The Son of a Hero's Current Situation

After setting up the barrier, Uchiha Yan said indifferently, "There, stay here quietly and wait for those old fossils to come and claim their person."

Orochimaru merely closed his eyes, ignoring him entirely.

Having been rebuffed, Uchiha Yan did not take it to heart.

He confirmed the integrity of the barrier before turning to leave.

It was as if he did not care in the slightest whether Orochimaru escaped or not.

Seeing that Uchiha Yan had left, Orochimaru opened his eyes to gauge his current state and the strength of the barrier.

In the end, he abandoned the idea of escaping, for he had a lingering feeling that Uchiha Yan had left behind a contingency plan to deal with him.

As Uchiha Yan stepped out of the Uchiha Prison, he saw Uchiha Fugaku rushing toward him.

Uchiha Fugaku reached Uchiha Yan and asked urgently, "Did you capture Orochimaru?"

Uchiha Yan nodded. "Clan Leader Fugaku, if you are referring to the Orochimaru who launched the Konoha Crush Plan, then yes, it is him."

At this, not only Fugaku but everyone else present looked on in shock.

Fugaku quickly asked, "Yan, why didn't you hand Orochimaru over to the advisors?"

Hearing his question, Uchiha Yan countered, "Why should I?"

Fugaku's expression faltered, but constrained by Uchiha Yan's strength, he could only offer an explanation—one that even he himself did not believe.

"Because the Uchiha are a part of Konoha."

Once Fugaku finished speaking, Uchiha Yan simply stared at him.

Even though Fugaku was a generation his senior, he felt a sense of trepidation under Uchiha Yan's gaze.

The atmosphere at the prison entrance grew heavy.

Other members of the Uchiha clan wanted to speak, but they did not know what to say.

At this moment, Uchiha Yan said coolly, "Clan Leader Fugaku, do you even believe that yourself?"

Fugaku was left at a loss by the retort.

Uchiha Yan walked up to Fugaku and leaned in close to his ear. "What I intend to do is not for the Uchiha to need Konoha, but for Konoha to be unable to function without the Uchiha!"

Upon hearing Uchiha Yan's words, Fugaku's pupils dilated in shock.

He watched the retreating figure of Uchiha Yan with a deep, lingering gaze.

He had not expected this junior's ambition to be so terrifying; he intended to seize the power vacuum in Konoha to extend his reach into the village's core.

Fugaku narrowed his eyes, watching Uchiha Yan's back until he disappeared from sight.

One who could serve as the leader of the Uchiha clan was naturally no fool.

In the original history, Uchiha Fugaku was a thorough member of the Hawk Faction.

It was just that he had made the wrong bet—he had misjudged Uchiha Itachi's allegiance.

There is a saying that rings true: keep your friends close, but your enemies closer, so that you may understand them well enough.

Uchiha Itachi was not exactly Fugaku's enemy, but Fugaku had assumed he was close enough to Itachi to understand him.

However, he had not expected Uchiha Itachi to be so devoid of humanity and bottom lines, capable of laying hands even on the elderly and infants.

This revealed a hard truth to Fugaku: the Uchiha had completely chosen to stand on the side of the village.

As for why Uchiha Fugaku did not resist, it was not because he did not want to fight his own son.

It was because the two were engaged in a final gamble; Uchiha Fugaku was betting that Itachi still held a shred of kindness for his younger brother, Sasuke.

Uchiha Fugaku: "Sasuke is in your hands."

Uchiha Itachi: "I understand."

This was the reason Uchiha Fugaku ultimately bowed his head to the blade.

At that time, due to his own misguided maneuvers, his good cards had all been played, and he was left with nothing.

He could only gamble on Itachi's final bottom line to ensure the Uchiha clan's bloodline survived.

If two wielders of the Mangekyo Sharingan were to clash, it would inevitably result in mutual destruction.

This was Danzo's calculated scheme.

He had promised to spare Sasuke's life, but if Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Fugaku destroyed each other, Danzo would not be so polite; after all, Uchiha clansmen made for excellent test subjects.

Fugaku gritted his teeth and made the most rational decision.

"Keep a close watch on Orochimaru and don't let him escape. From this moment on, without my orders, no one is allowed to enter. Do you understand?"

With those words, Fugaku personally took charge of guarding Orochimaru and sealed the prison.

When Utatane Koharu learned from the Anbu that Uchiha Yan had locked Orochimaru in the Uchiha Prison, she was so furious she cursed aloud, "That wretched little brat actually dares to toy with us like this!"

Mitokado Homura's face was also incredibly grim.

The two of them had waited here for two hours, only to be told in the end that he had gone back to sleep?

He stood up decisively and said, "Koharu, we are going to the Konoha Military Police Force right now to demand the person."

Utatane Koharu nodded. "That's right, we must have this person. If we let the Uchiha set this precedent, other ninja clans will follow suit, and it will become difficult for us to manage them from here on out."

The two quickly reached a decision and headed toward the Konoha Military Police Force with their trusted aides.

As for why they didn't bring that group of Anbu along?

It was because those Anbu only listened to orders but never acted; their attitudes were very positive, but they took absolutely no action.

Therefore, the two of them could only bring their own confidants to the Konoha Military Police Force to demand the person.

Uchiha Yan walked to a deserted corner and spoke directly, "Senior Jiraiya, come out."

From a dark corner nearby, Jiraiya slowly stepped out.

He looked straight at Uchiha Yan and asked, "Speak, what business do you have calling me here?"

Uchiha Yan said indifferently, "Senior Jiraiya, do you know Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Uzumaki Naruto?" Jiraiya rubbed his chin, beginning to recall. He remembered that when he and Minato were chatting, Minato seemed to have mentioned it to him once.

His future son was to be named Naruto.

He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "Want to see the current situation of your student's son?"

Jiraiya asked curiously.

"You know Naruto?"

Uchiha Yan shrugged. "Of course I do, it's just that his condition isn't particularly good."

"Not particularly good?" Jiraiya repeated Uchiha Yan's words with some curiosity.

He had always wanted to go see Naruto, but he hadn't had the time because he had been too busy lately.

Going to take a look now would be just right.

Uchiha Yan didn't say much more; he simply gave Jiraiya a look, and his figure flashed away.

Jiraiya frowned slightly and followed closely behind.

The two finally stopped in front of a dilapidated apartment building in a remote location, its wall plaster long since mottled and peeling.

"This is the place." Uchiha Yan stood in the shadows and raised a finger to point at a third-floor window, where even the curtain was torn in half.

Jiraiya looked at the apartment building before him, which seemed as if it could collapse at any moment, and the confusion in his heart grew even stronger.

Naruto was the son of Namikaze Minato, the son of the hero who saved the village, and furthermore, the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails. In Jiraiya's expectations, even if Naruto wasn't being treated like a precious treasure, he shouldn't be living in a place like this.

"Yan, you brought me to a place like this..."