The Uchiha man's eyes had lost every trace of light, like the eyes of a dead fish.
Yet to the Masked Man, they seemed like some kind of treasure. He carefully dug out the husband and wife's eyes and placed them into small tubes filled with nutrient solution.
He then unfurled a scroll and sealed away the two corpses.
Water Release cleaned away the bloodstains;
Fire Release dried the water marks.
After finishing all this, the six masked men swiftly departed, leaving behind only an alley that had become somewhat clean.
Disasters would eventually pass with time.
The Nine-Tailed Night was no exception.
But that night had left countless families shattered.
Even days later, they still could not forget the terrifying Nine-Tails, like a Demon God.
Before it, they were like ants, utterly powerless to resist.
Father, mother, older brother, older sister, younger brother, younger sister, first love, lover...
All of them... all of them had been destroyed by it!
They daydreamed during the day and trembled in their nightmares at night.
They hated it, yet they were uneasily terrified of it, afraid of its power.
Their hearts were filled with sorrow and helplessness.
Living had become a form of torment.
Some leaned against ruined walls in a daze;
Some hid behind broken walls and wept;
Some stood in Qiongyanli with reddened eyes;
Some knelt amid Louwu in regret.
Grief shrouded the village of Konoha. No one could muster even the faintest smile.
Then a rumor spread—"The Uchiha Clan's Sharingan can control the Nine-Tails!"
The bewildered villagers seemed to spot the enemy's silhouette through the fog.
"It's all the Uchiha Clan's fault!"
"It must be an Uchiha Clan conspiracy!"
"The Uchiha Clan killed my parents!"
Some readily cast all the blame onto the Uchiha Clan, a target they could see and dare to provoke.
Some believed the rumor was unreliable and continued to hate the Nine-Tails.
But two years later, those people who hated the Nine-Tails would hear another rumor—a little boy who was the Nine-Tailed Reincarnation.
At that time, they would all receive salvation.
"Heh." Jinghuo Uchiha only wanted to laugh.
[Quest name: Are You the Only Ones Who Have It Bad?] [Quest content: Kill the Konoha villagers!] [Quest reward: Immortal Body + Dead Demon Consuming Seal + Harem Technique]
Jinghuo Uchiha: "..."
Hokage Building.
Many things had happened during the Nine-Tailed Night. The most important was that the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had died.
The retired Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had no choice but to stand out and continue protecting Konoha.
This was precisely a troubled time.
There was the relief of disaster victims, the reason behind the Nine-Tails' appearance, arrangements for the Fourth Hokage's son, and... the Uchiha Clan's intentions.
As it happened, an Uchiha Clan member stood before him.
"Shisui."
Uchiha Shisui had just been thinking about Jinghuo Uchiha's missing parents. Hearing the Third Hokage's words, he immediately came back to his senses, dropped to one knee, lowered his head, and said, "Here."
Sarutobi Hiruzen narrowed his eyes slightly, making his expression somewhat stern. Yet the next moment, it relaxed again, and he looked like the kind old man one could find anywhere.
"What is it? You seem distracted. Did something happen?"
Uchiha Shisui let out a breath, warmth rising in his heart.
He had wanted to ask these past few days, but seeing the village's condition, he had been unable to bring himself to do so. Now that the Third Hokage had asked, he could finally voice it.
"Lord Hokage, during the Nine-Tailed Night, Seifu Uchiha and Seiya Uchiha went to help, but they never returned. Did something happen to them?"
Uchiha Shisui deeply respected the Third Hokage, because he could tell that the Third Hokage genuinely wanted to resolve the misunderstanding between the Uchiha Clan and the village.
But he failed to notice Sarutobi Hiruzen's pupils suddenly contracting upon hearing this.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was greatly shocked.
An Uchiha Clan member... had disappeared?
Had they defected from the village? Or had spies captured them?
"Shisui." Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice was stern.
"Here." Uchiha Shisui lowered his head even further, awaiting orders.
"You are Kagami Uchiha's descendant. As the bridge between the village and the Uchiha Clan, do you understand the gravity of this matter?"
"I understand. At present, only I know. When clan members asked, I told them they had gone out on a mission."
Sarutobi Hiruzen was satisfied with Uchiha Shisui's answer. He gave an approving hum, feeling reassured, then asked, "Why do you think they disappeared?"
At those words, Uchiha Shisui's pupils contracted.
Even the Third Hokage did not know their whereabouts?
Then the only possibility was that they had been killed or captured!
Those two possibilities had one thing in common: they were probably unlikely to return alive.
Uchiha Shisui thought of three-month-old Jinghuo Uchiha, and his gaze dimmed.
Just as he opened his mouth, he heard the heavy thud of a cane striking the floor behind him, followed by a cold, stern, unsmiling voice delivering its verdict.
"They definitely defected!"
The next moment, Uchiha Shisui saw feet and a cane stop beside him. He also felt that the man glanced at him before saying, neither sorrowful nor joyful, "As expected, the Uchiha Clan is an evil clan! They actually took advantage of the chaos on the Nine-Tailed Night to defect from the village! It seems the appearance of the Nine-Tails truly has much to do with the Uchiha Clan!"
The more Uchiha Shisui heard, the more alarmed he became.
If Konoha's higher-ups truly thought this way, the Uchiha Clan's situation would become even worse!
He hurriedly said, "That's not true! The appearance of the Nine-Tails had nothing to do with the Uchiha Clan!"
"Nothing to do with them? The Sharingan can control tailed beasts. Heh." Shimura Danzō looked as though he had heard a child's joke, his face full of ridicule.
Then he looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen and said, "Hiruzen, issue a wanted notice."
Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had remained silent until then, calmly said, "I believe in the Uchiha Clan."
"Lord Hokage..." Uchiha Shisui was deeply moved.
"Hmph." Shimura Danzō's cane struck the ground with a heavy thud, as though it were transmitting his anger.
Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at Shimura Danzō, then calmly said to Uchiha Shisui, "Shisui, return first."
"Yes!" Uchiha Shisui left.
Only Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō remained in the Hokage Office.
"Hiruzen, it was the Nine-Tails this time. Next time, there might not be another tailed beast!" Shimura Danzō said.
"This time, it was because Kushina gave birth and the seal developed a flaw." Sarutobi Hiruzen smoked his pipe.
"The Sharingan can control people's hearts!"
"They do not know who the new Jinchūriki is."
"Hmph!" Shimura Danzō reluctantly accepted that statement. Then, as if issuing a notice, he told Sarutobi Hiruzen, "My Root will raise that child."
"No." Sarutobi Hiruzen answered decisively.
"Hiruzen! You..." Shimura Danzō stared at Sarutobi Hiruzen in disbelief.
"Go investigate why Seifu Uchiha and Seiga Uchiha disappeared," Sarutobi Hiruzen said.
Shimura Danzō narrowed his eyes.
Disappeared... rather than missing?
It seemed that you suspected they had defected from the village, Hiruzen.
Before you continue