Minato looked far more worried than usual.
The calm confidence that normally surrounded him had cracked, replaced by a tension that pressed heavily against his shoulders.
He turned toward the Third Hokage, his voice low—but urgent.
"Hokage-sama, please do something. If anything happens right now—inside the village—it won't just harm one group. It will hurt everyone."
Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent.
Minato's words echoed longer than they should have.
He already understood the gravity of the situation—but hearing it spoken aloud only made it heavier.
If this crisis were not resolved properly, the outcome would not simply be unrest.
It would be irreversible.
His gaze hardened.
"Why can't the Uchiha wait?" Hiruzen muttered, more to himself than anyone else.
Then he turned sharply toward the nearby ANBU.
"Go. Call all clan heads to gather at the Yamanaka Clan Grounds—immediately. If anything happens, we must contain it at once."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
The ANBU vanished in a blur.
Hiruzen exhaled slowly before turning back to Minato.
"Minato, inform all the elders—Danzo included. After that, wait for Jiraiya. The moment he arrives in Konoha, bring him there at once."
Minato nodded without hesitation.
"I understand."
Without wasting another second, he turned.
"Let's go, Shisui."
Shisui followed silently as Minato led him out of the Hokage Building.
Ahead of them, the Uchiha group was already moving—heading toward the Yamanaka Clan Grounds.
And with every step they took, the balance within the village grew thinner.
The streets of Konoha had fallen unnaturally quiet.
Villagers stood frozen on either side of the road, their faces drained of colour as the Uchiha group advanced through the village.
At the front, six bodies were carried in grim silence.
Lifeless.
Blood-stained cloth wrapped around broken forms that no longer moved.
Behind them, a single shinobi was dragged forward—his hands bound tightly with thick rope.
His face was swollen, smeared with dried and fresh blood, one eye barely open as he struggled to remain conscious.
Whispers spread like wildfire.
Fear followed close behind.
The crowd parted instinctively.
No one dared block their path.
Not the adults who had lived through war.Not the children clutching their parents' clothes.
Not even the shinobi standing on the rooftops were watching with rigid expressions.
At this moment, courage failed them all.
The Uchiha did not shout.They did not threaten.
They simply walked forward.
And that silent march was more terrifying than any blade drawn in anger.
Every step they took carved the truth deeper into the hearts of the villagers—
Something had gone terribly wrong.
"Just… what is happening with the Uchiha?"
one villager whispered, his voice trembling.
"I don't know," another replied, eyes wide with terror as he stared at the procession.
"But look at them… it feels like they're about to massacre everyone."
A third villager swallowed hard, pointing shakily toward the bound shinobi.
"Look at that man. He's been tortured… beaten like that by the Uchiha. What did he even do for them to treat him so brutally?"
Their gazes shifted—hesitant, fearful—toward the kneeling figure.
Yamanaka Kuroto.
His mouth was sealed tightly with cloth, his breathing uneven as blood trickled down his chin. He lifted his head with difficulty, eyes sweeping across the gathered villagers.
Fear twisted inside his chest.
This is bad…
He knew it.
Whatever the Uchiha intended to do now—whatever they were about to reveal—it wouldn't just affect him.
It would shake his clan.
His family.
Everything he cared about.
Regret clawed at him.
I should never have agreed…
His cousin's words echoed bitterly in his mind.
'It's temporary.
Join Root for now.
I'll get you out soon.
I'll speak to the Hokage—nothing serious will happen.'
Lies.
Or perhaps promises that had never been meant to be kept.
Kuroto squeezed his eyes shut.
If only I had refused…
Toyoma observed the surroundings quietly.
The villagers' faces—pale, frightened, filled with suspicion—were exactly as he had expected.
Fear was already doing half the work for him.
Beside him, the Grand Elder watched the crowd with a grim expression.
After a long moment, he leaned slightly closer.
"Toyoma," he said in a low voice, "whatever you intend to do… do not rebel against the village right now. We are not prepared for a confrontation."
His gaze lingered on the villagers—the way they shrank back, the way fear edged dangerously close to hatred.
"This isn't the time," he added quietly.
Toyoma turned to face him.
His expression was calm.
Too calm.
"Grandpa," Toyoma said evenly, "don't worry."
The Grand Elder paused.
"What I'm about to do will benefit the clan,"
Toyoma continued. "But for that to happen, you must follow my lead—completely."
His eyes hardened slightly.
"No hesitation. No backing down."
The Grand Elder searched his face, unease flickering in his eyes.
"I will not attack the village directly," Toyoma said firmly. "That is my promise."
The tension in the Grand Elder's shoulders eased—just a little.
