Only Disappointment Remains

To get a read on the latest situation, Kaede accompanied the elder of their branch to the clan meeting—this elder was technically his great-uncle.

At the clan meeting, he witnessed the moment that truly disappointed him in the Uchiha.

The room was filled with the Uchiha Clan's upper echelons, all strong enough to be noteworthy ninja outside these walls, but brains were a good thing—and they simply didn't have them!

On his great-uncle's proposal to voice support for White Fang, the elders of other branches opposed for the sake of opposing, some couldn't care less, a few nodded in agreement, and others worried it would incur the village leadership's displeasure—because the village leadership letting White Fang's situation fester unchecked was itself an obvious signal.

In Kaede's view, that old man's reasoning was utter nonsense. Incur the village leadership's displeasure? The village leadership—from the Hokage, to the advisor elders, to the Jonin Council, to the ninja clans, to the villagers—every single one of them already hated the Uchiha. How much more displeasure could they show? Any more, and they'd be drawing blades.

Why even consider that? What was that compared to a powerhouse like White Fang?

As Kaede saw it, the village leadership letting White Fang's matter spiral wasn't likely to drive him to death, but rather to erode his standing in the village.

The Third Hokage was probably paving the way for his chosen Fourth Hokage candidate, Orochimaru. White Fang's reputation was too great; if the selection for the Fourth Hokage came in a few years, no one could rival him.

After all, the Sannin had risen to fame later than White Fang.

So they used this incident to tarnish White Fang's name, ensuring the next Hokage still came from the Hokage's own faction.

Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi likely thought the same—they just underestimated how much this would hurt White Fang.

At the clan meeting

Clan head Fugaku sat silently in the seat of honor, never uttering a single word. His low, heavy gaze swept over Kaede a few times before he closed his eyes and played at being inscrutable.

Finally

"Then it's decided. On the matter of White Fang, the Uchiha will not intervene. Everyone, go home." He rose calmly and walked out of the meeting. Several elders glanced at Kaede's great-uncle and left with victorious smiles.

"Kaede, let's go home." The old man, as if long accustomed to this, smiled gently.

"I'm sorry, Great-Uncle. I've caused you trouble."

Kaede bowed deeply to the elder before him, feeling guilty that his idea had made this old man endure others' mockery at his age.

"Little one, no need for that. I've long been used to it. You're quite good. Remember to come to me if anything comes up."

He led Kaede away from the clan meeting and back home.

A month later, he received news of White Fang's suicide. This news, he believed, caught not only the Uchiha Clan off guard, but even the Third Hokage.

Konoha had lost a top-tier combatant, and the ninja world began to stir with unrest. Kaede sensed that war was not far off. The White Fang incident had completely disillusioned him with the current Uchiha Clan. A clan like this couldn't be cured without some bloodshed.

A bunch of utter morons—they needed a ruthless bastard like Obito to give them a hard lesson before they'd face reality.

Another month later, he applied for early graduation and passed the assessment. Since he was the only one graduating in his cohort, he could choose to join a team that had lost a member from the previous year, or form a squad with clan ninja.

This was essentially a test from the Third Hokage, but Kaede had too many secrets that couldn't be exposed to outsiders. In the end, he chose to return to his clan.

"Kaede, I've checked. No ninja, just ordinary people."

Tong's arrival and her crisp voice snapped Kaede out of his memories. He stirred from his recollection.

"Then it's our turn to step in."

What they were doing now was a bandit suppression mission—just a simple C-rank. Confirming whether ninja were involved was partly out of habit and caution, and partly because if ninja were present, it would be a B-rank mission. A rank higher meant several times the mission reward.

They'd started with cat-catching and vegetable-planting in the village, completing a mountain of D-rank missions before being allowed to take C-ranks.

This was their third C-rank mission this year. The objective: eliminate a band of roving bandits on the border of the Land of Fire that had been raiding nearby villagers.

Just during today's reconnaissance, three small villages had already been attacked or extorted.

This had become a serious incident. The mission was issued by the Land of Fire's daimyo—a plump middle-aged man Kaede had met once.

"Finally, I can loosen up a bit." Uchiha Hakuno stood and stretched his stiff body. After lying here half the day, he'd long grown impatient.

Dealing with a bunch of ordinary people was as easy as a ninja game.

Hakuno had been sent by the elder of their branch—Kaede's great-uncle. Before joining Kaede's squad, a seal had been placed in his mind that would destroy his body if anyone tried to pry into Kaede's secrets. With that safeguard, he could join.

As for Tong, she was a truly trustworthy partner. Their relationship was a bit special now.

"Hakuno, be careful. Even if they're ordinary people, there are a lot of them. Don't get hurt again." Tong squinted with a smile.

"I won't!" Hakuno argued.

On their first C-rank mission, Hakuno had been careless and got his arm slashed by a feigning-dead samurai. Luckily, Tong knew medical ninjutsu and treated him in time, or he'd have spent days in Konoha Hospital.

It was his shame.

"Enough talk. Tong, take the left. Hakuno, take the right. We'll surround them—leave no one alive." Kaede adjusted the forehead protector on his brow and gave the order.

He was no stranger to killing. His first kill had happened long ago. In recent years, death had become his constant companion. Being a ninja was truly a profession steeped in bloodshed.

He channeled Chakra into his legs. A flash of lightning coursed through his body, then nothing more. The Lightning Cloak was powerful, but not suitable for use in front of others—this was a simplified version. By sending lightning-natured Chakra racing through his body, it stimulated his cells and boosted his speed.

It was an application of the Body Flicker Technique.

He lightly tapped the ground with his toes, and his body shot forward with a rustle, the wind roaring in his ears. He coated his ears with Chakra to filter out the noise. His high-speed movement pulled his black hair straight behind him.

Luckily, he'd wrapped his sleeves and pant legs with bandages to reduce wind resistance. He reached behind his back and drew the graduation gift from his father, Mingye—a short sword forged from Chakra metal, worth a third of Asuma's price.

The bandits below the cliff had just locked a newly captured woman in a cave. Sensing a violent gust of wind rushing toward them, one looked up in confusion—and saw a flash of blue lightning.

He tried to warn his comrades, but couldn't open his mouth. His vision blurred, and he vaguely saw a headless body, eerily like his own, standing in front of him.

His head was still midair, the wound nearly bloodless. The Chakra blade carried high-temperature lightning; the swift sword strike had cauterized everything. The wound was sealed in an instant.

His head slowly descended, his pupils beginning to dilate. His wide, staring eyes seemed to wonder how he had died.

And Kaede's blade was already swinging toward the next bandit.