In the days that followed, Feng appeared to everyone else to be studying the Third's Will of Fire at home every day. From time to time, he visited the Heroes' Section of Konoha Cemetery to pay his respects to those heroes who had sacrificed themselves to protect Konoha and learn from their spirit.
For example, the Second, Tobirama Senju, who had stayed behind to cover his subordinates' retreat; the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and his wife, who had sealed the Nine-Tails with their lives; Might Duy, who had opened the Gate of Death to protect Konoha; and Uchiha's hero, Obito Uchiha.
In reality, Feng spent every day at home studying the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu, strengthening its control as much as he could.
Will of Fire? He had randomly scribbled a few lines on every page with a pen, making others think he had marked the important points. In truth, he had not seriously read a single page.
As for visiting Konoha Cemetery to pay respects to heroes? Heh. Naturally, he was scouting the place and deciding whose graves to dig up.
Then, after half a month of doing nothing but traveling between home and the cemetery, without doing anything else or saying a word,
along with new gossip constantly emerging in the village and drawing away much of the villagers' attention, far fewer people were paying attention to or talking about Feng.
Thus, with only one week left until the Third checked his understanding of Will of Fire,
and with Konoha's other ninja, who had completed part of the reconstruction and were once again coordinating the relocation of Nine-Tails Night refugees, running themselves ragged these past few days,
and with Feng having already scouted Konoha Cemetery, found the graves he wanted to dig up, and determined which ones he could dig, he was finally ready to flee Konoha.
On a new day, he once again watched the other ninja personally coordinate relocation work, busy beyond measure.
He went to Konoha Cemetery again to make sure there was no one around the graves he planned to dig and that nothing unexpected had happened.
He waited quietly through the entire day until the dead of night, when the clock on the wall reached three in the morning.
At this hour, those who had gone to sleep were in their deepest slumber.
Those who had not slept were drowsy at this time as well, when their vigilance was at its lowest.
And at this moment, Feng's plan to escape Konoha officially began.
He quietly proceeded along the route to Konoha Cemetery that he had long since mapped out.
Following the order he had planned beforehand, he first dug up Rin Nohara's grave beside Obito Uchiha's grave. After uncovering it, he took a section of arm bone and placed it in the bag he had prepared, then quickly restored the grave.
Next came the grave of someone named Uchiha Mikio. He was an Uchiha who had died in the Third Shinobi World War. Records from his life stated that he possessed the Three-Tomoe Sharingan and was exceptionally skilled in genjutsu. To Feng, he was an extremely important part of his future plans.
Then came the grave of the Second, Tobirama Senju.
As for the grave of the First, Hashirama Senju, not far from Tobirama Senju's grave, Feng wanted his corpse but did not dare dig it up.
As far as anyone knew, Tobirama Senju had dug that grave, Orochimaru had dug it, Danzo had dug it, and who knew whether there were other unknown people who had dug it as well.
At present, Feng had no idea what condition that grave was in. To be safe, it was better to keep his distance.
After that came the grave of Minato and his wife. They had only been dead for a little over two months, and their corpses had not yet fully decomposed, giving off waves of stench. Still, Feng forced down his nausea and took a section of arm from each of them.
Of course, Minato's soul was still in the Death God's stomach, so although Feng had taken body parts from both Minato and his wife, his target for Impure World Reincarnation was Minato's wife, Kushina Uzumaki. Minato was merely incidental.
After digging up and restoring all four graves he had selected in advance, even with a ninja's physical capabilities far beyond those of ordinary people, Feng still spent nearly two hours.
By then, it was around five in the morning. Although it was winter and dawn would not arrive until seven, the sky was still dark, and most people were still asleep.
(Minato died on October 10th of Year 51. It was now more than two months later, around early January of Year 52. Based on real-world Japan, where winter generally lasted from December to February of the following year, Konoha was in winter as well.)
But some people struggling to make a living or training diligently had already begun getting up.
Therefore, for safety's sake, even though there were still three graves he wanted to dig—Might Duy, Hatake Sakumo, and Kagami Uchiha, who might have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan—Feng cleaned up and hurriedly left.
After returning home, it was not time to rest either.
Feng took out the two sealing scrolls he had bought at great expense. He sealed the box containing his prepared belongings into one and sealed the bag containing the corpse parts into the other.
Then, he put the sealing scrolls into the backpack he had prepared, beneath a set of clothes and a simple map of the Land of Fire, before covering them with all kinds of barbecue ingredients. After disguising it, he placed it by the door.
Finally, he changed into his usual clothes. Though his heart was racing with excitement, his expression remained normal as he prepared breakfast. After quietly finishing it, he picked up Will of Fire and casually flipped through it.
Until seven in the morning, when quite a few people had begun moving about outside.
Feng once again suppressed his excitement, slung the backpack over his shoulders, tucked his katana into his belt, hung the pouch of shuriken on the other side of his waist, and held Will of Fire in one hand. He took several deep breaths to compose his expression.
Then he slowly opened his door and headed calmly toward the Konoha Military Police Force headquarters. Whenever he met an acquaintance on the way, he smiled and greeted them as usual.
Before long, Feng found his squad captain at the Military Police Force headquarters and naturally said,
"Captain, I want to leave the village and make a trip to the Valley of the End."
"Leave the village? I'm afraid that won't work. The village has been strict lately. No one is allowed to leave without a special reason.
"Even if I approved a pass for you, you probably still wouldn't be able to leave."
Uchiha Yosuke, the squad captain of Feng's Military Police Force unit, responded upon hearing this.
"Can't I? But I'm going to the Valley of the End so I can better comprehend Will of Fire."
Feng waved the copy of Will of Fire in his hand and spoke calmly.
"???" Uchiha Yosuke stared at Feng with a head full of question marks, unable to understand what going to the Valley of the End had to do with comprehending Will of Fire.
"Heh, just tell me whether you'll approve it. But let me warn you—if I can't go to the Valley of the End, and the Third summons me in a few days to question why I don't understand the Will of Fire thoroughly, I'll blame you."
With a smile, Feng curled his lips and spread his hands.
"Uh... fine, I'll approve it. But let me make this clear first: if you still can't leave the village, don't blame me." Uchiha Yosuke paused, then replied with an indifferent expression.
"Of course. If the Third reprimands me, whoever stops me from going to the Valley of the End is who I'll blame." Feng replied casually.
Once Feng finished speaking, Uchiha Yosuke handed him the pass to leave the village. It was only a matter of signing it, so naturally it was quick.
"Thanks, Captain." The moment Feng received the pass, he thanked him and left.
He had no intention of staying in Konoha any longer. The sooner he escaped Konoha, even by one second, the better.
Although he had dealt with the graves and cleaned up after digging them last night, how could he possibly erase every trace in just two hours? Uchiha Feng was not that meticulous.
Therefore, something could happen at Konoha Cemetery at any moment. And with even a cursory serious investigation, they could find plenty of clues pointing directly to Feng as the culprit.
So he had to run immediately. Every second he delayed increased the chance of being discovered.
Before you continue