Sora spoke calmly.
"Leave the strongest one to me."
"You are responsible for clearing out the other guards and finding the data archive and the material storage point. Move quickly; we don't have much time."
Uchiha Yami glanced covertly at Sora and said, "We leave it to you, Mr. Baihu."
Uchiha Kenta also nodded, having no objections to this arrangement.
He was aware of his own strength; dealing with an Elite Jonin was indeed a stretch for him.
With the plan set, the three of them hesitated no longer.
Sora formed hand seals, and an intangible wave of Wind Release chakra swept past, silently dismantling the alert barrier at the cave entrance.
"Move!"
With a low command, the three swiftly infiltrated the cave.
The interior of the cave was far more spacious than imagined, and traces of the Uzumaki clan emblem could still be seen on the walls, indicating this place had once been a facility of Uzushiogakure, later taken over and repurposed by Konoha.
They hadn't gone far when footsteps and voices came from ahead.
"Hurry up! Move these things to Warehouse Three! The higher-ups are pushing for it!"
It was Konoha ninja!
A flash of killing intent appeared in Uchiha Kenta's eyes, his hatred for Konoha making him act without the slightest hesitation!
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
Several scorching fireballs shrieked forth, shooting accurately towards the Konoha ninja at the turn of the corridor!
"Enemy attack!"
Screams and alarm sounds instantly erupted.
The battle had begun!
Uchiha Kenta led the charge, his Sharingan granting him exceptional perceptive ability. Combined with his skilled Fire Release and shurikenjutsu, he engaged the swarming Konoha Chunin and Special Jonin in combat.
Uchiha Yami followed closely behind, her Two-Tomoe Sharingan operating at full capacity as she assisted her brother in counterattacks.
Sora's figure flickered through the corridor, each strike carrying sharp Wind Release chakra, easily dispatching the miscellaneous soldiers who tried to block him as he headed straight for the source of the strongest chakra deep within the stronghold.
His target was Tagitsuhime, stationed before the door of the innermost warehouse.
At this moment, Tagitsuhime had perfectly disguised her own chakra and form using the Ryūchi Cave's sage arts.
She wore Konoha-style ninja attire, a mask covering her face, revealing only a pair of cold serpentine eyes. An Elite Jonin-level chakra fluctuation emanated from her body.
Seeing Sora, she followed the prearranged script, snorting coldly, "Intruder! Halt!"
As she spoke, her hands rapidly formed seals. "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
A massive water dragon materialized out of thin air, roaring as it charged towards Sora.
Sora neither dodged nor evaded, instead coalescing Wind Release chakra into a blade in his hand and executing a knife-hand strike!
"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"
*Shoom—!*
The sharp wind blade cleanly split the water dragon in two, sending water splashing everywhere!
The two instantly became locked in combat, Wind Release and Water Release clashing violently, creating an astonishing commotion that gave the impression of a closely matched struggle.
Meanwhile, the battle of the Uchiha siblings had also reached a fever pitch.
Leveraging the advantage of their Sharingan, they successfully suppressed the ordinary guards and located the stronghold's data archive and a small material storage warehouse.
While clearing the warehouse, Uchiha Kenta's gaze swept over a corner and noticed a life support device connected to many tubes.
Inside the device floated a white-haired youth with an indistinguishable face, eyes closed, showing no signs of life.
'A corpse? Or some kind of experimental subject?'
A flicker of doubt passed through Uchiha Kenta's mind, but the intense battle left no room for careful contemplation.
He simply took it as evidence of some dark Konoha experiment, further solidifying his hatred for the village, and paid it no further attention.
Uchiha Yami's voice came, "Brother, I've got it!"
"Good! We're pulling back! Let's go support Mr. Baihu!" Uchiha Kenta shouted.
The two swiftly headed towards the deeper battlefield.
However, just as they were passing through a relatively narrow corridor, a sudden change occurred!
