The next day!
Word that Uchiha White Dove was going to create the "New Uchiha" had spread through nearly the entire village.
If it had been an ordinary minor ninja clan, it naturally wouldn't have caused such a commotion.
After all, it wasn't unheard of for a clan to branch off in the Shinobi World.
But then, this was the Uchiha.
Ever since the Senju disbanded, the Uchiha had been Konoha's number-one clan, even the greatest clan in the Shinobi World. They were practically a magnet for attention. On top of that, the villagers didn't have much fondness for the Uchiha, who were always scowling and showed no human warmth. Naturally, they were extremely interested in such juicy gossip.
So, from early that morning, villagers everywhere were discussing it.
From the way they talked, you'd think the Uchiha were about to split apart any moment.
As for why something that had happened just last night had become common knowledge by this morning, that was thanks to two parties working together.
One was White Dove himself, who had leaked the news. The other was, of course, Danzo.
For a schemer who had made wiping out the Uchiha his ideal, how could he let such a chance to weaken them pass him by? Never mind that it was true—if it had been false, he would've made it true.
In short, whatever else might be said, if something could hurt the Uchiha, Danzo was always happy to lend a hand.
It was thanks to Root's efforts that the news had spread so quickly.
Otherwise, did anyone really think rumors in Konoha were that efficient?
Whoosh!
A figure wearing an animal mask had just returned from a mission outside the village when he heard the news. He immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to hurry toward the Uchiha Clan, on the outskirts of the village.
On the Uchiha Clan's street.
White Dove was heading toward the Police Force building with Tekka and Inabi.
"Looks like the news has spread all over the village by now, right?"
Hearing his clanmates whispering, White Dove glanced at Inabi and Tekka. His tone sounded questioning, but it was obvious he already knew the answer.
"That's right. Every villager has been talking about it since early this morning!"
Inabi nodded in confirmation.
If Konoha had trending topics, their plan to create the "New Uchiha" would've easily taken all the top ten spots—with no competition.
There was no helping it. Root was genuinely skilled at spreading rumors.
"Well done. I'll double your bonuses this month!"
White Dove handed out his reward with satisfaction.
Bonuses!
Naturally, he paid his followers a salary.
"Thank you, Captain!"
Inabi smugly raised his eyebrows at Tekka, who was glaring at him jealously. He was clearly showing off on purpose.
Whoosh!
Just then, a figure appeared in front of them in an instant.
He was a boy wearing an Anbu uniform and carrying a Ninja Blade. He wasn't very old, but deep smile lines had already formed beside his nose.
Uchiha Itachi!
He also had another identity.
The clan leader's son.
He had joined Anbu alongside Shisui, rather than following the tradition of other Uchiha and joining the Police Force.
Shisui and Uchiha Itachi were the only two members of the Uchiha Clan to join Anbu.
They were also the most talented and the easiest to manipulate.
That alone was pretty interesting.
"Uchiha White Dove!" Itachi suppressed his anger and glared at the man in front of him. "Are you really going to betray the Uchiha Clan?"
He had always looked down on this "rebellious" senior.
White Dove often said outrageous and dangerous things. He was narrow-minded, short-sighted, and weak. Even though he was a few years older, Itachi was confident he could easily beat him, so he had never taken him seriously.
No!
Actually, he looked down on everyone in the Uchiha Clan except Shisui and his younger brother, Sasuke.
"That's none of your business, is it?"
White Dove looked at the White-Eyed Wolf standing a head shorter than him, a young man who had already joined Anbu and started wielding a blade for the Third Hokage. He had not the slightest intention of showing him any respect.
Itachi might have been called "Lord Itachi" before White Dove crossed over, but he didn't care for him at all.
It was only because Itachi was the clan leader's son that he mattered so much. Otherwise, White Dove would've already found a way to eliminate this threat.
Your position determined your perspective!
After all, he was now an Uchiha. If Itachi wiped out the clan just as he had in the original history, White Dove would absolutely be on the list too.
With that in mind, White Dove was naturally at odds with this White-Eyed Wolf.
