Late at night, the sounds within the entire Uchiha Clan's compound gradually quieted.
Many clansmen, drunk, had collapsed on the spot, while others, still sober, had returned home early.
Despite the Uchiha Clan's usual cold demeanor, their emotional release was actually the most intense.
It's just that few witnessed this side of them.
Uchiha clansmen typically only showed their true feelings among their own kind. They valued family, friendship, and love far more than other Ninja Clans.
Perhaps it was more accurate to say they were the great clan with the most 'human touch'.
The reason they could get so openly drunk and lie around was largely due to Fugaku's permission.
For them, the invisible mountain weighing down the Uchiha Clan for years had finally been lifted, which was naturally cause for celebration.
Of course, a small minority who couldn't read the situation still wanted to use this opportunity to expand the Uchiha Clan's influence further, even aspiring to seize the Hokage's position as originally hoped.
But that was a matter for later, and celebration was the priority now.
The problem was resolved without bloodshed.
The Uchiha Clan was different from Kimimaro's Kaguya Clan. While they showed no mercy when necessary, they didn't revel in the thrill of killing.
They weren't like those bone-wielding maniacs.
Just as the Uchiha Clan reached an unprecedented low in defense, Danzo had already gathered his forces and met with the masked individual outside the Uchiha Clan's compound.
The Uchiha hadn't relocated yet, so they were still on the village outskirts, a sparsely populated area.
If they were fast enough, eliminating the majority of the Uchiha Clan's fighting force would allow them to regain control of the situation.
-At least, that's what Danzo thought.
"First, subdue Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Shizuka. Don't let them use their Mangekyo Sharingan. And that Uchiha Yuzu, even though she hasn't acted, don't underestimate her either."
The masked individual spoke in a hoarse voice, their objective clear.
"I recall Uchiha Fugaku has two daughters, right?"
Danzo suddenly made a seemingly random comment.
Hearing this, the masked individual curled their lip.
"You really are despicable, Danzo."
"Hmph, you who devised this operation have no right to judge me. They are your clansmen, after all."
Danzo retorted sharply. The masked individual, however, didn't seem bothered.
"A twisted clan like the Uchiha should have been eradicated long ago."
…
The group silently took up various advantageous positions, awaiting Danzo's order to strike simultaneously.
"Kill."
Thud-
Thud-
The sound of blades piercing flesh echoed continuously. Many Uchiha clansmen were killed in their drunken state before they could make a sound.
Events unfolded far more smoothly than Danzo and the masked individual had anticipated.
Most present were Uchiha combat personnel and elders, numbering around forty. Including non-combatants, elderly, women, and children on the periphery, the entire Uchiha Clan probably numbered one to two hundred.
That was a significant number.
But just from that initial command, over thirty people had died.
Only the startled Fugaku and a few elite clansmen remained.
But their reactions weren't fast enough. Danzo closed the distance instantly.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Blade."
A kunai wrapped in Wind Attribute Chakra swiftly pierced Fugaku's heart. Before he could speak, Danzo made the chakra explode into air blades inside Fugaku's body.
Instantly, Fugaku was dead beyond doubt.
Shizuka was also struggling under the assault of a dozen Root's members.
The Root hadn't been disbanded during this period, which was why Danzo had the confidence to attack the Uchiha Clan at night.
"Something's wrong!"
The masked individual, who had stayed back, suddenly shouted sharply.
"It's a Genjutsu! Kai!"
Danzo reacted promptly enough, decisively disrupting his own Chakra to break free from the Genjutsu.
It seemed the caster had no intention of letting them die within the illusion, offering no resistance to the breaking attempt.
Many Root's Ninjas broke free on their own.
But the scene that greeted them was far worse than they imagined.
"Conspiring with forces outside the village, killing important village members, destabilizing peace."
"Danzo... you've truly disappointed me."
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with a completely unharmed Fugaku. Even Koharu and Homura had been dragged from their beds in the middle of the night to witness this.
Surrounding them were the Hokage's direct forces, the Anbu, and some elite Uchiha clansmen.
It was this combined group that had cast the large-scale Genjutsu capable of deceiving so many.
The Uchiha clansmen who had died gruesomely moments before dissolved into illusory fragments.
-Of course, there were a few who had genuinely passed out drunk on the spot.
These unfortunate souls had died at Root's hands, formally cementing a blood feud between Root and the Uchiha.