The walls on both sides of the corridor suddenly ruptured, and several figures shot out!
These individuals also wore Konoha Anbu animal masks, their attire identical to the remnants of "Root" they had encountered previously in the Land of Waves!
"Watch out!"
Uchiha Kenta was greatly alarmed!
The lead "Anbu" member used a bizarre Hidden Shadow Snake Hands technique!
Several poisonous snakes shot from his sleeves, aiming directly for Uchiha Kenta's face!
Another attacked from the side, a short sword thrusting towards his ribs!
Uchiha Kenta struggled to defend himself, using Fire Release to force back the snakes and a kunai to parry the short sword. But a third "Anbu" member appeared in his blind spot, a kunai aimed straight for his back!
This strike was perfectly timed, angled, and executed, as if all his reactions had been calculated in advance!
Uchiha Kenta's Sharingan saw it, but his body was half a beat too slow!
"Brother—!!"
At this critical moment, Uchiha Yami let out a heart-rending cry.
Without the slightest hesitation, she forcefully shoved Uchiha Kenta aside and threw her own petite body forward to meet the fatal blow!
*Thud—!*
The kunai pierced precisely into Uchiha Yami's chest!
Blood instantly dyed the front of her clothes crimson.
"Yami!!!"
Uchiha Kenta, having been pushed away, turned back to see his sister impaled by the kunai, her body collapsing softly.
His mind went blank, filled only with the sight of that glaring, ever-expanding scarlet on his sister's chest.
The "Anbu" member impersonated by Kōjinja, following Sora's instructions, mocked, "Trash! Can't even protect your own sister. The Uchiha clan really are all useless!"
These words, like a vicious curse, stabbed deeply into Uchiha Kenta's heart!
"Aaaahhhhh—!!!"
Extreme rage, boundless regret, heart-wrenching pain, and overwhelming hatred for these "Konoha Anbu" before him and for all of Konoha exploded within his chest at this very moment.
He felt an unprecedented, intense pain in his eyes!
His Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun wildly at an unprecedented speed, the tomoe's shapes beginning to distort!
The powerful ocular power fluctuation even drew side glances from Sora and Tagitsuhime, who were in the midst of their "fierce battle."
However, the pattern flickered indistinctly, struggling, as if lacking just the final shred of power, unable to fully materialize.
The Mangekyō Sharingan was at the most critical threshold of awakening!
'As expected… still missing that final push, huh?'
Sora inwardly sighed.
Uchiha Kenta's aptitude for awakening was still inferior to those in the original story who awakened instantly.
But all of this was within his plan.
Right then, Uchiha Yami, who had been "casually" flung aside by Kōjinja and seemed to have lost all signs of life, twitched slightly. An extremely faint sound issued from her throat, "Bro…ther… ru…n…"
This faint sound reached Uchiha Kenta's ears, teetering on the edge of eruption, acting as the final straw that broke the camel's back.
Yami…
She's not dead yet?!
She's still worried about me?!
No!
I can't let her suffer any more harm!
I need power!
I need to kill everyone who hurt her!
I need to overthrow this damned world!!
"Open… for me… Aaaahhhhh!!!"
Accompanied by a roar that seemed to come from the depths of his soul, the three tomoe in Uchiha Kenta's eyes finally shattered completely and reformed, connecting into a bizarre pattern resembling a four-pointed windmill, slowly rotating.
The Mangekyō Sharingan—had awakened!
A powerful wave of ocular power spread out, a chilling killing intent sweeping through the entire corridor!
Tagitsuhime, who was "fighting," revealed a flicker of surprise in her eyes.
So this is the Mangekyō Sharingan the master schemed for?
Truly extraordinary!
Beneath his mask, Sora's lips finally curled into a satisfied smile.
The catalyst had finally taken effect.
The plan was more than halfway successful.
Next, it was his turn to appear, "mop up the aftermath," and firmly seize control of this pair of siblings, especially these newly awakened eyes.