[How did they suddenly fall out so completely?]
Nara Shikasuke, one of the "burdens," complained bitterly in his heart.
He and his two companions immediately lowered their gazes to their toes, as if something fatally fascinating were hidden there, and devoted all their attention to studying them.
The three Root ninja still wore their fixed, false smiles, but the killing intent in their eyes intensified as they stared closely at Uchiha Yoru.
In the next instant, a far more vicious pair of three-tomoe Sharingan glared back.
All three Root ninja collapsed immediately, falling limply to the floor.
The three Root ninja dropping one after another startled both the Third Hokage and the "burden trio."
None of them had expected Uchiha Yoru's Sharingan to be so powerful that even Root ninja with exceptionally resilient minds couldn't withstand a single glance.
In the intelligence Uchiha Yoru had publicly displayed, he had always been known primarily for his command ability.
He was also extremely powerful in Fire Release and taijutsu, but rarely used the Sharingan.
In truth, he had used it before.
However, whenever Uchiha Yoru used the Sharingan, he never left survivors behind.
Naturally, no intelligence could spread.
The Third Hokage put away his pipe and demanded coldly, "Uchiha Yoru, you attacked Konoha ninja right in front of me. What exactly do you mean by this?"
Uchiha Yoru poured himself a cup of tea and replied calmly, "Nothing much. You simply disgusted me, and I no longer felt like enduring it."
Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at him dumbfounded.
It had been twenty years since anyone had targeted him so bluntly.
He genuinely didn't know what he was supposed to say in such a situation.
Uchiha Yoru, however, remained perfectly composed.
After slowly finishing his tea, he said faintly, "Third Hokage, you have gone too far."
"From the very beginning, I have shown you plenty of respect."
"You ordered me to go to the Land of Hot Water, so I went."
"After I established a favorable situation there, you ordered me back to the village and forbade me from acting freely, so I returned."
"Although I don't know why, you suddenly ordered me to leave the village on another mission, and I accepted that too."
"You knocked on my door tonight. I welcomed you inside and even poured you tea."
"After all that, you actually expected to force a Root squad onto me."
"What are you trying to do?"
"Do you want me dead?"
"Third Hokage, why would you think that merely putting on a smiling face means I must happily accept an arrangement intended to send me to my death?"
"Who gave you such overwhelming confidence?"
"Uchiha Fugaku?"
"But I am not Uchiha Fugaku!"
The more Uchiha Yoru spoke, the angrier he became.
He simply extended a hand, pointed directly at the Third Hokage's nose, and cursed him.
"Look at yourself! Look at how far you have fallen!"
"Sarutobi Hiruzen! In your current state, you are not only completely worthless to Konoha, but an outright calamity!"
"You are inferior even to a watchdog!"
Uchiha Yoru gave the Third Hokage no face whatsoever and cursed him to his heart's content.
The time was already right, and his strength had reached the necessary level.
There was no longer any reason for Uchiha Yoru to wrong himself by continuing to indulge Sarutobi Hiruzen.
So what if he was the Third Hokage?
If he dared make Uchiha Yoru unhappy, then Uchiha Yoru would confront him!
If Mōryō in the Land of Demons hadn't been something Uchiha Yoru coveted, he would have rejected this mission as well.
...
The Third Hokage was currently pushing for Konoha to reinforce the Land of Rain.
He had gathered a ninja army with all his strength, and it would depart within one or two days.
That was the opportunity.
The Third Hokage hadn't merely invested everything into this force.
For the first time, he had even mobilized large numbers of Sarutobi clan ninja, while a considerable number of Uchiha ninja were also included.
However, Uchiha Yoru and the three elders beneath him had firmly opposed the decision.
They drew Uchiha Yomokata and Uchiha Tsunekazu to their side, openly broke with Clan Head Fugaku, and refused to dispatch any ninja under their control.
The internal conflict within the Uchiha clan became extraordinarily fierce, and the spectacle grew extremely exaggerated.
Uchiha Yoru's attitude remained unyielding.
Forget Uchiha Fugaku—even when the Third Hokage personally attempted to mediate, he was firmly rejected.
Only because of this contact did Sarutobi Hiruzen notice that an enormous faction had appeared within the Uchiha clan, one that had nearly brought the entire clan under its control.
What shocked the Third Hokage even more was that the true leader of this faction, Uchiha Yoru, was merely nineteen years old.
