A Heart-to-Heart Between Father and Son

Yet he failed to notice even a single spark drifting toward the place where he was hiding.

A cold smile curled Hane's lips. Compared to cultivators, the profession of ninja was simply beneath notice. The Root ninja who thought he had hidden himself so well had long since been laid bare beneath Hane's powerful Divine Sense, with Nothingness left to hide behind.

"Heh heh, I'm afraid you won't be going back! As for Danzo, let that old bastard jump around for a while longer!"

With that thought, a cruel smile appeared on Hane's lips, and his figure vanished in an instant.

Just as the Root captain turned to leave, the spark before him, originally no larger than a fingernail, suddenly swelled.

A figure wrapped head to toe in flames emerged from the blaze. A tiny hand wreathed in fire instantly clamped around his throat.

"Sizzle, sizzle!"

The scent of roasting flesh wafted through the air. Disbelief filled the Root captain's eyes. "When exactly...?"

Yet his thoughts had only turned for a few seconds before the searing heat covering his entire body pierced every nerve. The intense agony of being burned alive finally made him let out a shrill scream.

"Ah..."

Amid the scream, the Root ninja quickly turned into a wisp of charred ash in Hane's hand and scattered away.

"A bunch of overconfident fools!"

Hane slowly withdrew the flames covering his body, along with the inferno that had spread across the battlefield. If such an attack had come before the clan meeting, he might have been a little flustered. But now, killing a Jonin was as easy for him as crushing an ant.

Itachi and Izumi stood inside the Fire-Repelling Shield, staring blankly at the scene.

Itachi's small Adam's apple bobbed uncontrollably. "Big brother is so strong. Is he really my brother? We're the same age, yet he can easily defeat enemies who frighten even me—and he fought four of them alone."

"What's wrong? Did you two little ones get scared silly?" Hane asked with a light chuckle.

"Hane, you're already this strong?" Izumi murmured in disbelief.

"Big brother, who exactly were those enemies? Were they spies from another village?" Itachi quickly came back to his senses and asked.

Hane patted Itachi's little head. "Didn't you see? Who besides Anbu ninja wear masks like that?"

"How is that possible? How could Lord Hokage do something like this?" A trace of disbelief showed in Itachi's young eyes.

"Enough. Don't concern yourself with adults' affairs. Let's go home. No Konoha ninja have come after all this time, so this was clearly just a test." As he spoke, a cold look appeared on Hane's face.

Heh, Konoha can't even tolerate a six-year-old child now? Hane mocked inwardly.

Meanwhile, in the Hokage Building, the Third Hokage watched the scene just now through a crystal ball in Nothingness-like silence.

Danzo, sitting opposite him, did not look much better. "Sarutobi, that little bastard cannot be allowed to live. Look at how ruthlessly he dealt with the village's ninja. Once he grows up, who knows what he'll become."

"Then what do you suggest? Find an opportunity to kill him? Are you sure the Uchiha won't revolt if we do that?" Sarutobi gave Danzo an indifferent glance.

Danzo was about to say something else, but the Third Hokage interrupted him. "Let this matter rest for now. The Uchiha cannot be touched yet."

"Sarutobi, we cannot simply leave this matter alone!" Danzo roared.

Sarutobi felt a wave of irritation. "Then what do you suggest?" he asked in a low voice.

A sinister gleam flashed in Danzo's eyes. "In a year or so, find a way to have him graduate early, then send him out." As he spoke, Danzo made a throat-slitting gesture.

Sarutobi's hand trembled as he flicked ash from his pipe. "What if he refuses? He's only six years old now!"

"Isn't Fugaku's second son rather fond of you? If his elder brother refuses, then have that little one graduate early instead."

A sinister smile appeared on Danzo's face. "With the Uchiha's pride, that little bastard probably won't be able to endure being surpassed by his younger brother."

