Must Konoha Be Preserved? Defection Is Way Better!

"So that's how it is."

Inside the room, after carefully studying the system, Hayato sighed with emotion.

The system's introduction was concise, yet unexpectedly powerful.

The more someone sabotaged him, the Uchiha, or Konoha, the stronger he would become.

Bitter Fruit was divided into four major categories: Malice, Regret, Betrayal, and Causality.

Among them, Causality was the most powerful, though it appeared to be quite difficult to obtain.

Furthermore, the more severe the negative consequences inflicted upon him, the Uchiha, or Konoha, the more explosive the rewards. The reason he had been able to activate the system just now was because he had lamented that the alliance between Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama was a joke.

That had triggered the system, yet the reward was only of Epic grade.

"Is it because both of them are dead?"

Hayato speculated on the reason. At the very least, since he hadn't received any other rewards yet, this was the only logical guess for the time being.

But that last point... sabotaging Konoha—did it not want him to defect?

Hayato felt a toothache just thinking about it.

Did this Konoha really have to be preserved? Defection was where the real appeal lay!

He rubbed the Konoha forehead protector in his hands incessantly. He had been preparing for years, and now that the system had finally appeared, it was telling him to stay put.

"Screw it!"

After a long while, Hayato slammed the forehead protector onto the table.

Without the system, running away was fine, but now that he had it, thinking about running away would only be stifling himself.

Impossible, absolutely impossible!

I, Uchiha Hayato, shall defy the heavens.

Having figured it out, Hayato immediately overturned his original plans and began to ponder.

"Bitter Fruit..."

Regret, Malice, and Betrayal—these three were the most worth planning for.

The term Causality looked suspicious at a glance; he shouldn't touch it for now, lest he be reduced to ashes.

"Got it! Regret."

Hayato thought of a person, someone who was about to die.

Uchiha Shisui.

A genius of the Uchiha clan, though he was missing a few screws in his head.

He actually thought he could use his Mangekyo to control Uchiha Fugaku to promote peace between Konoha and the Uchiha, believing he could save the clan while protecting Konoha.

"But how do I make contact?"

Hayato rubbed his chin. Given his current situation, he rarely had contact with people like Uchiha Shisui or Uchiha Itachi.

This was a normal phenomenon.

Although the Uchiha clan didn't have the perverted distinction between main and branch families like the Hyuga, any genius would receive the resources they were due, and the best locations within the clan grounds were allocated to them.

Take Uchiha Fugaku, for instance; as the clan head, he possessed a courtyard as large as a dojo.

While Uchiha Shisui's residence wasn't quite that extravagant, it was still far better than living alone in the Police Force barracks.

He lived in the central area, unlike Hayato, whose house was on the outskirts.

The only occasion to interact with geniuses like Uchiha Shisui was at the Uchiha clan meetings, specifically the special ones where everyone was required to attend.

The last such meeting had been when Uchiha Shisui awakened his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Consequently, the Uchiha clan had become increasingly restless over the years.

Konoha's continued marginalization of the Uchiha clan had long since left many within the clan feeling dissatisfied.

"This is frustrating."

Hayato truly felt frustrated. To have a system but be unable to use it due to reality was pure torture.

"Whatever. I'll look for an opportunity over the next few days. If that doesn't work, I'll just force my way in."

With this plan in mind, he headed toward his room to rest; he had to wake up early tomorrow.

That night, Hayato slept exceptionally soundly.

It was a rarity in the fifteen years since he had arrived in this world.

Early the next morning, Hayato woke up to the sound of his alarm.

He confirmed the existence of the system once more, and after verifying it wasn't a hallucination, he got up to get ready.

Bitter Fruit Entry System

Name: Uchiha Hayato

Race: Uchiha

Bloodline Limit: Sharingan (Two-Tomoe), Evolving

Harvested Entries: (Sage Body Basic), (Uchiha Bloodline Purity +10%)

Current Rewards Available: None

Passive: None

The panel was very simple; it was just that last passive that remained to be understood.

Donning the dark blue high-collared jacket unique to the Uchiha Police Force, and with no other particular requirements, Hayato stepped out of his house.

Along the way, many ordinary clansmen from the neighborhood greeted Hayato with smiles.

These were clansmen who hadn't awakened the Sharingan for several generations, and naturally, they had all been settled here.

Since the age of seven, Hayato had grown up eating the "hundred-family rice" provided by the clan.

Every person who greeted him could be considered someone who had given him a meal at some point in the past.

Hayato exchanged greetings with people from time to time as he headed toward the location of the Police Force.

The Police Force was the only position where the Uchiha clan could have contact with Konoha, located not far from the Hokage building.

One couldn't help but wonder if it was intentional.

The pattern of working in the center of the village while living in the clan compound directly exacerbated the Uchiha clan's sense of isolation.

This was especially true for members of the Police Force; every morning, they had to set out from the clan compound, pass through bustling streets and the territories of other ninja clans, and arrive at the heart of Konoha's power.

Then, in the evening, they would head back against the flow of the crowd.

Day after day, and the Uchiha were inherently a people who loved and hated with intensity.

Second Hokage, oh Second Hokage, you really committed a sin!

Filled with these reflections along the way, Hayato stepped into the Police Force building.

"Yo! Hayato, you're here. Let's go, we've been waiting for you."

As soon as he arrived, a fellow member of the Police Force greeted him, and Hayato nodded at him with a smile.

"Let's go."

Another member stood up with an expressionless face, but Hayato didn't mind.

He was used to it; after all, many in the Uchiha clan had this kind of personality.

Stepping out of the Police Force building, they were met with the daily routine they had to face.

Vigilance and whispers.

There was no helping it; after the Nine-Tails Incident, the seeds of suspicion and hatred had taken root, as the Sharingan could control Tailed Beasts.

He figured it was spread by a few old schemers within the village, and combined with the Uchiha being pushed to the outskirts, it created the impression that the Uchiha were intentionally isolating themselves from Konoha.

Over time, dissatisfaction had been accumulating.

One clan isolating an entire village—it was truly laughable.

"Hmph!"

Beside him, the Police Force member who had been cold-faced the whole time let out a cold snort.

Slap!

"Uchiha Seiichi, calm down."

Uchiha Rin, who had just greeted Hayato, pressed his hand on Uchiha Seiichi's shoulder and said softly.

If these people were truly disturbing the peace, they could just arrest them.

But these were just ordinary villagers, and the clan head, Uchiha Fugaku, had always emphasized that Police Force members should not do anything out of line.

Although only a few actually listened.

Uchiha Seiichi took a deep breath, and only then did he calm down.

It was clear that their three-man squad consisted of those who would listen to Uchiha Fugaku, and naturally, they were ostracized by the others.

Hayato glanced sideways at his two clansmen, unable to stop the complaints in his heart.

Clan head, oh clan head, by doing this, you will only make those who listen to you fewer and fewer.

Not everyone could endure this, especially not the Uchiha clan.