The domineering Uchiha drove the Third Hokage mad!

Chapter 551 The Internal Situation of the Sarutobi Clan

Uchiha Sanfeng gently brushed the dust off his body, as if the earth-shattering explosion just now had nothing to do with him.

Immediately afterward, he clapped his hands together: "Shadow Clone Technique!"

Dozens of shadow clones appeared around him, awaiting his orders.

"Infiltrate deep into the Sarutobi clan's territory, take control of all personnel, and focus your search on Hiruzen Sarutobi!"

"yes!"

Dozens of shadow clones responded in unison, and with a flash, they surged into the depths of the Sarutobi clan's territory.

They moved swiftly and lightly through the ruins, carefully searching for traces of the Sarutobi clan ninjas.

Surprisingly, the shadow clones encountered little resistance as they ventured deeper into the territory, which seemed to have been deserted.

It wasn't until the shadow clones arrived at the entrance of Sarutobi Shrine that they saw a dense crowd of people...

More than a thousand commoners of the Sarutobi clan, mostly the elderly, women and children, huddled in a corner of the ancestral hall, trembling with fear.

Some young children, held tightly in their mothers' arms, were too frightened to make a sound, only peeking out from their mothers' embrace with eyes full of confusion and fear.

The shadow clones stopped in their tracks, not moving forward, but looking down at the civilians, their crimson Sharingan eyes swirling slightly, their gazes icy.

The shadow clones quickly formed hand seals: "Illusion Technique: Mirror of Heaven and Earth!"

A faint genjutsu chakra quietly spread, enveloping the entire shrine and instantly invading the mental world of these commoners, firmly imprisoning their will and leaving them at the mercy of the shadow clones' interrogation.

"Tell me, where is Hiruzen Sarutobi? Where have all the Sarutobi clan's ninjas gone?"

A shadow clone spoke, its voice carrying the oppressive force of illusion, striking the very depths of the commoners' minds, leaving them no room for concealment.

The civilians, controlled by the illusion, had empty eyes and spoke the truth in broken sentences.

"Sarutobi... Sarutobi Hiruzen had his clan's ninjas use the Reverse Summoning Technique to teleport away ahead of time..." An elderly commoner spoke with vacant eyes and trembling voice.

"He said the Uchiha clan is too strong... staying here will only lead to their deaths..."

"He...made us civilians stay here to delay your advance...and said that as long as we can hold you off, they will come back to rescue us..."

Another woman said, her voice choked with sobs, her eyes filled with despair.

Only then did she realize that she and her children were nothing more than abandoned children of the Sarutobi family, tools used by them to save their own lives.

The shadow clones relayed the results of the interrogation to the main body of Uchiha Mitsurugi.

Upon learning this, Uchiha Mitsunori frowned slightly, tapping his palms lightly with his fingers as he fell into deep thought.

The Sharingan excels in genjutsu and insight. It is unmatched in close-range detection and breaking genjutsu, but it is far inferior to the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan in long-range detection and finding hidden traces.

To find Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others, we must rely on the power of the Byakugan.

After a moment's thought, Uchiha Mitsunaka stopped hesitating, focused his mind on the points shop in his mind, and clicked to buy the Byakugan.

In an instant, a cool power surged from his eye sockets, and the crimson Sharingan gradually lost its blood color, turning into pure white, instantly enhancing his perception.

Everything around him was clearly visible to him.

He activated his Byakugan to its fullest extent, unleashing its full power of perception, and slowly probed towards the depths of the Sarutobi clan's territory, and even towards the entire Hidden Leaf Village.

As expected, he found no trace of Sarutobi ninjas within the Sarutobi clan's territory; they had already moved to other places using the Reverse Summoning Technique.

But just then, a few children caught his attention in his field of vision...

Uchiha Sanfeng's Byakugan clearly saw that the inside of the children's clothes was covered with dozens of explosive tags. If they were touched, they would explode instantly, with enough power to destroy the entire shrine and all the civilians inside.

Uchiha Mitsunori's pupils suddenly contracted, and a surge of rage flashed in his eyes.

These Sarutobi clan ninjas are so ruthless! In order to buy time and take revenge on them, they actually stuck dozens of explosive tags on the bodies of their own clan's commoner children!

