Given the temperament of the Uchiha clan's ninja, once they learned that the village intended to kick them out of the central core area, they would explode on the spot and immediately gather to storm the Hokage Residence to demand an explanation.
Fugaku absolutely could not let them do that. Because of the Nine-Tails incident, the people in the village—from the higher-ups to ordinary ninja—already held grievances against them.
If he allowed his clansmen to assemble and charge the Hokage Residence again, how could the Uchiha clan continue to live in Konohagakure?
But how was he supposed to appease them?
Fugaku was extremely troubled. Damn it—he was being made difficult for by the higher-ups in the Konoha council, and when he returned to the clan he still had to face the questioning of his own clansmen. He was simply taking heat from both sides.
Being the clan head of this damned clan was truly no fun.
As for how the Nine-Tails incident had occurred, aside from the few people present that night, no one actually knew the inside story. However, the fact that the Sharingan could control a tailed beast was intelligence many people already knew.
And with the Nine-Tails' rampage, after certain people spread the word, that piece of intelligence had now become public knowledge known to everyone. Thus, their clan naturally bore original sin—something impossible to explain away.
If things continued like this, the rift between the Uchiha clan and the rest of the village would only grow deeper, until in the end they would become like fire and water, completely irreconcilable.
To solve the problem, he had to understand what had happened that night.
Thinking of this, Fugaku came up with a small idea.
The three people responsible for dealing with the Nine-Tails that night just happened to have a fairly good relationship with their family. Perhaps he could start from that angle.
After lunch, the Uchiha clan held an assembly. As expected, all the clansmen who attended reacted fiercely, stubbornly refusing to agree to the relocation. Fugaku barely managed to calm them down through a mixture of coaxing and deception, and then invoked the authority of the clan head, telling everyone in a commanding tone that the move was non-negotiable.
It truly was half coaxing, half deception.
He told them that the other clans had also agreed to relocate, and that their clan could not appear different and unwilling to cooperate.
In reality, only their clan and the Aburame clan were relocating. And the Aburame clan had applied for the move themselves because of the nature of their secret techniques. Unlike the Uchiha, who were completely being driven out of the center of Konoha.
He could only do it this way—settle the relocation first. As for the future? That could be dealt with later. By then the matter would be a done deal, and once everyone had grown accustomed to living there, the clansmen would probably only vent some dissatisfaction at him rather than break with the village.
After leaving the clan's shrine, he saw his son waiting for him at the entrance. Fugaku decided to let him step in and help with something.
Itachi did not object to the relocation. Although he was overly mature for his age, at this age he still did not understand what this relocation truly meant. He was simply curious about the new clan compound and asked his father to accompany him to take a look.
Fugaku did not oppose this. While visiting the training ground attached to the new clan compound, he even granted his son's request and taught him the Uchiha clan's most iconic family ninjutsu.
And then… and then this little kid learned it after just one look.
Watching the highly powerful Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, Fugaku's originally gloomy mood suddenly brightened. His son really was an extraordinary genius.
"As expected of my son, Itachi. I have placed great expectations on you."
...
After Jiraiya and Tsunade left, Makoto continued training at the training ground for a while longer, only preparing to head home around dusk.
Aside from the central area having been reduced to ruins, quite a few chunks of flying debris from buildings had also smashed into some places on the outskirts that night.
Those only needed some repairs. At this moment, construction was underway in many places.
On the streets, members of the Uchiha Police Force occasionally passed by, and the residents who saw them did not look at them too kindly.
In the past, people had only been impatient with the members of the Uchiha Police Force, feeling that they sometimes meddled too much or were not accommodating enough. But now, people avoided them whenever possible and were even somewhat disgusted by them.
Those looks were like the looks one would give a suspect who had destroyed one's own home.
The villagers' frightened and uneasy emotions needed an outlet. Now that Minato and Kushina were still alive, there naturally would not be any rumors about the reincarnation of the demon fox, so the Uchiha had become the biggest scapegoats.
This did not require guidance from the higher-ups or from Danzō. No gag order had been issued from above, and with ninja who understood the tailed beasts making their own guesses, public opinion would naturally develop in this direction. It was unavoidable.
Danzō did not need to do anything at all. Letting things take their course was enough.
As he neared his front door, Makoto saw a peculiar combination.
Itachi was standing quietly on the street. Beside him was a little girl about his age, and most notably, he was still strapped with a baby carrier, with an infant nestled against his chest.
The baby and the girl beside him seemed to be natural opposites. Whenever she got too close to Itachi, or whenever Itachi spoke with her for too long, the baby would start crying and fussing, only stopping after his dear older brother soothed him in a gentle voice.
After seeing Makoto, Itachi ran straight over. "Makoto-senpai, I finally caught you."
Makoto said in surprise, "Oh, Itachi, did you come specifically to look for me?"
"Yes. Father asked me to ask you whether you have time tonight to come to my house for dinner."
Makoto did not answer, instead looking at the baby. "Is this your younger brother Sasuke?"
