Revealing the Traitor

"There's a traitor!"

Uchiha Tenshu's gaze turned icy.

This traitor possessed an intimate knowledge of everything within the Uchiha Clan.

They had been able to obtain intelligence on the Uchiha's external scouting missions in advance and were intimately familiar with Uchiha Raimon's personality. They knew he wouldn't worry about bringing a large escort when heading out, and they had used this to craft a clandestine trap.

They had lured Uchiha Raimon out to ambush and kill him.

In doing so, they would manufacture the death of Elder Raimon.

When the rest of the Uchiha Clan eventually investigated, they would only discover that Elder Raimon had been killed while out searching for the Millennium Spirit Herb. As for who killed him or why, there would essentially be no leads to follow.

As for why they were so determined to kill Uchiha Raimon, Uchiha Tenshu did not know.

Nor did he care to find out.

Regardless, after learning that the Tsuchigumo Clan—a family undoubtedly tied to the Senju Clan by a thousand threads—was involved, Uchiha Tenshu no longer wished to investigate the motive.

He locked his sights directly on Tobirama Senju of the Senju Clan.

Within the entire Senju family, only the hawkish faction led by that man would constantly dream of wiping out the Uchiha.

The only reason they hadn't acted yet was a lack of sufficient opportunity.

And a lack of the right timing.

But now, with someone inside the clan colluding with them, this ambush was likely only the beginning.

As for the clan traitor working with the higher-ups, Uchiha Tenshu wouldn't use his past-life perspective to mindlessly label just anyone a traitor, but Uchiha Ming, the father of Kagami Uchiha, was a highly probable candidate.

Because of the "Uchiha Elite Ninja Policy" incident back then, Uchiha Tenshu had kept a very close eye on this man later on. Through various means, he had gathered quite a bit of intelligence and learned that this bastard had been captured after the first defeat of Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju. At first, he refused to surrender, but after being locked up by Tobirama Senju for a period, his spine had suddenly turned to jelly. He began helping the Senju Clan persuade other Uchiha clansmen who were fighting to the death to surrender, spreading propaganda about how great the Senju Clan was and how selfish Madara Uchiha's actions were.

In Uchiha Tenshu's eyes, this man was just like the traitors of his past life—initially spouting grand declarations of loyalty, but the moment they faced setbacks or life-or-death crises, they betrayed their own even more viciously. They would persecute their own people frantically, desperate to prove their own choices were correct, terrified that the righteous actions of others would highlight how despicable their own behavior truly was, eventually descending into the fanaticism of a convert.

Therefore, Uchiha Tenshu's plan for Uchiha Ming was to frame him as a traitor once and for all.

As for whether he was a true traitor?

It didn't matter.

Loyalty that isn't absolute is absolutely not loyalty.

Since the man wanted to go all the way with the Senju Clan, even if it were only a possibility, Uchiha Tenshu wouldn't let him off.

Whether it was the current Uchiha Ming, Kagami Uchiha, or their future descendant, Uchiha Shisui, they were all brain-dead characters who ate the clan's food while frantically selling the clan out.

Keeping them around would only pollute the Uchiha Clan's gene pool.

If they had to be killed, they should be killed quickly.

Next, Uchiha Tenshu needed to skip the process and pin this ambush incident directly on him.

In any case, as long as the result was correct, that was all that mattered.

Regarding this, Uchiha Tenshu immediately shared his speculations with Uchiha Raimon, though he naturally altered the process slightly. He didn't involve anything related to the plot of his past life; he simply laid out everything that could be deduced through logic, holding nothing back.

For instance, why was the intelligence leaked? Wasn't this the Uchiha Clan's exclusive intelligence network?

For instance, the targeted nature of the assassination layout—why was it only an ambush for Uchiha Raimon, rather than a trap for others?

Didn't this suggest that Uchiha Raimon's existence was an obstacle to something?

