Naka Shrine
Uchiha Tomita looked at Uchiha Nan before him and sighed inwardly. He'd never dreamed things would end this way.
He really had been forced out by Uchiha Nan.
But this outcome wasn't impossible to accept. Uchiha Nan had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, and the Uchiha's future would be bright!
"Clan Head!"
Uchiha Tomita knelt before Uchiha Nan and took a jade-carved tomoe from inside his robe. It was the token of the Uchiha Clan Head, passed down through the generations.
When Madara Uchiha had left Konoha, he hadn't taken it with him. He'd taken only the Uchiha Gunbai.
"I'll lead the Uchiha toward a brighter future!"
Uchiha Nan accepted the token and made Uchiha Tomita his promise.
No matter how badly things went in the future, they couldn't be worse than in the original story. The Uchiha Clan had been slaughtered by the "Filial Son," Itachi Uchiha, until only two or three people remained.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!!!"
Uchiha Nan had just been about to accept the Uchiha's bows when an Anbu Ninja wearing a fox mask came rushing in, shouting frantically.
"Lord Tomita, Konoha's defensive barrier has been breached! Enemies have entered the village!"
The Anbu Ninja saw Uchiha Tomita kneeling before Uchiha Nan, and his voice gradually grew quieter.
What kind of scene was this? The Uchiha Clan Head was kneeling in front of so many people?
As the Anbu Ninja came in, Uchiha Tomita stood and said, "I'm no longer the Uchiha Clan Head. Uchiha Nan is now the Clan Head!"
The fox-masked ninja froze and looked at Uchiha Nan. He hadn't even processed this shocking news yet, and for a moment, he forgot his mission.
Several seconds passed before he came to his senses and asked Uchiha Nan to lead the Uchiha Clan in defending Konoha.
Enemy attack?
Uchiha Nan was a little confused. Then he remembered his strike from earlier. It seemed to have smashed something, so it must have been Konoha's defensive barrier.
"Stand down. Konoha's defensive barrier was destroyed by the aftershock of a casual strike from me."
Huh?
Was that even humanly possible?
Did he really think Konoha's defensive barrier was some piece of junk? It was the painstaking work of Sealing Jutsu master Mito Uzumaki and scientific genius Tobirama Senju.
Experiments had shown that it would take a dozen or more elite Jonin bombarding it with Ninjutsu to break through—or an S-rank forbidden technique.
A casual strike, and just the aftershock?
The fox-masked ninja didn't argue. After getting confirmation from Uchiha Nan, he went straight back to report.
The man before him was the new Uchiha Clan Head. What good would it do to offend him? Besides, they were in the Uchiha Clan's own territory. He'd better keep a low profile.
Before long, the fox-masked ninja had reported the truth, and the misunderstanding caused by Uchiha Nan was quickly cleared up.
But the aftermath was far from over. Uchiha Nan's casual strike had caused an enormous commotion.
The Senju Clan, Hyuga Clan, Ino-Shika-Cho, other clans with secret techniques, and many smaller ninja clans had all grabbed their weapons and prepared to fight to the death.
What kind of enemy could sneak right up to Konoha's doorstep and easily break through its defensive barrier?
Considering the news that the Second, Tobirama Senju, had died, was Konoha doomed?
So the various clans leapt into action, mobilizing their family forces. It didn't take long for news of what had happened to the Uchiha that afternoon to reach the heads of the major clans.
Learning the truth was almost as shocking as Konoha being attacked at its own doorstep.
The Uchiha Clan had a new leader: Uchiha Nan had replaced Uchiha Tomita. That wasn't the real shock. The crucial point was that Uchiha Nan had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan!
Some of the clan heads had lived since Konoha's founding. They'd seen Hashirama Senju's Wood Release and Madara Uchiha's Susanoo with their own eyes.
Two towering, magnificent giants had clashed, and every casual blow they struck had shaken the heavens and earth. They'd witnessed that spectacle more than once.
It had been a war between gods!
The terror of being dominated by Madara Uchiha's Susanoo was about to return.
The Uchiha now had a second Madara Uchiha, but the Senju Clan still had no second Hashirama Senju.
Konoha was about to be turned upside down!
Senju Clan Land
Mito Uzumaki looked at the intelligence in her hands, her face creased with worry. When had the Uchiha Clan produced someone like this?
Uchiha Nan's personal details, the missions he'd carried out, the battles he'd fought, the Ninjutsu he specialized in—every kind of information lay before Mito Uzumaki.
The more she read, the more alarmed she became!
Uchiha Nan's life could be divided into two parts, with Tobirama Senju's death as the dividing line.
While Tobirama Senju had been alive, Uchiha Nan had been a model heir to the Will of Fire. His file even contained Tobirama Senju's evaluation.
"Uchiha Nan is an unusual Uchiha. He has risen above the limits of his clan and devoted himself to the village. He deserves special cultivation!"
This was Tobirama Senju's own handwritten endorsement!
But after Tobirama Senju died, Uchiha Nan's conduct had changed completely.
According to the intelligence, Uchiha Nan had thrown a powerful Ninjutsu into a crowd to intimidate his own people.
It was the act of a madman.
Still, Uchiha Nan had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, so his behavior was understandable.
But when exactly had Uchiha Nan changed?
If it had happened before Tobirama Senju's death, that would be terrifying.
An Uchiha who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan long ago had kept pretending to be an heir to the Will of Fire, fooling Tobirama Senju until he died before revealing his true nature.
With that sort of cunning paired with his strength, he was even more terrifying than Madara Uchiha.
Madara Uchiha was powerful, but there were things he wouldn't do, even if he understood them. He considered himself above such methods.
He believed in overcoming everything through sheer force. Whoever disagreed could step forward, and he'd beat them into submission.
Uchiha Nan was different. He could endure and wait, then strike at the perfect moment. Just like now: Tobirama Senju had died, and he'd appeared.
Mito Uzumaki didn't believe the timing could be such a coincidence. This was terrifying. That young man could not be allowed to live!
Now Uchiha Nan had wasted no time in removing Uchiha Tomita and becoming the Uchiha Clan Head.
Mito Uzumaki could guess his next target without even trying: the position of Third.
Who could stop Uchiha Nan?
Hiruzen Sarutobi?
Mito Uzumaki instinctively dismissed that mistaken option at once.
What about her own son, Toma?
Probably not. Toma hadn't inherited his father Hashirama Senju's Wood Release.
It seemed only she could suppress Uchiha Nan by borrowing the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's power.
But before that, she could have Hiruzen Sarutobi sound him out. After all, he had Tobirama Senju's final instructions.
Since Tobirama Senju had chosen him, he must have had some outstanding quality she hadn't noticed.
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