Relocation Funds Canceled

As time passed, Hane felt the clan compound growing increasingly oppressive. He understood why. A month had already passed since the relocation date had been set.

Yet the relocation funds promised by Konoha's higher-ups had still not been issued. The new clan grounds were already more than halfway complete, built through the powerful labor of ninja, and the day of relocation was close at hand.

Because the funds had yet to arrive, quite a few clan members were worried. The matter had been raised several times during clan meetings, but whenever Fugaku went to ask the Hokage, he was told to wait.

Over the past month, Hane's life had not changed much apart from his efforts to earn Gratitude Points and Malice Points. If there was one change, it was Itachi's attitude toward him.

Watching the silent Itachi following behind him, Hane always felt that a rift had suddenly formed between the two brothers.

For the moment, Hane did not know how to erase that distance. Whenever he tried to speak with Itachi, Itachi either remained silent or merely nodded obediently.

But that obedience was different from before. It was as though Hane had lost one of his two portable experience packs.

"Itachi! Have you been dissatisfied with your brother lately?" Hane asked casually.

"Ah! No! How could I possibly be dissatisfied with you, Brother? You're so outstanding."

Hane turned to look at the calm-faced Itachi. "Is that what you think, Itachi? Then why do I feel like I'm about to lose you as my little brother?"

"Brother, don't joke around! You're my brother!" Itachi gave Hane a broad smile.

Hane stared straight at Itachi. "Itachi, do you know? That smile of yours feels fake to me! If Itachi truly wanted to smile, it would be a slightly bashful smile. You would never face your brother so openly."

Under Hane's gaze, Itachi looked away for a moment. "Isn't that how you smile?" he answered somewhat guiltily.

"That's exactly why I said your smile is fake. Because that smile is mine, not the real Itachi's!"

For a moment, Itachi was stunned by his brother's words. He suddenly wondered whether his brother understood him too well.

"Itachi, I'll say it again. If there's anything you're dissatisfied with about your brother, say it. I won't blame you!" Hane gently tapped Itachi's dazed forehead.

Looking at his brother's tender gaze, Itachi's feelings became Nothingness short of complicated. He wanted to tell his brother what he thought, but he knew his brother would definitely have a hundred reasons to oppose him. In the end, no matter what happened, he still would not be able to win against his brother.

But was his own thinking really wrong? Was the Uchiha Clan's arrogance and the village's rejection really the Hokage faction's fault?

He knew that Brother Shisui had already entered the Anbu and had even been promoted into the Shadow Guard by Lord Hokage. With such trust, it was obvious that Lord Hokage was not as prejudiced against the Uchiha as his brother claimed.

Everything was because the clan members, blinded by their own arrogance, had ignored the village's demands.

Seeing the dazed Itachi, Hane let out a soft sigh. He truly had no way to deal with Itachi's silence. If Itachi had argued with him over everything as before, Hane could have treated the problem accordingly. What he feared most was Itachi hiding his thoughts.

With that in mind, Hane shook his head dejectedly. "It seems Itachi no longer trusts me as his brother. Itachi, I'm very sad!" With that, Hane turned and headed home.

Itachi stared blankly at his brother's retreating figure. "Brother, I'm sorry. I can't agree with your thoughts, but you're still my brother!"

Itachi muttered softly, then quickly followed Hane's silhouette.

They had not gone far when they saw a large crowd of clan members gathered around a village notice board. Every one of them looked like a lit powder keg, overflowing with rage.

"Why? Just because the war at the front is tense, they're canceling our relocation funds!"

"Even if things are tense at the front, why not say it's delayed? What kind of logic is it to cancel it outright?"

"The higher-ups never intended to compensate us. They've been deceiving us!"

Looking at the furious clan members, Hane sneered inwardly. So they finally couldn't resist showing their hand? Have they decided the Uchiha Clan is theirs to bully?

Hane did not squeeze into the crowd. Instead, he pulled the dazed Itachi and hurried toward home. But before Hane had gone far, a commotion broke out behind them.

"Are you gathering here to cause trouble?" A ninja wearing a cat-faced mask suddenly appeared atop the notice board and shouted at the enraged clan members below.

"Hmph! Don't think that being Anbu means you can raise your voice at the Uchiha Clan. Why has the village canceled our relocation funds?" An Uchiha Chunin angrily forced his way out of the crowd and questioned the Anbu ninja.

"Hehe, this was a decision made by Konoha's higher-ups. The reasons have already been written clearly above!" the Anbu ninja replied coldly.

"Bullshit! The war is tense, so the Uchiha have to foot the bill? Haven't we Uchiha gone to the front lines? Why should we bleed and suffer at the same time?"

"Hmph! What nonsense. With the village facing a crisis, rather than thinking of the village's peace, you dare gather here to cause trouble. Do you believe I'll arrest you for disturbing village security?" Cold light flashed in the Anbu ninja's eyes as he looked at the Uchiha Chunin.

"Oh? Since when has disturbing village security become the Anbu's responsibility?" At that moment, a cool voice came from behind the crowd.

The Uchiha surrounding the notice board stirred, and they all moved aside to make a path.

"Young Clan Head!"

"Young Clan Head, this has nothing to do with you. You should go back!"

"Young Clan Head, you must stand up for us!"

The clan members all spoke at once, voicing their thoughts to Hane as he slowly approached.

Because Hane had saved many Uchiha women and children during the Nine-Tails Rebellion, he had already possessed considerable prestige among the ordinary Uchiha. Combined with his impressive display of Kamui at the clan meeting, as well as Uchiha Retsuyō's discreet promotion of him among the younger generation recently,

the clan members now held him in such high esteem.

Hane nodded at the eager clan members, then looked at the Anbu ninja on the notice board. "May I ask if you are planning to arrest my clan members for disturbing village security?" Hane asked coldly.

"Uchiha Hane, Minister Fugaku's son, please mind your attitude! Do not stir up trouble for Nothingness reason." The cat-faced ninja was deeply wary of the youth before him. He knew what had happened when his colleagues had tested this boy last time: not one of them had returned.

"My attitude? My attitude is to seek truth from facts! Setting aside how Konoha's higher-ups broke their promise first, they now want to force crimes onto my clan members. Are they treating the Uchiha Clan as though our kunai aren't sharp?"

Hane's attitude undoubtedly earned another wave of Gratitude Points from the clan members. At that moment, most of the Uchiha in the crowd looked at him with grateful expressions.

"Hmph, you sharp-tongued brat. At a time when the village is in crisis, you do not think of overcoming hardship alongside it and only obsess over your own interests. That is why your Uchiha Clan is hated by the people of the village."

"Brother! Why don't we go back? Don't clash with the village again!" Just as Hane was about to retort, Itachi tugged on his clothes from behind.

Hane silently glanced back at Itachi. He truly did not want to lecture his foolish little brother again. Konoha's higher-ups were practically taking a dump on their heads, yet Itachi still wanted to avoid this conflict. Did he really not know which seat his ass was sitting on?

Itachi's heart trembled beneath Hane's silent gaze. He pressed his lips together and tightly shut his mouth.

Hane turned back and looked at the Anbu ninja again.

"Hahaha! Sharp-tongued? I wonder who's really sharp-tongued here. It is clearly the village higher-ups' negligence, yet you blame the Uchiha for it. Did we Uchiha force the village to relocate us? If the village cannot issue the relocation funds it promised, then the Uchiha Clan simply won't relocate. We're living quite comfortably where we are anyway!" Hane said coldly.

The Anbu ninja instantly fell silent.

"Hmph! That is not for the Uchiha Clan to decide!" Suddenly, a sinister voice rang out.