The little boy walked as though he could see, just like a normal person.
Yet beneath his calm expression lay a faint air of authority that needed no anger.
Many bewildered parents unconsciously stepped aside, their eyes fixed on the little boy with uncertainty and alarm.
Only members of certain clans, such as the Akimichi and Inuzuka, wore especially grave expressions.
"Dad?!" Akimichi Choji was shocked. His father, Akimichi Choza, had actually opened his eyes!
Akimichi Choza had a kindly face, and his small eyes usually looked as though they were closed. Yet now, his little eyes were clearly visible, seemingly flashing with a hint of fierceness!
Nara Shikamaru, standing beside Akimichi Choji, frowned at the sight.
Why were the adults—especially the adults from the clans—so wary of a little boy around his age?
Then he saw the clan crest on the little boy's clothes.
The Uchiha Clan's?
Suddenly, he recalled the battle that had erupted in the village that day, the Skeleton Giant blazing with Rage Flame as it frantically pounded the ground.
The image became crystal clear in an instant, and that voice full of endless fury still rang in his ears: "Danzo! Give my brother's eyes back!!!"
And after his father, Nara Shikaku, had returned that day, he had said nothing, yet he kept giving Shikamaru strange looks.
In the end, his father had told him something strange: "If you encounter an Uchiha child, don't get close."
Even without his father telling him, he knew the Uchiha Clan was in a difficult situation now. Naturally, he kept his distance, even avoiding Second Pillar.
But now he understood. The person his father had told him to stay away from was not Second Pillar, but the little boy before him!
At that moment, a blond, blue-eyed little boy rushed out of the Ninja Academy, looking extremely excited.
"Choji! Shikamaru! Let's go play together!" He looked expectantly at Akimichi Choji and Nara Shikaku.
The little boy had one especially noticeable feature: six whisker-like marks on his cheeks.
However, his reaction seemed a little slow.
Only after running out did he notice how strange the atmosphere was.
Still, he was not the slowest to react.
"Sasuke-kun, let's go play together?" A Sakura-haired girl with pink hair gazed expectantly at a handsome little boy, hearts practically shining in her eyes. It was as though he was the only person she could see.
The little boy looked a little smug. Without even glancing at her, he continued walking. "I'm going home to practice ninjutsu."
The girl refused to give up. "Then let's practice nin... jutsu together?"
Only after walking five or six steps out of the school gates did the girl notice the strange atmosphere outside.
And Second Pillar, who had been walking along expressionlessly, also froze.
In an instant, he remembered Uchiha Itachi's grave warning: "Sasuke, promise me you won't get close to Jinghuo Uchiha."
But now, he had not approached Jinghuo Uchiha. Jinghuo Uchiha had come to him.
He stared blankly at Jinghuo Uchiha. "Y-you... why are you here?"
Second Pillar thought Jinghuo Uchiha had come to find him.
The Silver-Haired Anbu following Jinghuo Uchiha, as well as Uzumaki Naruto's Anbu guard, thought so too.
After all, Uzumaki Naruto's identity was a secret. No one knew it.
But everyone knew they had to protect Uzumaki Naruto.
Although they found it strange that the Third Hokage allowed rumors to spread through the village that the little boy was the Demon Fox, causing the villagers to despise him, it had nothing to do with them, so they did not interfere.
However, Jinghuo Uchiha faced Uzumaki Naruto and said something that stunned many people.
"I know your Father."
Uzumaki Naruto reacted faster than anyone at that moment.
"Really? Do you know who my Father is?" Uzumaki Naruto, who had always envied others for having Fathers and Mothers, became excited at once.
But at the same time, he was afraid Jinghuo Uchiha was lying to him.
Quite a few children had used that trick to lure him somewhere and beat him up.
But he was not afraid of being beaten. He was afraid that hope would turn into despair once more.
Jinghuo Uchiha did not answer. He turned and left.
Uzumaki Naruto froze for a moment.
The next second.
"Wait!"
Uzumaki Naruto hurried after him.
The Silver-Haired Youth and the other Anbu immediately felt their scalps go numb.
"You keep an eye on them. I'll report this to the Hokage!"
The Silver-Haired Youth nodded, immediately putting away the Make-Out Paradise in his hand before hurriedly following Jinghuo Uchiha and Uzumaki Naruto.
His eyes remained locked on them, as though he did not want to miss a single moment.
Uzumaki Naruto clung to Jinghuo Uchiha, demanding that he tell him who his Father was.
But Jinghuo Uchiha did not tell him.
Because once he did, the entire situation would collapse.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, as the Third Hokage, would collapse, because he had treated the son of Konoha's hero, the Fourth Hokage, in such a manner;
Konoha's villagers would collapse, because they could not forget the hatred they had shown toward the son of Konoha's hero, the Fourth Hokage;
Konoha would collapse. First, because the ninja would become lost, wondering what exactly they were protecting in such a Konoha; second, because the Uchiha Clan would seize the chance to stage a coup.
In the end, only Other Villages coveting Konoha would benefit.
They would seize Konoha's superior geographical resources and establish their own ninja villages atop Konoha's ruins.
And after Konoha collapsed, the Uchiha Clan naturally would not be able to remain untouched.
The Land of Whirlpools had been immensely powerful, its sealing techniques unmatched in the world, yet it had still been destroyed.
If the Land of Whirlpools' sealing techniques had drawn such disaster, then the Uchiha's Sharingan would be even more so.
In the end, Jinghuo Uchiha merely took Uzumaki Naruto out for a delicious meal before sending him back.
The sight left the Silver-Haired Anbu utterly baffled. "What is this little brat even doing?"
Everyone was baffled, but Konoha's higher-ups alone wore exceptionally ugly expressions.
Because only they knew that Uzumaki Naruto was the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki!
Hokage Building.
In the corridor, footsteps mixed with the sound of a cane, producing intimidating thump, thump sounds.
Soon, the doors to the Hokage Office were violently pushed open, accompanied by a sharp whoosh like a gust of wind.
"Hiruzen!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen puffed on his pipe and looked at Shimura Danzō before him. "What is it?"
Shimura Danzō stated grimly, "An Uchiha made contact with that Demon Fox today!"
Though it was merely a statement, Sarutobi Hiruzen understood the hidden implication immediately.
Yet Sarutobi Hiruzen did not respond. Instead, he took another puff from his pipe, exhaled a thick cloud of white smoke, and said, "I already know."
As though he had not heard the rejection in Sarutobi Hiruzen's words, Shimura Danzō said heatedly, "The Uchiha Clan is becoming more and more arrogant! If we keep delaying, the Uchiha Clan will eventually launch a coup!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's sorrow seemed as hazy as smoke.
He took a puff from his pipe and gave a perfunctory "Mm." His gaze drifted somewhere distant, and no one knew what he was looking at or what he was thinking.
This greatly displeased Shimura Danzō. He slightly raised his cane and let it strike the ground with a thump, as though ordering Sarutobi Hiruzen to listen carefully.
Sarutobi Hiruzen calmly glanced at him. "Is there anything else?"
Shimura Danzō's grip on his cane tightened until it creaked, a trace of savagery showing in his eyes.
But that savagery was like a wolf spotting a tiger, and in the end, it retreated.
He no longer thought of using this chance to urge Sarutobi Hiruzen to destroy the Uchiha Clan.
Instead, he revealed his other objective.
"Hand that Demon Fox over to Root."
Before you continue