You Know Too Much

Kawadera Uchiha murmured, "If Nawaki Senju died in front of Orochimaru, could it only mean Orochimaru wanted him dead?"

Those words jolted Kawadera Uchiha awake.

He was right. That promise from a village leader had clouded his judgment. How could his arrangements possibly fool a powerful ninja like Orochimaru?

Zhong Uchiha, who had sided with Shimura Danzō, was a true genius. The clan also hoped he could serve as a bridge between the clan and the village leadership, so Kawadera Uchiha had trusted him without hesitation.

Zhong Uchiha was Kagami Uchiha's nephew, and his talent was no lesser than Kagami's.

When Zhong Uchiha said that Counselor Danzo wanted to join forces with the Uchiha Clan to kill Nawaki Senju, Kawadera Uchiha had decided the potential gains were worth the risk and agreed to help.

Zhong Uchiha had said he would personally cast a genjutsu on Nawaki Senju, leaving him no chance of avoiding the Explosive Tag trap.

Three hours ago, Zhong Uchiha had come to him and said the operation had failed. A two-tomoe Uchiha had disrupted his genjutsu. Nawaki Senju was badly wounded, but still alive.

That two-tomoe Uchiha was Kawadera Uchiha.

Now that he realized Counselor Danzo and Zhong Uchiha had been playing him, Kawadera Uchiha felt a chill crawl down his spine.

Counselor Danzo hadn't just wanted Nawaki Senju dead. He also wanted to pin the murder on the Uchiha Clan!

The evidence... the evidence was Orochimaru!

Zhong Uchiha was powerful, but how could he kill someone right in front of Orochimaru? Just because Zhong Uchiha claimed Root already had all of Orochimaru's intelligence and could certainly deal with him?

What a joke. This was Orochimaru, the Third Hiruzen Sarutobi's precious protégé.

Kawadera Uchiha was more inclined to believe Kawadera Uchiha's account. The crime of assassinating Nawaki Senju was serious, so they needed a scapegoat—and the Uchiha Clan was clearly the perfect fall guy.

He looked at Kawadera Uchiha with newfound admiration.

Who would have thought this kid had uncovered the truth and stopped Shimura Danzō's scheme from succeeding?

"You've done well, Kawadera Uchiha. Very well."

Kawadera Uchiha had been about to keep arguing when the praise caught him off guard.

"You're the most outstanding Spy our clan has had in years. You uncovered Zhong Uchiha's scheme. I'll send word to the clan and make sure the clan leader remembers what you've done!"

"Huh?"

Kawadera Uchiha was baffled. How had he become an outstanding Spy? And who was Zhong Uchiha?

Thinking it over, he vaguely recalled that Zhong Uchiha was one of his nephews.

The Uchiha Clan's generations were a mess. Someone could be his nephew and still be older than him. Someone else could be of his grandfather's generation but have only just started at the Ninja Academy.

It was an inevitable problem for many old, established clans.

Kawadera Uchiha patted Kawadera Uchiha on the shoulder and left the public restroom.

Still utterly confused, Kawadera Uchiha walked out of the restroom. Whatever. I don't know how I managed to fool Kawadera Uchiha, but it doesn't matter. What matters is that I'm safe for now.

The next day, Kawadera Uchiha stepped out of his squad's tent and rubbed his eyes as though the sunlight were too bright. In truth, he was gathering information.

After surveying the camp, he got a rough idea of what proportion of the ninja had gone out on missions.

When there was no major battle underway, most Konoha squads took turns carrying out intelligence-gathering or reconnaissance missions.

About fifteen to twenty percent of the Konoha ninja were away from camp at that moment.

That was a healthy proportion, a sign that things had been relatively peaceful lately.

Then he spotted a mark near the ground on one of the tents.

That mark...

He immediately took a mission and led his squad out of camp.

When the rest of the team stopped to rest along the way, Kawadera Uchiha made his way to the spot indicated by the mark.

Seeing a cloaked figure in the distance, Kawadera Uchiha said, "Zhong Uchiha, I didn't expect you to still be here."

"Why would I run?"

Zhong Uchiha turned. Beneath his hood, a pair of crimson Sharingan came into view.

Kawadera Uchiha hurriedly checked whether he had been caught in a genjutsu. Only after confirming everything seemed normal did he speak.

"Aren't you afraid Orochimaru will find out about you?"

Zhong Uchiha replied coldly, "For Konoha, anyone can be sacrificed.

"Nawaki Senju's growth will allow the Senju Clan to remain a blight on the village.

"The Senju Clan has far too much influence over the village. They even hope to hold the Hokage Position forever.

"The village will always matter more than any one clan, and the village will always matter more than any one person. That's the belief of our leader—and it's mine, too."

Kawadera Uchiha had no interest in debating values with Zhong Uchiha. Zhong Uchiha followed the path of Kagami Uchiha. What a pity that the clan leader had once hoped Zhong Uchiha could serve as a channel between the clan and the village leadership.

Kawadera Uchiha asked, "I still want to know: why did you team up with Orochimaru to frame the Uchiha Clan?"

"Wouldn't Nawaki Senju's death be a great thing for the Uchiha Clan, too? That's why I asked you to work with me."

"A great thing?" Kawadera Uchiha said. "Orochimaru had already noticed you. He watched coldly as you used Sharingan Genjutsu to kill Nawaki Senju.

"If you'd actually succeeded, the Uchiha Clan would have taken the blame for the assassination.

"How would anyone in the village know that you were loyal to Shimura Danzō and had long since cut ties with your clan?"

Zhong Uchiha stared coldly at Kawadera Uchiha and said, "I'll say this one last time: your judgment is pure conjecture.

"Our leader would never allow any person or ninja clan to rise above the village. Nawaki Senju must die.

"This is the Scroll containing our next operation plan. Take a look and decide whether you still want to work with me."

As the Scroll flew toward him, Kawadera Uchiha thought, Shimura Danzō won't allow anyone or any clan to rise above the village? He just won't allow anyone to rise above him, will he?

Everything for the village—that was Konoha's dirtiest garbage bin, where every sin could be tossed.

Kawadera Uchiha caught the Scroll and unrolled it.

Boom!

The Explosive Tag inside the Scroll detonated!

Zhong Uchiha was blasted into the smoke. His hands were mangled, and his face was smeared with charred blood.

"You!..."

Several Root ninja rushed out. After a brief, fierce fight, a Kunai was driven into each of Kawadera Uchiha's eyes, and he fell onto his back.

He really was no match for Zhong Uchiha. He'd never been as good as that genius, not even when they were children...

Zhong Uchiha stared coldly at Kawadera Uchiha's corpse and said, "You were right about some things. Of course I was afraid Orochimaru would investigate. So... you knew too much. You had to die."

The Root ninja disposed of Kawadera Uchiha's body, while Zhong Uchiha opened a notebook-like Assassination Manual.

It listed the personal information of one ninja after another: ninja from other villages as well as Konoha ninja, with the Senju Clan making up the largest share.

A new name had been added to the last page: Kawadera Uchiha.

In the photo, Kawadera Uchiha wore a bright smile.

Zhong Uchiha crossed out Kawadera Uchiha's name, then studied Kawadera Uchiha's file carefully.

"A genjutsu-type ninja, huh..."