What Are You All Ashamed Of?

A little-known fact: in the current Ninja World, only registered shinobi were considered actual shinobi.

These people were the orthodox force of the ninja villages. They could accept missions and enjoyed the many rights of shinobi.

Genkawa Uchiha was rather special. During the Nine-Tails Incident, he had even fought the Nine-Tails head-on. In ordinary people's eyes, he should have been very strong, right?

But strictly speaking, he was not actually a shinobi.

First, he had never attended school and had never received a proper shinobi education.

Second, he was not registered. Strictly speaking, his status still fell under that of an ordinary villager.

And the relationship between a village and its villagers was even more peculiar in the Ninja World.

Here was something counterintuitive.

The true ruler of the Land of Fire was the Feudal Lord, who possessed the legal right to govern.

Under the one-country-one-village system, the Feudal Lord managed civilian affairs while the Hokage controlled military power. Strictly speaking, they were not in a subordinate relationship, but in practice, it was still a kind of employment relationship.

In other words, the Kage was the leader of a ninja village employed by the Feudal Lord.

That was why a village's Kage needed the Feudal Lord's approval before taking office. Even if that approval was often just a formality, the formality was necessary to guarantee the legitimacy of the Feudal Lord's rule.

Strictly speaking, the villagers of a hidden village were not under the Kage's rule, because the Kage's authority only extended to the village's shinobi class. Legally, the villagers fell under the Feudal Lord's rule.

That was how absurd it was.

So strictly speaking, there was nothing wrong with what Genkawa Uchiha said to the two Anbu.

As soon as he finished speaking, both Anbu froze for a moment.

Clearly, neither of them knew how to respond at first. There really was nothing wrong with Genkawa Uchiha's words.

Seeing Genkawa Uchiha about to leave, one of the Anbu finally lost his composure.

"Stop!"

With that, he stepped forward and blocked Genkawa Uchiha's path.

The other also stepped forward, cutting off Genkawa Uchiha's way out.

"Heh."

Genkawa Uchiha merely chuckled as he looked at the other man. "Are you going to make a move?"

The man fell silent.

"If you're not going to fight, then get the hell out of my way. Don't make me slap you while I'm in a good mood."

These past few days, he had actually been in a pretty good mood. Mainly because he was mastering ninjutsu quickly, greatly satisfying all the expectations he had once held for it.

As for the Uchiha Clan being forced to relocate or whatever, it did not affect his mood in the slightest.

Genkawa Uchiha had understood something long ago: as long as a person did not have too many attachments, life could be quite enjoyable.

Just like him now.

Though his surname was Uchiha, he had never treated the Uchiha Clan as a burden. His whole outlook was remarkably clear-headed.

The two men seemingly had not expected Genkawa Uchiha to be so blunt and so difficult to deal with. For a moment, they hesitated.

"Get lost."

As he spoke, Genkawa Uchiha shoved aside the man in front of him and headed out.

The two Anbu could only remain where they were and watch Genkawa Uchiha leave.

Their orders had only been to deliver the notice; they had no other mission. So strictly speaking, whether Genkawa Uchiha agreed or not, their task was complete.

The reason they had acted that way just now was simply because Genkawa Uchiha's attitude had been far too unpleasant.

The two exchanged a look. The former said in a low voice, "Let's report back."

Genkawa Uchiha did not take the two Anbu's visit to heart at all. Who got forced into moving house?

Wouldn't that be like getting chased off like a dog?

So he continued with his own business, wanting to thoroughly master all the ninjutsu on the scrolls as soon as possible.

That was something worth investing his energy in. It was also probably the only thing in the entire Ninja World worth doing.

Meanwhile, the Uchiha Clan Compound had already become somewhat chaotic.

With someone taking the lead, more and more people began moving away.

Those unwilling to leave were still holding out, but those who knew the matter could no longer be changed had accepted their fate.

The village had designated a new plot of land in the west. It was even larger than the current Uchiha Clan Compound, and there were plenty of promises attached. Moving there was not entirely without benefits.

When something could not be changed, someone would always find a way to convince themselves.

