The Bustling Leaf Village Had No Place for the Uchiha Clan

In the summer of the 47th year of the Konoha era, a full decade after the Second Shinobi World War, the five great ninja villages, each having curled up to lick their wounds, began to stir with increasing restlessness.

Time seems to be the world's best salve; even after a war as tragic as the second, a mere ten years of stability was enough to make everyone forget the pain it had brought.

At this moment, dissatisfaction with the results of the previous war was intensifying in every major village. The victorious villages felt their demands had been too lenient, while the defeated villages felt the unjust treaties pressed upon them were like mountains that needed to be overturned.

The survivors of the older generation who lived through the war now held high positions, and they wanted to use their remaining time to secure longer-lasting peace and living space for their villages in one fell swoop.

The new generation of youth also yearned to distinguish themselves on the battlefield and become heroes revered by all.

Under such a climate, looking around, every ninja village appeared vibrant and full of life.

This situation was not governed by individual will; regardless of whether you wanted it or not, once one village began to act for these ends, the others could not help but respond.

At first, this situation appeared almost comedic. Simply because the Third Hokage of Konoha had become the "Strongest Hokage," every other village began to sing the praises of their own "Strongest Shadow in History!"

The strongest A-B combination, the strongest Kazekage, the Tsuchikage Onoki the Two-Day Balance with the strongest methods, and so on.

It left one wondering who exactly they were benchmarking their so-called "strongest" against.

But this also showed that every ninja was filled with confidence in their own village.

Consequently, the profession of a ninja, which held "endurance" as its core tenet, stopped enduring anything at all once they gained formidable power.

Local conflicts erupted constantly. These eruptions were quite interesting, even tacitly coordinated, with the scale of the conflicts controlled from start to finish within a range that each Shadow deemed acceptable.

The Shadows of all the villages felt that these small-scale conflicts were not life-or-death wars, but merely a process to demonstrate their means.

They understood in their hearts that conflict was for determining superiority, while war was for determining life and death.

Yet, how could one easily distinguish superiority in such child's play that avoided life-or-death stakes?

Thus, bloodshed was inevitable.

But these things were unimportant; individual sacrifices were insignificant compared to the interests of the entire village.

What mattered was that through these conflicts, each village birthed its own heroes.

Just like the Konoha village at this moment, filled with cheers; the villagers were reveling as if it were a festival, all caught up in a frenzy.

Because today was the day their hero returned to the village, and they were "spontaneously" welcoming him back.

That hero was a ninja who had risen from the commoners, the pride of Konoha, the "Yellow Flash" of Konoha, Minato Namikaze.

The village was large, and naturally, it contained all sorts of people. While Minato Namikaze had carved out a place for himself in the ninja world, there were still ordinary people in Konoha who did not know him.

Some had heard of him but never seen him, and others had never even heard his name.

This was understandable; after all, years later, when the famous Sannin Jiraiya returned to the village, most villagers did not recognize him either.

But today was different. Regardless of whether you knew Minato Namikaze before, from this day on, as a citizen of Konoha, you would certainly know him.

Because within the crowd, people were constantly proclaiming Minato Namikaze's great achievements to those who didn't know him.

And so, every person in Konoha heard the news.

They heard he had just repelled the combination of A and Killer Bee from the Cloud Village—the future candidates for the Raikage—a feat that added a brilliant stroke to Minato Namikaze's resume.

They heard he was also a strong contender for the Fourth Hokage.

Who didn't know that the future Raikage would definitely be A? If our future Fourth Hokage was stronger than the Cloud Village's future Fourth, didn't that mean Konoha was stronger than the Cloud?

They also heard that all the major ninja villages acknowledged the power of the "Yellow Flash," with orders that one could voluntarily abandon a mission upon encountering him—something few could achieve.

Moreover, this Minato Namikaze was a commoner-born ninja. Sharing the same background made all the villagers feel a sense of reflected glory.

It was as if, because Minato Namikaze was a commoner and they were commoners, they too could achieve what he had.

In short, today, we are all "Minato people."

Of course, how much of this cheering was born of genuine identification, and how much was just people who didn't care about such identification but were simply joining the fun to find an excuse for a grand party, remained unknown.

In any case, it seemed as if a pair of invisible hands had stirred the emotions of the entire Konoha village, and these emotions pushed Minato Namikaze's reputation to its peak.

Yet, the joys and sorrows of the world are never the same; there is always a place that feels out of sync with the world.

Uchiha Kei stood on the roof of a remote corner on the outskirts of the Uchiha compound, watching everything before him with cold eyes.

