Chapter 940

Dark shadows surged, swiftly and silently reaping lives in the courtyard; many who activated their Sharingan discovered their prized genjutsu had no effect whatsoever on these enemies.

To speak of comparison, doujutsu was utterly useless; the elite of the Uchiha clan were plunged into despair.

The dying screams of clan members echoed through the courtyard; Uchiha Obito longed to help them, but the enemy before him clearly intended to hold him back.

Damn it!

Inside the house.

"Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" Outside was utter chaos; Uchiha Fugaku did not know what had befallen his clan—he had to act. His brief hand seals shortened even the chakra invocation of the jutsu to its absolute minimum; Uchiha Fugaku's fire release was nothing short of mastery.

Though they had never trained together, Hatake Rin possessed vast battle experience; she seized the instant the fireball was released and hurled the space-tagged kunai in her hand—one following the massive fireball straight at the masked man's face, the other flung toward the courtyard where combat and shouts continuously erupted.

"Go!" Hatake Rin placed her hand on Uchiha Fugaku's shoulder and teleported them out before the Gōkakyū reduced the entire house to rubble.

In a tremendous explosion, the roof tore upward, walls shattered, fire and shockwaves scattered debris in all directions; to ensure the Gōkakyū truly repelled—or even first wounded—the masked man, Uchiha Fugaku's technique reached an A+ rank. Yet outcomes rarely align with intent: through heat-distorted vision, the masked man stood unharmed, just as he had when he suddenly appeared—no wound, not even a scorch mark on his clothing.

"Reciprocity," the masked man removed the weapon wrapped in cloth from his back—a fan.

Unlike the chains from last time, he made no hand seals, yet the next moment flames engulfed the entire area.

There could be no mistake—it was a rare chakra-amplifying weapon, identical in design to the fan once specially crafted by the First Hokage for Uchiha Madara, especially with the Uchiha clan crest emblazoned on its surface.

Hatake Rin swiftly drew a third kunai; the inscription on it glowed and spun, and the fire jutsu hurtling toward them instantly vanished, reappearing behind the masked man.

We still cannot confirm the masked man is Uchiha Madara!

Uchiha Fugaku activated his Sharingan; the three tomoe spun rapidly—he sought an opening to force the opponent to remove his mask.

The battle grew even more chaotic; flames shot skyward, cries of slaughter never ceased.

Yet strangely, over ten minutes had passed since the attack began, and not a single Konoha ninja stirred.

"Ugh, getting home this late—damn it! All Naruko's fault!" Sona glanced up at the high-hanging moon, slung her bag over her shoulder, and sprinted toward home.

Earlier that afternoon, she and Naruko and a few friends had planned a mock combat; the final outdoor training topic settled on reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance. Sona, who normally always took the reconnaissance side, had drawn the counter-reconnaissance role this time, while Naruko, as her opponent, naturally assumed her usual role.

It was like a cat that usually chased mice suddenly swapping places with the mice—Sona naturally refused to be caught by Naruko, while Naruko gloated at length about all the things she would do to Sona once she caught her.

Upholding the absolute conviction that she must not be caught by Naruko, Sona hid herself extremely well—just how well?

· ······· Requesting flowers····· ·····

"Ugh, where could Sona possibly be hiding?" After fruitless searches, Naruko fell into hesitation, wandering the street unconsciously; perhaps because she walked this route so often, she sat down without thinking in Ichiraku Ramen.

"Aren't you Naruko-chan? What'll you have today?"

"I'll have a chashu ramen!" She gave her standard answer to the kind-faced ramen master, but when the bowl was finally placed before her, the little fox's expression froze with hunger.

.... 0.......

Oh no!

I forgot to find Sona! And the curfew set by Kāsan!

Between friendship, eating ramen, and Kāsan's yelling, Naruko struggled to choose; after a one-second internal battle, she picked up her chopsticks, clasped her hands together over the ramen, and declared, "I'm going to eat this bowl, then go straight home!"

As for Sona? She couldn't be found anywhere anyway, and the Uchiha curfew seemed far stricter than hers?

As Naruko buried her head in her ramen, she comforted herself with her little brain.

Maybe Sona already went home—after all, she's so strong, she must've known I couldn't find her.

The sun set.

"Damn Naruko! Damn it, damn it!" Sona kicked a small stone by her foot into the river, then walked along the path toward the clan grounds; at this hour, she usually sat at home enjoying her leisure.

Wait!

Sona suddenly remembered there were no mochi skewers left at home—she loved that snack, and her brother liked it too. She glanced at the approaching clan grounds, then turned back to look at the now-lit Konoha marketplace.