Leaving the Village

After Uchiha Naka was driven away.

Uchiha Chirori stood to the side, gazing at Tianxiu with a face full of gratitude. Her clear eyes seemed to sparkle like stars, brimming with admiration and thankfulness.

"Big Brother, what's your name?"

Uchiha Chirori's voice was clear and sweet, like a heavenly melody, inspiring affection in anyone who heard it.

Uchiha Tenshu smiled faintly and answered softly, "My name is Uchiha Tenshu."

Uchiha Tenshu's voice was gentle and low, yet carried an undeniable strength. It made Uchiha Chirori feel completely at ease, as though she could rely on him.

"Thank you, Big Brother Tenshu! I'm so grateful you helped me!"

Uchiha Chirori said gratefully, her voice trembling slightly, her words filled with sincerity.

If Big Brother Tenshu hadn't come to help in time, she might already have been caught. The consequences would have been unthinkable.

At the thought of being beaten badly, Uchiha Chirori couldn't help shuddering.

In response, Uchiha Tenshu stepped forward slightly and smiled at Chirori. His gentle gaze seemed to see straight into her heart as he softly patted her little head, feeling how smooth her purple hair was. "All right, it's over now. After I warned them, they shouldn't dare bother you again. But just to be safe, go find Elder Raimon later and tell him what happened. Say that I sent you."

Uchiha Tenshu made sure to remind her.

He was about to leave the village, so Elder Raimon would have to handle things here!

Uchiha Chirori's hair was as smooth and fine as silk. Uchiha Tenshu's hand glided gently over it, its reassuring touch putting her at ease.

"I understand. Thank you so much, Big Brother Tenshu. I'll go find Elder Raimon later."

Grateful for Uchiha Tenshu's help, Uchiha Chirori nodded obediently and thanked him again and again.

"Haha, Chirori, you're so sweet. How could someone like you ever do anything bad? Even if it hadn't been me here, someone else would surely have stepped in to help!"

Uchiha Tenshu said with a sunny smile.

His words filled Uchiha Chirori with warmth, and her heart swelled with emotion.

Uchiha Chirori looked up at Uchiha Tenshu, her eyes shining with tears, her gaze full of longing.

Uchiha Chirori knew that Uchiha Tenshu had not only saved her but also trusted her so much. She was deeply moved.

Meanwhile,

after spending a short while talking with Uchiha Chirori,

Uchiha Tenshu and Chirori had gotten along wonderfully.

He learned that Chirori also came from a branch family. Like Uchiha Tenshu, she was from a collateral line whose family hadn't had a Three-Tomoe Sharingan in five generations. Nor had she been lucky enough to be selected for training by the so-called elite shinobi of the Uchiha Clan, as Uchiha Tenshu had.

Still, Uchiha Tenshu knew he was about to leave, so he decided to say goodbye to Chirori.

Before he left, however, Uchiha Tenshu taught her some of the ninjutsu he had learned and carefully told her, "If there's anything you don't understand, you can find Shakukotsu Ikki. They train near the small hill by the upper reaches of the Naka River. Just tell them I sent you to see them..."

Knowing Uchiha Chirori's talent, Uchiha Tenshu had deliberately befriended her. He wasn't about to let such a prodigy slip away, so he introduced her to his trusted subordinates to guide her training.

After all that, Uchiha Tenshu had earned Uchiha Chirori's trust and goodwill.

If nothing unexpected happened, Uchiha Chirori would become one of his trusted allies in the future.

At the same time, Uchiha Tenshu couldn't help lamenting that even an outstanding person like Uchiha Chirori wasn't being properly nurtured.

No wonder the Uchiha Clan would eventually decline and be wiped out.

They simply didn't know how to find and train their own geniuses.

After putting those thoughts aside, Uchiha Tenshu walked onward, crossing Konoha's central streets. Step by step, he left the village proper and arrived at the gate. He submitted the list of clan missions, had the signatures verified, and quickly passed through.

Konoha at this time was nothing like it would be in the future, especially when it came to the strict scrutiny directed at the Uchiha Clan.

After all, this newly established Konoha was watched closely by every clan. The clans were still adjusting to one another. Though they had entered the village after the Warring States Period's brutal conflicts, they remained wary and unfamiliar with one another.

At the same time,

the various clan powers were deeply rooted and intertwined. Their presence was like an invisible web hanging over the whole village, keeping watch over it. Every little thing that happened would be scrutinized and speculated about by the different clans.

In such an environment, no one dared openly display corruption or engage in improper infighting.

If another clan discovered it, not only would it provoke widespread outrage, it could also damage the clan's reputation and even cost it its position and influence in Konoha. Worse still, it might provoke the other clans into joining forces against it.

"At last, the first step begins!"

Before leaving Konoha's gates, Uchiha Tenshu looked back at the massive wooden doors, his heart swelling with emotion. He knew that behind them lay the birthplace of the Will of Fire. Now, however, he had chosen to leave and create a future of his own.

Yet Uchiha Tenshu didn't hesitate for a moment. His gaze was firm and resolute, as if he had already seen through everything in the world. He soon turned away and strode off, his footsteps ringing clearly against the dry road.

Though the cold wind outside still cut to the bone, Uchiha Tenshu's heart burned like a blazing flame.

Uchiha Tenshu knew that the road ahead would surely be rough now that he was leaving Konoha.

But Uchiha Tenshu was unafraid. With his strength and courage, he would venture into this world of opportunity and danger and carve out a place for himself.

At the same time,

just as Uchiha Tenshu left the village,

an Anbu operative had already appeared silently in the Hokage's office.

If Uchiha Tenshu had seen this figure, he would surely have broken into a cold sweat and exclaimed in shock, "Isn't this the Anbu Tobirama Senju will use to spy on the Uchiha? How could it already have been established at this point?"

At that very moment,

the Anbu operative, ghostlike, arrived without a sound.

His target was Uchiha Tenshu's departure from the village.

"...That's right! According to our close surveillance, this Uchiha Tenshu is indeed a prodigy of the Uchiha Clan. Based on our analysis, the food storage techniques held by the Uchiha Clan's Seventh Elder, Raimon, originated with him. He has also invented several ingenious tools. He is truly extraordinary!"

"This mission is an investigation outside the village into the embezzlement surrounding the Uchiha Clan's alcohol sales. If we're going to act, now is undoubtedly the best time."

The Anbu operative knelt on one knee and reported these secrets mechanically. His icy words were like a bitter wind, carrying a bone-chilling killing intent.

As a shinobi carefully assigned by Tobirama Senju specifically to watch the Uchiha Clan, he naturally harbored a deep hatred for them.

He was always thinking of destroying the Uchiha Clan's foundations and wiping out its young prodigies.

Normally, Tobirama Senju would have agreed with the Anbu operative's report. But now, already troubled by another matter, he merely set the report aside and began commenting on it himself.