"Stepping down as clan head!?..."
Hearing Uchiha En's news, Bai Ye froze.
The current Uchiha Clan Head was indeed very old.
If Bai Ye remembered correctly, the next Uchiha Clan Head was supposed to be Uchiha Fugaku.
"Stepping down as clan head!? Really!?..."
"Of course it's true! My father used to be the clan head's bodyguard..."
"The clan head personally went to my father and asked him to support Uchiha Fugaku as the next clan head..."
"I overheard them talking..."
Uchiha En said with absolute certainty.
"What!? Uchiha Fugaku!? Damn it! What right does that guy have to be clan head..."
"That's right! Even if we're choosing a new clan head, it should be Lord Bai Ye..."
"Lord Bai Ye, we support you becoming clan head..."
"Yeah! We support Lord Bai Ye..."
"..."
Everyone led by Uchiha En shouted in protest.
Like Bai Ye, Uchiha Fugaku belonged to the new generation of the Uchiha Clan.
But unlike Bai Ye, who was radical, Uchiha Fugaku was a dove—a man brainwashed by the so-called Will of Fire.
He used the Will of Fire as the standard for everything he did.
Though he seemed dignified and righteous, he constantly undermined the Uchiha Clan's interests.
Many members of the Uchiha Clan looked down on Uchiha Fugaku.
As for Bai Ye, he looked down on Uchiha Fugaku too.
As clan head of the Uchiha Clan, he constantly protected the Konoha High Command and suppressed his own clan, and even raised a son who became a traitor.
He had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, yet kept it hidden and never used it, even up until his death.
He watched the Uchiha Clan be destroyed without putting up any resistance.
Was this really the Uchiha Clan Head!?
Bai Ye even wondered if he was a spy planted by the Hokage.
In any case, Bai Ye would never agree to Uchiha Fugaku becoming clan head.
"Enough. This isn't the time to talk about that..."
Bai Ye waved his hand. Clearly, he wasn't interested in the position of clan head right now.
He had more important things to do: improve his strength.
The position of clan head, power—all of it was meaningless.
In the world of Naruto, strength was what mattered most.
So the most important thing for Bai Ye now was to improve his strength as quickly as possible.
And the fastest way for him to do that was to collect Negative Energy.
Hopefully, he'd get more Negative Energy today.
"Let's start the patrol..."
"Yes..."
Bai Ye waved his hand and led the security team on patrol.
When they arrived at the shopping district, countless shopkeepers felt reassured at the sight of Bai Ye and his men, and greeted them with smiles.
Although Bai Ye collected protection money from them, he also sent the security team to protect them.
With Bai Ye and his men around, no one dared to cause trouble at their shops.
In fact, many shopkeepers would even offer money voluntarily to seek Bai Ye's protection.
And why was that?
The answer was obvious.
Did they really think everyone in Konoha was a good person?
Or that everyone in the village was like Naruto, forgiving his enemies with a little Talk no Jutsu?
Obviously not.
Especially for a ninja, dealing with ordinary people was incredibly easy.
They could even do it without leaving behind a shred of evidence.
"Captain Bai Ye, Captain Bai Ye..."
Just then, a Uchiha ninja came up to Bai Ye.
"What's going on!? What happened?..."
Bai Ye asked.
"There's a ninja causing trouble at the weapon shop in Area Seven..."
The newcomer spoke with a grave expression.
"Hmm... causing trouble..."
"Did you really need to tell me about something like this!?..."
"Just take him down..."
Bai Ye answered without hesitation.
He collected protection money, so those shopkeepers were under the security team's protection.
"Um... the person causing trouble this time is a little difficult to deal with..."
"It's Shin'nosuke Sarutobi..."
The newcomer quickly explained.
"Hm!?... Shin'nosuke Sarutobi!? The Hokage's son..."
Bai Ye sounded somewhat surprised.
Shin'nosuke Sarutobi was the eldest son of the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, and would later become Konohamaru's father.
"Come on... take me to see..."
Bai Ye said.
Area Seven wasn't far away.
At that moment, inside the weapon shop, a brazen man was trying to force the owner into a sale.
"Hey, shopkeeper!..."
"I want that ingot of yours..."
"Give me a discount. Let's say one thousand..."
The brazen man said as he looked at the shopkeeper.
That brazen man was Shin'nosuke Sarutobi, the eldest son of the Third Hokage.
"Sir, that price is too low..."
"This is Chakra metal..."
The weapon shop owner said, looking aggrieved.
"What do you mean, too low? It's settled..."
"Here's a thousand. Hand over the ingot right now..."
"It's a present for my little brother..."
"My Hokage father will be very happy, too..."
Shin'nosuke immediately invoked his Hokage father.
At that, the weapon shop owner's expression turned grim.
Just as the shopkeeper was caught between a rock and a hard place,
Bai Ye walked over from a distance and spoke to Shin'nosuke in an unfriendly tone.
"Are you the one causing trouble here!?..."
At that, Shin'nosuke looked over too. Seeing the Uchiha Clan crest on Bai Ye's clothes, he frowned.
"Someone from the Uchiha Clan!?..."
[Ping! Detected hostility from Shin'nosuke Sarutobi: +10 Negative Energy, +5 Chakra...]
The system's notification made Bai Ye's lips curl into a smile.
He needed Negative Energy right now, and Shin'nosuke had just delivered himself like a ripe leek.
Since the leek had come right to his door, how could Bai Ye let him go?
Just as Shin'nosuke was about to speak, Bai Ye raised his hand and slapped him across the face.
"Smack..."
A handprint appeared on Shin'nosuke's left cheek.
"Ah... You actually hit me!..."
Shin'nosuke froze, staring at Bai Ye in shock.
"My father is the Third Hokage. I won't let you get away with this..."
"Smack..."
Another loud slap was Bai Ye's reply.
Before you continue