Setsuna Must Seize the Future!

"This money is too easy to earn! Just cursing the Demon Fox gets you five thousand ryo!"

"Hahaha, even if I didn't get paid, I'd still curse the Demon Fox."

"I wonder if that Masked Ninja will keep his promise?"

The image of that masked, cold, machine-like ninja appeared in their minds, and the few civilians shivered involuntarily.

That guy was definitely a terrifying ninja.

"Probably not. We completed the mission, so they shouldn't withhold payment."

The civilian leading the group thought for a moment and said.

If he wasn't mistaken, the other party likely belonged to a very formidable organization within the village.

Such an organization wouldn't need to swindle them for such a small reward.

As they chatted, several dark figures darted out, one in front and one behind, cornering them.

"You're wantonly spreading rumors and disturbing the village's order. Come with us to Konoha Prison!"

With messy, spiky hair and a stern, authoritative face, his eyes narrowed into slits.

"W-what kind of joke is this… We didn't do anything!"

"So many people cursed the Demon Fox, why are you only arresting a few of us?"

"Exactly, why only us?"

The few civilians recognized their identity: the Uchiha Police Force.

However, a glimmer of hope still remained in their hearts.

After all, the one who recruited them to spread rumors wasn't just any ordinary ninja.

"Still trying to argue! Get to Konoha Prison!"

With a rough struggle, these civilians were pinned to the ground, unable to move.

"I was wrong! Please spare us!"

Only then did these civilians realize they had provoked the wrong people, and they cried and begged for mercy.

The Uchiha, who were called lunatics, were not like the young Demon Fox.

They would really hit people!

"Stop!"

Swish, swish, swish.

Several Root members suddenly appeared, surrounding the Uchiha and the civilians.

The captured civilians, seeing the sudden appearance of the Root, cried out for help as if they had found their saviors.

"Sirs, please save us, we don't want to be taken to Konoha Prison!"

The two Uchiha glanced at the surrounding Root members. Even though they were outnumbered, they showed no fear.

"What, since when does Root have the right to interfere with the Police Force's affairs?"

His tone carried a hint of sarcasm, even a touch of provocation.

As Uchiha clan members, what they hated most was Danzo and his Root.

These guys were constantly thinking of ways to target the Uchiha! Clack! Clack! The dull sound of a cane hitting stone grew closer. From the shadows of the alley, a figure leaning on a cane gradually emerged. The scar-covered face, illuminated by the shadows, looked hideous and terrifying.

"Lord Danzo!"

All four Root members knelt on one knee simultaneously, their voices respectful.

"If Root has no right to interfere, then does this old man have the right?"

Danzo completely ignored the Root members. His sinister eyes, hidden beneath his scars, narrowed as he stared at the Uchiha in front of him.

Facing this terrifying pressure, even the usually arrogant Uchiha clan members couldn't help but feel nervous.

The pressure Danzo brought was too immense.

It was simply not something ordinary Uchiha clan members like them could bear alone.

In the air, which was so thick it felt almost solid, a sudden voice broke the oppressive silence.

"Danzo, my people are performing their duties. Are you going to meddle too?"

The two surrounded Uchiha's eyes lit up when they heard the voice, and they turned back in surprise.

"Elder Setsuna!"

Danzo's eyes narrowed slightly, staring at the slowly approaching figure.

He, too, was leaning on a cane, and his face was equally old and wrinkled. The only difference was…

Those dark eyes radiated a fierce keenness that belied his age.

Uchiha Setsuna! An elder of the Uchiha Clan, second only to Fugaku in status, and a hawk! "Danzo, these people are maliciously spreading rumors and disrupting the village's order. My Uchiha Police Force is taking them back for questioning to maintain Konoha's public safety. Is there a problem?"

His voice was neither humble nor arrogant, and even carried a hint of coercion.

Even so, Danzo remained silent.

If it had just been those two Uchiha, he could have easily overpowered them and forcibly taken the people away.

But Uchiha Setsuna had arrived.

That changed everything.

This hawkish elder had an intimidatingly high level of seniority.

He claimed to be the inheritor of Uchiha Madara's will and had once masterminded a coup during Second Hokage Tobirama Senju's reign.

Although the plot was exposed and he was imprisoned, it didn't break his spirit. He had remained dormant until now.

Two cane-wielding old men, whose combined ages exceeded 120, stood confronting each other at the mouth of this dark alley.

Finally, Danzo turned and began to leave, leaning on his cane.

Uchiha Setsuna held a special status, representing almost the entire Uchiha hawkish faction.

Now was not the time to show their true colors.

Hmph! I should have placed cursed seals on those civilians back then.

If they had just been killed once the mission was complete, none of this would be happening.

Besides, even if the Uchiha interrogated them and found out Root was behind it, it wouldn't matter.

The Uchiha are inherently an evil clan.

Their words are completely untrustworthy.

Hiruzen will know what to do.

Seeing Danzo leave, several Root members vanished with a whoosh and immediately followed him.

The civilians, who were under Uchiha control, instantly looked ashen.

Danzo was gone.

They were about to fall into the hands of these crazy Uchiha.

What would their fate be?

What they didn't know, however, was that if they had fallen into Danzo's hands, their fate would have been even worse.

Perhaps not even their bones would remain! "Lord Setsuna, why are we helping that person?"

After a moment of hesitation, the Uchiha clan member following Uchiha Setsuna carefully chose his words and finally asked the question.

Although he didn't directly name the person, everyone present knew who he was referring to.

Namikaze Mirai!

The reason Danzo stirred up public opinion was precisely to deal with Namikaze Mirai.

And Uchiha Setsuna's arrest of these rumor-spreading civilians was also to help Namikaze Mirai.

This was a silent confrontation.

A struggle between two major forces centered around Namikaze Mirai.

However, these Uchiha clan members couldn't understand why Elder Setsuna, who was always so proud and aloof, would personally step forward to help Namikaze Mirai.

The Uchiha and Namikaze Mirai didn't seem to have much interaction, did they? "You don't understand."

Uchiha Setsuna's dark eyes were profound.

"That guy is definitely not as simple as he appears."

"If we can cooperate with him, perhaps the Uchiha Clan's difficulties over the years can truly be resolved."

Ever since Namikaze Mirai's last visit to the Uchiha Clan Compound, Uchiha Setsuna had seen him in a new light.

Not long ago, Namikaze Mirai had fought against Danzo's Root.

The battlefield was not far from the Uchiha Clan Compound. He sent his clansmen to investigate, and the intelligence they brought back greatly astonished him.

Namikaze Mirai was stronger than he had been three years ago!

This conclusion filled him with both surprise and joy.

Fugaku, that weakling, was still hesitating.

As a hawk, he would never give up if he saw even a glimmer of opportunity!

Namikaze Mirai had already shown his worth.

He, too, had to respond.

He would seize the future with his own hands!