Executing Clan A-Rank Mission

Uchiha Naka Shrine.

"What!"

Inside the dim and solemn secret chamber, Uchiha Yoru widened his eyes, pointing at his own nose while staring at Elder Uchiha Setsuna, who was nodding at him, and Uchiha Fugaku, the Clan Head, whose expression remained indifferent.

"Clan Head, Elder, for the sake of the Uchiha Clan's pride! Back at the Ninja Academy, I already deeply realized my mistake regarding the conflict with Sarutobi Asuma over Yūhi Kurenai."

Uchiha Yoru's eyes went wide, his face a mask of disbelief, as if to say, How could you people do this?

Uchiha Fugaku remained silent, looking as if he had heard nothing, while Elder Setsuna beside him gave a light cough. With a grave expression, he said in a deep voice, "With the Uchiha Clan's relocation imminent, almost none of the jonin in the village trust the Uchiha."

This was the third day since Konoha suffered the Nine-Tails' Rampage. The first day was spent holding funerals for the Fourth Hokage and countless ninja; the second day, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, announced his return to power; and on the third day, it was decided to re-plan the residential districts of all clans under the guise of rebuilding Konoha. Today, the Clan Head had just notified them to prepare for relocation.

As for why it was the jonin who distrusted them, only jonin had the qualifications to participate in the battle against the Nine-Tails and a chance to survive. The losses among the chunin and genin were mostly due to being caught in the crossfire, so they naturally did not know the Nine-Tails had been controlled by the Sharingan.

Upon hearing this, a grave look appeared on Uchiha Yoru's face, but his eyes drifted toward Uchiha Shisui, a movement that did not escape the notice of those present.

Uchiha Shisui lowered his head in embarrassment; he was only thirteen years old. Uchiha Yoru said, unwilling to give in, "Shisui's age is just right, too."

Uchiha Shisui was instantly mortified, but upon seeing this, Elder Setsuna let out a faint sigh and said, "Yoru, your talent is beyond doubt. Shisui only possesses mere talent for cultivation, but you are different."

Good grief! The way he put it—what did he mean by "mere talent for cultivation"?

Uchiha Shisui nodded repeatedly at these words, while Uchiha Yoru, seeing this, wore a look of hesitation. The Great Elder, seeing this, sighed helplessly and shook his head. "This mission is extremely arduous. After consulting with the Clan Head, we have decided to classify it as a Clan A-Rank Mission for you, with a reward of one million."

Uchiha Yoru, who had been full of hesitation a second ago, saw the hesitation vanish without a trace the moment he heard about the one-million reward. Instead, he displayed a look of righteous, impassioned, and solemn duty, nodding gravely. "For the revival of the Uchiha! For the village! Clan Head, Elder! Rest assured, Uchiha Yoru will definitely complete the mission."

Good grief, he went from hesitant to ready to sacrifice himself in the blink of an eye. Uchiha Shisui, watching from the side, felt incredibly awkward. Even though it was for the sake of easing tensions between the clan and the village, it still felt a bit shameless.

Watching this young man who so shamelessly masked his greed as devotion to the clan, Uchiha Fugaku, as Clan Head, couldn't help but twitch his eyes. If he weren't so well-informed about this young man, he might have actually believed him.

Uchiha Yoru, fourteen years old this year, a chunin, awakened a One Tomoe Sharingan on the night of the Nine-Tails' Rampage. Meanwhile, Uchiha Shisui was already a genius with the Three Tomoe; although still a chunin by rank, his strength, bolstered by the Sharingan, was already at the level of a jonin.

But for a talent that even Uchiha Shisui admitted was superior to his own, Uchiha Fugaku looked at the righteous and handsome young man before him and sighed inwardly. In this specific aspect of "talent," Shisui truly could not compare.

Uchiha Yoru was dressed in a pure white kimono and black trousers. His chest was open, revealing his eye-catching muscles. Dark black arm guards covered his forearms, extending to his palms, and a black rope belt was tied around his waist, with a ninja straight sword tucked horizontally into it.

Although only fourteen, he was already 1.7 meters tall. With his chiseled, handsome, and cold face, this attire made him look truly imposing. His style was remarkably similar to that of Sasuke during his time with Team Taka.

Especially after seeing Uchiha Yoru's face and tall, upright frame, Elder Setsuna couldn't help but nod in admiration. "Yoru, the Uchiha Clan has reached a critical moment. Although the Third Hokage has taken power, it is only to stabilize the turbulent situation. Once things settle, a Fifth Hokage will certainly be chosen, and the only ones currently qualified to contend for the position are the Sannin."

"But Tsunade is nowhere to be found, and Jiraiya is executing a classified mission in another country; he won't be back for a year or more. Currently, only Lord Orochimaru will become the future Fifth Hokage. Whether our Uchiha Clan can regain the trust of the Hokage depends entirely on you."

As he said this, the Elder's demeanor became solemn, and even Uchiha Fugaku's expression turned grave. Seeing this, a look of determination appeared in Uchiha Shisui's eyes; for the sake of the clan and the village's trust, they had to become the bridge.

Uchiha Yoru nodded solemnly upon hearing this. "Clan Head, Elder, rest assured, I will do everything in my power to get close to Mitarashi Anko, the chunin disciple of Lord Orochimaru."

Indeed! The banner Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, had raised upon his return was that he was only temporarily stepping out of retirement to stabilize the village as a transition, and would abdicate once the situation calmed down.

Orochimaru had originally been one of the candidates for the Fourth Hokage, and in the eyes of many, he was the all-but-confirmed future Fifth Hokage. Konoha, having just experienced the Nine-Tails' Rampage, trusted the Uchiha even less, and for the Uchiha to regain their rightful status and trust, they had to build a good relationship with the future Fifth Hokage.

Anko was the perfect breakthrough point. If a peer from the Uchiha Clan could get close to Orochimaru's disciple, even if they were young, establishing a connection early would help ease the tension.

However, no one could have guessed that Orochimaru, a figure so highly anticipated by everyone, would eventually defect.

Uchiha Fugaku and the Elder exchanged a glance. Although he was a bit young, his age was actually perfect. More importantly, Uchiha Yoru was the most handsome of their clan in that age group, and he had awakened the Sharingan—though it had just awakened, his talent was at least decent.

"Clan Head, Elder, as you both know, since Anko is Lord Orochimaru's disciple, I will need some funding." Uchiha Yoru said, acting a bit hesitant and coy.

Fugaku and the Elder's eyes twitched upon seeing this. If they didn't know his greedy nature, they might have actually believed him.

"Fine, I will authorize two hundred thousand ryo for you first."

If you want the horse to run, you have to feed it—this principle was timeless. The Elder spoke generously, without a hint of hesitation.

Uchiha Yoru's face lit up with a smile upon hearing this. Greedy? He didn't want to be, but this system required "krypton gold" (microtransactions). His entire savings had been exhausted three days ago on the night of the Nine-Tails' Rampage to purchase the Sharingan. Without some funding, forget about chasing girls—he was about to be eating dirt.

Now, he frowned, feeling a headache over how to explain this to Yūhi Kurenai, considering she and Anko were best friends.