Clan Head Chen

The dense forest was shrouded in cold moonlight, and the intermittent, chilly night breeze rustled the grass and trees—the only sound in this tranquil night.

However, the hill beside the Naka River had become like an indescribable monster, silently devouring hundreds of ninja.

Under the moonlight, an Anbu member in a white mask with conspicuous white hair leaped rapidly through the trees, finally landing before Sarutobi Hiruzen and kneeling on one knee.

"Third, the time for the third reconnaissance squad to return has passed, yet not a single team has returned."

"Is that so?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen narrowed his eyes; there had been no vibrations from ahead for over ten minutes.

He could wait no longer!

Having made up his mind, Sarutobi Hiruzen performed the Summoning Jutsu, calling forth Enma, who transformed into a staff that he slung across his back, and addressed the gathered experts from various ninja clans behind him:

"The situation at the Naka River is unknown. The Uchiha may be engaged with the enemy; we must assist them now! Everyone, charge with me!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen leaped nimbly into the forest, and the experts from the various clans gathered behind him followed in a rush.

Trembling with fear and guarding against enemy ambushes, they crossed two hills without encountering any resistance.

Across the waters of the Naka River, Sarutobi Hiruzen saw Konoha ninja lying helter-skelter on the steps outside Naka Shrine, and...

A group of Uchiha surrounding a high platform, where three bound Uchiha clansmen were shaking their heads with teary eyes and expressions of grief and indignation, while the Uchiha below the platform were all jubilant, with some boiling water and others sharpening blades.

What kind of evil ritual was this?

The knowledgeable Sarutobi Hiruzen could not tell, but that did not prevent his teacher's resolute voice from echoing in his mind: "The Uchiha are evil by nature!!!"

Tobirama was right; the Uchiha were indeed a clan evil by nature.

Look at those Uchiha under the platform, laughing so happily!

"Stop!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen shouted, leading his men across the river with a menacing air.

"I'll handle the shaving of Hachidai myself later!"

"I want in too!"

"Half each, half each!"

Uchiha Ryoji and Setsuna, with a combined age of over one hundred and twenty, were laughing with lewd, repressed glee.

"If you ask me, putting aside his strength, Chen's way of being clan head suits my tastes!" Uchiha Setsuna looked at his old companion and chuckled softly:

"Back when Fugaku was clan head, I had to swallow the insults from the village and that Monkey! Now that he's just become clan head, he's already helped me loosen my muscles. In a word: 'satisfying'!"

Uchiha Ryoji lowered his eyes, a sudden sense of guilt and sin welling up within him.

Just a moment ago, he—who usually leaned toward the village and Sarutobi Hiruzen—had been the one charging the hardest and capturing the most people.

But it felt so good. Surrounded by a sense of moral decay, Uchiha Ryoji vaguely seemed to hear the voice of Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Stop!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen fired three Kunai, severing the ropes binding the three men on the platform, then, with his hair standing on end like an angry lion, he glared and scolded:

"What are you doing? Where is your clan head?"

At the mention of 'clan head,' the group of Uchiha looked in unison toward Uchiha Chen, who was leaning against the side of the platform with his eyes slightly closed.

"Oh, it's the Hokage!"

Uchiha Chen stretched lazily, took two steps toward Sarutobi Hiruzen, and swept his gaze over the people behind him.

The heads of the Ino-Shika-Cho, Aburame Shikuro, and Hizashi Hyuga. The group of over a hundred people covered almost all of Konoha's ninja clans and civilian experts.

But that was normal; after the massive commotion he and Fugaku had caused earlier, the village must have assumed some powerful enemy had entered Konoha!

"Is there something the Third needs from me?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's brows locked together instantly, and he looked at the lazy Uchiha Chen with suspicious eyes.

He could understand the deeper meaning in Uchiha Chen's words, which made him even more incredulous, and he asked with a belly full of doubt: "Where is Fugaku?"

"Oh! The former clan head, knowing his own lack of virtue, chose to abdicate to me tonight!

I was planning to notify the Police Force and submit the paperwork to the Hokage's office tomorrow morning to announce the personnel change for the position of Police Force captain. I didn't expect the Hokage to come in person!"

