicked crowds like a barrage of bullets.
Rubble smashed into the ground, creating bottomless craters.
The bluestone-paved streets instantly cracked into spiderweb patterns, and scorching dust mixed with the smell of gunpowder from the Explosive Tags swept over the entire Village in an overwhelming surge.
Panic, like a sudden plague, instantly swallowed all of Konoha.
Villagers who were in their dreams just a second ago were shaken off their tatami mats.
Before they could react, they were buried under falling beams and rubble from above.
Women’s screams, children’s cries, and the wails of the injured mixed with the roar of collapsing buildings, exploding into a chaotic mess amidst the firelight.
A mother holding an infant ran frantically out of a half-collapsed wooden house.
Looking at her home leveled by rubble, she collapsed on the ground and wailed in grief.
The Genin on night duty had their faces covered in blood from flying stone chips.
Their hands holding Kunai couldn’t stop trembling as they watched the fire-filled sky and collapsing houses, not even knowing which way to run next.
Inside the Hokage Building, Hiruzen Sarutobi was slammed hard against his desk by the shockwave.
The urgent border reports in his hand scattered everywhere, and his half-burned pipe rolled onto the floor.
He smashed through the window and jumped out almost on instinct.
When he looked up and saw the scene before him, the pupils of this Hokage who had ruled Konoha for decades suddenly constricted, and all color instantly drained from his face.
The Hokage Rock he had protected his whole life was gone.
Most of the cliff had collapsed, the stone statues of the past Hokage had shattered into a sky full of rocks, and half the Village below was trapped in a sea of fire and dust.
The cries and explosions slammed into his ears along with the wind.
“Hokage-sama!!”
Anbu Ninjas rushed to his side like mad, their voices full of panic: “The Hokage Rock is undergoing serial explosions!
Half of the Commercial Street and Residential Area have been destroyed by falling rocks!
Casualties are unknown!
Explosive Tags are also detonating successively in the Administrative District!
What should we do?!”
Hiruzen Sarutobi’s chest heaved violently, and his Chakra surged uncontrollably.
He understood in an instant—this was no accident, it was the Uchiha!
It was the shocking ‘gift’ prepared for him by that group of Uchiha whom he thought were surrounded in their compound and unable to cause any trouble!
But as he looked at the Village below engulfed in flames, at the panicked villagers, and at the continuous explosions still spreading through the Administrative District, he couldn’t spare a single thought to deal with the Uchiha.
“Pass down my orders!” He gritted his teeth, his voice filled with towering rage.
“All remaining Anbu and the Police Force, immediately evacuate the villagers, extinguish the fires, and treat the wounded!
Kakashi’s squad must return to reinforce immediately!
All Sensory Ninjas, immediately scan for the locations of any remaining Explosive Tags!
Move!!”
Just as the order was given, another deafening explosion roared behind the side of the Hokage Building.
The entire building shook violently, and dense cracks instantly appeared on the walls.
Hiruzen Sarutobi gritted his teeth and could only lead the Anbu beside him toward the Administrative District where the explosions were most concentrated.
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