"Heh heh, I already knew you weren't simple, kid. I also knew you could keep your composure. So this old man ate your venison, played monkey with a sword for half the day… and you still held it in, refusing to say a thing."
Uchiha Nobuyuki grinned with satisfaction.
"But in the end, you're still young. Once I brought out the emotional pressure, you slipped up, didn't you?"
Uchiha Yoru: "..."
[There are actually old foxes like this in the Uchiha clan?]
[With someone this cunning around, how did Uchiha Fugaku end up in charge? How did the entire clan fall into total annihilation?]
Nobuyuki laughed openly.
"Don't overthink it. We old bones were ruined by Madara, then targeted by that brat Tobirama. Thirty years ago, we already lost direct influence over the clan."
"And now, I'm the only one left alive."
"We once placed our hopes in the next generation. That boy, Uchiha Kagami—talent, strength, temperament, all perfect. Even Tobirama accepted him."
"And yet he died out there."
"Not only that—after his death, they still wouldn't let him rest. He was turned into a negative example, used to 'prove' that even powerful shinobi will die if they're careless."
"What a joke. What a foolish slander."
"Those of us who awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan know very well—even when it isn't active, it still has vigilance far beyond a jōnin."
The old man fixed his gaze on Yoru.
"Kid, tell me—under what circumstances would an Uchiha with a three-tomoe Sharingan become careless?"
Yoru let out a soft sigh.
He said nothing.
And Nobuyuki didn't need him to.
"Heh… only when we're with the people we trust most."
"That's the only time an Uchiha truly lets their guard down."
"So-called 'carelessness' is nothing more than our own subconscious rejecting the Sharingan's warning signals."
A shinobi like Uchiha Kagami—
Powerful, well-rounded, extremely hard to kill.
His death could only have two explanations.
Either—
He encountered an overwhelmingly powerful Kage-level opponent, someone so far above him that even with everything he had, he chose to fight to the death and fell.
Or—
He was betrayed by someone he trusted.
And died a humiliating death.
But under the rule of the Second Hokage, Konoha was nothing like it would become later.
At that time, Konoha was arrogant, domineering, overwhelmingly strong.
What brainless Kage-level ninja would dare target Uchiha Kagami?
Did they no longer want to exist in the shinobi world?
So—
Ninety-nine percent chance—
It was betrayal.
Of course, there was no evidence.
Both Nobuyuki and Yoru understood that.
If there had been proof, Tobirama Senju would have dealt with it personally.
He wanted to suppress the Uchiha clan—
But not exterminate Uchiha shinobi.
Those were fundamentally different things.
…
As one of Konoha's founding clans, the Uchiha and the Senju were too powerful.
To a certain extent—
They were tumors within the village.
If both clans continued to grow unchecked, all benefits within Konoha would belong to them alone.
The smaller clans would gain nothing.
As for ordinary villagers who joined as civilians?
They would be exploited even more harshly.
If the lowest strata gained nothing—
Population wouldn't grow.
And without growth—
Konoha would have no future.
Thus—
The Senju and the Uchiha had to be weakened.
For Konoha's sake, Tobirama dismantled the Senju clan, leaving only the First Hokage's lineage.
He then stirred internal conflict within the Uchiha, drove away the powerful core—Uchiha Madara—and exchanged administrative authority for the Uchiha's control of the Military Police Force.
Once the shackles of the founding clans were broken—
Konoha flourished.
It became a village that, even without Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, could still stand against the entire shinobi world.
But—
Dismantling the Senju and suppressing the Uchiha were overcorrections.
After achieving the goal, policy should have shifted—
To soothe these backbone forces of the village.
To guide their loyalty from clan-first to village-first.
But Tobirama died too suddenly.
The adjustments that should have followed—
Were instead pushed to even greater extremes by his successors.
And backlash came.
That backlash manifested as—
Declining combat strength.
The Senju and Uchiha, once the pillars of Konoha, began holding back. They no longer dared—or were willing—to fight with everything they had.
The spirit of Konoha shinobi collapsed.
From easily crushing the shinobi world in the First War—
To struggling against just two opponents in the Second.
Konoha became like the State of Wei in ancient Huaxia—
Situated in the central plains, caught in endless conflict.
It could only swing between extremes.
When strong enough to fight four—
It dominated all directions.
When only strong enough to fight two—
It was besieged from all sides.
Under incompetent leadership, Konoha could not withstand external pressure—
So internal strife intensified.
The remaining Senju mainline was wiped out.
The Uchiha, preserved as a reserve force, were marginalized.
Hatake Sakumo, shining like the midday sun—
Was driven to suicide under false accusations.
Konoha's decline spread from spirit to strength—
And became irreversible.
A vicious cycle.
As Konoha weakened, the Third Hokage's faction suppressed the Uchiha even more harshly.
And with each suppression—
Konoha grew weaker still.
…
Uchiha Nobuyuki understood just how dangerous this situation was.
He feared for the future of the Uchiha clan.
More than that—
He feared for Uchiha Shisui.
But he was old.
So old that even knowing the clan leadership was a group of fools—
He lacked the strength to eliminate them.
And if he couldn't do that—
He certainly couldn't protect Shisui.
Desperation had driven him to the edge.
When he heard about Uchiha Yoru from Shisui—
He came immediately.
No preparation.
No hesitation.
After a single day of contact—
He was overjoyed.
Uchiha Yoru was powerful yet low-key.
Well-connected yet obscure.
Kind-hearted yet decisive in killing.
Though there was no killing intent on him at all—
A veteran like Nobuyuki could still smell the overflowing blood on him.
A contradictory man.
But only such contradictions—
Could survive in a treacherous world.
Only such a person—
Might protect Uchiha Shisui.
Might change the clan's doomed future.
"Shisui… I entrust him to you."
The old man, hair and beard white as snow, bent deeply—
More than ninety degrees.
Yoru did not speak.
Nor did he step aside.
He accepted the bow fully.
And that alone—
Made the old man beam with delight.
He said nothing more.
Turned—
And strode away.
His steps were light—
As though a thousand-pound burden had been lifted from his shoulders.
Uchiha Yoru raised an eyebrow and smiled faintly.
He didn't feel burdened at all.
Because—
He was also an Uchiha.
Solving the clan's annihilation crisis—
Was his responsibility to begin with.
And besides—
He needed the Uchiha clan.
Only with such a powerful clan shielding him—
Could his uniqueness remain hidden.
Could his path of cultivation proceed undisturbed.
If the Uchiha were wiped out—
And only a handful remained in the entire world—
Then he would become a target for every lurking monster.
Standing under the spotlight—
He would be studied, dissected.
How could he keep any secrets then?
Even now—
Just being seen through by this old man—
Already made him feel deeply uncomfortable.
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