The Third widened his eyes, feeling a surge of blood rush to his temples, his head throbbing with pain.

Uchiha Fugaku stepped down, and the seventeen-year-old Uchiha Chen succeeded him as clan head?

Why? On what grounds?

The Third frowned, scanning the Uchiha clansmen, and felt a secret shock in his heart.

The way these people looked at Uchiha Chen was full of admiration, even fanaticism, combined with the surrounding terrain that looked as if it had been blasted by a Tailed Beast Bomb...

Sarutobi Hiruzen already had a grim suspicion in his heart.

Uchiha Fugaku had lost to Uchiha Chen, and he had lost without the ability to fight back. To achieve this level, only the Mangekyō Sharingan could do it!

Horrified, Sarutobi Hiruzen secretly signaled the Anbu behind him to check the vital signs of the many reconnaissance ninja lying on the stone steps. Only after receiving a positive confirmation did he look at Uchiha Chen and weigh his words:

"Internal matters of the Police Force are to be handled within the Uchiha clan; this is a tradition left over from the founding of the village. Clan Head Uchiha, please handle it yourself!"

"However, the ninjas in these villages were attacked by you, were they not? And what is the meaning of you tying up your own clansmen here?"

After softening his stance to acknowledge Uchiha Chen's position as clan head, Sarutobi Hiruzen began to press charges again.

"I have just taken office, and with my heart set on the Police Force's duty to guard the safety of Konoha and protect the village, I conducted a live-combat drill for the Police Force!"

"Those three clansmen failed the drill and were punished accordingly. As for those who accidentally wandered into the drill site, they are all safe and sound, having suffered no injuries! Police Force, assemble!"

After offering an insincere explanation, Uchiha Chen issued a command.

Dozens of Uchiha clansmen instantly fell into their previous formation, their scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan activated, standing silently behind Uchiha Chen to confront the Third and the others behind him.

"It is truly regrettable to have disturbed everyone in the middle of the night because of Police Force matters! My apologies!"

Uchiha Chen bowed slightly, and the clansmen behind him, all with their Sharingan active, mimicked his movements, perfectly synchronized with Uchiha Chen.

"As long as everyone is fine, that is all that matters!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen chuckled, though his eyes were as cold and ruthless as midwinter.

If Uchiha Chen could make this group of arrogant Uchiha bow, he could naturally make them lay down their lives—or perhaps, for the Uchiha, the latter was even easier.

"Since there is nothing else here, everyone should disperse! Thank you all for accompanying an old man like me out and about in the middle of the night!"

Taking a subtle jab at the Uchiha in front of the gathered ninjas, Sarutobi Hiruzen turned to leave; he had to go back and pull an all-nighter with his old cronies to dig through the records on the Mangekyō Sharingan!

"Wait a moment, Lord Third!"

Uchiha Chen suddenly called out to Sarutobi Hiruzen, his voice rising sharply:

"I have discovered the trail of the mastermind behind the Night of the Nine-Tails!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen halted his steps and spun around abruptly, his gaze sharpening as he said, "Chen, you must not speak nonsense!"

"That person wore a black trench coat, a Tiger-Pattern Mask, and had one Mangekyō Sharingan exposed."

Uchiha Chen raised an eyebrow and spoke with ease: "Most importantly, he can also use Wood Release."

After describing the features of the Masked Man—who looked like Obito—in meticulous detail, Uchiha Chen looked at the grim-faced Third and the ninjas behind him:

"It is not strange for Uchiha Madara's corpse to be stolen or for a Mangekyō Sharingan to be circulating, but the fact that the opponent can use Wood Release is another matter entirely!"

"Furthermore, when I clashed with him, I discovered that most of his body was filled in with some kind of Wood Release construct, which suggests he once suffered a fatal injury. He wears a mask, which means he does not want me or the people of Konoha to recognize his face. Who could this person be, having inherited the Wood Release bloodline from the First, having suffered a grievous injury that destroyed most of his body, and even being someone who is considered dead in the eyes of others?"