Toyoma looked back at the crowd.
At the bound shinobi.
At the fear-filled silence.
Let them misunderstand, he thought coldly.Fear is louder than truth—but truth, once spoken… is impossible to silence.
The Uchiha halted in front of the Yamanaka Clan compound.
Their presence alone was enough to freeze the surrounding streets.
Inside the clan grounds—within the residence of the Yamanaka patriarch—
"Patriarch! Patriarch!"
The urgent shout echoed through the halls.
Yamanaka Inoichi rose immediately.
The moment he stepped outside, he saw Sora standing there—face pale, chest heaving, breath uneven as if he had run without stopping.
"Sora," Inoichi said sharply, "what happened?"
Sora bent forward slightly, hands on his knees as he struggled to catch his breath.
When he finally looked up, fear was clear in his eyes.
"Patriarch… the Uchiha," he said in a rush. "A group of them—Jonin-level shinobi. They're coming straight toward our clan."
Inoichi's heart skipped.
"And… they have Kuroto," Sora continued, his voice shaking. "He's bound. Tortured. They look like they're here to attack us."
The words struck harder than any blow.
Inoichi's face drained of colour.
Kuroto…?
A thousand thoughts raced through his mind.
Why would the Uchiha come directly to us?What did Kuroto do…?
But one thing was clear—
Whatever the reason was, it could not be good.
Inoichi straightened, forcing calm into his posture despite the tightening in his chest.
"Sora," he said firmly, "go. Call Shikaku and Choza. Immediately. Tell them to come here as fast as possible."
Sora nodded without hesitation and vanished in a blur.
Inoichi exhaled slowly.
Then he turned and issued orders to the guards.
"Summon the clan elders," he said. "All of them."
As the compound stirred to life, Inoichi looked toward the main gate—toward where the Uchiha would soon arrive.
A confrontation inside the village… between clans…
His jaw tightened.
This is exactly what we feared.
The Yamanaka Clan compound sat at the very heart of the village.
Their flower shop—famous for rare blooms and refined perfumes—lined the main street, a place frequented by wealthy merchants and noble ladies alike.
It was a location chosen not just for trade, but for influence.
And now, it had become a stage.
Villagers gathered at a distance, drawn by equal parts curiosity and fear as the Uchiha group stood before the Yamanaka gates.
No one spoke too loudly.
No one dared approach.
They all wanted to know the same thing.
Why are the Uchiha here?
The tension thickened when the Yamanaka leadership arrived.
Yamanaka Inoichi stepped forward, flanked by his longtime friends—Shikaku Nara and Choza Akimichi.
Their presence calmed some of the murmurs, but their expressions remained serious.
Inoichi took in the scene slowly.
The Uchiha formation.
Their discipline.
The quiet threat in their stillness.
Then his gaze fell on Kuroto.
Bound.
Bruised.
Barely standing.
A tight knot formed in Inoichi's chest.
What happened to you…?
But he said nothing.
Shikaku's earlier words echoed in his mind.
First, understand the situation.
Then decide.
Inoichi lifted his eyes and met the gaze of the Uchiha Grand Elder.
"Grand Elder of the Uchiha," he said calmly, keeping his voice steady despite the pressure bearing down on him, "may I ask what has happened—such that you bring so many of your shinobi to my clan compound?"
He did not mention Kuroto.
He already knew.
If the Uchiha had brought him here like this, then Kuroto was not a guest.
He was evidence.
The crowd leaned in unconsciously.
The air itself seemed to wait.
And behind Inoichi's composed expression, a single thought echoed again and again—
Please… let this not become something that cannot be taken back.
The Grand Elder looked at Toyoma.
For a brief moment, their gazes met.
Then, slowly, he nodded.
Toyoma stepped forward.
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
"Clan Head Yamanaka," Toyoma said evenly, "this is simple."
The crowd stiffened.
"Your clan conspired to massacre the descendants of Uchiha shinobi who were away at war," he continued, his words slicing through the silence.
"Just like what happened during the Warring States Period."
Murmurs rippled outward.
Toyoma's eyes hardened.
"We believed such things would never happen again after the founding of the village," he said. "Those rules belonged to the past."
He shook his head once.
"But it happened."
Toyoma met Yamanaka Inoichi's gaze directly.
"And so," he said coldly, "we have come to follow the same rule that existed in that era—"
"The rule the Uchiha once enforced upon enemy clans."
Silence crashed down.
Yamanaka Inoichi's breath caught.
What… did this boy just say?
For the first time since arriving, true fear flickered in his eyes.
Because he understood now.
This was not an accusation.
It was a verdict.