At the same time, in Konoha's true center—the Hokage Building, backed by Hokage Rock, which represented Konoha's history and past—the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, whose hair and beard were still black in the twilight of his prime, suddenly received intelligence from the ANBU.
Seeing the contents of the report, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned slightly, then could not help turning to look out the window. That direction was toward the Uchiha Clan Compound. From the Hokage Building, he could even vaguely see it—the vast core area that belonged entirely to the Uchiha Clan.
These were the privileges and benefits belonging to one of Konoha's founding clans.
However, at some point, the Uchiha Clan, which occupied immense resources and benefits, had become a source of deep concern for Konoha's upper ranks.
Now, this clan had suddenly caused a stir today, forcing Hiruzen Sarutobi to give the matter serious thought.
What Hiruzen Sarutobi held was the situation the ANBU had discovered at the entrance to the Uchiha Clan Compound not long ago. They had seen Uchiha Qi enter the Uchiha residence under the respectful welcome of numerous Uchiha.
There was no further information. Konoha's people could at most monitor the area outside the Uchiha Clan Compound; the inside remained a complete mystery.
"Uchiha Qi... I remember that child. An oddity among the Uchiha Clan, Minato's close friend, and he also got along well with Kushina. He even helped Minato and the others rescue Uzumaki Kikyo, a member of the Uzumaki Clan who had been left scattered abroad."
"Unlike the other Uchiha, he never obeyed the clan's arrangements. As a child, he rejected the clan's demands and resolutely entered the Ninja Academy despite lacking talent as a ninja. Although his academic grades were always the best, his other results were utterly ordinary. Compared to the other Uchiha geniuses, he fell far short, which earned him the title Disgrace of the Uchiha."
"Perhaps because of his childhood experiences, he did not possess such a strong sense of honor toward the Uchiha Clan. He had even moved out of the Uchiha Clan Compound after graduating from the Ninja Academy. Now, he worked in the Konoha Military Police Force as a Chunin, serving as an overlooked logistics clerk."
"All along, the Uchiha had paid him no attention at all. It could even be said that they had treated him coldly, with only a few Uchiha showing him a relatively decent attitude."
"Yet this morning, the Uchiha Clan showed him extraordinarily high-level respect, welcoming Uchiha Qi back to the clan compound with the same attitude they would use to receive an official visit from another clan's head."
"For that purpose, they had even dispatched Uchiha Jiri, a genius of the Uchiha Clan's younger generation, to personally go to his home and receive him as a subordinate."
After reading all the information, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned deeply. He simply could not understand what medicine the Uchiha Clan had taken to suddenly and so publicly welcome Uchiha Qi—a rebellious mediocrity within the clan—back to the clan compound, while giving him such high treatment. It was utterly absurd.
Even though Hiruzen Sarutobi knew the Uchiha Clan was an eccentric clan, today's situation still left him completely bewildered.
Unfortunately, this was not the future. Hiruzen Sarutobi did not yet have Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi, those two bizarre Uchiha turncoats, under his command. Naturally, he had no way of knowing what was happening within the Uchiha Clan.
After thinking it over from every angle and finding no answer, Hiruzen Sarutobi decided to set the matter aside for the time being.
It was not that he intended to ignore it. Rather, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that his close friend, Shimura Danzō, had always kept an eye on the Uchiha Clan. If there was any problem, Shimura Danzō would certainly find a way to investigate it and tell him the truth.
Wasn't Root of Konoha created for precisely such matters?
Mm, before experiencing Shimura Danzō's assassination attempt, Hiruzen Sarutobi had always placed tremendous trust in his good friend.
In fact, at this very moment, in Root's underground base deep within the forest behind Hokage Rock, Shimura Danzō had indeed received the relevant intelligence.
However, he had learned of it from Root members directly under his command—as the Pot Kage who held the deepest prejudice against the Uchiha Clan and coveted the power of the Sharingan, he had always had his people secretly monitoring the Uchiha Clan. Whenever the Uchiha Clan made any unusual move, he would not receive the information much later than Hiruzen Sarutobi.
After reading all the intelligence, Shimura Danzō narrowed his one remaining left eye. A clear viciousness appeared on his wrinkled old face, half-wrapped in bandages.