The children were as young as three or four years old, and as old as five or six, completely ignorant and unaware.

They had no idea that a deadly danger was lurking within them.

Once the detonation tag is triggered, those young children will be instantly killed, and it may even affect the surrounding civilians!

"These people deserve to die!"

Uchiha Mitsunori cursed under his breath, and without thinking any further, he pushed open the door.

He flashed to the front of the crowd and roared at the civilians present, "Scatter! Everyone scatter! Sarutobi ninja has stuck dozens of explosive tags on several children; they could explode at any moment. Retreat!"

The crowd erupted in chaos. Everyone turned pale with fright, their previous anger replaced by terror. They hurriedly avoided the mother holding the child, fearing they might be caught in the blast.

Some people fell to the ground in panic, but were immediately helped up by those behind them. They didn't have time to apologize and just kept backing away as fast as they could. Some elderly people were too slow and were helped by young people, staggering backward with fear on their faces.

Before Uchiha Mitsumine could calm the crowd down, he clapped his hands and shouted, "Shadow Clone Technique!"

A dozen shadow clones rushed into the ancestral hall in an instant, ignoring the terrified screams and struggles of the common people, snatching the children with explosive tags stuck to them from the women's arms... The women held their children tightly, their eyes filled with fear and resistance, but they were no match for the shadow clones and could only watch helplessly as their children were taken away.

The shadow clones didn't have time to think. With all their might, they threw the children toward the open space in the distance.

However, it was too late... The explosive tags on the children's bodies were triggered the instant they were thrown into the air.

"Boom... boom... boom..."

Several loud bangs erupted, and a violent explosion broke out instantly, with flames shooting into the sky. The young children were instantly engulfed by the sea of ​​fire, and before they could even cry out, they turned into a rain of scalding blood, which fell down and stained the vast ruins red.

Blood rained down on the ground with a soft sound, staining large areas of ruins red and soaking the civilians who couldn't dodge in time. Warm blood slid down their cheeks, carrying a pungent smell of blood.

The remaining civilians were terrified by the sudden explosion. They covered their heads and lay on the ground, trembling violently, their teeth chattering. Cries, screams, and sobs mingled together, echoing through the empty Sarutobi territory.

They were already terrified by the Uchiha's aura, and now, witnessing the horrific sight of their child being blown to pieces, they were completely devastated. They no longer had any thought of resistance, only a deep-seated fear remained.

The shadow clones stepped forward, grabbed the civilians lying on the ground, and roughly dragged them up... They knew that these civilians, though innocent, were members of the Sarutobi clan, members of the murderers' clan.

The civilians walked numbly, their faces expressionless, filled only with deep-seated fear and despair, tears mingling with blood and dust on their faces.

They let their shadow clones drag them step by step out of the Sarutobi Shrine and head towards the outskirts of the clan's territory.

The shadow clones escorted over a thousand Sarutobi civilians out of Sarutobi territory.

The surrounding villagers and ninjas looked puzzled and unwilling, and the previously calmed restlessness gradually rose again.

A young ninja couldn't help but step forward, pointing at the civilians and shouting, "Where are the Sarutobi clan ninjas? Why are only these civilians being brought out? Did you kill Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others?"

These words acted as a fuse, instantly igniting the emotions of the crowd. More and more people began to question, their voices growing louder and louder, gradually becoming agitated.

"Yes! We need to find Hiruzen Sarutobi! We need to make him pay for his crimes in blood!"

"Why are you only detaining these elderly, women, and children? Where is the murderer? Did you deliberately let Hiruzen Sarutobi escape?"

They had come all this way with great difficulty, hoping to avenge their dead loved ones, but in the end, they only saw a group of Sarutobi civilians and didn't even catch a glimpse of the murderer. All their expectations turned into resentful anger.

Uchiha Sanfeng raised his hand and gently waved it, and an invisible force spread out, instantly suppressing the crowd's questions.

"The Sarutobi clan's summoning beasts are monkeys, and their ninjas had already used the Reverse Summoning Technique to transfer them all away."

"The remaining civilians are nothing more than the Sarutobi clan's abandoned children... In order to protect themselves, they did not hesitate to leave behind these innocent old, weak, women and children, and even put explosive tags on the children, trying to use their lives to delay our progress and buy time for their escape."