The moment his younger brother was mentioned, he forgot what his father had told him to do and said as if showing off a treasure, "Yes. He's very cute, isn't he, Makoto-senpai?"
"It really is very cute." Makoto pinched the little guy's cheek. The little fellow did not resist and simply stared at this unfamiliar person with a pair of curious eyes.
The little girl beside Itachi became excited after seeing Makoto. Clasping her hands in front of her chest, she asked, "Makoto? Could it be that senpai is the hero of our Konoha, Higashino Makoto?"
"Mm… I think the person you're talking about should indeed be me."
"Senpai, hello. My name is Uchiha Izumi. It's our first meeting—please take care of me." The little girl gave a serious bow.
"Alright, I've remembered your name."
She truly was a beautiful little girl. Her big eyes were especially lively, almost as if they could speak, and the tear mole beneath the corner of her right eye was perfectly placed.
No wonder the little guy had been opposing her since infancy. If he didn't show any resistance, his older brother would be carried off by a little temptress in the future.
Only then did Itachi remember the real matter. "Senpai, about my father's invitation?"
For Uchiha Fugaku to send an invitation at a time like this—Makoto could guess his intention even with his hair. After briefly thinking it over, he replied, "Understood. I'll go."
"Thank you, senpai. See you tonight!"
Itachi gave a serious bow, then left happily together with Izumi.
Although he still did not understand everything, he had already noticed that the villagers' attitude toward his clan was not the same as before, and he had also seen the furious reactions of the clansmen who had come out of the clan meeting that afternoon.
Instinctively, he felt that Makoto agreeing to his father's invitation at this time was a very good thing for his clan.
After returning home, quite some time later his parents also got off work and came back together.
"Mom, you don't need to make dinner for me. I'm going to visit someone's house tonight."
"Got it."
She did not remind Makoto about the details one should pay attention to when visiting someone else's home. There was no need to say such things—her son understood far more than she did.
Jirō was a little curious. "Makoto, whose house are you going to?"
"An invitation from Clan Head Fugaku."
Jirō's expression became serious. "Makoto, I don't recommend that you go to the Uchiha clan at this time."
"Father, it's fine. If anyone has objections, let them stand in front of me and say it."
Jirō sighed somewhat helplessly. "Alright. You've always had your own ideas since you were little—I can't persuade you otherwise. But you must understand your influence in the village."
"After the Nine-Tails disaster, every move the Uchiha make is being watched by others. What that represents—I think you understand it better than I do."
"Yes. That's exactly why I'm going."
If Makoto were merely an ordinary eleven-year-old boy, even if he possessed the strength of a jōnin, he would not go—and more importantly, Fugaku would not have invited him.
Because he would not possess the ability to change the overall situation.
But he was not. He now had enough standing to act according to his own will, and he also had enough strength to influence the balance within Konoha.
If anyone believed he did not—fine, go talk to the Nine-Tails and see whether it agrees.
A little after six in the evening, Makoto left the house and headed toward the Uchiha clan's district.
For now, they were still in the central area of Konoha. However, it would not be long before the entire clan was relocated to a corner of the village.
That place had been specially chosen for them by Danzō, making it extremely convenient to monitor them from every direction.
As Makoto approached the entrance of the Uchiha clan compound, an ANBU ninja suddenly jumped out from a nearby corner.
Judging from the pattern on the mask on his face, he was one of Root's people.
His tone was unfriendly. "Stop. Entry ahead is forbidden."
"This is the Uchiha clan's place, isn't it? It's not some secret restricted zone. Why can't I go in?"
"Please return."
The Root member spoke very little, but his actions made his attitude clear—his hand had already gripped the hilt of his sword.
If it were ordinary people, they would not stop them at all and would only record it.
But the meaning represented by the person in front of them was different.
Makoto smiled. "Go ahead and try drawing that blade. Attacking a fellow ninja of the same village without cause gives me the right to kill you—including your other two teammates. Why don't you guess how many seconds the three of you could last against me?"
In the end, the Root ninja did not dare draw his blade. Not fearing death did not mean they wished to seek death, and as for the claim that Root ninja had no emotions—just listen to it as a story.
"I will report this matter to Danzō-sama."
"Suit yourself. If he has any objections, tell him to come find me personally."
After saying that, Makoto swaggered straight into the Uchiha clan compound.
Aside from ninja, a large number of ordinary people also lived in this clan. The compound contained complete shops and facilities; the clansmen could even solve their daily needs without leaving.
It was practically a village within the village.
Makoto was not unfamiliar with this place. He had come here before to look for Shisui. However, after the night of the Nine-Tails, the clan compound had also suffered considerable damage, yet none of it had been repaired.
After all, they had already decided to relocate—why bother fixing it? No one knew which clan this place would be assigned to in the future. They were all filled with anger now, so they had no intention of repairing it for the convenience of whoever came later.
The fact that they had not gathered to block the Hokage Residence was already showing considerable restraint toward Konoha's higher-ups.
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