Cloud Ninja Seek Out Uchiha Mirai for Reckoning!

"Bastards! What do you mean by this? Is my brother supposed to have died for nothing?"

At the inn where Konoha had arranged for the Cloud Hidden Village envoys to stay, a solid wooden table was smashed apart with a single punch, sending splinters flying everywhere.

The burly man's muscles bulged, and it seemed as though blood was about to burst from his eyes as he glared fiercely at the Konoha ninja who had come to deliver the message.

Under the furious stares of the man and the surrounding Cloud Ninja, the Konoha ninja felt as though the air around him was rapidly thinning.

His body trembled slightly, and fine beads of cold sweat seeped across his forehead.

"I'm truly sorry! This was the Third Hokage's decision. It isn't something we can interfere with."

"Is Konoha planning to go to war with our Cloud Hidden Village?"

The leading man rolled up his sleeves, revealing bronze skin packed with muscle. A blue tattoo of the character for lightning was etched beside his shoulder.

"Lord Assam, why not hear his explanation first? Why has Konoha's attitude changed so drastically in such a short time?"

The fair-skinned female Cloud Ninja behind him stopped his enraged actions.

Assam's eyes shifted, and he rolled his sleeves back down.

"Mm, you have a point. Let's hear their explanation first."

Not long ago, Konoha's stance had been that they would definitely give the Cloud Hidden Village an explanation and would not let their envoy die in vain.

Yet in just a few short days, such a huge change had occurred.

What exactly had happened?

Was Konoha not afraid of going to war with the Cloud Hidden Village?

The current Konoha had suffered one blow after another—the Nine-Tails incident, Orochimaru's defection, and the departure of the Three Legendary Sannin. Its strength had nearly fallen to the lowest point in its history.

In contrast, the Cloud Hidden Village had two Jinchuriki, both perfect Jinchuriki capable of flawlessly wielding the power of their tailed beasts.

The Fourth Raikage was in his prime, far beyond someone like Sarutobi Hiruzen, an aging former Hokage whose combat strength had declined.

If war broke out, Konoha would inevitably be at a disadvantage.

What on earth had caused Konoha's attitude to change so drastically?

The Konoha ninja delivering the message breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the fine sweat from his forehead.

This room was filled with Cloud Hidden Village ninja who had come to demand answers. If he offended them, he might end up being carried out today.

"It was Uchiha Mirai. The Third Hokage convened a meeting to put Uchiha Mirai on trial, but it failed..."

The Konoha ninja roughly recounted what had happened in the meeting room.

Assam's expression gradually twisted, and the fury in his eyes seemed ready to solidify into something tangible.

"That Uchiha bastard actually dared to humiliate the Cloud Hidden Village like this!"

His arms, as thick as an ordinary person's thighs, swelled in an instant, veins protruding across them like earthworms.

"Don't act rashly! Lord Assam, Uchiha Mirai's strength cannot be underestimated. We should return and report this to Lord Raikage first."

The fair-skinned female Cloud Ninja behind him urged him again in concern.

"Didn't you hear what he just said?"

Assam glared at her furiously.

"That bastard actually told Lord Raikage to come to Konoha personally to find him? Are we supposed to bring that humiliation back to the village unchanged?"

The Cloud Ninja behind him were breathing heavily as well.

The Cloud Ninja were known for their hot tempers.

Making them swallow this fury was simply impossible.

Bang!

The inn's doors were violently thrown open, and Assam stormed out of the room in a rage.

He was going to teach Uchiha Mirai a harsh lesson!

He refused to believe that Uchiha Mirai would dare to fight back.

He had killed a Cloud Hidden Village envoy before, and now he was attacking this newly dispatched group of envoys.

That would undoubtedly be a declaration of war against the Cloud Hidden Village.

"Who are they...?"

"They look like ninja from the Cloud Hidden Village. They look like they're about to kill someone."

"They must be going to find that Uchiha Mirai, right? I heard the Cloud Hidden Village's envoy was killed by him."

"Now this will be interesting. How will Uchiha Mirai handle this?"

Quite a few ninja on Konoha's streets watched the enraged Cloud Ninja marching down the road and began whispering among themselves.

Many of them wore faint looks of delight in their eyes.

The meeting in the Hokage's office had yet to fully spread throughout Konoha. Most ninja still regarded Uchiha Mirai as a criminal of Konoha.

Coupled with the propaganda offensive from Danzo's Root, seeing the Cloud Hidden Village ninja arrive so aggressively made many people eager to watch the show.

Uchiha Clan Compound.

The Cloud Hidden Village ninja stood at the entrance to the Uchiha Clan Compound, shouting arrogantly.

"Uchiha Mirai, get the hell out here!"

"You killed our brothers from the Cloud Hidden Village, and you think you can stay out of this?"

"Get out here!"

The Uchiha ninja near the compound instantly saw red, glaring fiercely at Assam and the Cloud Ninja behind him.

"They actually dare come to the Uchiha Clan to cause trouble!"

Some of the younger Uchiha immediately wanted to rush over and teach them a lesson, but nearby clansmen grabbed them.

"Report this to Brother Mirai first."

"Let's go!"

Uchiha Clan Head's Residence.

Uchiha Mirai leisurely sipped his tea as mist curled up from the cup, looking utterly at ease.

"Little Itachi, your tea-making skills have improved quite a bit since before!"

"Not at all, Brother Mirai."

Little Itachi scratched his head sheepishly.

Being acknowledged by Uchiha Mirai was one of the things that made him happiest.

Even if it was only for his tea-making.

Uchiha Mirai set down his teacup and looked Itachi over approvingly.

Compared to the original story, Itachi had changed by far more than just a little after Mirai's guidance.

The greatest change was that he had completely severed ties with Sarutobi Hiruzen, thoroughly cast aside the brainwashing theories of the Will of Fire, and embraced the great cause of Marxism.

When Mirai first came into contact with Itachi, he had only been a child of a few years old. Children were highly moldable.

He had been at the perfect age for guidance.

Sure enough, after Mirai's guidance, Itachi had changed greatly.

That put Uchiha Mirai somewhat at ease.

The course of events from the original story should no longer be possible this time.

In the future, he might find a way to help Itachi awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan.

The power of a Mangekyo Sharingan was extremely important to the clan right now.

The Uchiha Clan currently had three Mangekyo Sharingan.

His own, Uchiha Shisui's, and Uchiha Fugaku's.

However, aside from himself, while Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Fugaku stood on his side, the condition was that they could not completely fall out with Konoha.

Neither of them agreed with the idea of a coup, believing that a coup would only end with both sides badly hurt.

It was somewhat unrealistic for Uchiha Mirai to fully mobilize those two Mangekyo Sharingan.

That was also why he wanted to suppress the prestige of the Hokage faction led by Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Since a purely military coup would not work, he would turn the Uchiha Clan's predicament into the Hokage faction's predicament.

He would make the Hokage faction fall into the situation the Uchiha Clan had previously faced.

Itachi had now been completely molded into exactly what he wanted.

If Itachi awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, he should be able to use him as well.

As Uchiha Mirai thought this, a clansman suddenly rushed in in a panic.

"Brother Mirai, those guys from the Cloud Hidden Village have come to the entrance of the compound to make trouble."

"Oh? I wasn't even looking for them, yet they came looking for me?"

Uchiha Mirai's eyes narrowed to slits.