Out of trust in Uchiha Zongyan and their fellow clansmen, Takuma and the others exchanged glances and said no more.
With Zongyan's confirmation, Kawano Shinji let go of the last trace of wariness in his heart.
The hope of survival was right before him. No one wanted to die.
He began slowly, opening with a bombshell.
"Do you think Konoha High Command really accumulated its power and wealth over generations?"
His voice was low, tinged with mockery.
"The Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, came from nothing more than an ordinary small clan with shallow roots."
"But look at the Sarutobi Clan now. It has numerous shinobi, and its strength ranks firmly among the top clans in Konoha, even surpassing many long-established prominent clans."
"The dirty secret behind that lies with Kushina Uzumaki."
"After Kushina Uzumaki passed away, Konoha High Command secretly confiscated all the shops and resources she left behind. They were supposedly sealed away for safekeeping, but in reality, the Third and the others secretly divided up and converted most of them, funneling them into their private coffers."
Those words tore away the Third's gentle, wise facade, laying bare the greed and hypocrisy of Konoha High Command.
Before those present could recover, Kawano Shinji spoke again, revealing an even more horrifying secret.
"That's not all."
"For years, Danzo secretly colluded with Orochimaru to conduct human experiments in underground bases."
"The subjects they used were never limited to prisoners of war from elsewhere. Far more of them were Konoha's own villagers and low-ranking shinobi!"
At those words, dead silence fell, and a chill spread through the hearts of everyone except Uchiha Zongyan.
Yet his next words shocked every Uchiha present even more.
"And among those captured for live experimentation, quite a few were members of your Uchiha Clan!"
"What?"
The Uchiha present cried out in unison, overwhelming fury instantly blazing in their eyes.
"Danzo actually dared to use us Uchiha for human experiments? Does he really think our clan has no one who can stand against him?"
Utter disbelief and fury swept over them. They clenched their fists, their eyes filled with red-hot rage and bone-deep cold.
Their own kin had suffered such despicable, cruel treatment. Who could possibly endure it in silence?
Watching their outrage, Kawano Shinji slowly uttered a name:
"Uchiha Xuan."
At that name, disbelief covered Uchiha Makoto's face, and he cried out involuntarily:
"Uchiha Xuan? Didn't he die on the battlefield during the Third Shinobi World War while covering his teammates' retreat?"
"The village announced his name among the fallen long ago. He was even struck from the clan register!"
"How could... how could this happen!"
The others instantly fixed their furious gazes on Kawano Shinji.
A hero who had fallen in battle had never actually died on the battlefield, but had instead been secretly abducted by the village and reduced to a victim of underground human experimentation?
At that moment, Konoha's glorious image became an utter joke!
Zongyan narrowed his eyes slightly and looked straight at Kawano Shinji.
"Do you have evidence for any of this?"
Facing everyone's scrutiny and doubt, Kawano Shinji raised his head and looked straight at him.
"Memories don't lie."
"I saw all of it with my own eyes. I personally witnessed Root Anbu secretly abducting Uchiha Xuan and taking him to an underground experimental base."
"You only need to use a secret technique to examine my memories, and you'll know whether it's all true."
Compared with being allowed to live, having his memories examined was nothing more than a minor matter to him.
Seeing the fury on Teacher Lie's face and those of the others, Zongyan sighed inwardly.
In his previous life, he had long known the filthy truth beneath Konoha High Command's surface. He knew about Danzo's human experiments and the leadership's plundering for profit, and had long ceased to find any of it surprising.
But now that he truly lived as Uchiha Zongyan and truly bore the Uchiha bloodline and pride, he finally understood that bone-deep fury and bitter disillusionment.
An entire clan had loyally protected Konoha for generations, only to be stabbed in the back by the very village they had sworn to defend with their lives, reduced to sacrifices for the leadership's hunger for power and its experiments. How tragic, and how hateful.
A new idea emerged in Zongyan's mind. Originally, he had simply intended to try his luck, even if the effort seemed hopeless.
He had only wanted to dig into what this man knew and see whether there were any secrets the original story had never recorded.
In his original plan, no matter how much information the man revealed, Kawano Shinji had to die because he was a rogue shinobi.
But now, the situation had completely reversed.
The secrets Kawano Shinji held were crucial leverage capable of changing the Uchiha Clan's fate.
The Uchiha Clan appeared powerful now, but in truth, it was divided within.
Ideologies within the clan were tangled, and factions abounded.
There were conservatives who leaned heavily toward Konoha, always believing the village came first and that clan interests had to submit unconditionally to Konoha's greater good, willingly making concession after concession;
there were neutral members who sought only peaceful lives, had no interest in fighting, and wanted nothing more than to preserve the status quo and survive in peace, unwilling to enter into any conflict with the village;
and there were radicals who, after years of exclusion, surveillance, and suppression by Konoha, had long harbored resentment and wanted to rise up in resistance.
The three factions held opposing beliefs and refused to accept one another. Their constant infighting had long prevented the Uchiha Clan from truly coming together, leaving it passively subject to Konoha's manipulation, containment, and division.
But no matter how different their factions' beliefs were, every Uchiha shared one thing etched into their very blood and bones-their pride in being Uchiha.
And Kawano Shinji, who held countless pieces of concrete evidence of Konoha's darkness and had personally witnessed the brutal persecution of Uchiha clansmen, had become irreplaceable.
His memories, all the truths he had witnessed firsthand, were the best means of bringing them together.
He could make every Uchiha who still clung to illusions wake up completely and tear away Konoha's hypocritical facade.
He could erase every factional divide within the clan, make those who favored compromise stop giving ground, make the neutral faction firmly choose a side, and give the radicals greater confidence.
The scattered Uchiha Clan could put its infighting behind it completely and truly unite against outside forces.
Kawano Shinji must not be killed.
At least for now, absolutely not.
After considering it at length, Zongyan looked at the two most experienced clansmen beside him, both of whom had spent years carrying out missions outside the village.
"Teacher Makoto, Teacher Kiyoshi."
Hearing him, the two reined in their anger somewhat and answered together, "Young Master Zongyan, please go ahead."
"I intend to take this man back to the village and secretly house him in the Uchiha Clan Compound."
Without concealing anything, Zongyan began explaining his thoughts.
"I want a way to convince the village and Danzo that Kawano Shinji is dead while secretly bringing him back to the clan without anyone noticing."
Uchiha Makoto and Uchiha Kiyoshi exchanged glances, each seeing the gravity in the other's eyes.
The two had completed countless missions and knew Konoha's mission procedures well. After a brief discussion, they came up with a method.
Uchiha Makoto spoke first.
"The simplest way to fool the shinobi Konoha assigns to verification is to bring back a mutilated corpse."
"For every mission to hunt down a rogue shinobi, Konoha's verification standards only check body type and residual chakra. They don't examine faces, fingerprints, or anything like that."
"As long as we find a recently deceased body, have Kawano Shinji leave his chakra signature on it beforehand, then remove some of his bodily tissue and attach it to the corpse, it can pass perfectly as him."
Beside him, Uchiha Kiyoshi supplied the remaining details. "Besides that, we can use fire release to burn the corpse and completely erase any other details. Then we just need everyone to give the same account in the mission report."
After hearing them out, a faint light flickered in Uchiha Zongyan's eyes. He considered it, then decided to proceed that way.
He turned toward Kawano Shinji, who lay on the ground filled with apprehension, and said sternly, "I've given you your chance."
"From here on, I hope you'll cooperate with us and cause no trouble."
Before you continue