Hokage's Visit

That afternoon, a commotion broke out in the Uchiha Clan compound—not because of Retsuo, but because Clan Head Fugaku had announced some explosive news: the entire clan would be relocated to the edge of the village. Not only was it remote and far from the village center, it was practically being placed under surveillance.

The assembly hall erupted in an uproar, startling Tenma and Shinji, who were undergoing special training in Retsuo's courtyard. They stopped immediately.

The so-called special training was really just two taijutsu amateurs beating each other up. Since this was a temporary settlement and the invisible barriers had yet to be established, Shinji and Tenma had come over openly to use the training grounds. However, the sudden uproar left the two children staring at each other in confusion.

"Hey, are we still fighting or not?"

Under the afternoon sun, Tenma was sweating buckets. He happened to loosen the bandage around his wrist, picked up a water flask, and began gulping it down.

Shinji panted and collapsed onto the ground without a shred of grace. "I'm done, I'm done. I'm only a nine-year-old beauty, after all. I can't be as harsh on myself as you two are."

"Hey, hey, we're only twenty days apart, okay?"

"The point is that I'm a beauty!"

Speaking of beauties, Shinji felt a little envious of Tenma. He was obviously a boy, so why was his skin even fairer than hers?

Tenma sat down as well and slowly looked around. The training ground the Uchiha Clan had prepared for Retsuo was seriously impressive. It had everything one could want, and he absolutely had to get in some proper Shuriken practice later.

Shinji said languidly, "I wonder how much longer we'll be able to use this training ground."

Tenma was about to speak when Retsuo's voice came from the entrance. "I'm afraid it won't be much longer."

"Why?" ×2!

Retsuo pointed at the still-roaring assembly hall. The wooden building was trembling so violently that one might suspect the roof would fly off.

"Because the village has redrawn a territory for us Uchiha. We'll definitely have to hand this place over."

"Phew, I thought it was something serious." Shinji breathed a sigh of relief. "Your new clan grounds must be even better."

"They are indeed quite good." Retsuo casually drew on the ground. Tenma took a close look. "Wow, it even includes a huge lake! That's great."

Shinji said, "Yeah, yeah, the place is enormous."

Retsuo smiled bitterly. "But no one in the clan is willing to go. Didn't you hear all that shouting?"

Only then did the two understand why it had been so noisy. By this point, however, the commotion was gradually dying down. Who knew what decision the Uchiha had reached?

In truth, Retsuo was also quite surprised. He had not expected the village to target them even after he had made such enormous efforts.

This is the first step toward forcing the Uchiha onto the path of rebellion—a substantive first step. Is Sarutobi Hiruzen's brain broken?

Retsuo even found it absurd. Then what was the point of all my efforts?

Tenma asked, "Retsuo, you were summoned by Lord Orochimaru? What was it about?"

Shinji immediately raised her little chin. "Don't ask. If you ask, it's village confidentiality!"

The two of them had spent quite some time pestering Retsuo with questions. On the night the Nine-Tails attacked the village, every clue had pointed toward Uchiha Retsuo. If he loosened his lips even a little, it would be the juiciest gossip imaginable.

Unfortunately, Retsuo's lips were sealed tighter than those of any nine-year-old should have been.

Retsuo could only give an awkward laugh. "This time, it really wasn't. This time, Lord Orochimaru's friend needed my help with his research."

"What research?"

"Researching me."

At this, Retsuo secretly rejoiced. During that afternoon's experiments, he had discovered a problem: as long as he did not charge the Yin Release Barrier, Shinnō could cover his body with Chakra-conducting metal and still fail to detect anything.

The strange thing was that because the Yin Release Barrier itself did not disappear, whenever Shinnō used his Ninja Tools and secret techniques to sense him, he could still detect that Retsuo was capable of containing other people's Spiritual Energy.

Thus, the entire afternoon passed with Retsuo secretly charging the barrier while Shinnō scrambled around in confusion. He could charge the barrier without laughing wildly, but the effect was much weaker.

Shinnō's reaction was like that of a fifty-year-old man entering Kujira-ya. Kujira-ya was the sort of place Jiraiya often visited when he was not gathering material.

"Ah, it's showing results!"

"Nani?"

"Wait, this time it'll definitely work."

"What happened to the status? Why did it disappear again?"

However, preventing Shinnō from completing his experiments was not the goal. Obtaining the results of Shinnō's experiments and accelerating the development of the barrier was. The road would always be winding, and Retsuo believed Shinnō would soon get used to it.

Just then, someone came to inform Retsuo that Clan Head Fugaku wanted him to go to his courtyard.

Retsuo thought it must be something important, but when he entered, he found Sarutobi Hiruzen and Utatane Koharu inside!

Why are they here?

Retsuo glanced over and saw Uchiha Shisui standing quietly behind Sarutobi Hiruzen. Several other elders were also accompanying Fugaku.

Shisui's position...

Especially with Fugaku still sitting in the seat of honor, what did that mean?

Shisui carried a ninja blade on his back and wore a forehead protector, along with a black short-sleeved shirt and a Ninja Tool Pouch on his back. He looked as though he had traveled a long way. However, he was not very tall, and his face was still youthful, completely different from the image he would have as an adult.

Sarutobi Hiruzen gave Retsuo a slight nod. His expression was solemn, and a smile was rarely seen on his face. Utatane Koharu, on the other hand, smiled warmly. "Retsuo is here? Have you met Orochimaru's friend?"

"Do you mean Doctor Shinnō?"

"Oh, so his name is Shinnō. He looks somewhat familiar to me. I think I may have seen him somewhere when I was young..."

When you were young, you destroyed his village. Of course he looks familiar...

Come to think of it, Gen before him and Shinnō after him—both were victims whose villages had been destroyed by Konoha.

It did not take long for Retsuo to realize that Sarutobi Hiruzen had come to placate the Uchiha. He and Uchiha Fugaku were conversing quite happily.

In other words, Retsuo's efforts had not been entirely in vain. Originally, the Uchiha Clan had not even been worth placating. They had simply been relocated.

Now the Third Hokage had personally come to their door. That was no simple matter. He had to face the sour expressions of several Uchiha elders. Those were the sour expressions of lunatics; ordinary people could not withstand them. Retsuo himself knew that all too well.

Of course, Sarutobi Hiruzen would never admit that he had come to placate the Uchiha. He had come for another major matter—Uchiha Shisui had been transferred into ANBU. This also meant that Shisui had been promoted to Chūnin.

He was the first member of the Uchiha Clan to enter ANBU in many years. Fugaku was extremely surprised, losing his composure on the spot as delight spread across his face. The other elders reacted in all sorts of ways, but in the end, it was still a happy occasion, one worth celebrating.

Retsuo was even more surprised than Fugaku. This was another "change," and a rather powerful one at that. But in truth, it was not all that abrupt.

No matter how one looked at it, even Itachi could enter ANBU. Why couldn't Shisui?

Uchiha Shisui had even had his eye gouged out by Danzo, yet he still said, "Danzo is protecting the village in his own way." Then he promptly killed himself, refusing to cause trouble for the village. His filial devotion was comparable to that of the Tesla car slaves from his previous life.

Not only could he enter ANBU, he should have entered Root!

But what does that have to do with me?

Retsuo even found it strange that they had summoned him to a gathering like this. Surely it isn't just to make it convenient for Utatane Koharu to ask about Shinnō?

Just then, Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly asked, "Retsuo, I heard you plan to graduate early. Have you considered what path you'll take after becoming a Genin?"