Was it possible that only when Uchiha Raimon disappeared could the enemy's plans proceed smoothly?

And didn't this precisely prove that the enemy's scheme was rooted within the Uchiha Clan itself?

If so, who could cooperate with the enemy's plan? Could anyone who wasn't part of the Uchiha Clan facilitate these schemes?

Then, how could the enemy cause such measures to appear within the Uchiha Clan? Didn't it absolutely require the cooperation of the clan's higher-ups?

The result was obvious.

Naturally, there was a collaborator among the Uchiha Clan's higher-ups, just waiting for Uchiha Raimon to die so that both sides could officially begin their cooperation to plot against the Uchiha Clan.

Uchiha Tenshu explained this entire conspiracy theory to Uchiha Raimon, not at all like those "geniuses" such as Itachi Uchiha in the later generations, who thought themselves clever and said nothing, communicated nothing, and let all sorts of misunderstandings and conflicts arise.

Facing Uchiha Raimon, the person he trusted most in the Uchiha Clan and his greatest pillar of support, Uchiha Tenshu had racked his brains for the man's safety.

After all, the secret conspiracy had made it clear that they wanted Uchiha Raimon dead, so if one plan failed, a second was almost certain to follow.

How could Uchiha Tenshu remain indifferent at a time like this?

"What? A clan traitor! To be so brazen!"

Uchiha Raimon's eyes widened in disbelief.

One had to understand, from the Warring States period until now, it wasn't as if the Uchiha clan had never had traitors.

But back then, most of the infighting stemmed from personal grudges within the clan.

For instance, the strict internal systems enforced to survive the dangers of the Warring States era led to endless complaints among some clansmen.

Coupled with the intense emotions of the clansmen, the awakening of the Sharingan often caused mental instability, triggering a series of conflicts.

But those were matters from a long era of constant warfare.

Even in the last hundred years, there had been few internal disputes within the Uchiha clan; most were directed against external enemies.

There had certainly never been a situation like today, where in a time of peace—a moment when they should be coexisting—someone would choose to unite with outsiders to strike at their own kin.

Had they lost their minds?

Uchiha Raimon truly could not fathom it.

Was there even a need to hesitate between outsiders and one's own people?

As an elder who had walked through the Warring States era, Uchiha Raimon simply could not grasp the conduct expected in times of peace.

Nor did he understand the filth hidden within it.

However, when the person pointing this out was Uchiha Tenshu, whom he had personally raised as his disciple, Uchiha Raimon felt exactly as he had thought.

Uchiha Raimon chose to trust his own.

Simply because Uchiha Tenshu was worthy of his trust.

"Then, who exactly is it!"

"Could it be because of the profits from the alcohol, or perhaps that fellow Uchiha Kin? But could they really strike at a clan elder just for such meager profits? Don't they realize that the clan needs to stand united right now to withstand the pressure from the Senju clan? The Uchiha clan's strength has already hit rock bottom, and the younger generation hasn't grown up yet. Aren't they afraid that the decline of the Uchiha clan will make that dog Tobirama Senju finally decide to wipe us out completely..."

Uchiha Raimon speculated frantically.

"In my view, the culprit isn't acting for so-called profit. Elder Uchiha Kin, despite having a massive conflict with you, Elder Raimon, is not only not the murderer but is actually being used as a deliberate target. Given that everyone knows about the deep rift between you two, if anything were to happen to you, it would only cast suspicion on him in the eyes of all the clansmen."

"Furthermore, although Elder Uchiha Kin controls the clan's commerce and was previously rejected by you regarding the production and sale of the alcohol, he wouldn't resort to violence over such trivial matters."

"After all, a mere five to twenty times the profit—if he had the intent to strike at you, he might as well seize the businesses of other clans; at least that way, he would have our clan's support."

"Therefore, the most suspicious person isn't him, but rather those who support him—for example, Elder Uchiha Ming!"

Uchiha Tenshu said with absolute conviction.