Because the Land of Wind had adopted a turtling strategy, Orochimaru, who had been unable to break the deadlock for so long, could only retreat to his own defensive line.
On the other side of the Western Front, Ōnoki and the Third Raikage, A, were duking it out in the Imperial City.
The Western Front could not erupt into battle for the time being.
Thus, Minato, who had originally been about to rush back to the Western Front, was given a brief leave. They would assess the situation in various regions before deciding where to send him.
At the same time, Kagami Uchiha's reputation gradually spread.
The Iwagakure propaganda department deserved some credit, but more importantly, the Uchiha Clan itself was pushing it.
What exactly was the Konoha Security Force?
Guarding Konoha, maintaining public order, punishing criminals—in other words, it was the city management bureau, police force, and defense force all rolled into one.
At Shenhuo's instruction, every Uchiha on his side spared no effort in spreading Kagami Uchiha's reputation.
The specific situation was as follows.
Sweets Shop: "Mr. Tekkō, you're leading the patrol today!"
Uchiha Tekkō: "You heard that Kagami Uchiha of our clan defeated the Four-Tails and forced the Tsuchikage to retreat, didn't you?"
Flower Shop Owner: "Brother Fukurō, would you like to take a look at the chrysanthemums that just arrived?"
Uchiha Fukurō: "That's right. Kagami nearly killed Ōnoki. We could have sent funeral flowers to Iwagakure."
Ramen Shop: "Four people? Four bowls of noodles?"
Uchiha: "That's right. Kagami beat the Four-Tails to death. I heard they've already replaced its Jinchuriki."
In short, the tense situation on the Western Front could ease today entirely because of Kagami Uchiha's godlike performance.
It was a warm, sunny afternoon.
Mikoto Uchiha arrived with her child to pay a visit.
"Shisui, take Itachi to play by the entrance."
In the courtyard, Kagami Uchiha reclined in a lounge chair, studying Orochimaru's Chakra activation technique.
"My grandmother has trouble moving, and so do I. Please excuse us for not serving you tea, Mrs. Mikoto."
Mikoto glanced at the quiet child in Shisui's arms, then turned and smiled softly. "Jing-kun, you're too formal. I'm the one who came uninvited."
Without looking up, Kagami Uchiha said flatly, "What do you want?"
He was full of malice toward Fugaku and Itachi. If not for Mikoto being Sasuke's mother, he would not even have let her through the door.
"Jing-kun needs to recuperate in peace, so I'll get straight to the point."
Mikoto looked troubled, but still spoke. "You must have heard the rumors circulating in the village lately..."
"Fugaku sent word, hoping that Jing-kun and Elder Shenhuo would step forward and restrain the clan members."
"Restrain them?"
Kagami Uchiha lowered the manuscript and turned slightly toward Mikoto Uchiha.
Before marrying Fugaku, Mikoto had also been a Three Tomoe Uchiha Jonin, an elite among elites.
But...
Under that gaze, she actually did not dare meet his eyes and instinctively shifted her gaze away.
"You know why Fugaku said that, don't you?"
Mikoto took a deep breath. She felt as though the person before her was not a junior, but a clan elder whose authority had been built up over many years.
"The Uchiha Clan has been at odds with Konoha's higher-ups. Fugaku has always worked to eliminate that divide, and in recent years, there has finally been some improvement."
"Didn't the Third Hokage having Jiraiya take Jing-kun as his student signal reconciliation between the village and the clan?"
"Fugaku and the Hokage are both working toward that goal. As someone who has benefited from it, why do you still insist on distancing yourself from the villagers?"
"You're a member of the Uchiha Clan, but you're also a shinobi of Konoha. You shouldn't cling to such a narrow-minded clan-based outlook!"
"Compared with the village, even the Uchiha Clan has no chance of resisting. Don't you understand that yet?"
Mikoto said everything she wanted to say in one breath, afraid that if she paused, she would no longer be able to continue.
Kagami Uchiha's gaze was as still as an ancient well—not stagnant water, but a deep, frigid pool.
"Under what authority are you speaking to me?"
