"Lord Danzō!!!"

"Lord...?"

"This can't be happening!!"

The immobilized members of Root could only watch as everything unfolded before their eyes. Their revered godlike leader, Danzō, now lay unresponsive, pierced through by a ninja blade.

In that moment—

Their faith crumbled like a rotting structure collapsing into dust.

Swish—Swish—Swish—

From beyond the forest, shadows flickered. A wave of black-clad figures leapt into the area.

"Captain Inzuki, I'll hold the rear!"

Uchiha Nanami shouted with resolve.

He had already accepted death.

The other Uchiha tried to do the same, but suddenly realized—they were once again being controlled by Yasaka Spear. Their throats locked up, unable to utter a single word.

Nanami and the others flushed red with the effort to speak but couldn't overcome the mental grip.

"So noisy."

Inzuki muttered coldly. He let go, leaving the blade behind, and decisively led the team away.

He kept those Root members alive.

They still had value.

Just before leaving, he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and glanced back toward the forest's edge.

Footsteps thundered in like a tide.

Dozens of ANBU swarmed into the forest—elite units directly under the Hokage's command, dispatched by Hiruzen Sarutobi himself.

"What happened here?"

An ANBU captain approached the Root operatives standing stiffly at the perimeter and questioned them in a low voice.

No reply.

The ANBU captain frowned. These Root members seemed off—but he chose to push forward.

The moment the ANBU fully entered the forest—

The Root shinobi moved.

In unison, they drew their blades. Their eyes gleamed crimson, the Yasaka Spear's sigil spinning within them. Like puppets, they slashed at the nearest ANBU.

"AHHHH!!!"

In an instant, half the ANBU squad was struck down, screams echoing through the woods.

"Retreat from the forest!!"

The captain's eyes widened. Blood gushed from his gut, impaled by a Root member's blade. He kicked the attacker away and roared orders.

"Captain! These Root shinobi are under someone's control!"

"Then kill these bastards!!"

Root members ignored the insults. Driven like madmen, they lunged at the reinforcements.

Though confused, the ANBU refused to take the assault lying down. Drawing their weapons, they counterattacked, hoping to subdue these insane foes first.

The battle between ANBU and Root erupted violently.

BOOM—

Explosive tags detonated. Blades clashed. Kunai whistled through the air.

Each sound became a dark symphony, the final movement to close the curtain on this massacre.

---

Uchiha District Gate

Young Sasuke hurried through the streets with his backpack, anxiety etched on his face. Every distant explosion made him freeze and look around before continuing forward.

It was like he had wandered into a battlefield.

Utterly lost.

Until—

He spotted the one figure he knew best charging down the street.

And suddenly, his heart found anchor.

"Mom!"

Sasuke's face lit up. He stepped into the middle of the street, arms open wide to embrace her.

He saw light in the darkness.

Mikoto, mid-sprint, saw Sasuke and froze in shock. For a fleeting moment, the confusion in her eyes melted away into overwhelming tenderness.

But—

She couldn't speak.

Couldn't control her own body.

"M-Mom… what's wrong?"

Sasuke sensed something was off.

Bang—!

Mikoto's momentum crashed straight into Sasuke, sending him flying into a wall. He hit the ground, dazed and disoriented.

"Mom…" Sasuke mumbled, collapsing and falling unconscious.

Tears welled in Mikoto's eyes, but her face remained blank and emotionless.

She kept running. Kept running—toward the forest outside the village.

But that single word, "Mom," had quietly reignited the heart that had once been dead.

---

Mountain Peak

"Big bro… when do we leave…?"

Tamayo asked weakly.

The others had stopped his bleeding and stabilized his condition, but without a medical ninja, infection or death still loomed.

Inzuki opened his mouth to reply—when a prompt flashed in his mind:

[Side Quest: Rescue]

Condition:

1. Rescue a target within the Uchiha district.

[Mission Complete!]

[Reward: 100 cubic meters of storage space]

Inzuki was caught off guard, just as a figure appeared from behind the peak.

