Under the bright moonlight, Konoha lay unusually silent.
Standing atop the Hokage Tower, Fugaku stood with his hands behind his back, silently staring toward the Sarutobi district.
Suddenly, a crimson distress flare shot into the dark night sky, followed by a towering barrier erupting from the Sarutobi Compound.
At the same time, guards stationed along the barrier wall near the Sarutobi district simultaneously launched their own distress signals.
Seeing this, Fugaku's expression immediately turned cold and serious. "So something has indeed happened."
The other Elders also looked grim. Since Aozora would never damage the barrier wall himself, the truth was already clear.
Fugaku and Aozora had anticipated such a situation long ago, so he began issuing orders in a calm and orderly manner.
"Shisui, take the Anbu and head to the Sarutobi district for support!"
"Kyudai, report to the Police Force and have Kintai stabilize security!"
"Elder Homura, Elder Koharu, please patrol Konoha with members of your clans and have all ninjas—except elite jonins—return home!"
"Torifu, Hodan, coordinate with the first group of elite jonins to reinforce the barrier wall and hold the line!"
"..."
"Yes!" *N
Everyone present quickly accepted their orders without hesitation or objection to Fugaku's commands.
Shoo! Shoo! Shoo! ——
A series of sharp, rushing sounds tore through the air as Shisui, Kyudai, Torifu, and others vanished instantly. In moments, only Fugaku remained alone on top of the Hokage Tower.
After everyone left, Fugaku shifted his gaze again toward the towering barrier rising far in the distance.
As previously agreed, Aozora wouldn't activate the barrier without good reason—like an unexpected incident.
And whatever could trouble Aozora must definitely go beyond a simple rebellion from the Sarutobi Clan.
...
Inside the Sarutobi district,
Aozora perched atop a high building, observing the Sarutobi Clan rallying their forces to prevent Jiraiya from staging an unsanctioned revolt.
Originally, he had planned to activate the barrier and let Jiraiya handle the Sarutobi uprising alone, allowing him to share some of the clan's resentment.
After all, his goal was never to annihilate the entire Sarutobi Clan.
However, the moment he saw Orochimaru step in, Aozora changed his mind.
Orochimaru was the ideal scapegoat.
More importantly, Aozora wanted to see if there was any way to keep Orochimaru alive.
So he immediately sent the signal to open the barrier and gave both Jiraiya and the Sarutobi clan a new way out.
"The rogue ninja Orochimaru harbored deep hatred for Konoha, especially resenting the Third Hokage for not supporting him as the Fourth. Driven mad with vengeance, he recklessly attacked the Sarutobi Compound!"
"To eliminate this rogue ninja, brave Sarutobi shinobi activated the barrier and are risking their lives in battle!"
Aozora's clear voice echoed through the night air, reaching the ears of every nearby Sarutobi ninja.
The closest group heard his words first. The squad previously focused on attacking the Hokage Tower and capturing or killing the tainted Hokage suddenly lifted their heads toward the roof ahead.
Hodan Sarutobi was startled and blurted out: "Uchiha Aozora?"
Asuma Sarutobi's eyes turned icy cold as murderous intent quickly filled the air.
According to intelligence he had obtained, it was Uchiha Aozora who led a large group of clan members from the Uchiha Clan in attacking the Hokage Tower on the day his father, Hiruzen Sarutobi, died mysteriously.
Looking down at the Sarutobi Clan ninjas below, Aozora stood up and began mobilizing his massive chakra.
Chakra surged through Aozora's body, spilling outward in wisps that made the air around him hotter and heavier.
The roof tiles cracked under his overwhelming chakra. One by one, they shattered into dust.
Ka! Ka! Ka!—
Crushed beneath his immense pressure, the tiles turned to dust and scattered into the night sky.
Staring down at the Sarutobi Clan ninjas below, Aozora loudly demanded, "Why aren't you hunting down the rogue ninja Orochimaru now? Are you planning to defect from the village?"
An immense pressure surged like crashing waves across the scene. Many Sarutobi Clan ninjas involuntarily held their breath and broke into a sweat, instinctively stepping back several paces.
Recalling the brief confrontation between Nobusuke and Jiraiya in the courtyard earlier, many realized that this Nobusuke must have actually been Orochimaru in disguise.
Many ninjas who were unaware of the truth exchanged confused glances as they fell back, directing their gazes toward Asuma and Hodan Sarutobi.
"Clan Leader, how could this happen?"
"Why would you collude with Orochimaru?"
"What about Nobusuke?"
"..."
Seeing Aozora successfully sowing discord among his clansmen, Hodan Sarutobi panicked and pointed his staff at Aozora, shouting, "Everyone, don't believe him! He is the murderer who killed the Third Hokage—Uchiha Aozora! Kill him!"
Observing hesitation among the Sarutobi ninjas, the cane-wielding black-clad ninja next to Asuma commanded, "Attack!"
Before his words fully faded, four other black-clad ninjas behind him had already moved.
Shua! Shua! Shua!—
Accompanied by sharp whistling sounds, the four black-clad ninjas swiftly disappeared into the darkness.
Soon after, numerous weapons gleaming with cold light appeared from all directions around Aozora.
Before he knew it, four black-clad ninjas had surrounded him. Six or seven blades pierced his body in an instant—his chest, back, and ribs—all struck.
Seeing Aozora cut down in an instant, Hodan Sarutobi's terrified face briefly flickered with joy.
Asuma and several other black-clad ninjas simply shook their heads.
One ninja whose sword had pierced Aozora's chest sneered, "So this is the Uchiha prodigy? Nothing special!"
Another ninja, who had stabbed Aozora's back with a kunai, frowned, saying, "This doesn't feel right..."
As soon as the words left his mouth, they all instinctively shot backward—but their reaction was still too slow.
[Consume My Remains, Roaring Blaze!]
Before they could understand what Aozora meant, the figure before them suddenly transformed into a huge orange flame.
Boom!
The massive orange fireball erupted violently. Flames scattered and ignited their clothes in an instant, turning them all into burning people.
"Shh—"
"Ahh—"
"..."
They didn't cry for help, but the searing pain forced them to scream. Fortunately, the agony didn't last long.
Within mere seconds, the orange flames had turned the four men into ash before spreading across the eaves.
The Sarutobi Clan ninja below immediately leaped backward dozens of meters, staring in shock at the blazing fire.
"What kind of flame is this?"
"Is this Uchiha Aozora's Fire Release? How can it be this strong?"
"How come his Fire Release can actually kill someone?"
...
The Sarutobi Clan took pride in their fire techniques, yet had never witnessed flames this powerful before.
The remaining cloaked ninja showed no fear at their comrades' deaths, not even a flicker of emotion.
At the moment Aozora transformed into blazing orange fire, they had already silently dispersed to surrounding positions, forming a defensive formation around Asuma and the staff-carrying cloaked ninja.
Inside the formation, the staff-carrying cloaked ninja spoke, "Truly a genius I've taken notice of! Actually developing the Fire Bunshin technique—he really is a troublesome opponent!"
Asuma gripped Flying Swallow with both hands, the faint green glow reflecting his icy gaze.
"I don't care who he is. He dies today!"
The cloaked ninja nodded, saying, "Indeed, if he doesn't die here today, we'll all be buried here."
As the two conversed, one cloaked ninja beside them suddenly spoke.
"Watch out…"
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