Kill or Spare?

The masked ninja lying on the ground seemed to be the leader of the squad. Seeing this, the other masked ninjas scattered and fled.

"Trying to run? Not so fast. Yashiro, Reto, don't let them get away."

Seeing the masked ninjas try to escape, Naraku spoke calmly, delivering a merciless command.

The ninja farthest from Naraku leaped from the stern, intending to escape by diving into the water.

But as soon as Naraku finished giving his orders, he used the Body Flicker Technique to appear at the stern. When he saw the ninja jump, he unhesitatingly rewarded him with several Shuriken.

The ninja was pierced through the body by several Shuriken while airborne. He spat blood, struggled twice, and then fell silent.

Yashiro and Reto had also finished their task. All four masked ninjas were dead.

Naraku made a Shadow Clone and sent it to remove the masks and see where the men had come from.

The clone stripped and searched all four of them, but found no insignia identifying their faction.

Naraku decided not to dwell on it and turned to the red-haired man.

"Are you from Uzushio Village? What happened there?"

"Konoha ninjas! Please, come to Uzushio Village's aid! It's been attacked by unknown ninjas! I beg you, please help us!"

By then, the boats had drawn close to shore. The reinforcements arrived one after another: an elite Uchiha squad of seventeen, including Naraku and his two companions.

The Uchiha ninjas were spread across three boats.

Seeing them, the red-haired man sensed something was amiss and grew uneasy.

"Lord Sen!" x3

The three of them bowed to Uchiha Sen.

Uchiha Sen was forty years old and the leader of the ninja squad. After Yashiro reported what had happened, Sen nodded.

"Naraku, come here." Uchiha Sen beckoned him over.

"Naraku, why did you decide to help the Uzumaki Clan?"

Uchiha Sen sighed and continued, "You're still too young. You don't understand the Uchiha's past. Don't do this again. Next time you see someone with red hair like this, somewhere this isolated, kill them outright."

Uchiha Sen's expression was cold. His first words sounded like a senior lecturing a junior, but the rest were utterly ruthless—if anything, even worse than the masked ninjas.

He then gave the ninjas behind him a signal. They nodded and reached for their sword hilts and equipment pouches.

"Wait!" Naraku shouted when he saw this.

Everyone froze and looked toward Uchiha Sen. Sen thought for a moment, his expression softening as he raised a hand to signal them to hold.

The other ninjas, seeing what was happening, didn't attack either.

Naraku pulled Uchiha Sen a little farther away and said:

"Lord Sen, I know the Uchiha's history very well. Konoha was founded thirty-five years ago. We can't keep clinging to old grudges."

"Killing these Uzumaki survivors would be easy, but the Police Force hasn't accomplished a thing on the East Coast! The Hidden Mist hasn't shown any signs of gathering its forces. The Hokage stationed us here precisely because he doesn't want us earning any merit!"

"And this chance to rescue our ally, the Uzumaki Clan, is practically a gift from heaven!"

"Besides, once the war is over, I'll be competing for the clan head position. I need a deed like this!"

Naraku made his case to Uchiha Sen in a low voice, appealing to both emotion and reason.

Uchiha Sen pondered briefly, then nodded.

"Gouka, take your squad and escort them to Konoha," Uchiha Sen ordered a young ninja in the group.

"Sir! Please, save Uzushio Village!"

The red-haired man had grown tense when he sensed the strange atmosphere.

Now that he heard they would be taking him and the others to Konoha, he felt somewhat relieved, but couldn't help pleading again.

Uchiha Sen frowned, looking impatient. He glanced at Naraku and asked:

"What do you think, Naraku?"

"I recommend that we help them." Naraku pondered for a moment before stating his position.

"Fine. Gouka, escort them to Konoha. You—take us to Uzushio Village."

Uchiha Sen pointed at the red-haired man.

Hearing that the squad had agreed to help, the red-haired man was overjoyed.

"Yes, sir!"

More than fifty people had been aboard the three boats. They had been attacked by ninjas along the way, and nearly half had died. Now, only a little over twenty children and teenagers remained.

One of the three Uzumaki ninjas accompanied the young survivors from Uzushio Village to Konoha.

The other two led the Uchiha squad.

Naraku had now figured out why the Uzumaki Clan had become scattered across the world. The Uchiha were officially registered ninjas of Konoha.

These villagers and ninjas from Uzushio Village had been lucky enough to escape their enemies, only to die at the hands of Konoha's ninjas instead.

The larger group of refugees had been wiped out, while the scattered survivors were left to drift across the world.

No one knew about this. No one had heard of it.

All anyone knew was that Uzushio Village had been destroyed by a coalition of several nations.

By the time Konoha learned what had happened and sent help, it was already too late.

Now, thanks to the small change Naraku had made, the course of events seemed to have shifted a little.

The Uchiha squad hadn't slaughtered the Uzumaki Clan. Instead, they were escorting them to Konoha.

Naraku was currently competing with Uchiha Fugaku for the clan head position, which had been vacant for a long time.

The Uchiha planned to choose a new clan head and restore the clan's former glory.

They intended to select someone from among the younger generation, not an elder.

Naraku wholeheartedly approved. Only three young men qualified: Uchiha Fugaku, Uchiha Yashiro, and Uchiha Nara.

Naraku's father, Uchiha Sanzang, was the Police Force captain. He wielded considerable influence within the clan and held high status in the village as well. Uchiha Sen was Uchiha Sanzang's trusted aide; otherwise, he wouldn't have taken Naraku's opinion so seriously.

Uchiha Fugaku's father was the Great Elder, Uchiha Okura. Many clan matters were decided by the Great Elder, who held great authority within the clan.

Uchiha Okura and Uchiha Sanzang were brothers, while Fugaku and Naraku were cousins.

The so-called clan head selection came down to choosing among members of the same family.

As for Uchiha Yashiro, he was merely there to make up the numbers.

Perhaps the Uchiha Naraku in the anime had been so mediocre that he was never given a proper role. As a result, Uchiha Fugaku became clan head and also served as Police Force captain, truly wielding great power and influence.

Now that Naraku had arrived in this world and taken over the original's life, he had made a name for himself at just thirteen, even earning the title of Copy Ninja.

With credentials like his, Naraku was certain to fight for the clan head position. He had to, or Fugaku's eldest son would cut him down twenty years later.

While Naraku's thoughts wandered, the boat reached the Land of Whirlpools.

The Land of Whirlpools was a small island nation off the coast east of the Land of Fire.

It had been on friendly terms with Konoha for generations. The backs of Konoha ninjas' vests bore the Uzumaki Clan's symbol.

Led by the red-haired ninja from Uzushio Village, the Uchiha squad headed straight for the village.

Uzushio Village was in ruins, its buildings reduced to rubble. Not a soul remained.

Like the Uchiha, the Uzumaki were an ancient clan with a thousand-year history. Seeing them reduced to this was heartbreaking.

The red-haired man led everyone to the center of Uzushio Village.

The once-imposing leader's tower had disappeared, leaving a crater about fifty meters in diameter where it had stood.

It was easy to guess that the leader of Uzushio Village had used a powerful jutsu, taking both the enemy and the tower down with him.

Uchiha Sen, unexpectedly, showed no gloating. Faced with the destruction of an ancient clan, he fell silent.

The red-haired man kept calling out the names of his clansmen.

His voice breaking, he called and wept...