"This money was way too easy to earn! Five thousand ryo just for cursing the Demon Fox!"
"Hahaha, even without the money, I'd still curse the Demon Fox."
"I wonder if that masked ninja will keep his promise?"
The image of that masked ninja, cold and mechanical as a machine, surfaced in their minds. The civilians all shuddered in unison.
That guy was definitely a terrifying ninja.
"Probably not. We completed the job, so they shouldn't stiff us on the payment."
The civilian in the lead thought for a moment before speaking.
If he had guessed correctly, the other party belonged to some terrifying organization within the village.
An organization like that had no reason to cheat them out of such a small reward.
As they spoke, several black shadows darted out, blocking them from both front and back.
"Spreading rumors at will and disrupting village order. Come with us to Konoha Prison!"
With messy, spiky hair and a stern, imposing expression, the man narrowed his eyes.
"W-What kind of joke is this? We didn't do anything!"
"So many people cursed the Demon Fox. Why are you only arresting us?"
"Yeah, why only arrest us?"
The civilians recognized who they were: the Uchiha Police Force.
Yet they still clung to a shred of hope.
After all, the ninja who had recruited them to spread rumors was no ordinary person.
"Still trying to argue? Get your asses to Konoha Prison!"
After a brutal takedown, the civilians were pinned to the ground, unable to move.
"I was wrong! Spare us!"
Only then did the civilians realize they had provoked the wrong people. They wept bitterly and begged for mercy.
The Uchiha known as madmen were nothing like that young Demon Fox.
They really would beat people!
"Stop!"
Whoosh, whoosh!
Several Root members suddenly appeared, surrounding the Uchiha and the civilians.
Seeing Root appear out of nowhere, the captured civilians clutched at them like saviors and cried out desperately for help.
"Sir, save us! We don't want to be taken to Konoha Prison!"
The two Uchiha swept their eyes over the surrounding Root members. Even though they were outnumbered, they showed no fear.
"What, since when did Root have the authority to interfere with the Military Police Force's work?"
His tone was sharp, even openly provocative.
As Uchiha Clan Members, the people they hated most were Danzo and the Root under him.
Those bastards were constantly thinking of ways to target the Uchiha Clan! Tap! Tap! The dull sound of a cane striking stone drew closer. From the shadows of the alley emerged a figure leaning on a cane, his scar-covered face twisted and terrifying beneath the darkness.
"Lord Danzo!"
The four Root members simultaneously dropped to one knee, their voices respectful.
"Root has no authority to interfere? Then does this old man have the authority?"
Danzo ignored the Root members entirely. His sinister eyes beneath the scars narrowed as he stared at the Uchiha before him.
Faced with that terrifying pressure, even the ever-proud Uchiha Clan Members could not help growing tense.
Danzo's oppressive presence was overwhelming.
It was not something ordinary Uchiha Clan Members like them could endure alone.
Then, amid the almost solidified air, a voice suddenly broke the suffocating tension.
"Danzo, my men are carrying out their duties. Must you stick your hand into this as well?"
The two surrounded Uchiha immediately brightened, turning back in delight at the sound.
"Elder Setsuna!"
Danzo narrowed his eyes slightly as he stared at the slowly approaching figure.
He too leaned on a cane, and his aged face was likewise covered in wrinkles. But unlike Danzo...
Those pitch-black eyes radiated a fierceness wholly unsuited to his age.
Uchiha Setsuna! The hawkish elder of the Uchiha Clan, second only to Fugaku in status! "Danzo, these people maliciously spread rumors and disrupted village order. Our Uchiha Police Force is taking them back for questioning to preserve Konoha's security. Is there a problem with that?"
His voice was neither humble nor overbearing, carrying even a trace of pressure.
Yet Danzo said nothing.
If it had only been these two Uchiha, he could have simply overwhelmed them and forcibly taken the civilians away.
But Uchiha Setsuna had arrived.
That changed things.
This hawkish elder had terrifying seniority.
Claiming to have inherited Uchiha Madara's will, he had once personally planned a coup during Second Hokage Tobirama Senju's administration.
Though the plot had been exposed and he had been arrested and imprisoned,
it had not worn down his ambition. He had remained dormant ever since.
Two old men whose combined ages exceeded one hundred and twenty stood facing each other at the entrance to the dark alley, both leaning on canes.
In the end, Danzo turned around and began walking away with his cane.
Uchiha Setsuna held a special status and represented nearly the entire hawkish faction of the Uchiha Clan.
This was not the time to tear all pretense apart.
Hmph! He should have placed curse seals on those civilians from the start.
If they had simply been killed once the mission was complete, there would not have been so much trouble.
Still, even if the Uchiha tortured out the fact that Root had been guiding them, it would make no difference.
The Uchiha were inherently an evil clan.
Their words were not worth trusting at all.
Hiruzen would know how to choose.
Seeing Danzo leave, the Root members vanished with a whoosh and immediately followed after him.
The civilians under Uchiha control instantly went pale with despair.
Danzo was gone.
They were going to fall into the hands of those mad Uchiha.
What would happen to them?
What they did not know was that if they had fallen into Danzo's hands, their fate would only have been worse.
Perhaps not even their bones would remain! "Lord Setsuna, why are we helping that person?"
After hesitating for a while, the Uchiha Clan Member following behind Uchiha Setsuna carefully chose his words before finally asking.
Though he did not directly name the person.
Everyone present knew exactly who he meant.
Namikaze Mirai!
Danzo had stirred up public opinion precisely because he wanted to deal with Namikaze Mirai.
And Uchiha Setsuna's arrest of those civilians spreading rumors was also meant to help Namikaze Mirai.
This was a silent confrontation.
A contest between two great forces centered around Namikaze Mirai.
But these Uchiha Clan Members could not understand why Elder Setsuna, who had always been so proud and aloof, would personally help Namikaze Mirai.
The Uchiha Clan and Namikaze Mirai seemed to have had very little interaction, didn't they? "You do not understand."
Uchiha Setsuna's dark eyes were deep and inscrutable.
"That man is definitely not as simple as he appears."
"If we can cooperate with him, perhaps the Uchiha Clan's predicament of all these years can truly be changed."
Ever since Namikaze Mirai had visited the Uchiha Clan Compound last time, Uchiha Setsuna had begun to see him in a new light.
Not long ago, Namikaze Mirai had fought Root under Danzo. The battlefield had not been far from the Uchiha Clan Compound, so he had sent clan members to investigate. The intelligence they brought back had greatly shocked him.
Namikaze Mirai was stronger than he had been three years ago!
That conclusion both startled and delighted him.
That weakling Fugaku was still hesitating.
As a member of the hawkish faction, he would never give up as long as he saw even the slightest opportunity!
Namikaze Mirai had already demonstrated his value.
He had to respond in kind.
He wanted to seize Mirai with his own hands!
Before you continue