Chapter 947

"We must find where they went—this is mandatory." Danzō had never been so tense; the Uchiha clan's Sharingan eyes, that night, had all been taken—every single one, except for the survivor, Sona. None of those lying on the ground had been spared—their eyes had been gouged out by the attackers!

The enemy's efficiency in harvesting eyes meant nothing to Danzō; while he dispatched half of Leaf Anbu to investigate, he sent the other half straight to the Hyūga clan's territory.

Konoha had already lost one eye; it could not afford to lose the other.

No one dared approach Sona. Even Iruka, when he opened his mouth, swallowed his words back inside—he never imagined such a lively, outstanding child would endure something like this.

"Iruka, look—don't you think we should…?" Another teacher, Mizuki, nudged Iruka, whose gaze had been fixed on Sona, lost in thought.

"Huh? Sorry, Teacher Mizuki, I was distracted." Iruka offered a sincere, timid apology, his thoughts returning to Sona—his prideful student, now shattered by this.

"I wish I could do something for that child."

Not only the Fourth Hokage was missing—Sannin Orochimaru vanished too—but under this string of blows, everyone in Konoha had long since forgotten Orochimaru's escape; all eyes turned to the Third Hokage, already aged, now perceived by all as utterly spent.

"The Fourth Hokage is not dead—only missing."

"The Uchiha clan has suffered this calamity; Konoha will not let this pass."

From the Third's mouth came only these two simple answers; afterward, many ninja in the village moved swiftly, carrying out missions never disclosed.

The delayed news reached Land of Wind's Land of Lakes.

"What did you say, Xinjianai?" Young Yuanzi shot to her feet, her face filled with disbelief—no matter how she prepared, the news Xinjianai brought back from the Fire Country with her own caravan was staggering.

The Uchiha clan was wiped out overnight, and the Fourth Hokage, Hatake Minato, vanished with them.

At first hearing, Young Yuanzi wanted to shout, "Impossible!"—but Lady Xinjianai would never joke about something like this. This sudden, unforeseen event plunged Young Yuanzi, who had long believed the fate of the "Golden Flash" and the Uchiha had already been rewritten, into an inescapable sense of helplessness—as if no matter what she did, everything would inevitably return to its original point.

"Do we know who did it?" Please, not Itachi. Please, not Itachi.

It's impossible.

Though he hadn't contacted Changmen and the others in a long time, the Akatsuki would never do something so meaningless.

"Investigation is ongoing. Leaf Anbu questioned the survivor, but there was little useful information—neither about the killer nor Minato's disappearance."

Knowing Young Yuanzi cared deeply, Lady Xinjianai specifically sought out Danzō and learned some internal intelligence—but still, no clues emerged about the killer's identity or the Fourth Hokage's whereabouts.

"Phew, I trust Minato's strength—she won't be harmed. Who's the Uchiha survivor?" Young Yuanzi exhaled lightly; if Danzō or Uchiha Itachi had done it, he'd have told her.

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

With this, Young Yuanzi's tense heart eased slightly—her arrival had indeed altered some things. Though filled with difficulties, if she grew strong enough, she would surely grasp her own future.

"She's still just a child—the second daughter of Uchiha Fugaku: Uchiha Sona."

No matter how Young Yuanzi tried to ignore it, the news from Konoha couldn't be dismissed as unreal; Uchiha Sona certainly wasn't the only survivor—if everything truly followed an "unchangeable" path, then Uchiha Itachi must still be alive.

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What role did he play in all this?

Immediately following Lady Xinjianai's report, Danzō's own handwritten, more detailed intelligence reached her hands—confirming her earlier thought: Uchiha Itachi had not died. He was the only one who had gained anything that night.

In truth, after rescuing his sister from near death at the hands of Hu Zi, Uchiha Itachi used his Sharingan to plunge the terrified Sona into unconsciousness, to spare her further trauma—this act rendered the sole survivor utterly incapable of providing any useful information.

But Uchiha Itachi, who remained fully conscious, used his still-unfinished Susano'o to repel Hu Zi and his revolting summons. He hesitated only a few seconds before grabbing Sona and fleeing the clan grounds, heading straight for the only place he could think of that was still safe.

That place was the headquarters of "Root," where Danzō resided. There, Uchiha Itachi handed the unconscious Sona over to Danzō—so deeply attached to his sleeping sister, yet ultimately choosing to let go.