He was also the founder of the Tiger Unit, the founder and administrator of the Uchiha Clan Ninjutsu and Tactics Study Association, and the natural leader of the clan's younger generation.
Uchiha Yoru was so outstanding, yet he had never attracted much attention.
As a child, he had been an ordinary genius.
After graduation, he became an excellent genin.
Only at eighteen had he been promoted to jōnin due to his command ability and gained a little fame.
He had concealed himself far too deeply!
Whenever the Third Hokage recalled this intelligence, cold sweat covered his entire body.
However, what truly made the Third Hokage decide to deal with Uchiha Yoru was his ability to teach Uchiha children.
In only two short years, he had personally cultivated two hundred and thirty-seven pairs of Sharingan.
It was terrifying.
Uchiha Yoru couldn't be allowed to live!
But as a politician, Sarutobi Hiruzen understood that one couldn't crudely assassinate the leader of a faction.
Before killing Uchiha Yoru, he first had to destroy Uchiha Yoru's power.
Especially now that his own prestige had been damaged.
Even if an assassination succeeded, he couldn't withstand the resulting backlash.
Thus, the Third Hokage carefully devised an expedition plan.
He would use pressure against Hanzō to recover sufficient prestige, then return and form an alliance with Uchiha Fugaku to jointly destroy Uchiha Yoru's faction.
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu both approved of the plan.
Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Setsuna also reluctantly agreed.
Because Uchiha Yoru had directly opposed Uchiha Fugaku, rendering Fugaku's orders meaningless, Fugaku finally realized that his authority had been hollowed out.
Uchiha Setsuna also discovered that the brat who constantly opposed him had actually become the most powerful person in the clan.
Within the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Yoru controlled two-thirds of the ninja.
That didn't even include the power of the Tiger Unit.
Even if Fugaku and Setsuna joined forces, they couldn't mount an effective resistance.
Therefore, they desperately needed external support.
The Third Hokage and Fugaku needed one another.
They quickly formed an alliance and jointly planned the expedition against Uchiha Yoru.
The Third Hokage promised to compensate the Uchiha clan for its losses after the plan succeeded.
For the sake of their own authority and the benefits promised by the Third Hokage, Fugaku and Setsuna placed all their resources on the gambling table and committed every trusted subordinate they possessed.
...
Although he had resolved to eliminate Uchiha Yoru and had already devised and implemented a plan, the Third Hokage still couldn't imagine that Uchiha Yoru would dare point at his nose and curse him.
Sarutobi Hiruzen trembled all over.
Rage rose from his heart, and murderous intent surged from his courage.
If the three cowering members of Ino–Shika–Chō hadn't still been behind him, he truly wanted to abandon everything, swing the Adamantine Staff, and smash the bastard before him to death.
Ever since the Second Hokage's death, no one in the entire shinobi world had dared curse him.
Yet Uchiha Yoru not only cursed him, but used every kind of filthy language to verbally tear Sarutobi Hiruzen apart.
He was far too arrogant!
However, precisely because Uchiha Yoru had become so arrogant and eliminated every possible buffer, all the Third Hokage's familiar methods of advance and retreat had become unusable.
He now had only two choices.
Either vent his anger immediately, condemn Uchiha Yoru for his disrespect, order Konoha ninja to arrest him, and throw him into prison for punishment.
Or directly invoke the authority of the Hokage, issue an order requiring Uchiha Yoru to depart with the teams, and accelerate the plan.
The Third Hokage chose the second option.
With a cold expression, he ordered Uchiha Yoru, "As Hokage, I order you to carry out the mission in the Land of Demons together with these two squads."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Uchiha Yoru accepted the order in a mocking tone.
Then he finished the last mouthful of tea and said, "You should have done that from the beginning."
"You clearly came here to make me uncomfortable. Why did you think speaking pleasantly would work?"
"See? You should issue commands forcefully like this."
"If I don't want to be killed on the spot as a rogue ninja, I must obey 'your' orders."
"Lord Third Hokage, you became a rotten person long ago."
"Why do you still want to be Konoha's moral example and the greatest benevolent Hokage in history?"
Uchiha Yoru stood, snapped his fingers, and awakened the Root ninja.
He walked straight toward the door, then addressed everyone.
"Let's go. Lord Third Hokage has already issued his order. We cannot continue wasting time here."
The Ino–Shika–Chō trio and the three Root ninja all looked toward the Third Hokage.