As soon as he finished speaking, an uproar erupted around him. The villagers' faces showed even more anger, and the curses rang out again, more intense and resolute than before.

"Beasts! The entire Sarutobi clan are beasts!"

"Using children as bait is so cruel!"

"Even if they flee to the ends of the earth, I will kill these beasts of the Sarutobi clan!"

They never imagined that the Sarutobi clan could be so despicable and ruthless, treating even their own civilians and children as pawns or tools for revenge. This ruthlessness intensified the hatred in their hearts.

A woman who had lost her child, her eyes bloodshot, her hair disheveled, and her whole body trembling, broke free from the support of those around her and rushed to Uchiha Sanfeng, where she knelt down with a thud, her knees hitting the ground.

Tears streamed down her face as she cried out in a desperate plea, "Lord Uchiha Mitsumine, that village... will that village hunt down the Sarutobi clan's ninjas? My child cannot have died in vain! Those murderers must pay the price! I beg you, you must seek justice for our child!"

Looking at the woman's desperate appearance, and at the countless pairs of eyes around her filled with expectation and pleading.

Uchiha Mitsunori gently helped the woman up and calmed everyone down: "Don't worry, from today onwards, the village will designate all the Sarutobi clan ninjas as rogue ninjas, and will then issue the highest-level manhunt mission, uniting the entire village to hunt them down."

"No matter where they flee to, no matter where they hide, we will find them and make them pay for their crimes in blood. We will never let them escape justice!"

He pointed in the direction of the Shimura family, his voice firm and resolute: "The Sarutobi clan has fled, but the Shimura, Utatane, and Mito families will not escape! Their hands are also stained with the blood of innocent people. Today, we will settle accounts with them and make them pay the price for their actions!"

The Shimura clan lived right next to the Sarutobi clan, separated only by a small alley. The Shimura clan's ninjas had seen and heard the explosion that had just occurred at the Sarutobi clan's house.

When they saw the Uchiha Fire Formation open up, saw the civilians of the Sarutobi clan being brought out, and saw the formidable strength of the three Uchiha peaks... everyone tensed up.

The Shimura clan ninjas gripped their ninja tools tightly, ready for battle. But their eyes were filled with fear and panic, and their palms were even sweating.

They watched the outside world warily, some even trembling, with only one thought in their minds... They would be next, and they probably wouldn't escape the fate of being purged.

Uchiha Mitsunaga's gaze swept in the direction of the Shimura clan, and he inadvertently caught sight of several figures dressed in Hyuga clan attire among the crowd...

The person in the lead was Hiashi Hyuga, whose clothes were embroidered with the Hyuga clan crest, and who exuded a calm and composed aura.

Uchiha Mitsunori's lips curled slightly as he instantly appeared in front of Hyuga Hiashi, his speed astonishing.

The Hyuga clan ninjas instinctively assumed defensive stances, but were stopped by Hyuga Hiashi raising his hand.

Uchiha Mitsunori's calm tone carried an irresistible allure: "Hiashi, the Shimura clan's territory is also riddled with traps. Let your clansmen clear them. Your Hyuga clan's Byakugan is most adept at detecting traps; this will be a piece of cake for you."

"After this is accomplished, one of your Hyuga clan members will be appointed as an elder of Konoha. From now on, the Hyuga clan will no longer be suppressed by clans like Sarutobi and Shimura, and will be able to truly rise to the top ranks of Konoha."

As soon as he finished speaking, the eyes of the several Hyuga elders beside him lit up instantly, and their faces showed excitement.

They all turned to look at Hiashi Hyuga, their expressions urgent. Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others were out of the game, and the Hyuga clan wanted a piece of the pie too.

One of the Hyuga elders even gently tugged at Hyuga Hiashi's sleeve, signaling him to quickly agree.

For many years, although the Hyuga clan was powerful, they were always suppressed by the Uchiha, Hiruzen Sarutobi and others, and could never rise to the top of Konoha, always being controlled by others.

Now that Hiruzen Sarutobi has fled, Konoha Village has practically become a one-man show for the Uchiha clan. If they could seize this opportunity to obtain the position of advisor elder, it would undoubtedly be a tremendous boon for the Hyuga clan.