Hidden Turmoil

The owner of that giant hand was at least four meters tall, yet it had emerged from such a tiny eye. It was utterly unreasonable.

Like grabbing food, the giant hand seized the Kumogakure Envoy Leader's corpse and withdrew.

A faint, cold, violent ripple surfaced in Jinghuo Uchiha's mind, as though someone were asking, "What do you want?"

"A talent for training my body."

The ripple vanished, and something that did not belong to Jinghuo Uchiha appeared within him.

Demon's Window—this was Jinghuo Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan ability.

He could offer up what was his in exchange for power that was not.

This was also why Jinghuo Uchiha could now trade blows one-for-one with Sarutobi Hiruzen.

He could sacrifice everything he had in exchange for immense power.

As for whether he could sacrifice the system, he did not know yet. He could try it when he had no other choice, though he might die on the spot.

Now, he looked at his status panel.

[Name: Jinghuo Uchiha]

[Attributes: Fire, Yin]

[Abilities: Mangekyō Sharingan (Demon's Window), Fire Style Chakra Mode]

Jinghuo Uchiha smiled and headed back to the Uchiha Clan Land.

The next day.

As soon as dawn broke, the Hokage Building erupted into commotion.

The recently arrived Kumogakure envoy group wore expressions full of fury and agitation.

"They actually murdered our captain!"

"It seems Konoha never intended to sign an Armistice Agreement with us!"

"Hand over the culprit! Or war it is!"

"That's right! Hand over the culprit, or war it is!"

Those words made Sarutobi Hiruzen's scalp tingle.

He immediately launched an investigation, but this time, he did not find a body in the Hyuga Clan. Instead, he found nothing at all.

"A man just vanished in Konoha?" Sarutobi Hiruzen found it absurd.

But Uchiha Shisui thought it was not too surprising. After all, Jinghuo Uchiha's parents had vanished just as silently.

"It must have been the Uchiha!" Shimura Danzō said, as though he had seen through everything.

Uchiha Shisui: ??? Did he even think about what he was saying? The Uchiha Clan was on the front lines of the war, and the Uchiha Clan had suffered the greatest casualties! Why would we do something like this?

Ignoring Uchiha Shisui's shocked gaze, Shimura Danzō continued, "For war merit, the Uchiha disregarded the village's wishes and only wanted to prolong the war."

As soon as those words were spoken, Uchiha Shisui fell silent.

Yes, the Uchiha wanted war merit, but they did not want their clan members sent to their deaths.

That was why, in his view, the Uchiha could not possibly have done such a thing.

But to Sarutobi Hiruzen, it did seem somewhat possible.

No, rather than somewhat possible, that suspicion was the most likely explanation at the moment.

"Shisui, what do you think?"

"This..." Uchiha Shisui did not know what to say.

Was he supposed to tell Sarutobi Hiruzen that the clan members were dissatisfied with the war, no longer wanted war merit or the villagers' goodwill, and only wanted their clan members to live well?

Wouldn't that just mean the clan members only cared about themselves?

But Uchiha Shisui's hesitant manner made Sarutobi Hiruzen think he had seen the truth.

Shimura Danzō seized the opportunity. "Since the Uchiha Clan caused this mess, let the Uchiha settle it."

"No, Lord Danzo..." Before Uchiha Shisui could finish, Shimura Danzō leaned on his cane and walked away, each tap against the ground producing an intimidating sound.

Seeing this, Uchiha Shisui could only turn to Sarutobi Hiruzen and hurriedly say, "Lord Hokage, this has nothing to do with the Uchiha. The Uchiha are under surveillance right now. We simply could not have done such a thing."

"Mm, I understand."

Uchiha Shisui breathed a sigh of relief.

Several days later, the disappearance of the Kumogakure Envoy Leader still had not been solved.

The Kumogakure envoy group clamored about returning to summon the Fourth Raikage and start a war, making Sarutobi Hiruzen break out in a cold sweat as he hurriedly tried to soothe them.

In the end, it was decided that every clan in the village would have to offer something to compensate Kumogakure.

But Kumogakure looked down on it all and demanded only Sharingan or Byakugan.

Bloodline limits like the Sharingan and Byakugan were extremely precious.

Leaving aside the Hyuga Clan's strict branch family and Main Family system, even when Hatake Kakashi wanted to keep Uchiha Obito's eye, there had been a lengthy dispute before they agreed. And now they were supposed to give Sharingan to another village?

How could that be possible!

Even if the Uchiha Clan agreed, the village would not.

Just then, rumors spread throughout the village. "I heard the Kumogakure Envoy Leader was secretly killed by the Uchiha Clan!"

None of the clans were fools. They could tell at a glance that it was an incredibly clumsy lie.

But since it did not concern them, they adopted an aloof attitude toward the Uchiha.

After all, better a fellow cultivator die than oneself.

But the villagers began causing a ruckus.

"The Uchiha caused this mess, so let them handle it!"

"Make the Uchiha placate Kumogakure!"

"We still haven't settled the matter of the Nine-Tailed Night with them!"

"Why should we bear the consequences of something they caused?"

Under the outcry, Fugaku Uchiha's scalp tingled as he had no idea what to do.

At this moment, Danzo proposed, "The Uchiha Clan is always saying they lack money, isn't it? Ten pairs of Sharingan. My Root will pay for them and settle Kumogakure's demands."

"Impossible!" That was Fugaku Uchiha's first reaction.

But after Sarutobi Hiruzen said, "Giving them to another village is worse than giving them to our own," Fugaku Uchiha ultimately handed over one pair of Sharingan in exchange for a considerable sum of money.

The other clans each paid a small price to Shimura Danzō as well.

The Uchiha even had money now, and the clan was filled with joy, though they did not know it had been bought with Sharingan.

Uchiha Shisui and Fugaku Uchiha, who knew the truth, smiled as they watched the celebrating clan members.

Everything seemed joyous for everyone, but Jinghuo Uchiha's expression kept shifting.

[Quest name: And You Call Yourself the Uchiha Clan Head?][quest content: Kill Fugaku Uchiha!][quest reward: Secret Technique: Earth Grudge Fear + Impure World Reincarnation]

[Quest name: So You Like Calculating Others?][quest content: Kill Shimura Danzō!][quest reward: Fire Style Chakra Mode: Emperor Flame Mode]

[Quest name: And You Still Want to Be Hokage?][quest content: Kill Sarutobi Hiruzen!][quest reward...]

[Quest name: You're Not Afraid of War?][...]

[...]

[...]

After that, time passed rather slowly, perhaps because Jinghuo Uchiha had become restless.

Before the Uchiha clan members learned that Fugaku Uchiha had traded Sharingan for money, the conflict between the Uchiha Clan and the village grew increasingly intense.

The suspicions surrounding the Nine-Tailed Night, the hated Police Force, and the Armistice Agreement incident left the Uchiha clan members seething with pent-up anger.

They had clearly done nothing, yet people constantly gossiped about them. Sometimes, people even spat on them.