After returning home, Hane took advantage of the time while his mother was washing dishes to tell Fugaku about the attack he had encountered on the road.

Fugaku's pupils contracted slightly. "Hane, you weren't hurt, were you?"

Hane spread his hands. "Do I look injured to you?"

"You said they were Anbu?" Fugaku still had not quite recovered from the shock.

"Yes, Father," Hane answered calmly.

A chill entered Fugaku's eyes. "I'll go question the Third Hokage right now. What exactly is going on?" With that, he prepared to rise.

"Father, forget it. You won't get an answer even if you ask. You might even be accused of attacking the Anbu. When that happens, do you think the village's ninja will believe the Third Hokage or believe you?" Hane spoke leisurely. In his previous life, he had already gained a deep understanding of the Konoha Elder Council's Nothingness of shame from watching anime.

Fugaku's body stiffened, and he slowly sat back down. "Hane, what do you think?" Fugaku looked seriously at his exceptionally outstanding eldest son, outstanding to the point of Nothingness.

"What can I think? The higher-ups have never abandoned their desire to destroy the Uchiha. Father, do you still hold expectations for Konoha's leadership?" Hane fixed Fugaku with a sharp gaze.

Fugaku's expression froze. "Well... after all, he is the Hokage."

"Heh! Father, should I say you're indecisive, or that you have no mind of your own? The mere title of Hokage has you so bound hand and foot. Isn't the purpose behind Konoha's leadership suppressing us obvious enough?" Hane said, frustrated that Fugaku failed to meet expectations.

Fugaku's face darkened. "This is all a misunderstanding! Hane, the Uchiha ultimately live in Konoha."

"Yes, the Uchiha live in Konoha, which is exactly why we should fight the higher-ups for the clan's interests!" Hane watched Fugaku's face grow darker and darker.

Hane decided that today, he would make this father of his, who could not see reason, understand.

"Father, do you know what it means to boil an Ao frog in warm water?" Fugaku had been about to speak, but Hane cut him off first. He stared blankly at Hane, unable to understand what Ao frogs had to do with the village and the Uchiha.

Fugaku sat quietly, waiting for Hane's explanation.

Hane glanced at his prideful adoptive father, rolled his eyes, and continued.

"If you throw an Ao frog into boiling water, it will immediately jump out. But if you put it into warm water and slowly raise the temperature, it will believe it is safe until the moment it dies."

"Isn't our Uchiha clan that Ao frog right now? The Third Hokage and the others are slowly boiling our big Ao frog to death in warm water."

"The Uchiha's new clan grounds are quite a good place. There are mountains to the left, and the Barrier Team is not far ahead. It would make an excellent cemetery—mountains, water, and especially beautiful scenery."

"Tell me..."

Hane looked at Fugaku's increasingly gloomy expression and smoothed his long hair before continuing. "Tell me, if war breaks out and the barrier is activated, won't our entire Uchiha Clan become trapped beasts, easily buried in that place surrounded by mountains and water?"

"Father, can't you see such an obvious burial ground?"

At Hane's final stern words, fine beads of sweat had already formed on Fugaku's forehead.

"Hane, how could things have reached such a point?" Fugaku, who had begun to believe him, asked with a suppressed expression.

"Heh, Father, you have never understood one thing. The ones we must oppose have never been the entire village, but the Konoha Elder Council led by the Third Hokage. They are the Uchiha Clan's true enemies, so never regard the Third Hokage and the others as the whole village!"

Fugaku froze. In an instant, it was as though his thoughts had broken through a boundary. When the Fourth Hokage had been around, when had the Uchiha ever fallen to such a state? Not to mention the recent past—even during the Second Hokage's time, when he had been so suspicious of the Uchiha, the Uchiha Clan's reputation in the village had not been this bad.

Only under the Third Hokage had the Uchiha nearly been completely pushed out of the village.

The more Fugaku thought about it, the darker his eyes became. At that moment, he seemed to understand something.