"Clan extermination" was merely a cold term in the original story. At its most complex, it was just a "Night of the Uchiha." In reality, it was the brutal slaughter of countless flesh-and-blood individuals.
The Uzumaki clan, the Uchiha clan, the Fuma clan, the Kaguya clan—and many others whose ends went unrecorded. Once a clan was wiped out, they could be insulted and slandered at will, as if their demise was their own fault. This wasn't because they were irredeemably evil, but because there was no one left to speak for them.
The Leaf Village had its share of saints; could it be that the Uchiha didn't have a single good person?
The Leaf Village had already closed the case on the Uzumaki. They claimed the clan's downfall was brought upon by their own greed in attempting to seize the Mist Village's Three-Tails. Whether that greed was real or fabricated no longer mattered to anyone.
Once Yuka Uzumaki regained her composure, she wiped away her tears and began clearing the scene. She used sealing techniques to take all the research scrolls. Yagami, meanwhile, placed explosive tags on the heads of every corpse to destroy the experimental materials before using Earth Style to bury the entire cavern.
Carrying the two unconscious Uzumaki Guardians, Yagami and Yuka emerged from the base. Holding Yuka tightly, Yagami said, "I'm sorry, Yuka. I can't accompany you to the Land of Rain. I have to deal with Root's investigation. This is as far as I can help for now."
Yuka had regained her calm. She was no longer as frantic as she had been upon hearing news of her father. She said, "I understand, Fox. Investigating within the Leaf is far more dangerous than us hiding in the Land of Rain. Please, be careful. Thank you for giving me news of my father. To see him one last time and see him off... I am satisfied. You even saved two clansmen—Ushio and Gencho. They are both Jonin; I will heal them, and they will recover. I'm sorry you took so many risks for us."
Yagami simply held her, feeling her breath against his neck. "Yuka, Nagato Uzumaki is currently with Jiraiya of the Leaf. He's safe for now. Do not try to contact him. His surroundings are far too dangerous for you to get involved."
"I understand. I'll do as you say," Yuka whispered. "Fox, if possible, use Shiroji to visit me, okay?"
"I'm about to become an ANBU Brigade Commander," Yagami replied. "Once I have that rank, I'll have much more freedom. I'll come to the Land of Rain to see you then."
Yuka summoned Shiroji, who then vanished, reverse-summoning Yuka and the two unconscious survivors back to the bamboo groves in the Land of Rain.
Yagami rushed back to the main camp. As the top combatant of the Yellow Dog Brigade, it wasn't wise to be out of Yellow Dog's sight for too long during such a critical period. He had prepared his excuses and wasn't afraid of suspicion.
Entering Yellow Dog's tent, the commander immediately signaled the others to leave. "Fox, you've been gone for days. Where were you?"
Following the great victory, Yellow Dog had many matters to handle. Without Fox, many of his arrangements were stalled.
Yagami glanced at the assistant, Butterfly.
"Butterfly is absolutely reliable," Yellow Dog said. "Speak freely."
Yagami stated, "Commander, I had a premonition that the Hozuki clan or the Mist would retaliate, so I went to scout the coastline. I discovered that Fuguki Suikazan killed a certain Leaf ninja. And that ninja..." Yagami paused before continuing, "was B of Root!"
"B?" Yellow Dog stared at Fox in shock. "Are you certain it was B?"
"Positive," Yagami said. "I performed missions with him in the Land of Rain. He was an elite Jonin of the Aburame clan, Ryoma Aburame. His strength was formidable, but he was no match for Fuguki Suikazan. I don't know why they encountered each other, but the scene was covered in dead parasitic insects. I suspect he was killed by Fuguki."
Yellow Dog felt a surge of excitement. B was Danzo's most vital subordinate. While A was Orochimaru, that was more of a symbolic title given out of respect. Ryoma Aburame was the one who actually got things done. Without B, Danzo's reach would be severely limited—just as Yellow Dog would feel like he'd lost an arm without Fox.
To the high-level officials, a capable subordinate was more important than family. They made control effortless. If Fox hadn't scouted this, someone like Hippo or Yak wouldn't have stood a chance of uncovering such intel.
Yellow Dog said, "This is critical. I'm going to the Commander-in-Chief's tent to see if B is missing. Fox, stay in the camp for the next few days. We will soon head to the border to receive Consultant Koharu Utatane. She will lead the peace talks. The war is ending."
"Understood."
When Yellow Dog reached the command tent, he found that not only was B missing, but Danzo himself was gone. Uchiha Atsume claimed he had no idea where the Commander-in-Chief had went. Yellow Dog thought to himself, *Something big really did happen to Root. Could B really be dead?*
...
Twenty kilometers southeast of the Land of Whirlpools' capital.
Danzo arrived at the site of the secret base with four Root ninja. The entire base was obliterated; only a single wall of explosive tags remained as a testament to its existence. Danzo stood before the wall, examining the tags. Someone had used powerful sealing techniques to crack "The Barrier of Not-Here" and enter through the real entrance.
C stepped forward. "Lord Danzo, we will begin excavations immediately to see what can be salvaged."
"Don't waste your time," Danzo said coldly. "The enemy is a master of sealing arts. They will have destroyed everything inside. Digging is a waste of effort. To crack that barrier so easily, it could only be the remnants of the Uzumaki. Any word on B?"
"Lord, B went to meet the Walking Miko. There is still no word from him."
Just then, D rushed up to Danzo. "Lord Danzo, someone found the Miko's signal at the coast. She left a scroll for your eyes."
Danzo unfurled the tiny scroll. It detailed how Fuguki Suikazan, enraged after being tricked, had been hunting her. B had stepped in to stop him but unexpectedly died at the swordsman's hands. Nonō Yakushi also reported that Jin and Ki had been killed and their intel scrolls swapped, which led to the Mist's failure and her own exposure. She was currently fleeing an overwhelming Mist pursuit and could not return yet.
Danzo crushed the scroll into dust.
*Yellow Dog...*
The "monkey's brat" had grown up and was starting to bite. Had he truly sabotaged all of Danzo's plans?
***
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