Boom!
Boom! Boom!
Powerful ninjutsu bombarded the Nine Tails, but aside from enraging it, they could not harm it at all.
Uchiha Yuan stood with his arms crossed, watching silently amid the howling wind rushing toward him. He had also noticed the Sharingan imprint in the Nine Tails' eyes.
Foolish Obito.
Though the Nine Tails controlled by the Sharingan was crazed, its responses to the ninjas' siege had become comparatively stiff and sluggish. It only knew how to charge forward mindlessly.
Amid screams, a squad of ninjas was sent flying by a single swipe of the Nine Tails' claw.
Bang!
The Adamantine Staff transformed from Enma slammed fiercely into the Nine Tails' head, forcing it to take a step back.
"Fire Style: Five Fireball Barrage."
Hiruzen Sarutobi leaped into the air and raised one hand, hurling five massive fireballs at the Nine Tails.
The five fireballs exploded inside the Nine Tails' gaping maw, surging flames engulfing its head.
The next second, the flames dispersed, and an incredibly terrifying Chakra fluctuation emerged.
The Nine Tails opened its mouth as countless streams of multicolored light gathered from all around, forming a sphere before its jaws.
"Not good! It's a Tailed Beast Bomb."
"We have to stop it, or the village will be destroyed."
The ninjas blanched in alarm, each unleashing their ninjutsu at full force in an attempt to interrupt the Nine Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb.
Yet under their despairing gazes, the Tailed Beast Bomb took shape and shot toward the center of the village behind them.
At the critical moment, a figure flashed into view. The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had appeared.
Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder.
Four Shuriken flew out, seemingly spreading an invisible net that intercepted the Tailed Beast Bomb. The Tailed Beast Bomb was then teleported outside the village.
Boom!
An earth-shattering explosion erupted far beyond the village, and the night sky brightened like day in an instant.
The next moment, the Fourth Hokage flashed to the Nine Tails' side, grabbed it, and immediately activated the Flying Thunder God, vanishing from the spot with the Nine Tails.
Uchiha Yuan turned his gaze toward the rear of the village, where the Nine Tails' presence had instantly appeared.
The Fourth Hokage truly was formidable. He actually developed Guiding Thunder, a second-stage application of the Flying Thunder God. This ninjutsu definitely involved the use of space.
Uchiha Yuan had just used his mental power to investigate, firmly memorizing the frequency of the spatial fluctuations when Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder appeared.
This would definitely be excellent reference material for his future research into the spatial fluctuations of the Summoning Technique. In his view, the Flying Thunder God Technique had been developed from the reverse summoning of the Summoning Technique.
As he pondered, Uchiha Yuan suddenly sensed the Nine Tails' presence disappear.
He knew that the Nine Tails had been sealed once more.
"Farewell, Fourth Hokage."
"The Uchiha no longer have a choice."
Looking in the direction where the Nine Tails' presence had vanished, Uchiha Yuan spoke softly, then flashed away from the tree branch.
The next day, all of Konoha was shrouded in deep sorrow.
At the Memorial Stone, everyone stood silently in black clothes, their expressions solemn.
On October 10th, Konoha 48, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had died during the Nine-Tails' Rampage.
"...Wherever leaves dance, fire burns. The shadow of fire shall illuminate the entire village and cause new leaves to sprout. When one wishes to protect those precious to them, a ninja's strength can truly manifest...
...Lastly, everyone, remember: Where Leaves Dance, fire shall endure forever."
Uchiha Yuan stood amid the mourners, watching the memorial ceremony for those who had died on Nine-Tails Night, led by Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Then his gaze shifted, and he saw that familiar tuft of white hair ahead.
Though they were far apart, Uchiha Yuan could still sense the sorrow and loneliness filling Kakashi at that moment.
A short while later, the memorial service ended.
The crowd gradually dispersed, though many people went to the Memorial Stone of their fallen relatives and wept.
Kakashi did not leave. He stood motionless before the Memorial Stone of the Fourth Hokage and his wife.
"Kakashi-senpai."
Uchiha Yuan walked to Kakashi's side and called out to him.
Kakashi remained still and did not respond to Uchiha Yuan.
Seeing this, Uchiha Yuan did not speak again. He knew that Kakashi did not want to be disturbed right now and only wanted to be alone.
His gaze lingered briefly over the names of the Fourth Hokage and his wife on the Memorial Stone before Uchiha Yuan turned and left.