His face was ashen as he breathed heavily, but he still waved his hand, signaling for them to depart.
The six ninja no longer hesitated.
They quickly followed Uchiha Yoru and soon disappeared around the corner of the street.
Only the furious Third Hokage remained, sitting inside Uchiha Yoru's home and sulking.
At that moment, Uchiha Yoru's voice drifted back from far away.
"Lord Third Hokage, once you have sat long enough and decide to leave, remember to close my door."
"Konoha's public security may be excellent, but leaving the gate wide open is far too tempting."
"For my neighbors, that would be an excessively cruel test."
Sarutobi Hiruzen became even angrier.
His heart pounded violently, causing his ears to ring and his head to throb painfully.
Only after resting for a long time did he finally recover his breath.
By then, he had been away from the Hokage's office for too long.
Worried about his safety, Mitokado Homura had arrived with a full twelve squads of Root ninja.
More than forty-eight ANBU ninja had assembled and were approaching the Uchiha clan compound.
Naturally, such a movement couldn't escape the Uchiha clan's notice.
Given the recent tension between both sides, the Uchiha ninja immediately responded with vigilance.
Dozens of Uchiha ninja appeared in the shadows, blocking the Root ninja near Uchiha Yoru's home.
The two sides entered a standoff, and the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.
Before long, even Uchiha Clan Head Fugaku appeared.
The tension reached its peak.
Mitokado Homura had acted far too carelessly.
Bringing five or six people would have been enough and wouldn't have alarmed the Uchiha.
Why did he insist on bringing two full companies?
At this point, the Third Hokage could only leave Uchiha Yoru's home.
After closing the door properly, he walked directly between the opposing sides and prevented the situation from escalating further.
He said to Uchiha Fugaku, "My apologies. This time, I came to find Uchiha Yoru without informing you, resulting in such a scene."
"It was truly inappropriate."
Uchiha Fugaku took a deep breath and asked, "Lord Hokage, you are Konoha's leader. Your presence in the Uchiha compound is our honor."
"However, two companies of Root ninja rushed here aggressively without the Hokage's order."
"How could we not be afraid?"
The Third Hokage apologized again.
"I am very sorry. This was an error caused by my poor consideration."
"It absolutely won't happen again."
Hearing the Third Hokage apologize, Uchiha Fugaku also breathed a sigh of relief.
His tone softened.
"Very well, Lord Hokage. I believe you."
Then he shouted to his clansmen, "Everything is fine. This was a misunderstanding."
"Lord Hokage and I will resolve the matter."
"Everyone return home!"
Following Fugaku's command, all the Uchiha ninja withdrew.
Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately recovered a familiar feeling.
Uchiha Fugaku was still so easy to deceive.
The Uchiha ninja still responded so well to soft words.
Every one of them was foolish and easy to manage.
So why had an Uchiha Yoru appeared?
He possessed deep schemes, endured loneliness, focused solely on interests, and cared nothing for face.
On the surface, he seemed to yield to force but not persuasion.
In reality, neither force nor persuasion worked on him.
No matter how one looked at him, he didn't resemble an Uchiha.
He barely even resembled a ninja.
He was more like one of the nobles from a daimyō's court.
No, that wasn't right either.
That bastard also knew how to curse like a shrew and create unreasonable scenes.
After conceding a considerable amount of利益 and quickly placating Fugaku, the Third Hokage left the Uchiha compound with a smile.
However, on the return journey, Sarutobi Hiruzen's face was filled with worry.
He began missing Danzō again.
Back when Danzō was alive, his seemingly reckless and destructive actions always left the Uchiha at a complete loss.
When the Third Hokage cooperated with Danzō, a simple strategy of advancing two steps and retreating one could make the Uchiha surrender利益 while remaining deeply grateful to him.
The current Mitokado Homura was loyal enough, but constantly made mistakes.
He forced the Third Hokage to concede利益 to the Uchiha merely to preserve the balance.
If the Third Hokage hadn't taken the risk of forcing every Uchiha out of Konoha's administrative departments after Orochimaru left, he wouldn't even possess any remaining利益 to concede now.
Seeing the Third Hokage's dejection, Mitokado Homura also felt deeply embarrassed.
He apologized.
"Hiruzen, this was my fault again. I made things difficult for you."
"Forget it. No matter what, we still achieved our objective and exiled Uchiha Yoru far away."
