The Hyūga compound was littered with corpses.
Two girls knelt before a headless body, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Hinata… why? Why did it end up like this…?" Young Hanabi couldn't comprehend the nightmare unfolding before her. All she knew was that the father who had always loved her would never return.
Hinata was just as lost. From the fragmented images she saw before losing consciousness, she'd already guessed what had happened—but she couldn't bring herself to accept it.
There was no denying it—Hinata was a kind-hearted girl. Even though she knew that the next time she met Neji, they would be enemies locked in a death match, she still couldn't help but empathize with him. When Hizashi died back then, Neji must have felt the same agony she was feeling now.
No wonder Neji had always looked like he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. Today, Hinata finally understood. Only those who've suffered the same tragedy can truly feel your pain. Comforting words from bystanders are as empty as the wind.
—At that moment, if anyone dared whisper something like "try to forgive them" into Hinata's ear—even Naruto—she might have slapped them across the face. The pain of losing a father… only someone who's been through it could understand.
Soft footsteps echoed behind them. Hinata and Hanabi instinctively turned to look.
"Ayame-san? What are you doing here!?" Hinata looked at the approaching woman in shock, her face full of wariness.
Ayame glanced around, her tone tinged with disapproval.
"I knew it. Neji's too soft-hearted… he always leaves behind unnecessary survivors."
The moment she said that, Hinata's pupils contracted. Without a word, she scooped up Hanabi and bolted.
"No point struggling. Don't even think about asking the village for help," Ayame said calmly, revealing the ugly truth.
"This was an order from the higher-ups. The annihilation of the Hyūga clan was sanctioned by them."
"The higher-ups have had it in for the old clans for a while. First the Senju, then the Uchiha—now it's the Hyūga's turn. And after that? More will follow…"
"No… no, that can't be true!" Hinata didn't want to believe it. But deep down, cracks had already begun to form in her certainty. The Uchiha's fall had always seemed suspicious, and now with the Hyūga suffering the same fate… why was there still no support from the village?
What she didn't know was just how chaotic Konoha was at the moment—no one had time to care about the Hyūga. But this lack of response had led to a dangerous misunderstanding.
Hinata ran with all her might, clutching Hanabi, but Ayame wasn't the only one hunting them. A large figure suddenly blocked their path.
"Teuchi-san… even you…?" Hinata's voice trembled with despair.
"We're part of Konoha's Root, embedded among the civilians," Teuchi said coldly. "We're acting under orders from the top to exterminate the Hyūga remnants."
"Please, Teuchi-san, just spare Hanabi… she's just a child. Even the Uchiha… had a survivor back then…" Hinata dropped to her knees, pleading through tears. But she was begging two merciless executioners.
And the Hyūga clan added two more to its dead.
"The ones who hadn't yet received the Caged Bird Seal, and a few that slipped through the cracks—they've all been dealt with. You have to pull the weeds out by the root, or else… what, wait eighteen years for them to come take revenge?"
"How are we going to explain this to Neji?"
"Throw all the bodies into Root's custody. Neji will figure out exactly who pulled the strings."
Teuchi and Ayame exchanged a glance, the unspoken understanding clear between them.
...
Sasuke had already left the Hyūga compound, heading straight for the monstrous tanuki.
Shukaku was unleashing a storm of Wind Bullets, roaring with delight. It had been a long time since it had last been let loose.
No—more precisely, Shukaku hadn't been conscious for a long time.
At some point, it had slipped into a perpetual daze, unaware of the days and years passing. Now that it was finally awake, it just wanted to let loose and rampage.
Temari and Kankurō stood in stunned silence. It wasn't just that Gaara had suddenly released the tailed beast—what shocked them more was how he had done it.
Shukaku hadn't burst out of Gaara's body. Instead, Gaara had thrown out a strange orb, half red and half white. As it lit up with a brilliant flash, Shukaku had emerged from inside it.
They had countless questions, but neither dared to speak.
Just then, the rampaging Shukaku felt an evil chakra creeping over it. Its eyes snapped upward—only to lose consciousness again.
Now, atop Shukaku's head, stood a man.
He wore a high-collared black shirt, with a fan crest emblazoned on the back. His chin was slightly raised, his foot planted squarely on the tailed beast's skull—radiating a domineering presence that looked down on the world.
"Uchiha Sasuke!"
The Konoha shinobi who had been confronting Shukaku were stunned with joy. They didn't know how he had done it, but any ninja who'd survived the Nine-Tails' rampage had heard the rumors—Sharingan could control tailed beasts.
A wave of relief spread through them. The Uchiha was a Konoha clan. Sasuke was a Konoha shinobi. He had taken control of the One-Tail—that was great news.
But the look in their eyes was complicated. There was joy and hope, yes… but also unease and suspicion.
And then, the Shukaku under Sasuke's control unleashed a massive wave of blinding sand.
Sasuke wasn't here to save anyone.
Shukaku's body churned with sand, which spread across the ground. Wherever it touched, the land rapidly transformed into desert, stretching outward into an ever-expanding sea of sand.
The sight was breathtakingly majestic… and full of murderous intent. Waves of sand surged across the battlefield, battering the terrain. It didn't take long before Konoha's outer walls began to crumble under the assault.
Within the Four Violet Flames Formation, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Orochimaru were still locked in a deadly duel. Orochimaru kept his distance, wary of Hiruzen trying to drag him into a mutual death. He stuck to long-range attacks, stalling.
The longer the fight dragged on, the worse it was for Hiruzen.
"Hiruzen! Something's wrong!" Enma suddenly cried out in alarm. Hiruzen turned and looked past the barrier—and what he saw froze his blood.
The ideal ninja village he had poured his entire life into was now being consumed by a sandstorm of destruction.
"Damn it!" Hiruzen's fury boiled over. "How dare Sunagakure—!"
Watching him, Orochimaru felt a twisted sense of satisfaction as he saw Konoha teeter on the edge of ruin.
"So this is how it feels, sensei… to watch something you cherished be utterly destroyed."
Sasuke unleashed the full fury of Shukaku without hesitation. The demon had once said—if you wanted to destroy a place, you didn't waste time with warriors clashing one-on-one. You bombarded it into dust.
Fighting Konoha's shinobi one by one would only exhaust him. But if he dropped a few hundred Tailed Beast Bombs, the village's elite would be too busy trying to save lives. All Sasuke had to do was think clearly—and he'd know exactly what to do.
Countless lives were swallowed by the sea of sand. And even then, the Root buried deep beneath Konoha—claiming to protect it "so it could flourish under the sun"—remained unmoved.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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