It was Mikoto.

She ran toward them.

Uchiha Nanami and Izumi instinctively drew their weapons in defense, but Inzuki waved a hand to calm them.

Once they saw who it was, everyone gasped:

"The Lady of the Clan?"

"Lady Mikoto!!"

They couldn't believe Mikoto had survived the massacre.

But when she remained silent and Inzuki showed no surprise, they looked at him, stunned—

Had this been part of his plan too?

"Everyone's here. Let's move."

Inzuki said calmly.

"…We're considered rogue ninja now, aren't we?"

Izumi looked back at the Uchiha district. It was in ruins, ablaze and engulfed in smoke.

Aside from them—

The Uchiha were all gone.

The others shared her sorrow, but some also cast strange looks at Mikoto.

Her mind was blank.

She didn't know why she was here.

Didn't know how the others had survived.

Suddenly, the sound of sobbing.

Inzuki looked over and saw Nanami and a few teammates crying uncontrollably. Their civilian family members were gone—forever buried in the flames.

After their revenge was complete, grief drowned them like a wave.

Eight Uchiha placed their blades in the ground, turned toward their homeland, and bowed deeply.

"Ahahahaha! That felt amazing!" Tamayo chuckled. "Finally free from that damn place!"

One of the Uchiha had just started crying, only to sniffle it all back in embarrassment after Tamayo's outburst.

For a moment, no one knew how to respond to this madman.

"…"

While they processed their pain, Inzuki focused his mind to access his reward.

The 100-cubic-meter space existed deep within his consciousness. With a thought, he could enter it.

It was about 7.4 meters long, 5 meters wide, and 2.7 meters high—a compact but bright storage realm.

Inzuki figured it could be furnished into a simple one-bedroom apartment.

Though… he wasn't sure if it could store living beings.

Testing it out, he tossed in all his scrolls.

To his surprise, he could freely arrange their positions. Very convenient.

He glanced up at the moon hanging in the sky.

---

Konoha in the Distance

From atop the mountain, Inzuki looked down at the Hidden Leaf.

On the opposite slope sat the Hokage Rock. Below, winding alleys and bright streets buzzed with life.

The Uchiha district, now a battlefield, and Konoha's lively core might as well have been worlds apart.

The fighting in the forest was dying down.

The village no longer had the Uchiha.

And… it didn't seem to matter.

Seeing that the group had mostly recovered emotionally, Inzuki scanned their eyes.

As expected—most of their Sharingan had evolved significantly. Many who once had only two tomoe had now awakened the third.

"Goodbye, Konoha."

Inzuki turned and left.

Izumi looked at his retreating figure. For a moment, time rewound to the day they graduated, their very first mission.

She had stood at the village gates then, watching this kind, gentle leader walk ahead, silently captivated by the way he carried himself.

She instinctively followed.

Just like that day.

As long as this compassionate captain was around, no matter how far from the village they went—the mission would succeed.

The rest of the Uchiha followed closely behind.

Only Mikoto remained under Inzuki's control, quietly trailing them.

---

Under the Moonlight

At the edge of Konoha's borders, Inzuki effortlessly bypassed the village's barrier.

With a single step—

He left Konoha.

In that moment, a new burden settled on the shoulders of the nine Uchiha.

They had a premonition: if they survived the journey ahead, the next time they returned—

They would bring the village to its knees.

Beneath the pale moonlight—

Tamayo was carried on another's back.

Eleven Uchiha figures, cloaked in shadow, began their journey of exile under Inzuki's lead.

He guided them northwest.

From this route, they would leave the Land of Fire and reach the most chaotic region of the Shinobi World—a war-torn buffer zone composed of small nations like the Land of Rain, the Land of Birds, and the Land of Grass.

The road ahead would be fraught with danger.

Inzuki calculated the time. By dawn, Konoha would dispatch pursuers.

They had until sunrise.

They had to run as far as possible before then.

He had planned for this escape long ago.

It had only taken one week to set it all in motion.

And at the end of that road—

Someone would be waiting for them.