Amid the complete wreckage, Haru kicked aside charred tree branches while wiping the blood from his hands with a torn piece of cloth.
The blood belonged to Kagami.
The cloth had also been torn from Kagami's clothes.
This blood was a little hard to wipe off.
Just as Haru was about to complain about it, he noticed that a whole line of Uchiha clansmen had already gathered not far away. Clearly, they had all been drawn here by the noise of the fight.
Haru had no intention of hiding anything. He walked straight toward them, a bright smile on his face as he greeted them warmly.
At the break of dawn, a ray of sunlight happened to fall across Haru's face. His handsome features still looked a little youthful, and Haru was quite confident that his smile looked excellent right now.
Unfortunately, he had been so focused on wiping the blood from his hands that he had forgotten to wipe the blood from his face.
That sunny smile, stained with flecks of blood, looked especially strange.
The Uchiha standing there were instantly thrown into confusion by Haru's enthusiasm.
What kind of normal person smiled like that?
"Just now, Uchiha Kagami was bewitched by Hiruzen and actually came to ambush me. Fortunately, I noticed it in time, and now he's been subdued."
Haru casually made up an excuse on the spot and directly tossed another black pot onto Kagami's head.
After all, once you carried enough black pots, you got used to them.
"What? You don't believe me?"
Haru bared his teeth in a grin and placed a hand on the still-bloodied ninja blade at his side. Seeing that the Uchiha in front of him had not reacted, he even kindly asked them about it.
"We believe you!"
"Of course we do. How could we possibly not believe Captain Haru's words?"
"Uchiha Kagami really is an ungrateful traitor!"
"..."
The Uchiha all nodded frantically, insisting again and again that they believed him. Some of them had even started cursing Kagami on the spot.
"Inabi, Tekka, you're here too."
"Inabi, go carry Kagami to the clan's medical ninja. Don't let him die outside my house."
"That would be bad luck."
Haru noticed that Inabi and Tekka had also come over to watch the excitement, so he simply ordered Inabi to send Kagami for treatment first.
Haru's medical ninjutsu was mediocre.
If this dragged on too long, he was worried Kagami really might die.
"Oh... right, got it."
The moment Inabi heard Haru's order, he hurried over to where Kagami was lying.
The instant he saw Kagami's injuries, Inabi sucked in a cold breath.
A huge wound stretched across Kagami's stomach. The long cut had been roughly stitched together with black thread, and the workmanship was terrible. You could still vaguely see his intestines, though at least the bleeding had temporarily stopped.
Kagami was now in a state where he was taking more breaths out than in. If he did not receive treatment immediately, he really would die here.
Inabi swallowed hard.
Then he remembered Haru's smile from just now.
It had felt completely unfamiliar, almost as though he were meeting Haru for the first time.
It seemed that in front of the captain, he'd better stay quieter from now on.
If he kept speaking carelessly...
Inabi shuddered and did not dare think any further.
Using both hands, he carefully lifted Kagami into his arms, not daring to use too much force in case blood sprayed out again. Then he hurried off toward the house of the clan's medical ninja.
The remaining Uchiha all looked at Kagami's half-dead state, then turned back to Haru.
Haru still wore that familiar smile on his face.
Fear.
Awe.
...
All kinds of emotions mixed together in their eyes.
They desperately wanted to leave, but since Haru had not spoken, none of them dared move even a single step.
"Tekka, send someone to inform Clan Head Tomita and the clan elders. I want a clan meeting. Every Uchiha ninja must attend."
"Konoha's Hokage is dead now, and the Uchiha are about to face a new opportunity. Maybe this time, the Uchiha can produce a Hokage."
"I think that clan head of ours isn't really capable of seizing this chance. So why not replace him with someone who can?"
"I will lead the Uchiha into a new era. A Konoha that belongs to the age of the Uchiha will be born."
The moment Haru finished speaking, the expressions of the Uchiha around him changed drastically.
Even with their toes, they could understand what Haru meant.
Haru wanted to overthrow Tomita and become the new head of the Uchiha Clan!
This was too unfamiliar.
The Haru standing before them was nothing like the Haru they remembered.
His tone was domineering, his ambition overflowing, the complete style of a full hawk.
"Haru-sama, I support you!"
One Uchiha suddenly shouted with fanatical excitement.
Haru recognized him.
He had gone to the battlefield in the same batch as Haru, and his name seemed to be Uchiha Yota.
They had not been in the same squad, but they had fought side by side before.
As Yota cheered, he could not help recalling the scene from the battlefield back then, when Haru had charged alone into a crowd of enemies, his ninja blade leaving behind streaks of blue lightning and splashes of blood wherever it passed. Flesh and blood flew everywhere, and ordinary ninja were cut down by Haru as easily as vegetables.
From that moment on, Yota had started worshiping Haru.
A true Uchiha should be as strong as Haru.
The only pity had been that, back then, Haru had not shown much ambition. He had only looked like someone willing to throw himself into fire and water for Konoha, which had left Yota feeling deeply disappointed.
But now Yota was thrilled.
His idol was finally going to carry the banner.
To hell with Tomita.
That man did not even have the guts to become Konoha's Hokage.
In Yota's eyes, all of Tomita's behavior, always trying to maintain a balance between the Uchiha and the Hokage, was nothing but cowardice.
A perfect seedling for the hawk faction.
Haru looked at Yota and inwardly praised him.
This young man had a future.
When Tobirama had been around, it had been necessary to keep your head down.
Now that he was dead, it was time to get fierce.
It was time to be a hawk.
"Captain! I support you too!"
Tekka quickly followed.
He was one of Haru's staunchest supporters. Haru had saved his younger brother's life. Even just to repay that debt, Tekka would support him.
Tekka's mind started turning rapidly as he connected Haru's actions from yesterday.
Haru had obtained the news of Tobirama's death before anyone else in Konoha and had reacted with incredible speed, issuing orders directly while skipping over Clan Head Tomita entirely.
It was hard not to let his imagination run wild.
The captain he had known before now felt more and more unfamiliar.
Could it be...
Had the captain's old personality all been an act?
Had he been a hawk since childhood?
Tekka could not help sucking in a sharp breath.
Could someone really wear a mask from childhood all the way until now?
Was that even still human?
Tekka felt that his own guess was far too absurd, but his instincts told him that the Haru standing here now was the real one.
"Captain, I support you too!!"
Another Uchiha stepped forward.
He was also someone who had fought on the battlefield together with Haru.
With two or three Uchiha taking the lead, the rest could only follow and start shouting along as well.
People were like that.
The Uchiha were no exception.
Besides, making Haru the clan head was not some unacceptable thing.
He had powerful strength.
Outstanding merits.
And a handsome face.
He had it all.
(End of Chapter)
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