Their real identities?
Just some more radical Uchiha who liked to hold secret meetings. Best not to inquire further.
With these unstable elements conveniently eliminated by Danzo, Fugaku's face showed a mix of genuine and feigned anger.
He felt his acting skills had improved significantly recently.
"Hokage-sama, Danzo's malicious intent is clear for all to see. Had we not prepared in advance, perhaps the Uchiha Clan would cease to exist tomorrow."
"And Konoha, having lost a major power, would be coveted by other forces and plunged into crisis."
"All of this! Is because of this man!"
He pointed an accusing finger at Danzo ahead.
Hiruzen, looking at his old comrade who was now undeniably a traitor, could only sigh deeply.
"They... are yours to deal with, Fugaku."
These words pronounced Danzo's death sentence and served as restitution for the Uchiha.
After all, he had just appeased them, only for someone to attempt genocide immediately after.
Someone had to take responsibility.
Even he wouldn't protect Danzo now.
"No! Everything I did was for Konoha! I refuse to accept this! I-"
Danzo's face twisted into an uncontrollable snarl, his ugly demeanor after his conspiracy was exposed fully revealed.
But Fugaku gave him no chance to continue.
Two Susanoo erupted from the ground almost instantly, attacking the mastermind.
Danzo, ruthless as ever, used Vacuum Blade again, stabbing at the Susanoo's armor.
...His fate was predictable.
Fugaku's Susanoo wasn't the half-baked version from some timeline's Sasuke. Moreover, even that skeletal version couldn't be broken by Danzo's pathetic attack.
Danzo was a man who lived in shadows and schemes. Stripped of those, brought into the open, he was nothing.
Facing the full firepower of two Susanoo, the best outcome he could hope for was leaving behind some scraps of flesh.
Both Fugaku and Shizuka struck with furious intent.
The tragic fate of the Uchiha Clan in the parallel timeline was still vivid in their minds. Had Sasuke not warned them, they likely wouldn't have escaped that fate either.
…
Obiko emerged from a tree trunk somewhere, looking back towards the distant Uchiha Clan's compound, her face beneath the mask filled with frustration.
"Damn it! Where did it go wrong?"
Zap-
In an instant, a flash of lightning. Obiko only had time to subconsciously activate her intangibility.
But the attack was too sudden, too fast. By the time she reacted, one of her arms had been severed by the lightning-clawed strike.
"Urgh! Who's there!"
Having re-entered her intangible state, Obiko finally had a chance to turn and look.
Moonlight fell upon a tall figure.
Sasuke walked out from the woods, casually burning Obiko's severed arm to a crisp with flames.
Patches of fur covered his body as it gradually expanded. Moments later, a giant werewolf over four meters tall stood before Obiko.
And in the werewolf's eyes, a complex polygonal lotus began to rotate.
In that moment, the [Calamities] experienced by Obiko synchronized into Sasuke's mind.
He had been waiting for this face-to-face opportunity.
This chance to use the Great Scorching Heaven Huodou's awakened ability to find clues from her.
Instantly, the love-hate entanglement between Uchiha Obiko, Hatake Kasha, and Nohara Jin, along with Black Zetsu and the real Uchiha Madara persuading Obiko, flashed rapidly before him.
After completing his transformation, Sasuke stood silently for a long time, making no sound or movement.
This made Obiko deeply uneasy.
She thought he was waiting for her to show an opening, but Sasuke was just 'watching a movie' at 32x speed.
"...Just for this reason? Just for this ridiculous reason!!"
Suddenly, Sasuke's roar thundered through the night sky like a bolt of lightning.
Obiko was startled into taking half a step back.
"Uchiha Obiko..."
Hearing her name from this stranger made Obiko's hair stand on end.
'How could he possibly know my identity!?'
But the words Sasuke spoke next truly made her lose her composure.
"How pathetic! Whether it's me, the Uchiha, or that Nohara Jin who can't even rest in peace, having his memory used as an excuse for your disgusting actions."
"Bastard! What are you saying!!!"
One sentence made Obiko lose her composure.
Obiko completely ignored White Zetsu's warnings in her ear and the remaining duration of Kamui. Like an enraged tigress, she charged towards Sasuke's side.
The arm Sasuke had severed earlier had already been regenerated by the White Zetsu attached to her body during the brief wait.
Now, two long wooden spikes extended from her arms.