"The Uchiha... gone just like that..."
The next day, the Anbu arrived at the Uchiha Clan's compound on the edge of the village and were met with a horrifying sight.
The old, the young, women, infants—all dead.
The doors and windows of every house were stained with blood, shocking to behold.
Tenzo opened his mouth, but found that anything he said at the moment seemed powerless.
The scene before him was truly unbelievable.
The Uchiha Clan, a prestigious ninja clan undefeated for a millennium, even when they lost to the Senju Clan in the past, their family's power remained a formidable force in the ninja realm.
Since the establishment of Konoha Village, they had always been an incredibly important force in resisting external wars.
For Konoha's stability, they had established countless feats.
"Isn't it obvious? Go search and see if there are any survivors."
Kakashi said in a grave tone.
He had been prepared since he opened Route Number 2 yesterday night, knowing something significant would happen in Konoha.
But he did not anticipate that the Uchiha Clan would be completely annihilated.
Who could it possibly be?
To silently wipe out the Uchiha Clan within the village and bypass the Anbu's defense system in the village...
And most importantly, to do it silently...
According to Kakashi's knowledge, in the ninja realm, there were no more than five who could achieve such a feat.
And it required many difficult conditions to do so silently.
Otherwise, it would surely provoke a strong backlash from the Uchiha Clan's ninjas, facing so many Sharingan, Kakashi admitted he would quickly be defeated, not being a match.
Associating with the recent anomalies, a light flashed in Kakashi's eyes.
The one who acted... might be someone from the village.
Soon, Tenzo ran back, holding an unconscious child in his arms.
"Is this... Uchiha Sasuke?"
Kakashi recognized the child in Tenzo's arms.
"Yes, after searching through, he's the only survivor. Maybe he knows something."
"Are all the others dead?"
"Yes, and some Uchiha ninjas' bodies are missing their eyes."
Tenzo answered.
"I'll report this to Lord Hokage. First, take him to the hospital. His chakra is very unstable; I fear he was subjected to interrogation by illusion techniques before passing out."
"Understood."
Tenzo left, carrying Sasuke.
Kakashi stood there, deep in thought.
If the Uchiha were completely wiped out, why was there one survivor left? Shouldn't they have eradicated every trace? What was the murderer's purpose?
Last night, he opened Route Number 2 as ordered, but who used it?
Route Number 2 was an escape passage left behind by Hakushi in Konoha, which wasn't put to use during his defection.
Though just an alternative escape path, it took considerable effort to build then. Why was it opened last night?
The whole affair was shrouded in mystery.
The Anbu had remained silent last night, only discovering the anomaly during the next day's patrol, which led to the Hokage instructing an investigation.
"That order..."
It was likely not given by Hakushi, Ruri, or Ayane.
There was another person who gave him the command.
"A miscalculation..."
But whoever knew that route and could contact him so easily, if not those three, must be close to them.
◎
Uchiha Sasuke regained consciousness less than half a day after being admitted to Konoha Hospital.
By then, the Third Hokage, accompanied by the Anbu, had personally entered Sasuke's room to inquire about what happened to the Uchiha Clan.
Ultimately, from Sasuke's mouth, it was confirmed that Uchiha Itachi, in pursuit of greater Sharingan power, had mercilessly killed all clansmen and vanished from the Uchiha territory last night.
Although the Anbu later conducted a search operation, judging by the time of the Uchiha Clan's annihilation, it was no later than 8 o'clock last night.
More than a dozen hours had passed since then, and Uchiha Itachi wouldn't have remained in Konoha to face capture. It's likely he had already left Konoha, fleeing to the border of the Land of Fire after a night of running.
For Uchiha Itachi, this wouldn't be difficult.
Previously, Uchiha Itachi was a sub-captain of the Third Anbu, not only powerful but also knowledgeable about the secret methods to leave Konoha without passing through the gatekeepers.
These were secret exits built for the Anbu to avoid suspicion and execute covert missions, only known by Anbu members.
It required specific routes and passwords.
Uchiha Itachi must have used this information to quickly flee Konoha Village after annihilating the Uchiha Clan.
Although this seemed unbelievable, Sasuke insisted it was Uchiha Itachi who did it, claiming he killed all the Uchiha, including his parents, and was a criminal to both Konoha and the Uchiha.
Moreover, Uchiha Itachi didn't show up for the Anbu roll call in the morning; it was assumed something suddenly came up at home causing a delay.
Now, following Sasuke's testimony, Uchiha Itachi had fled, fearing punishment for his crimes.
In the afternoon, the Hokage found Kakashi and Tenzo of the second Anbu squad.
"Things are as you've heard; the Uchiha Clan was destroyed by Itachi."
Hiruzen stated solemnly.
"What? How is that possible?"
Tenzo had assumed it was just baseless rumors and was shocked to learn the truth.