"It's all that damn Arisu's fault! If he hadn't forced Lord Danzo to step down in disgrace, Konoha would have already crushed the ninja world and unified everything!"
"What crime did Lord Danzo commit!"
"Damn that Arisu!"
———
Inside the cold stone hall of the Naka Shrine, three Uchiha were holding a secret meeting.
"Just cursing him is useless."
"If we keep cursing like this, can we curse Arisu to death?" Uchiha Yashiro said.
Uchiha Tekka immediately nodded heavily, a fierce look flashing in his eyes.
"That's right! I say we plan another Nine-Tails incident and make our move during the chaos..."
"No."
"That Nine-Tails is just useless trash that only looks impressive. Out of the previous two so-called 'Nine-Tails incidents,' which one actually posed a real threat?"
"The first one only smashed a few unfinished buildings and knocked down some utility poles."
"The second one was even more ridiculous. It fired one Tailed Beast Bomb outside the village and was dragged back by Konoha's higher-ups like a stray dog."
"Thinking it can tie down Konoha's higher-ups is just a fool's dream."
Uchiha Inabi interrupted immediately, his tone full of undisguised contempt.
The curses in the hall suddenly stopped, leaving only heavy breathing.
"I can't swallow this anger!"
"Why do those bastards who cling to Arisu get to let their children study and laugh peacefully at the Ninja Academy?!"
Uchiha Yashiro slammed his fist onto the stone table. His knuckles turned white, and his joints cracked.
A vicious expression appeared on Uchiha Tekka's face, his teeth grinding.
"Then let them taste what it's like to lose their loved ones too. We'll kidnap their children, kill them, and then defect from Konoha."
"I have nothing to fear."
Uchiha Inabi leaned against a cold stone pillar, his eyes empty and crazy.
"My family already died on the battlefield. No father, no mother, no wife, no children. Those with nothing have nothing to fear from those with something."
"I'm an invincible man now."
The three exchanged glances and saw undisguised killing intent in each other's eyes, but when it came to choosing a target, silence fell again.
"Lord Fugaku's son can't be touched."
"Even if he wears the same pants as the Hokage, he's still Uchiha blood.", Yashiro was the first to break the silence.
"The Hokage's son is out too. That kid has the Nine-Tails inside him. The Nine-Tails may be useless, but if it gets desperate and explodes, we might not come out ahead."
"Sarutobi Shinnosuke's son is too young. He stays inside the Sarutobi compound every day, and that old man Sarutobi Hiruzen visits every few days. There's no chance to strike."
After ruling out one target after another, the three men's eyes finally met.
"Then only Arisu's son is left."
Tekka licked his cracked lips and showed a mouthful of white teeth.
"He's just a kid with an ordinary bloodline. I've checked before. That arrogant Arisu never thought anyone would dare touch his son, so he didn't even arrange any bodyguards.", Uchiha Tekka chuckled.
"After killing him, we'll go to the Land of Rain."
"I heard there's an organization there called Akatsuki. It should be able to take in people like us who have nowhere left to go.", Inabi said calmly.
The three smiled knowingly.
"Hahahaha!"
———
The school bell had just rung in Konoha.
Yukio carried his schoolbag and headed home. His house was in the outskirts, and the trip took half an hour.
At this hour, there were almost no people on the road. It was so quiet that only his own footsteps could be heard. The woods on both sides were dark, and the wind rustled through the leaves, making the back of his neck feel uneasy.
No one noticed that three shadows had already attached themselves to the tree trunks, like three coiled venomous snakes waiting for their prey.
'What's going on... why do I keep feeling something bad and uncomfortable...', As he walked, Yukio suddenly frowned.
It felt like something inside his head was constantly making a beeping sound.
Yukio scratched his head.
No matter how hard he thought, he couldn't figure out where this strange feeling came from.
At this moment, Yukio still didn't know that this was an inborn danger sense.
Whenever danger approached, it would appear.
It could even be used to predict various disasters.
Before an earthquake, this sense would give a warning.
He only knew that the unexplainable unease was getting stronger and stronger. Yukio unconsciously quickened his pace, wanting nothing more than to rush home and close the door.
Deep inside the shadows of the trees.
"Hey! Aren't we moving yet? If we don't act now, this brat will get home."
Uchiha Yashiro's eyes were nailed to the small figure ahead, his fingers touching the cold kunai at his waist.
"Get ready..."
Uchiha Tekka licked his dry lips. The ferocity in his eyes was almost overflowing, and his fingers had long been resting on the clasp of his ninja pouch.
"Move!", Uchiha Inabi shouted softly and rushed out first.
The three shadows moved at the same time, carrying fierce killing intent as they charged toward Yukio's back.
Suddenly, his danger sense reached its limit.
That beeping alarm exploded inside his head.
Without thinking, Yukio rolled to the side.
Dirt flew everywhere.
The place where Yukio had just been standing had already been blasted into a shallow pit by the combined attack.
"Who are you?!"
Yukio pushed himself up from the ground, his voice trembling uncontrollably.
This was the first time in his life that Yukio had faced killing intent aimed directly at taking his life. His hands and feet had gone weak.
He was only a child.
The three people before him were genuine Uchiha elites.
Men who had been on battlefields and killed people.
The three Uchiha froze at the same time, their eyes full of disbelief.
A kid who had only entered the Ninja Academy a few days ago and hadn't even fully learned basic taijutsu had actually avoided their combined sneak attack?
"So you're born with such sharp senses..."
"If we let you grow up, you'll become a major problem."
Uchiha Inabi slowly spoke, his voice flat.
"What a pity."
Uchiha Yashiro grinned viciously and tightened his grip on his kunai again.
"You won't get that chance."
Just as the three crouched down and prepared to launch a second fatal attack...
A crack suddenly appeared in the ground without any warning.
Without making a sound, a black figure wearing a cat-faced mask burst out from beneath the earth.
"Attempting to kill a child inside Konoha!"
"You've got some nerve.", The Anbu member's voice came through the mask.
The three men's expressions changed instantly.
Uchiha Tekka's hand holding the kunai stiffened, and his pupils shrank to pinpoints.
"Anbu?!"
"Why are they here?!"
Yashiro instinctively stepped back half a step, cold sweat instantly covering his back.
They had all served in the Anbu before. They knew very well what this uniform represented, both in strength and authority. It was not something the three of them could handle.
Inabi gritted his teeth, his mind racing. There were no reported mission sites nearby, so it could only be a coincidence.
Some unlucky guy had just happened to finish a mission and return, stumbling onto this incident!
"Retreat!"
He made the decision immediately and shouted.
Tekka turned around first and shot into the nearby forest like an arrow. At the same time, Inabi and Yashiro raised their hands and threw two smoke bombs to the ground with a bang.
Thick white smoke instantly exploded, and the two figures disappeared into the depths of the forest.