It wasn't that he had any opinion of Minato Namikaze; Kei was actually quite happy to see a figure of such long-standing fame.

It was just that in this life, there were always things one was forced to do. Even if you transmigrated and became a character in a manga world, losing everything from your previous life, the helplessness of being human still followed you.

The entire Uchiha clan was ostracized and out of place in the village, and as a branch head and elder of the Uchiha, though he was young—only in his teens—he represented the two hundred and some Uchiha clansmen behind him. Every glance and smile of his would be over-interpreted by those with ulterior motives.

Under such circumstances, how could he easily reveal his true emotions?

When you are not alone and need to be responsible for a faction of the Uchiha clan led by yourself, every word and action forces you to be cautious!

This was the reason why this young man was becoming increasingly mature.

Uchiha Kei was not the clan head of the Uchiha, merely a branch head. The clan head remained Fugaku Uchiha, the father of Itachi Uchiha.

At this moment, the entire Uchiha clan, excluding Kei's branch, numbered over eight hundred people. Aside from those with "brain issues" like Obito and Shisui who participated in this carnival, the others all wore expressions as if they had eaten rat droppings.

After all, the Uchiha's authority came from the Konoha "Military Police Force," and the duty of the police force was to maintain the village's public order. Such a large-scale gathering clearly posed a security issue.

The regulations of the police force clearly stated that such gatherings required prior notification.

Any Uchiha with a brain understood that a gathering of this scale was never a spur-of-the-moment decision; it had been organized well in advance.

However, the Uchiha Police Force had not only received no prior notice, but they only realized what was happening on the very day of the event when such a massive crowd suddenly flooded the streets.

That alone might have been tolerable, as it wasn't the first time; back in the day, these same people had welcomed the "White Fang of the Leaf" in exactly the same manner.

Because of that minor incident, the Uchiha clan and the Hatake clan had ended up on very unpleasant terms.

But that didn't matter, because the Uchiha clan had never been on pleasant terms with any ninja clan in Konoha, including the Senju.

Yet, so what? The number one noble clan in the ninja world had to maintain the dignity of the number one noble clan; how could they associate with mere insects?

What disgusted the Uchiha wasn't that. What disgusted them were the elders of Konoha.

On the day of the incident, one of the Hokage's advisors stepped forward to demand that the Police Force maintain order, threatening them with accountability if they failed. Another advisor then stepped forward to demand that the Police Force not interfere with a gathering spontaneously organized by the masses, insisting they must not go against the will of the villagers.

Wasn't this just a bit too much bullying?

Although the capable members of our Uchiha clan are all lunatics, lunatics are not the same as fools.

Are you Hokage advisors not even trying to hide your targeting of the Uchiha anymore?

It was this attitude from Konoha village that disgusted the entire Uchiha clan; Konoha's bullying had long since transcended mere methods.

Currently, the entire Uchiha clan, including the lineage of Uchiha Kei, numbered just over 1,000 people. Regarding this gathering, the only two who could participate were a couple of fools—one of whom, named Shisui, was exceptionally skilled and had already carved out the reputation of "Shisui of the Body Flicker."

The only others capable of maintaining a poker face were the clan head, Fugaku Uchiha, and the elder, Uchiha Kei.

However, Fugaku Uchiha's poker face existed because he pinned the hopes of the Uchiha on the future. He believed that as long as he outlasted the dark reign of the Third Hokage and worked hard to build good relations with whoever had the best chance of becoming the Fourth Hokage, the Uchiha would eventually be able to truly integrate into the village.

Minato Namikaze, Orochimaru, Jiraiya—all were within the scope of Fugaku Uchiha's networking.

Tsunade did not count. This most legitimate successor was, in fact, the least legitimate; the specific reasons were unclear to Fugaku, but he could judge simply by the fact that she no longer used the Senju surname that there must be secrets hidden within her.

Though he didn't know what those secrets were, great clans always had their share of sordid affairs.

Besides, a ninja clan that had lost its heir and whose entire family had vanished from the village was not worth the Uchiha's investment!

From this, it was evident that this Fugaku Uchiha, who looked like a "boss" with a hawkish appearance, was a total dove at heart, his mind filled with defeatism.

Fortunately, he possessed a masterful, albeit slippery, skill for balancing power.

Otherwise, had they known he was this kind of person, Uchiha Kei suspected most of the Uchiha would never have wanted him to take power.

It was a pity that his face and voice were so deceptive.

