The ground collapsed the instant the beams struck, the surface instantly covered in cracks as huge chunks of earth and rock were torn up and hurled away. The deafening explosion left only sharp ringing in everyone's ears, while scorching air and impact smashed into their bodies like heavy hammers, and their vision was filled with blinding red light and rolling flames.
After who knew how long, within the ruins of an apartment building.
"Cough, cough!!"
A suppressed and painful coughing sound came from beneath the wreckage, and an arm covered in dust and blood stretched out from twisted steel, gravel, and broken furniture. Another hand followed, and the two arms struggled to push aside the debris pressing down.
Might Guy's battered figure crawled out from the ruins. The ridiculous pajamas he wore were already torn apart and mostly burned away, exposing a muscular body covered in abrasions and bruises.
Countless small wounds covered his body, with blood mixed with mud slowly flowing down. His eyes were tightly shut, his face twisted in pain as he raised his voice but could not hear himself at all.
"What… happened?"
He clutched his head and shook it hard, trying to dispel the ringing in his ears and the dizziness. When Might Guy finally raised his head and saw his surroundings clearly, his face froze as if turned to stone.
Fire was everywhere. Thick black smoke rolled through the air, towering flames surged upward, and waves of heat warped the air in front of his eyes, dyeing the rainy night a dark red.
The tall Hokage Building had been completely pierced by the beams from the sky, even the steel framework supporting the building directly melted and torn apart. Flames crackled and roared as the building groaned and finally collapsed in the inferno.
Trees lining both sides of the street ignited on their own, turning into a raging sea of fire. Terrifying scars were carved into the ground, cutting through entire blocks and exposing cross sections of several streets.
"..."
At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi stood in front of a residential building, gripping the enlarged golden staff in his hand. The firelight stretched his shadow far behind him.
He looked at Konoha that had become a sea of flames, then turned his gaze toward the direction from which the attack had come, his face already dark to the extreme. That direction was the Uchiha Clan Grounds.
So in the end, it still was not resolved cleanly.
"Third Hokage!"
Several black figures appeared behind Hiruzen Sarutobi like ghosts. They were elite members of ANBU tasked specifically with protecting the Hokage.
They wore the same uniforms and masks, but even through the masks one could feel their heaviness, anger, and faint fear. Hiruzen Sarutobi did not turn around, his eyes still fixed on the Uchiha Clan Grounds as he took a deep breath.
"Emergency alert, level three," he said in a low voice. "Order all ninja in the village, regardless of affiliation or mission status, to drop everything and report immediately."
"Rescue and disaster relief, search all ruins, and at any cost save every possible survivor. Evacuate civilians and guide all uninjured or lightly injured residents to the nearest underground shelters."
"Organize defenses, notify the Barrier Technique teams to activate defensive Barrier Techniques, allow no one in or out. All combat personnel, after completing rescue and defense deployment, assemble with me immediately."
"Yes!"
The ANBU felt their hearts shake and answered in unison, their voices trembling slightly. In an instant, they turned into black shadows and rushed off in different directions.
At the same time, the Konoha ninja who were still in the village were all drawn in by the explosions. Large numbers of ninja ran through the streets and leapt across rooftops, already organizing themselves to dig through rubble, treat the wounded, and guide terrified civilians toward underground shelters.
Screech! Boom!!
At that moment, a piercing whistling sound came again from the direction of the Uchiha Clan Grounds, and another crimson beam tore through the rain curtain and slammed down.
"Earth Release: Earth Style Earth Wall!"
Several Konoha ninja raised their hands to form seals, and massive stone walls erupted from the ground, barely blocking the attack Cero. The impact still sent debris flying in all directions.
"This kind of attack, this kind of presence... what is going on..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared toward the Uchiha Clan Grounds, feeling that unfamiliar and chilling aura as the gloom on his face turned into grave seriousness. Those beams were still continuing.
Even standing here, he could see the distant crimson flashes repeatedly lighting up the sky. Was this something Itachi Uchiha or that person calling himself Madara Uchiha could do?
Mangekyo Sharingan?
Because he knew about the actions of Akatsuki, ANBU, and Root, he had not slept at all that night, worried something unexpected would happen. In the end, his worries had come true, just not in a way he could have ever predicted.
In his view, even if conflict broke out with the Uchiha Clan, with the abilities of Yunchuan and Danzo Shimura plus ANBU and Root, it should have been contained within a small area. He had never imagined it would spread to the entire Konoha.
Konoha was not like the Land of Fire with ordinary civilians. Those who lived here were all Konoha ninja and their families, and any casualties would be counted against him as the Hokage. Once this was over, he could already foresee the accusations and condemnation.
But now was not the time to think about that.
Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a long breath, forcibly suppressing the unease and fear in his heart, and turned to look at the apartment behind him. Without a doubt, this was the home of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
After realizing that the Uchiha Clan might act desperately tonight, he had not even gone to the Hokage Building or his own home, instead guarding this place to prevent a repeat of the chaos caused by the Nine-Tails years ago. According to intelligence that Root obtained from Yunchuan after interrogating some White Zetsu, the masked man who caused the Nine-Tails incident back then had appeared again.
And this time, he was using the name "Madara Uchiha."
When he first heard that name, Hiruzen Sarutobi had been badly shaken. But a single sentence from Yunchuan had reminded him.
"Madara Uchiha, if it really were him, even if he truly did not die, do you think he would appear in such a sneaky, hidden manner?"
The answer was obvious to Hiruzen Sarutobi. No, he would not.
Based on Hiruzen Sarutobi's understanding of Madara Uchiha, even if that man were old and near death, even if his strength had greatly declined, he would never wear a mask and play tricks like this. With Madara Uchiha's personality, he would rather die unknown in some remote place than expose his Xu weakness before others.
Therefore, that person was very likely an impostor, most likely someone from the Uchiha Clan who had inherited Madara Uchiha's extreme ideology and legacy.
At the same time, inside the room Hiruzen Sarutobi was watching.
Naruto Uzumaki was still sleeping peacefully, completely undisturbed by the chaos outside. Within the Sealing Space, sensing several unfamiliar and familiar presences suddenly appearing in Konoha, the Nine-Tails opened its eyes.
"It is that damn Uchiha again!"
Sensing the aura of Obito Uchiha, caution flashed through the Nine-Tails's vertical pupils. It still had not forgotten the feeling of being forcibly extracted from Uzumaki Kushina's body by Madara Uchiha's Summoning Jutsu, and then being forcibly controlled by Mangekyo Sharingan.