"Under the supervision of the Root ninja and Ino–Shika–Chō, completing the Land of Demons mission will take him at least a month."
"That will give us enough time to resolve the Land of Rain matter and destroy his faction within the Uchiha clan."
The Third Hokage lit his pipe and comforted Mitokado Homura.
"The current situation isn't entirely negative."
"At least my relationship with Uchiha Fugaku is improving."
"Consider it a necessary investment."
"After we eliminate Uchiha Yoru's faction and kill him, Uchiha Fugaku will no longer possess the capital to negotiate with me."
"No matter how much he swallows now, I will make him spit out twice as much later!"
...
"An operational plan?"
Uchiha Yoru looked at Nara Shikasuke.
"For such a simple mission, why would we need an operational plan?"
Nara Shikasuke explained, "Jōnin Uchiha, the objective of this mission is the monster Mōryō!"
"You are the person responsible for this mission. How could you have no plan?"
"I'm responsible for the mission?"
Uchiha Yoru asked curiously, "Why did no one tell me?"
Nara Shikasuke couldn't help complaining inwardly.
Naturally, the Third Hokage should have told him.
But Uchiha Yoru had cursed the Third Hokage like a dog.
How could the man still remember such details?
Nara Shikasuke helplessly took out his squad's mission order.
Then he requested the Root squad's mission order and handed both to Uchiha Yoru.
Uchiha Yoru examined them carefully.
Sure enough, both mission orders contained the words "Obey Uchiha Yoru's commands," proving that he was indeed responsible.
He sneered disdainfully and pointed toward the Root squad.
Then he asked Nara Shikasuke, "Do men whose eyes are filled with killing intent truly intend to obey my commands?"
Nara Shikasuke looked at the Root ninja's strange fixed smiles and murder-filled eyes.
He also felt there was no convincing argument he could make.
He could only spread both hands.
"I don't know either."
Uchiha Yoru was amused.
"Fine. Since I am indeed responsible for the mission, I'll make a plan."
"Our objective is the monster Mōryō."
"We will travel to the Land of Demons at the fastest possible speed, eliminate the monster, complete the mission, and return home."
"Mission duration: seven days."
Nara Shikasuke stared dumbfounded and directly objected.
"That is impossible."
"To reach the Land of Demons, we must pass through the Land of Rain, the Land of Birds, and the Land of Bears."
"Jōnin Uchiha, all of those countries are battlefields."
"Hostile ninja are everywhere. There is no way we can travel at full speed."
"According to the route I planned, if our luck is good enough, we can reach the Land of Demons within seven days."
"That is already the absolute limit."
Uchiha Yoru glanced at the map he had drawn and asked disdainfully, "Why not pass through the Land of Rain, enter the Land of Wind, then travel directly through it into the Land of Demons?"
"The Land of Wind? That is Sunagakure's territory. How could we—"
Halfway through his words, Nara Shikasuke suddenly realized that passing through the Land of Wind was actually feasible.
The Land of Wind was vast, while Sunagakure possessed too few ninja.
Most of its main forces were concentrated in the Land of Rain and the Land of Rivers.
There were certainly very few ninja remaining within its own territory.
As long as their speed was sufficiently high, they could cross the Land of Wind and reach the Land of Demons before Sunagakure reacted.
However, he still questioned the plan.
"Jōnin Uchiha, your route is feasible, but it is longer."
"Even if we travel at full speed, we will need five days."
Uchiha Yoru raised an eyebrow.
"Then your speed is simply too slow."
"In any case, I have already established the plan."
"If you cannot accomplish it, that isn't my problem."
Nara Shikasuke understood the meaning hidden within Uchiha Yoru's words.
He actually intended to leave the six ninja behind and complete the mission alone ahead of them...
How could that be possible?
This was the mission to seal the monster Mōryō, a famous joint operation throughout the shinobi world.
How could one person possibly complete it?
Wait!
Uchiha Yoru had even cursed the Third Hokage without restraint.
Would he truly care about the mission?
But he was a ninja.
If a ninja refused even to carry out missions, wouldn't he be seeking death like Hatake Sakumo?
Nara Shikasuke's mind descended into complete chaos.
The Third Hokage had assigned him a secret mission.
The two squads had to cooperate in monitoring Uchiha Yoru and prevent him from returning to Konoha before the mission was completed.
How was he supposed to accomplish that?
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