Based on memories from his previous life, he knew that the Fourth Hokage and his wife had believed their child, Naruto, would grow up as the son of a hero.
But they had not expected to entrust him to the wrong people. Naruto had actually grown up amid the scorn, rejection, and curses of everyone around him.
After mourning the victims of the Nine-Tails' Rampage, the village began clearing the ruins in preparation for reconstruction.
Not long afterward, the Uchiha Clan received an order from the village to relocate their clan grounds, filling the entire Uchiha Clan with fury.
As the two Powerful Clans that had founded the Konoha ninja village, the Uchiha and Senju clan grounds had both been located in the village's prime districts.
Yet the Uchiha Clan's new grounds were actually located in a remote area on the outskirts of the village.
Night.
Uchiha Yuan walked alone along a secluded path within the clan grounds. At last, he arrived at a warehouse area in a corner of the grounds.
Before one warehouse, Uchiha Yuan stopped and pushed open the iron door at the entrance.
"Leader."
Around thirty Uchiha Clan children had already gathered inside the warehouse. The oldest were around Uchiha Yuan's age, while the youngest were only seven or eight.
When they saw Uchiha Yuan appear, they all revealed reverent expressions and called out in unison.
These children were all loyal followers of Uchiha Yuan. Most of them had been judged to possess poor ninja aptitude, perhaps unable even to extract Chakra, and could only live as ordinary people.
It was Uchiha Yuan who had taken them in and taught them a strange breathing method, allowing them to gradually gain power.
"Leader, I've never been able to successfully cast the Great Fireball Technique..."
"Leader, I feel that Chakra flows very poorly through these meridian pathways."
After Uchiha Yuan arrived, people constantly came to ask him questions about their training.
After some time, Uchiha Yuan waved his hand, signaling everyone to stop training.
His sharp gaze swept over the group as he said, "What do you all think about the village's demand that our clan relocate its grounds?"
At once, everyone began talking over one another, every word filled with dissatisfaction.
"Damn it, the village's new grounds for us are actually in some remote place on the outskirts." One person spoke indignantly.
"This is the village humiliating the Uchiha." Another shouted angrily.
"That's right, what is the village trying to do?!"
"I don't understand how the clan head could agree to such a demand from the village!"
Uchiha Yuan raised a hand to signal everyone to quiet down. Then, forming an Earth Release hand seal with one hand, he caused a sand table depicting the village to rise before them.
"Take a look at the location of our new clan grounds. Have you noticed anything?" Uchiha Yuan said, pointing to a spot on the sand table.
Everyone turned their eyes toward the sand table. After examining it carefully, they discussed what they had discovered with each other.
After a moment, a boy named Uchiha Kijin spoke up. "Leader, it seems like our new clan grounds are surrounded by the other ninja clans."
Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions changed drastically. Their eyes locked onto the sand table as they began inspecting it closely.
Uchiha Yuan said solemnly, "That's right. We are surrounded. The village no longer trusts us Uchiha...
"No, it should be said that the village never trusted the Uchiha. They simply no longer bother concealing their hostility."
Hearing Uchiha Yuan's words, the group's shock and anger at discovering that their clan grounds were surrounded gave way to confusion.
"Why?"
"Yes, why is the village treating us like this?"
"..."
"We Uchiha founded Konoha alongside the Senju..."
Listening to them, Uchiha Yuan spoke up. "Everyone, be quiet."
After the group quieted down, he said, "You are all wondering why the village is targeting us Uchiha so severely. After all, we are the founders of Konoha."
"Just as I said earlier, the village has never trusted the Uchiha."
At that moment, a boy from a ninja family within the clan spoke up. "I know about this. It was the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju. He had always been hostile toward us Uchiha. Whenever my father attended clan meetings, the senior ninjas in the clan would curse Senju Tobirama from time to time."
Uchiha Yuan nodded and said, "That's right. Just as Kazeno said, the village's targeting of the Uchiha began during Senju Tobirama's era."
"And the reason for all this is the Uchiha's great power. The Sharingan in particular is something they fear."
"For a long time, the village and our clan have been secretly contending with one another. Though we Uchiha control the Police Force, and it sounds like we hold immense authority...
"Because of that, however, we Uchiha have always been excluded from the village's center of power."
"What?!"
Before you continue