But those still holding out had their own reasons for persuading themselves as well.

If you enjoy this book, please remember to add it to your bookshelf so you do not lose it next time.

Things obviously would not end so simply.

But when Fugaku Uchiha, the Clan Head, also began handling his own family's move out of the clan compound, those still holding out became somewhat desperate.

Fugaku Uchiha naturally had something to say about that.

"This is the decision of the entire village. If everyone believes the Uchiha Clan can stand against the entire village, then keep staying here."

It was clear that at this point in time, Fugaku Uchiha clearly did not want to intensify the conflict between the clan and the village, so he chose to compromise.

With the Clan Head taking the lead, everyone else's persistence naturally seemed laughable.

Thus, the matter of the Uchiha Clan moving out of the clan compound was completely settled.

When Genkawa Uchiha returned that evening, he saw such a scene.

A group of people carried large bags and small bundles, riding in carriages or pushing carts loaded with items of all sizes as they headed out of the clan compound.

Genkawa Uchiha happened to be walking in from outside, and the two sides met face-to-face.

These were not all of them. After all, the Uchiha Clan had quite a few members, so they had to move in batches.

Watching this scene, Genkawa Uchiha did not feel anything in particular. He casually glanced over it and was about to go home.

But someone called out to him.

"Genkawa Uchiha!"

The speaker was Uchiha Yashiro.

His perpetually narrowed eyes were open now, and he stared at Genkawa Uchiha with a solemn expression.

"Do you think it is right for the clan to leave the clan compound?"

The question was truly rather unexpected.

Genkawa Uchiha pointed at himself. "You're asking me about this?"

Uchiha Yashiro nodded, his expression still serious.

"You are the clan's genius. No matter how poorly you get along with the clan, you are still one of us. What is your stance on this matter?"

Genkawa Uchiha was genuinely somewhat surprised now.

Looking again at the other Uchiha clan members, he found that they were all looking at him with complicated expressions.

Quite a few of them had originally disliked Genkawa Uchiha, but now they realized that he was actually the one standing firmest. It gave them quite a shock.

"I don't have any stance. It has nothing to do with me anyway. I'm not moving."

With that, Genkawa Uchiha stopped paying attention to them and headed straight home.

Seeing this, Uchiha Yashiro called after his retreating figure, "I understand now. You are the true Uchiha."

Genkawa Uchiha paused, turned around, and wore a strange expression.

"Are you sick?"

Looking at the others again, he saw that every one of them had lowered their heads.

Genkawa Uchiha's expression became even stranger.

No, what the hell are you all ashamed of?

Looking closely, he could naturally tell that they had lowered their heads out of shame. Some were even crying, looking deeply regretful.

But what exactly were they ashamed of?

When Genkawa Uchiha saw a young man in his twenties awaken his Sharingan due to his emotional agitation, he truly could not hold it in anymore.

He knew that man. He was a clan member with little talent for being a shinobi, already in his twenties yet still a chunin, and he had never awakened his Sharingan.

Yet now, because a few words had stirred his emotions so intensely that he awakened his Sharingan... it was hard to comment on that.

What exactly were these people thinking?

What were they getting so ashamed about?

Genkawa Uchiha wanted to ask outright, but looking at them, they had clearly fallen into a collective emotional state and had already become convinced of something.

Under such circumstances, no amount of explanation from him would help.

"Forget it. As long as you're happy."

Wasn't that why people said the Uchiha were a bunch of lunatics?

It was precisely because Genkawa Uchiha had seen through that fact that he did not want too many ties to the clan. He was afraid he would be influenced too.

The delusions of the people before him were proof enough.

No matter what they were thinking, it had nothing to do with him. Genkawa Uchiha went all the way home.

Several people stood outside his door. The man in the center wore a Hokage Haori and a conical hat. It was Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Genkawa, you're back. Won't you invite this old man inside for a seat?"

Genkawa Uchiha glanced at him and immediately knew why Hiruzen Sarutobi had come.

"Third Hokage, did you come to persuade me to move too?" he asked directly.