"Uchiha Qi..."
The Uchiha whom no one had ever valued caught Shimura Danzō's attention on this day.
Meanwhile, within the Uchiha Clan Compound's conference hall, the game trial had begun.
"This... is the world of the Genjutsu Game?"
As the first person to experience it, Uchiha Myoji looked at the eerie, underworld-like scenery within the game and instinctively felt fear rise in his heart.
(Cameo by reader 'Uchiha Clan')
Like Minato Namikaze and Uchiha Fugaku before him, the unknown terror brought by the underworld-like setting made this Uchiha elite—now in his forties, someone who considered himself courageous enough to remain calm even in the face of any great occasion—feel that he had been far too careless.
Though he had heard the young Clan Head say that the scene was somewhat terrifying, to be honest, Uchiha Myoji considered his young Clan Head rather ornamental. He had basically never gone out to carry out missions.
Although Uchiha Fugaku had experienced the Second Great Ninja War as a child, he had still merely been the young Clan Head at the time, staying in Konoha without going anywhere. Naturally, he had never seen any major scenes.
Toward such an Uchiha Fugaku, Uchiha Myoji would give the proper respect due to his bloodline and status, but he did not acknowledge the other's judgment. Naturally, he did not take seriously Uchiha Fugaku's claim that the Genjutsu Game was both realistic and terrifying.
As a result, after entering full of confidence, he was immediately met with a harsh lesson. The game had not even officially begun, yet cold sweat had already started forming.
At the same time, the six "spectators" who had entered alongside him, led by the Uchiha Clan Head and the Grand Elder, also saw the scene within the game.
Moreover, to give them a deeper experience, Uchiha Qi had positioned their viewpoints beside Uchiha Myoji, the player. They could reach out and touch the buildings, feel the environment and air, and even sense the touch of their own bodies.
However, that was all they could do. They could not interfere with the game world in any way, and Uchiha Myoji could not see the others.
Even so, several exclamations of astonishment rang out.
"Amazing!!!"
"So realistic!!!"
"Th-this is really genjutsu? Are you sure it isn't a real world?"
"Ah~ this light~ ah~ this door~ ah~ this green fire~ and this person... th-this unbelievably real feeling is actually genjutsu!?"
Several Uchiha cried out in shock, utterly unconcerned about maintaining their status. Only the Clan Head and Grand Elder, who were accustomed to keeping straight faces, remained composed and did not make a spectacle of themselves.
Even so, those repeated exclamations left the Uchiha who had not entered the game world looking at one another. Their curiosity was thoroughly stirred, and they desperately wanted to know what the important figures had seen inside.
Only Uchiha Fugaku, who had experienced it long ago, knew everything and thus remained very calm.
However, he still felt an inexplicable sense of superiority within his heart and was immensely pleased with himself.
It was the pride of having experienced it ahead of everyone else, as well as the pride of seeing Uchiha Qi, whom he had long held in high regard, astonish everyone else. It was rather like the satisfaction of while everyone else had been drunk, I alone had been sober; now that dawn had come, everyone was astonished.
As for Clan Head Uchiha Masanobu and Grand Elder Uchiha Setsuna, although these two most composed figures showed nothing outwardly, they could not suppress the astonishment in their eyes.
In the end, they could only sigh inwardly, As expected of a secret technique so highly praised and admired by Fugaku. This kind of Genjutsu World has already far surpassed the standard of genjutsu created by other Sharingan. It is even unknown whether the Mangekyō Sharingan could achieve such a thing. Qi-kun truly is a once-in-a-century genius of our Uchiha Clan!
Astonishment, emotion, approval, curiosity, excitement—every kind of feeling emerged, lingering throughout the Uchiha Clan's conference hall.
However, for Uchiha Myoji, currently the sole player, it was an entirely different experience. Looking at that deep, underworld-like road shrouded in mist, feeling the frailty of the game character he was playing and the incomparably realistic sensations of the Genjutsu Game, his heartbeat involuntarily quickened, and he began to sweat profusely.
The third victim had realized something was wrong the moment he entered the game, and he no longer wanted to play.
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