Sarutobi Clan Land.
"Lord Hokage." Uchiha Itachi knelt on one knee.
"How is the situation?" Sarutobi Hiruzen puffed on his pipe. His troubled expression was as elusive and intangible as the smoke he exhaled, making one feel restless.
The Hokage Building was also located in the Village Center and had been affected by Jinghuo Uchiha. Though it had not collapsed, the cracks covering the entire building made it look worse than if it had.
Workers were now tearing it down and rebuilding it around the clock.
Thus, Uchiha Itachi could only come to the Sarutobi Clan Land to report to him.
"Jinghuo Uchiha is unconscious. Fugaku Uchiha merely asked after him with concern, then paid him no further attention."
"Mm."
When Jinghuo Uchiha had shouted about leading the Uchiha Clan in a coup and returned to the Uchiha Clan Land, the Anbu watching him had reported more than once: "Jinghuo Uchiha's eyes are becoming increasingly clouded."
"So that is the price paid by his eyes." For such an extraordinary ability to come with a cost instead made Sarutobi Hiruzen feel that it was normal.
It also put him at ease.
At the very least, he would not have to see another Susanoo running rampant through the Village Center.
Moreover, Uchiha Shisui's eyes were the same kind. Did that mean Uchiha Shisui could do this as well?
That made his relieved smile deepen.
Yet he could not forget how Uchiha Shisui had refused when asked to use Kotoamatsukami to control Jinghuo Uchiha.
Shisui's Will of Fire... Sarutobi Hiruzen thought. I need to find an opportunity to test Uchiha Shisui.
At that moment, Uchiha Itachi suddenly raised his head and looked toward the Uchiha Clan Land, his face full of disbelief.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was puzzled.
But the next second, he too looked toward the Uchiha Clan Land in shock.
Though he was not an Uchiha Clan member, he could still vaguely sense the suddenly surging chakra fluctuations from that direction.
"What is going on?" Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately asked.
Had the coup begun? Or was he already too late?
Uchiha Itachi could see Sarutobi Hiruzen's tension and immediately replied, "These are fluctuations caused by Sharingan evolution."
"Sharingan evolution?! Did something happen to the Uchiha Clan?"
Had it not been said that the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan could only awaken and continuously evolve through intense emotional stimulation?
"Could Fugaku Uchiha have died?" After thinking for a long time, this was the only possibility Sarutobi Hiruzen came up with.
Only that could explain the massive eye power fluctuations from the Uchiha Clan Land.
Uchiha Itachi shook his head.
He did not know either.
Yet the image of Uchiha Shisui carrying Jinghuo Uchiha kept surfacing in his mind.
"Was it related to Shisui? Or Jinghuo Uchiha?"
[Quest name: You Call Yourself an Uchiha Clan Member?]
[Quest content: Kill Uchiha Itachi!]
[Quest reward: Eternal Mangekyo]
Jinghuo Uchiha, who had fallen unconscious, was awakened by the system in the dead of night.
Having had the system for five years, he had long grown accustomed to it.
He wanted to glance out the window, but all he saw was a hazy darkness.
Although he was blind, he could still sense light.
It should be the middle of the night, right? After that thought arose, Jinghuo Uchiha found it rather absurd that Uchiha Itachi was still awake.
"So Uchiha Itachi is reporting my situation to Sarutobi Hiruzen as a double agent?"
Jinghuo Uchiha muttered, then lay back down and continued sleeping.
He guessed that Uchiha Itachi had a very clear ranking in his heart.
Uchiha Shisui, Second Pillar > the village > the Uchiha Clan > family > Clan members...
Jinghuo Uchiha did not have much of an opinion on it. After all, his brother, Uchiha Shisui, was still alive.
If Uchiha Shisui could not bring Uchiha Itachi back, then he could only accept the Eternal Mangekyo reward.
The night passed.
Despite such a huge incident, life continued as usual.
Getting up, brushing his teeth, washing his face, eating...
Jinghuo Uchiha was no exception.
However, he did not plan to train on the Back Mountain today.
He still could not properly control his chakra and had already walked into the wall three times at home.
More importantly, that shameless bastard Danzo might send people to capture him.
Until he learned Fire Style Chakra Mode, he had no intention of leaving the house.
After Uchiha Shisui learned of Jinghuo Uchiha's thoughts, he strongly agreed.
He could rest easy with him at home.
Afterward, he planned to speak with Fugaku Uchiha.
Just then, he walked to the door with a puzzled expression and opened it. As expected, he saw a group of clan members outside.
"What brings everyone here?" Uchiha Shisui asked in confusion.
"Well..." The clan members all looked uneasy and deeply worried.
After hesitating several times, they finally asked the question they wanted to ask.
"Is Jinghuo all right?"
Their expressions and tone gave Uchiha Shisui a very familiar feeling—guilt.
Thinking of last night's explosive, large-scale Sharingan evolution, he was so shocked by the truth that his mouth fell slightly open, and he stood there in a daze.
When the clan members saw Uchiha Shisui freeze up, they immediately panicked.
Could something serious have happened to Jinghuo Uchiha?
Fortunately, Uchiha Shisui had only been stunned for a second or two. He quickly came back to his senses and said, "Jinghuo is in pretty good condition. Please don't worry."
Upon hearing that, everyone relaxed.
"If there's any problem, come find us."
"That's right. Even if we can't help much, we can still think of a solution."
"Mm-hmm, don't carry everything by yourself."
The clan members said their goodbyes while offering their reminders.
After they had walked some distance away, Uchiha Shisui was about to return inside when the clan members came back, looking embarrassed.
"Shisui, are you all right?"
"Yeah, sorry. We didn't notice you."
"We heard your eye was taken? Who took it?"
"How dare they take an Uchiha's eye!"
"We have to make him pay!"
The clan members' furious appearance moved Uchiha Shisui.
After Danzo had taken his eye, he had developed a slight, almost negligible hesitation toward the village.
After Jinghuo Uchiha had unleashed Susanoo in the Village Center, Sarutobi Hiruzen had not blamed him, which reassured Uchiha Shisui somewhat and made him grateful for Sarutobi Hiruzen's understanding.
However, when Sarutobi Hiruzen asked him to use Kotoamatsukami to control Jinghuo Uchiha, he felt another faint tremor of doubt.
With the tacit approval of the Jonin and Sarutobi Hiruzen, he had recovered his own eye and taken back Shimura Danzō's Sharingan. Their handling of the matter made him feel some gratitude toward the village once more.
But when he carried Jinghuo Uchiha back and sensed the Anbu following nearby, wave after wave of killing intent aimed directly at Jinghuo Uchiha made anger rise within him.
Still, he quickly calmed down.
After all, Jinghuo Uchiha had just caused havoc in the Village Center. Sarutobi Hiruzen's arrangements were understandable.
Yet he could not help recalling Sarutobi Hiruzen's tacit approval of him taking Danzo's eye.
Wasn't the Uchiha Clan's current situation the result of Sarutobi Hiruzen's tacit approval?
The isolation after Nine-Tailed Night, the rumors surrounding the Nine-Tails incident, the front lines of war, the clan members' heavy casualties, the coercion over the Armistice Agreement incident...
Which of these had not been tacitly approved by Sarutobi Hiruzen?
Before you continue