Chapter 54: News Spreads
In the Land of Fire.
Early morning had just arrived, a faint golden hue stretching across the rooftops, as people slowly moved through the streets, shopkeepers lifting wooden shutters, the soft clatter of goods being arranged mixing with the low hum of casual conversations, as the village gradually came to life like any other ordinary day.
When suddenly, a new piece of news spread like wildfire within the village, nobody knew who started it, but a single piece of information had practically taken over every conversation within the village within just a few hours, passing from mouth to mouth, growing sharper and more defined with every retelling.
In the residential side of the Konoha district, an aunty who had just come out to buy groceries stood near a small vegetable stall, her hands still holding a cloth bag, as she leaned slightly forward with a particularly gossipy expression on her face, her eyes glancing around once before she whispered to another similar looking woman in front of her.
"Have you heard the new news about the Uchiha clan"
The other woman frowned slightly before leaning in as well, her tone carrying mild curiosity, "What now, don't tell me something else happened"
"They're saying one of them defected… a shinobi from the village," the aunty said in a lowered tone, though the faint excitement in her voice was hard to hide.
"Defected?" the second woman's brows furrowed slightly, "From the Uchiha clan?"
"Yes, and not just that, he's already been marked as a missing nin," the first aunty nodded, as if confirming her own words, her voice gaining confidence as she spoke.
The other woman crossed her arms slightly, her expression turning more judgmental, "I always knew something was off with that clan, always acting like they're above everyone else."
"Exactly," the first aunty replied almost immediately, "All that power, yet what do they even do, just standing around as the police force, acting important like the whole village revolves around them."
"Hmph, and even then, do they even do their job properly, I've heard more complaints than anything else, people getting questioned for no reason, and their attitude…" the second woman added with a faint scoff.
"That's what I'm saying, now look, one of them just leaves like that, who knows what kind of trouble he'll bring to the village," the first aunty said, her voice lowering slightly as if the thought itself carried weight.
"With people like that, it was bound to happen sooner or later," the second woman replied calmly, though there was a clear hint of disdain beneath her tone.
A brief silence passed before the first aunty spoke again, her lips curling slightly as her expression turned more vicious, "Those Uchiha should just leave already."
Not far from them, similar conversations could be heard across the streets, voices kept low but filled with the same underlying tension, "An Uchiha missing nin?" "Yeah, I heard it this morning, seems like it's already confirmed." "That's not good…" "More than that, if he really left, he might be carrying information with him." "Then the higher ups won't ignore this." "They can't… not this time."
The name had already begun to circulate quietly among the people.
Kenzo.
In the underground bounty office, a single piece of information spread like wildfire through various channels, as if someone was deliberately pushing it forward, moving faster than ordinary information ever could, and within just half a day, every skilled shinobi, whether from Konoha or other bounty hunters, had already heard of it.
A small crowd had already formed, as various bounty hunters surrounded the bounty display board, the wooden surface now almost hidden beneath layers of paper, their eyes locked onto the face plastered on it, their gazes sharp, calculating, filled with a restrained hunger that was difficult to hide.
Previously, this would not have been anything too special for these rough shinobi, after all, even S rank bounties, while rare, were nothing more than death traps to most, something to be avoided rather than pursued.
But now, things had completely changed.
The reward itself had not changed.
But the meaning behind it had.
"An Uchiha."
A living, breathing Uchiha outside of Konoha's influence, and possibly carrying village secrets, that was not something to be taken lightly, it was not just a target anymore, but an opportunity, one that could change a person's entire standing within the shinobi world.
First of all, who were the Uchiha in the first place, they were undoubtedly one of the most powerful and most feared clans in the entire shinobi world, without a doubt, their kekkei genkai, the Sharingan, had allowed skilled shinobi on the battlefield to leave permanent scars in the history of the shinobi world, there was even a saying, when you encounter an Uchiha one on one, run, because the moment their eyes lock onto you, the battle is already decided, hesitation meant death, and eye contact itself was already a mistake.
And that's not even considering their history, the legacy behind the name alone was enough to make even experienced shinobi cautious, a clan that had stood at the peak of the village's power for generations was not something that could be dismissed lightly.
Bloodline shinobi were rare, like treasures, every village and clan protected each of them fiercely, and even if someone managed to get one, there were many reasons why nobody dared covet them openly, the main reason being that any attempt to capture one would immediately trigger retaliation from both clan and village, which could easily escalate into a larger conflict between nations, another reason being that controlling a trained bloodline shinobi was far more difficult than capturing one, they were often conditioned from a young age, loyal to their village, and even in death, many would choose to destroy themselves rather than be used.
And now, one was just there, placed on a silver platter.
Exposed.
Separated from the protection of his clan and village.
Normally, no shinobi village would publicize this kind of information so openly, that was practically no different from stabbing themselves, but for some reason, Konoha's internal leadership allowed it, though there was no official announcement, nobody in the shinobi profession was foolish, information like this does not spread this fast without intention, not without someone allowing it to spread.
Which meant only one thing.
This was not an accident.
At the same time just outside the Land of Fire a few birds could be seen taking off from different directions small message tubes tied to their legs as they flew across the sky their destination already decided.
On the forest paths below a few figures moved at a steady pace some carrying scrolls others simply passing along the same information as they traveled there was no urgency in their movements nor any attempt to hide it.
The news had already spread through the black markets.
And it was still spreading.