"I'm on patrol."
"You're here to pay your respects to Obito, right? I'll take you there."
Uchiha Tamaharu said.
In fact, he and Shisui had been patrolling the Uchiha Clan Compound these past few days.
Their job was to deal with the Anbu who had infiltrated the compound.
But to avoid escalating tensions, they only used genjutsu to knock the Anbu unconscious, then tossed them outside the Uchiha Clan Compound.
The Anbu themselves took care of retrieving their comrades whose infiltrations had failed.
"Then sorry for the trouble. Everyone around here seems to hate us."
Might Guy nodded quickly, then spoke to Uchiha Tamaharu in a very quiet voice.
Kakashi's expression stiffened. After all, besides paying his respects to Obito, he had also come to gather intelligence.
But he couldn't bring himself to be tough in front of his friend.
"I'll take you there. It'll be fine."
Uchiha Tamaharu smiled, then patted Guy on the shoulder.
He was closest to Guy. He and Kakashi's other peers had only been on friendly terms.
Everyone on his team had already fallen in battle.
He had worked hard to train back then, but his strength had only been about on par with Kakashi's.
Without a cheat, how could he catch up to those geniuses?
Before long, the group arrived near the Uchiha Clan's Ancestral Hall, at the cemetery where members of the Uchiha Clan were buried.
Might Guy and Kakashi were very solemn as they paid their respects to Obito.
They didn't spend much time there before getting ready to leave.
But before leaving, Kakashi looked at Uchiha Tamaharu with a complicated expression.
"Can the Uchiha live in peace with the village?"
Unable to hold back, Kakashi asked Uchiha Tamaharu, who was gazing at the sunset beside him.
"That's something you should ask Konoha."
"Why is it so determined to target the Uchiha?"
"The Uchiha don't want to meet the same fate as the Senju Clan."
Uchiha Tamaharu looked at Kakashi and replied calmly.
Kakashi's expression stiffened. He gave a wry smile and said nothing more.
"Take good care of that eye of yours. Once you're able to reach my level, I'll tell you a secret—the truth about Obito and Rin's deaths."
Uchiha Tamaharu suddenly activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and spoke to Kakashi.
He could sense that Konoha's actions had been growing increasingly aggressive, so he wanted to give them a warning and make them uneasy.
He only needed to buy one more day. They had basically finished gathering supplies, and the squad leaders in the Military Police Force had already grasped the general situation.
They just needed a little more time.
"You!"
"What's the truth about Obito and Rin's deaths?"
Kakashi was shocked when he saw the Mangekyō Sharingan.
But his attention immediately shifted to the truth about Obito and Rin's deaths.
It was the greatest pain of his life!
"You've been wallowing for so long that you're not strong enough to learn the truth."
"But Rin and Obito's deaths were orchestrated by someone. Once you've mastered the Mangekyō Sharingan, I'll tell you the truth."
Uchiha Tamaharu said bluntly.
No matter how much Kakashi pressed him after that, he wouldn't say another word.
Might Guy looked like he wanted to ask something, but in the end he held back. He knew there was no point asking Tamaharu something he didn't want to talk about.
After escorting the two out of the Uchiha Clan Compound, Uchiha Tamaharu used the Body Flicker Technique and vanished before their eyes.
Kakashi, his expression grave, said goodbye to Might Guy, then went back to submit his report.
"What exactly are the Uchiha planning?"
"Are they really going to start a war?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen asked, his face dark.
He hadn't expected the Uchiha to actually dare entertain such an idea.
What worried him now was that a third of their forces hadn't returned yet. Rotating the troops on the front lines wasn't as simple as calling them back.
They had to withdraw gradually, or another ninja village might take advantage of the situation.
Taking out the Uchiha in one fell swoop wouldn't be easy, either. They would need a large force.
"Should we strike first?"
"If we attack them by surprise, we can greatly reduce our casualties,"
Danzo suggested.
He had nearly finished making preparations, and had also threatened the leaders of several smaller clans into joining the attack.
"No. If Konoha strikes first, the clans in the village will start to fear us. That would be bad for the future."
"Besides, according to Kakashi's report, that Uchiha genius from before, Uchiha Tamaharu, has also awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. His ability is unknown."
Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head.
Uchiha Tamaharu's plan had worked.
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't really care whether the clans in the village were afraid of them.
But he was wary of the Mangekyō Sharingan's abilities. Shisui had already shown what it could do, and who knew what this one was capable of?
He wanted more intelligence and confirmation that everything was secure before making a move.
After all, since the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha, shinobi no longer relied on brute force. Intelligence warfare had become far more important.
"What? The Uchiha Clan has another Mangekyō wielder?"
Danzo was startled, too.
He knew the Uchiha well.
For years, he had deliberately restricted the Uchiha Clan's missions outside the village, keeping them out of combat so that no Mangekyō would awaken.
He hadn't expected two young people of this generation to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan!
"Wait until we have more people."
"But tighten surveillance on the Uchiha. We need to know everything they do once they leave the Uchiha Clan Compound."
"The Anbu who fell under genjutsu—it looks a lot like Shisui's work. He may have chosen the Uchiha!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen was already treating this as a war.
And they had to win without suffering too many casualties!
Another reason he hadn't acted immediately was Shisui, in addition to Uchiha Tamaharu.
They had quickly analyzed the Anbu who had fallen under genjutsu and concluded that Shisui might have been responsible.
The Anbu had records of the enemies Shisui captured after using genjutsu, so it hadn't been difficult to identify his handiwork.
The two Mangekyō wielders were what truly made Sarutobi Hiruzen wary.
Konoha, Year 56, autumn.
"The assignments have been handed out. A lot of people don't understand."
"But after I demonstrated my Mangekyō's ability, they stopped questioning it."
Uchiha Fugaku said to Uchiha Tamaharu.
"Tomorrow at five in the morning, we move."
"People are what matter most. Leave behind anything we can't take."
"When we come back, we'll take back everything we lost—and then some."
Uchiha Tamaharu nodded, then spoke.
They hadn't chosen the middle of the night, but dawn.
That was when the Anbu changed shifts, and the sky was just beginning to brighten.
After a quiet night, no one would expect an attack before sunrise.
"Understood."
"Shouldn't we tell Shisui?"
Fugaku nodded, then hesitated.
"There can't be any mistakes. The lives of nearly a thousand Uchiha are at stake."
"The faster this operation goes, the better. The passage will open in the center, so everyone can get through as quickly as possible."
Uchiha Tamaharu shook his head.
Someone who had already caused trouble couldn't be trusted completely again.
This time, this would serve as his pledge of loyalty.
Uchiha Fugaku nodded solemnly, then went off to make the arrangements.
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