He wouldn't mind calling even Pot King Danzo his "adoptive father" to get those benefits from him. But this brainless White-Eyed Wolf was the one person he couldn't bring himself to treat with even a shred of courtesy.
"As an Uchiha, if you don't give up on this plan, I won't let you get away with it!"
Itachi's tone was deadly serious, and his gaze carried a hint of coldness.
It was people like this who made the village's upper ranks wary of the Uchiha.
"Are you talking to me as the clan leader's son or as an Anbu Ninja? Figure out who you are before you say that!"
White Dove had no intention of continuing to trade barbs with him. One retort left Itachi speechless.
Over the years, he had come to understand one thing.
Ninja were all fanatics!
And the Uchiha were the most fanatical of all—so much so that you could say they had mental problems.
The more fanatical they were, the stronger they became.
That was why people said, "Going dark makes you ten times stronger; getting redeemed makes you three times weaker."
The reason was that chakra was refined from physical and spiritual energy.
How fanatical someone was determined the strength of their spiritual energy, which naturally affected their chakra.
So it was no wonder that the stronger the Uchiha became, the more screwed up their heads were.
Among ninja, fanaticism had another name.
The Ninja Way!
Sticking to your own Ninja Way was a kind of fanaticism, after all.
Maybe that was why a ninja's strength fell to less than a tenth the moment their Ninja Way was shattered.
Once he had figured that out, White Dove gave up trying to persuade Shisui and decided to handle things himself.
As for that White-Eyed Wolf, Itachi?
Come on. He was the kind of man who would slaughter his own clan "for the village." White Dove would have to be crazy to risk trying to talk him around.
Prince Naruto had managed to talk people around because he was the protagonist and the son of the Six Paths. Try that as an ordinary person.
White Dove himself was the best example.
As a transmigrator who knew the plot, he should've been unbeatable at talking people around, right?
But Shisui had simply ignored everything he said. No matter how reasonable his arguments were or how convincing his examples, none of it mattered.
Damn it!
After seeing that for himself, he gave up on the idea of saving the Uchiha by talking them around.
Rather than put his hopes in other people, he was better off believing in himself.
After leaving Itachi speechless with a single retort, White Dove continued on with the other three.
"Damn it..."
Tekka was irritated by Itachi's frozen figure behind them. It was bad enough that he had come over to question them for no reason, as if they'd done something unforgivable. Just as Tekka was about to go pick a fight with him, White Dove stopped him.
"Forget it. We have things to do today. You're not to go after him on your own. That's an order. Understood?"
He was worried Tekka might go looking for trouble and get "taught a lesson."
In terms of strength, Itachi might have only just graduated from the Ninja Academy, but he was already at least an elite jonin. He was also the kind of fighter who could bring out even greater strength in battle. Tekka going after him on his own would be suicide.
That was why White Dove needed to nip the possibility in the bud.
After all, in the original story, his three trusted men had been the "villains" who went to confront Itachi after Shisui died. He couldn't risk anything going wrong.
He had won over quite a few people among the Uchiha, but the ones he trusted and relied on most were Tekka, Inabi, and Yashiro. Naturally, he didn't want anything to happen to them.
"...Understood!"
Tekka thought it over for a moment, then slowly nodded.
He was still angry about that guy's attitude, but he trusted White Dove completely. Now that he'd been given a direct order, he wasn't going to pretend to obey in public while doing whatever he wanted behind his back.
Seeing Tekka nod, White Dove stopped worrying.
Tekka might have been hot-tempered, but he had never had a problem following orders. With White Dove's command, there was no chance he'd go over there and end up getting humiliated. That would've been a ridiculous plot twist.
Soon, they arrived at the building beside the Police Force: a structure with a "One Heart Department Store" banner, shops at the front and a warehouse at the back, where a line of horse-drawn carts was pulling in.
(Konoha Police Force)
Compared to the Police Force, with its cat-head-like design, sliding doors on either side, an announcement board in the middle, and the Uchiha Gunbai emblem, One Heart Department Store was much livelier.
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