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"Sakumo, what happened?"
"The Uchiha Clan... vanished!"
Upon hearing Sakumo Hatake's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi's brows furrowed even deeper: "Vanished?"
"What do you mean?"
"They're gone," Sakumo Hatake said gravely. "I just led a team to search the Uchiha Clan Estate thoroughly, and we didn't find a single Uchiha clansmen."
"All the Uchiha seemed to have disappeared into thin air, leaving no trace."
Hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly stood up, slamming his hand on the desk: "Sakumo, you're not joking with me, are you?"
A wry smile appeared on Sakumo Hatake's face, and he couldn't help but say, "Hokage-sama, how could I joke about something like this with you..."
Before he could finish, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already strode to the office door: "Sakumo, let's talk on the way."
On the way to the Uchiha Clan Estate, Sakumo Hatake recounted in detail how all the Uchiha clansmen had vanished overnight.
The more Hiruzen Sarutobi listened, the more alarmed he became.
This was truly unbelievable.
How could such a thing be possible?
Even if the Uchiha Clan had a way to freely enter and exit a barrier without being detected, he had Anbu members watching them twenty-four hours a day!
Even if the elite Ninja of the Uchiha Clan could evade the Anbu's surveillance, what about the elderly, weak, women, and children?
Surely, they couldn't all possess the ability to ascend to heaven and descend to earth, could they?
Arriving at the Uchiha Clan Estate and witnessing the eerie scene firsthand, Hiruzen Sarutobi was at a loss.
Finally, he could only say, "They must be hiding somewhere. Send more people to search thoroughly again."
Sakumo Hatake gave orders to the Anbu, then said, "Hokage-sama, I don't think there's much hope of finding anyone. I've even searched the secret room inside the Nanga Shrine of the Uchiha Clan, and still found nothing."
"All the Ninjutsu scrolls, Cultivation materials, and other items are gone."
"This incident was definitely meticulously planned."
Hearing Sakumo Hatake's explanation, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes gradually sharpened.
He stared intently at Sakumo Hatake and asked, "Sakumo, you've been in charge of monitoring the Uchiha Clan. Didn't you notice anything unusual?"
Facing Hiruzen Sarutobi's suspicion, Sakumo Hatake had difficulty explaining, but could only force himself to say, "No, all the Anbu can vouch for me..."
"Enough."
Hiruzen Sarutobi impatiently waved his hand: "Tell the Anbu not to reveal any information to the outside world."
"Return to the office first."
————
Hokage Building.
Hokage Office.
Danzo Shimura, Utatane Koharu, and Homura Mitokado rushed in.
Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi, Homura Mitokado immediately said, "Hiruzen, what's going on with the Uchiha Clan?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was about to speak when Danzo Shimura interrupted: "Hiruzen, the Uchiha Clan's sudden disappearance, you must take full responsibility for this!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his temples, feeling a headache. He ignored Danzo Shimura and slowly said, "The Anbu should have already told you about the situation. I called you here to discuss countermeasures."
Hearing this, Homura Mitokado frowned: "Hiruzen, how do you think the Uchiha Clan managed to disappear overnight?"
"I don't know."
Utatane Koharu took a step forward and analyzed, "Did they use a Space-Time Ninjutsu?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head: "Impossible. First, we don't know if the Uchiha Clan has a method for Cultivating Space-Time Ninjutsu. Even if they do, it's impossible for everyone to have mastered Space-Time Ninjutsu, right?"
"If you forcibly teleport someone who hasn't mastered Space-Time Ninjutsu, the Chakra required will increase exponentially."
"The Chakra needed to transfer so many people simultaneously is simply unimaginable."
Danzo Shimura said coldly, "If you ask me, the only way to do such a thing is to escape through underground tunnels."
"That would be a massive undertaking!"
"Hmph! Perhaps those fellows started digging tunnels when Konoha was founded."
Danzo Shimura sneered, then said, "It's good that those Uchiha disappeared. A bunch of uncontrollable fellows, I've long disliked them."
Now, he could finally eradicate the Uchiha and seize their Sharingan with a legitimate reason!
Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu exchanged glances, both showing excited expressions.
Since all the Uchiha Clan members had left the Village, wouldn't their assets be ownerless?
One must know that a prominent Ninja clan like the Uchiha had countless assets under their name.
They must claim those treasures before others realized it!
Thinking of this, Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado immediately instructed their subordinates outside the office: "Notify the clan's elites to immediately occupy the Uchiha Clan Estate, and make sure to protect everything inside."
Danzo Shimura also whispered a few words to his "Root" subordinates.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, however, made no moves.
From the very beginning, he had already used the Anbu to ascertain the situation within the Uchiha Clan Estate.
Now, there was nothing worth fighting over inside.
The truly valuable assets were the Uchiha Clan's properties in the Land of Fire, outside Konoha Village.
Looking at the four individuals who held the highest power in the Village, Sakumo Hatake felt a mix of emotions.
Shouldn't the most important thing now be to figure out the Uchiha Clan's objective and whereabouts?
Thinking of this, Sakumo Hatake said in a deep voice, "Hokage-sama, I'll go outside the Village to investigate first, to see if I can find any clues."
"Go, go."
Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand indifferently, continuing to review documents.
Sakumo Hatake left the Hokage Office without a word, chose a random direction, and rushed out of the Village.
————
The day quickly passed, and under the blockade of Hiruzen Sarutobi and others, most of the Village residents did not notice anything unusual.
As night fell, Uchiha Yuzuru sat on the Second Hokage's rock face, watching the Ninja rushing into the Uchiha Clan Estate like cockroaches, a cold smile on his face.
"Greedy parasites, this is a parting gift."
Uchiha Yuzuru clapped his hands, and a loud explosion instantly echoed throughout Konoha.
In a blaze of fire, the Uchiha Clan Estate was directly blown into ruins by a large number of explosive tags buried in advance.
The Ninja inside the Uchiha Clan Estate were instantly reduced to ashes.
Uchiha Yuzuru shook his head with some regret.
It was a pity that he couldn't use the Great Spiral Ring yet, otherwise it would have been even more fitting.
————
On the outskirts of the Uchiha Clan Estate, seeing the Uchiha Clan Estate suddenly engulfed in flames, Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado wailed loudly: "Naturally evil Uchiha, we are irreconcilable enemies!"
Those who died inside... were all the elites of their clans!
Looking at Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu, who were almost fainting, Hiruzen Sarutobi was somewhat disdainful.
Such low tolerance?
They were truly shaming the Hokage lineage.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was about to say something when an Anbu appeared before him.
"Hokage-sama, something bad has happened."
"Uzumaki Kushina is gone!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's body swayed, feeling a dizzying sensation.
Without thinking, it must have been the Uchiha Clan's doing.
The Uchiha Clan disappearing was one thing, and it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
But Uzumaki Kushina was the future Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed!
Without her, who would be able to suppress the Nine-Tailed after Uzumaki Mito died?
Damn Uchiha, are you trying to destroy Konoha?!