Kirigakure's Unrest! (Seeking Votes! Seeking Investment!)

The frail body severely limited Yakumo Kurama's daily activity time. After just a short conversation with Sōken, she was already tired enough to yawn, and was sent off to rest by Rin Kurama, leaving the two brothers Murakumo and Yunhai Kurama to accompany Sōken.

"Um, Sōken, that earlier... was that a joke?"

"Oh?"

Sōken glanced sideways. "You think I'm not qualified to take on a disciple?"

"Sōken, I'm not joking with you." Murakumo Kurama felt a headache coming on.

"I'm not joking either." Sōken said seriously. "And to be honest, aside from me, I doubt there's a second person in Konoha who could guide Yakumo in unearthing her talent. To put it bluntly, leaving that child in your clan is like a pearl hidden in the dust!"

"Also, Murakumo-senpai, as I said before, you're well aware of the root cause of Yakumo's problem, aren't you? Otherwise, with so many people in the village, I don't believe you just stumbled upon me by chance. Your clan... should have records concerning Yin Release?"

Murakumo Kurama shook his head helplessly. "Found out, huh? I knew I couldn't hide it from you... You're right. My clan possesses some notes on Yin Release, left behind by our predecessors who awakened the Kekkei Genkai. They state that the root of our clan's Kekkei Genkai comes from Yin Release, sharing the same essence as the Uchiha's Sharingan."

"At the meeting four days ago, I noticed that your spiritual energy, Sōken-kun, had suddenly skyrocketed! I thought then that if it were you, Sōken, you might be able to help solve Yakumo's problem... But taking her as a disciple, I truly didn't anticipate that!!"

"Four days ago, huh?"

Sōken wasn't too surprised.

In the years since the Third Shinobi War ended, he had kept a low profile, never revealing his abilities in public. Anyone who had seen him in action was basically feeding the belly of King Yama. Only the commotion four days ago had enough witnesses.

Perhaps, Sōken wasn't the only one who saw through some of Sōken's secrets back then. What exactly those sharp-eyed individuals gathered together had discovered, honestly, Sōken couldn't be sure. But he knew that as long as his blade remained sharp enough, it didn't matter even if some secrets were known.

So he didn't dwell on it.

He didn't care much about those things, instead saying, "Murakumo-senpai, I don't want to repeat myself a third time. Yakumo is a piece of the finest jade. I don't want to see you waste her talent. When it comes to mastery of Yin Release and genjutsu, no one in Konoha can compare to me. As for the problem with Yakumo... that naturally falls within this teacher's responsibility."

Murakumo Kurama was speechless.

What more could he say?

Thinking it over, having Yakumo taken as a disciple by Sōken wasn't necessarily a bad thing. The Uchiha of old were never easy to deal with, and the current Uchiha weren't much better. The Police Force members patrolling the streets still had that annoying habit of looking down their noses at people.

However, As long as Uchiha Sōken didn't fall.

The Uchiha Clan was destined to stand unshaken. The terror and power of the Mangekyo Sharingan were recorded in the Kurama Clan's documents.

Not to mention the Mangekyo Sharingan itself, just Sōken as a person seemed decent enough. With a teacher like him, there should be no worry about Yakumo straying down the wrong path in the future...

While Sōken was taking on a new little disciple, far away across the sea, in a village shrouded in thick fog, a faint, stubborn scent of blood lingered. Corpses were being washed out of the village through its network of canals.

Last night, Jūzō Biwa, a Kirigakure jōnin and member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, after repeatedly delaying his actions, finally chose to rebel, attempting to assassinate the Fourth Mizukage. He failed, was wounded, and fled the village.

The Fourth Mizukage didn't pursue Jūzō Biwa. Instead, he launched a new wave of bloody purges within the village!

The waters of Kirigakure were stained red.

"Obito, aren't you playing a bit too rough?"

In a secret chamber, a yin-yang faced freak shaped like a pitcher plant emerged from the ground. Looking at the piled bodies of Mist Ninja Anbu in the room, the white half of his face let out an exclamation.

"No matter how many Mist Ninja die, it's not enough!"

Uchiha Obito, wearing an orange-striped mask, sat atop the mountain of stacked corpses. An icy gaze shot out from the single hole in the mask. "Everyone in this village... deserves to die!!!"

The still-bleeding mountain of corpses proved his brutal killing intent was no joke!

"Zetsu, what happened? Didn't I say not to bother me when I'm relaxing unless it's important?"

"It's Konoha."

Black Zetsu spoke, his hoarse, gloomy voice grating on the ears.

"The Uchiha Clan has a new clan head."

"...Fugaku Uchiha stepped down?" Uchiha Obito blinked. Now that was interesting!

"That's right, that's right!" White Zetsu cheerfully cut in. "The Uchiha Clan held a gathering in a secret room under that shrine of theirs. Fugaku Uchiha was ousted from the clan head position. The new clan head is a guy named Uchiha Sōken. Looks like he's only fifteen!"

"Uchiha Sōken?"

That familiar name made Uchiha Obito's mind wander, dredging up memories buried deep in his heart.

If he remembered correctly, unlike himself, the dead last of the Ninja Academy, Uchiha Sōken, though younger, was hailed alongside Uchiha Shisui as one of the twin stars of the Uchiha Clan. Back then, they were from completely different worlds...

He never expected Uchiha Sōken to become the Uchiha Clan head.

"Oh, I almost forgot to mention. Great Sword: Samehada is in Uchiha Sōken's hands. Also, during a high-level meeting in Konoha, he suddenly fought Shimura Danzō and beat him into a motionless, unresponsive vegetative state. Based on my clones' observations, it's suspected he awakened the Mangekyo."

A dazzling array of complex information came one after another.

Even though Uchiha Obito was no longer the dead-last boy from the Ninja Academy, this much intel still gave him a bit of a headache. It took him half a minute to sort out the general outline.

"Awakened the Mangekyo, huh?"

Uchiha Obito rested his chin on his hand, hidden beneath the mask, lost in thought.

"So? Obito, this Uchiha Sōken feels like an unstable factor! Want to figure out a way to take him out?" White Zetsu urged Obito to act, as if afraid of being idle.

"Mangekyo... Without knowing the exact details beforehand, making a rash move is too risky." As a Mangekyo Sharingan wielder himself, Obito Uchiha understood better than anyone just how overwhelmingly powerful the Mangekyo Sharingan's ocular jutsu could be!

In his view, compared to an Uchiha who had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, Jinchuriki and Tailed Beasts were honestly no real threat at all.

"By the way, Zetsu, you said earlier that Samehada is in Uchiha Sōken's hands?" Obito Uchiha suddenly asked.

"This clone of mine saw it with its own eyes."

White Zetsu was very certain.

"Samehada... In that case, maybe I can still make use of that waste!" Obito Uchiha turned his head to look at the Fourth Mizukage, who stood motionless like a puppet in the corner of the room.