Even without opening his mouth, he wore an aggressive expression, and once he spoke, it felt as if he would drag you down with him in mutual destruction if you didn't agree to his demands.

In the historical context of that time, the Uchiha desperately needed a tough clan head.

Faced with the "defection" of Madara Uchiha and the suppression by the Hokage, the long-weakened Uchiha clan finally erupted into civil war amidst their dissatisfaction.

Although this battle gave birth to one of the Uchiha clan's great forbidden techniques—Izanami, which was specifically designed to counter Izanagi—both the doves and the hawks suffered heavy losses. In the eyes of the other Konoha clans, the Uchiha even lost their title as the number one noble clan of Konoha.

The Hyuga clan rose to power as a result.

This was the battle of Izanami and Izanagi in Uchiha history.

It was also known as the Conflict of the Abyss and Yellow Springs.

The Uchiha refused to accept that they were no longer the number one noble clan.

What "number one noble clan of Konoha"? Wrong, we are the number one noble clan of the ninja world.

The Uchiha clan, yearning to restore their former glory, was in urgent need of a tough clan head to settle everything.

And so, Fugaku, with his natural "big brother" face, took power.

Every Uchiha was prepared to follow this tough guy and spread the prestige of the Uchiha across the ninja world once more, even if it meant sacrificing their lives.

Who would have thought that after this "big brother" took power, he would always strike the fiercest poses while engaging in compromises. For the survival and continuation of his clansmen, he was willing to compromise on anything.

This was completely different from what many Uchiha had imagined.

If not for the clan head's art of compromise, which both appeased Konoha and secured benefits for the Uchiha, everyone would have rebelled long ago.

And under these circumstances, Fugaku Uchiha's seat as clan head only grew more secure.

Furthermore, he remained convinced that he would eventually lead the Uchiha back into the big family of Konoha. The catalyst for this would be the abdication of the Third and the appointment of the Fourth under the support of the Uchiha.

At that time, the Uchiha would never face injustice again.

Fugaku believed this firmly; after all, as a young and vigorous clan head, could he not outlive an old geezer like the Third Hokage? Time was the most impartial judge, and the advantage was his.

Uchiha Kei, however, felt a sense of gratitude toward such a clan head.

He was grateful for his indecisive personality and his penchant for shifting blame.

Otherwise, he himself would never have risen to power so smoothly.

Had this man been even slightly more decisive, the Uchiha Kei of the past would have been finished.

Thinking of this, Uchiha Kei, who was forcing a poker face, could not compare to the naturally stoic Fugaku Uchiha, and he ultimately let out a laugh.

The laughter was not loud, but it drew the hostility of the surrounding Uchiha.

Everyone here was brooding over the injustices of Konoha, yet you, an elder of the Uchiha, are actually laughing—what is the meaning of this?

Is this your own intent, or the intent of your entire lineage?

Many Uchiha gazes turned toward Uchiha Kei, filled with scrutiny of various meanings.

Uchiha Kei was quite indifferent; after so many years, he had seen through many things.

The benefit of being a big shot is that there is always someone who will step out to solve your troubles. The leader of the Iga Group, Uchiha Gen, who followed by Kei's side, was an expert at sharing his leader's burdens.

"Lord Kei, has something good happened? You are smiling so happily."

Given her identity and status among Kei's subordinates, asking this question was not abrupt. On the surface, it was just casual chatter between a leader and their most trusted subordinate; in reality, it was an opportunity for the leader to explain his unseemly behavior in public to the clansmen.

Humans are, after all, social creatures.

Kei also seemed to have thought of something even funnier.

"Gen, do you think the Cloud Village is holding a grand welcome ceremony right now, too? Welcoming their heroes, A and Killer Bee? I just don't know if they have any unlucky fools there like us Uchiha!"

The voices of the two were not loud, but a ninja's hearing is far superior to that of an ordinary person. Even those who didn't hear it would be told by the ninjas who did.

And so, after a brief silence, the entire Uchiha clan burst into uproarious laughter.

This laughter left the Anbu, who were monitoring the movements of the Uchiha clan, feeling utterly bewildered.

Yet, amidst the laughter, Uchiha Kei vanished from the crowd.

Sigh, still too weak. To think I still need to worry about the thoughts of my clansmen—this isn't hot-blooded at all. It's time to pull some more cards and expand my own forces.

Recommendation votes, hand them over!

You don't really not understand war, do you? War doesn't just break out suddenly; it has causes and consequences. It's just that a single event ignites it, turning it into a world war! Do you think there were no conflicts before that?