"...Naturally, as the Uchiha clan head and captain of the Konoha Guard Team!"
"I speak for the Hokage and the villagers, and even for the Uchiha clansmen!"
Kagami Uchiha let out a silent laugh.
"Let me make one thing clear."
"The only reason Fugaku is still clan head is that I have temporarily left the title in his hands."
"You have no right to represent the Uchiha."
"I don't care what the villagers or the Hokage think."
Kagami Uchiha slowly rose, like a ravenous dragon lowering its head over prey. An utterly frigid aura enveloped Mikoto.
"You should be grateful that you're a member of the Uchiha."
"Otherwise, I would have killed you already."
Kagami Uchiha's tone was not forceful, but the bone-deep killing intent was genuine.
Mikoto felt as if she had been struck by a sudden icy wind. Her body trembled uncontrollably.
Those words were like a series of sharp blades stabbing straight into her heart. Her body would not stop shaking, like a fallen leaf fluttering in a raging wind—fragile and helpless.
Kagami Uchiha turned around and raised his manuscript again.
The terrifying aura receded like floodwaters. Aside from the battered Mikoto Uchiha, no one could sense that anything had happened.
"If you want to be spineless wretches wagging your tails for mercy, that's your business. From now on..."
"Don't let me hear anything like that again."
"This is the only time I will show you mercy."
At worst, he could find Indra's reincarnation later. Kagami Uchiha would not allow Fugaku, that weak-willed fool, to keep enjoying power.
If Fugaku could firmly stand on the Hokage's side, Kagami Uchiha might even think more highly of him.
Even if they had to become dogs, at least the Uchiha Clan could survive.
Instead, he had been swept along by the clansmen into rebellion, only to surrender himself without resistance on the eve of the incident.
The greatness of fatherly love?
Ridiculous.
Why should thousands of Uchiha clansmen pay with their lives to fulfill your family?
"Big brother! Itachi's crying!"
Shisui ran in, carrying Itachi in his swaddling clothes.
Kagami Uchiha cast a flat glance at Mikoto's pale face. "Mrs. Mikoto, take your son and leave."
"I understand... Goodbye, Jing-kun."
Shisui keenly sensed that something was wrong with Mikoto. After she had gone some distance, he leaned over with his small face and asked,
"Big brother, did you argue with Aunt Mikoto?"
Rustle.
Kagami Uchiha flipped through several pages and said calmly, "Shisui, what do you think of the relationship between the Uchiha Clan and the village's higher-ups?"
Children in the Ninja World matured early. Shisui was a genius as well, so he should already have formed his own views.
In the original timeline, Shisui, in Kagami Uchiha's eyes, was inferior even to Itachi Uchiha.
At least Itachi had made a choice, regardless of whether it was right or wrong.
But Shisui?
After Danzo took his Mangekyo, he still did not want to make the matter public, fearing that it would deepen the conflict between the village and the Uchiha.
Unable to make a choice, he entrusted his eye to Itachi before taking his own life.
Even in death, he had failed to see that the Higher-ups led by the Third Hokage had never wanted to resolve the problem with the Uchiha. They only wanted to resolve the Uchiha.
It was not because the Uchiha wanted to rebel, nor because of some other muddled excuse about the situation being difficult to control.
It was simple.
It stemmed from the Second Hokage's and Konoha's higher-ups' discrimination against the Uchiha Clan!
The Konoha Guard Team had been established precisely to isolate the Uchiha from Konoha's villagers.
Perhaps the Second Hokage had ultimately tried to accept the Uchiha, taking an Uchiha as one of his subordinates.
But in reality, even if he were resurrected through Impure World Reincarnation during the Fourth Shinobi World War, he would still believe that the Uchiha were a clan born evil.
Kagami Uchiha would not resent Senju Tobirama. Several of his younger brothers had been cruelly killed by the Uchiha.
Naturally, he would not feel guilty either, because the Senju had also killed many Uchiha children.
There was no right or wrong here. At its core, it was a matter of sides.
The Uchiha Clan had chosen Kagami, so Kagami would naturally stand firmly on the clan's side.
"Big brother, I..."
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