Yinglang's move

The news traveled faster than the wind.

Early the next morning, the sky over the Uchiha council hall was so dark it looked ready to collapse.

Yinglang was the last to arrive.

He had traded his training clothes for a deep-blue clan outfit, his sleeves neatly secured. The Qi Family Saber hung at his waist, and his steady footsteps made no sound. Yet the moment he stood there, the air in the ancestral hall grew heavier.

He was not even six. But his height, those broad shoulders, that gaze-what part of him looked like a child?

"Elders," Yinglang began, his voice quiet but every word distinct, "Elder Xuan was attacked last night and gravely wounded. The attackers were from the Tsuchigumo Clan. They used the forbidden technique Raging Hair Heaven."

Dead silence filled the room. Several core elders exchanged grim looks, but none spoke first.

"Elder Xuan's journey was a secret," Yinglang continued, his gaze sweeping their faces. "You could count the people who knew his route and schedule on one hand."

He paused, letting those words sink in.

"The Tsuchigumo have neither an alliance nor a feud with Konoha, and they bear the Uchiha no grudge whatsoever. What did they stand to gain by taking such an enormous risk?"

The elder seated on the far right-Uchiha En, who oversaw the clan's defenses-furrowed his brow tightly. "You mean..."

"What I mean," Yinglang cut him off, his voice turning cold, "is that someone promised them an enormous reward. Or someone gave them orders they dared not disobey."

An uproar erupted.

The room exploded.

"Nonsense!"

"Yinglang! You need evidence to say that!"

"Elder Xuan has only just been attacked, and you..."

Yinglang waited until they finished shouting before slowly speaking. "I have no evidence."

Everyone froze.

"But I have a brain." He took a step forward, resting his hand on his saber's hilt. "Who wanted Elder Xuan dead most? Who has spent all these years bent on drawing closer to Konoha, thinking Elder Xuan stood in his way? Who would love nothing more than to dismantle the Uchiha's backbone and lay it at the Senju Clan's doorstep as proof of allegiance?"

His gaze shifted, fixing on the man in the second seat on the left.

"Elder Yuanguang, what do you think?"

Yuanguang Uchiha sat there without a trace of expression. He had said nothing throughout, merely watching coldly. Only now, when called out by name, did he slowly lift his eyelids.

"You ignorant brat," he said, his voice as flat as stagnant water. "Elder Xuan's attack pains us all. But what are your intentions, slandering an elder of your own clan here without a shred of evidence?"

"My intentions?" Yinglang laughed, without a trace of warmth. "My intention is to drag out the bastard who sold out his own clansmen, chop him up, and feed him to the dogs."

"How dare you!" Yuanguang slammed the table and sprang to his feet.

"How dare I?" Rather than retreating, Yinglang took another step forward. "Elder Xuan is lying in a secret chamber right now, half dead! And you're lecturing me about insolence? Elder Yuanguang, answer me one question-did you know about Elder Xuan's journey?"

Yuanguang's eyes flickered. "I..."

"You knew." Yinglang gave him no chance to speak. "Not only did you know, you even 'suggested' that Elder Xuan take the western route, saying it was safe. Didn't you?"

At last, Yuanguang's expression changed.

"The western route was safe," Yinglang said, staring at him. "But if someone leaked the route and timing beforehand to the Tsuchigumo already waiting at the border... even the safest road would become a road to death!"

"That's a vicious lie!" Yuanguang raised his voice. "Why would I do such a thing? Elder Xuan is my clansman. I..."

"Because you've already betrayed the Uchiha!" Yinglang's voice abruptly rose, drowning him out. "Because you thought Elder Xuan stood in your way! In the way of you leading the whole clan into Konoha's arms to become the Senju Clan's watchdogs!"

He turned to face the other elders, his voice exploding through the hall:

"Elders! Open your eyes! Yuanguang Uchiha colluded with outsiders to murder his own clansman! He hasn't just sold out Elder Xuan-he's sold out the entire Uchiha Clan! If he can sell out Elder Xuan today, he can sell out any one of you tomorrow! And the day after that, he could sell Konoha to another ninja village!"

"You... you're talking nonsense!" Yuanguang trembled with rage. "I did it for the clan's future! For the Uchiha's survival!"

"For the clan's future, indeed!" Yinglang spun around, drawing his saber half an inch with a clang. "Then tell me-how does the Tsuchigumo's attack on Elder Xuan benefit the Uchiha's future? How does it benefit Konoha? How does it benefit the 'Will of Fire' that Lord First Hokage pursued his entire life?!"

He pointed his saber at Yuanguang, enunciating every word:

"Yuanguang Uchiha! You haven't just betrayed the clan-you've betrayed Konoha! Betrayed Lord First! Betrayed the Will of Fire! You're an utter traitor who bites the hand that feeds him!"

The accusation was devastating. So devastating that everyone in the hall drew a sharp breath.

Yinglang still had no intention of letting Yuanguang off. He pointed at him, spittle nearly spraying into the man's face:

"A lackey serving two masters! You think you're fit to preach about the Will of Fire?! You bear the Uchiha name, yet strike at your own kin from the shadows! You call yourself a Konoha ninja, yet harm your comrades from the same village! A spineless lapdog like you dares to stand here yapping?!"

"I have never seen anyone so utterly shameless!"

Yuanguang's face turned purple. He pointed at Yinglang, his lips trembling, but could not force out a single word.

Yinglang stopped looking at him. He sheathed his saber, turned to the other elders, and bowed.

"Elders, Elder Xuan is gravely wounded, and the clan cannot go a single day without a leader. Yuanguang colluded with the enemy, and the evidence is conclusive-the Tsuchigumo's attack is irrefutable proof! I ask that you temporarily remove Elder Yuanguang from office and allow me to exercise Elder Xuan's authority in his stead to investigate this matter thoroughly!"

He straightened, his hand resting on his saber's hilt. "If anyone objects... you're welcome to test my blade."

As his words fell, the presence he had held back all this time erupted in full! Even the air in the hall gave a muffled hum beneath its pressure.

The elders' expressions all changed. This presence... was unquestionably Jonin-level! No, he would be even harder to handle than an ordinary Jonin!

Uchiha En was the first to stand. "I agree."

He looked at Yuanguang with a complicated gaze. "Yuanguang, you... owe us an explanation."

Two other elders exchanged a glance, then slowly nodded as well.

The last-Elder Uchiha Wen, who oversaw the clan's archives-sighed and closed his eyes. "Yuanguang will be temporarily removed from office, and Yinglang will exercise Elder Xuan's authority and responsibilities in his stead. We will discuss this again once Elder Xuan recovers."

Four against one.

No, four against zero-Yuanguang had already been cornered, without even the strength left to argue.

Yinglang bowed. "Thank you, elders."

He straightened and looked at the ashen-faced Yuanguang, his voice as cold as ice:

"Elder Yuanguang, please leave. Until this matter has been cleared up... stay home and get some proper rest."

The Hokage Office.

Tobirama Senju, who had yet to become the Second Hokage, stared at the report in his hands without speaking for a long time.

An Anbu knelt before him, head bowed low, not daring to breathe loudly.

"Two days..." Tobirama finally spoke, his voice level. "From Xuan being attacked to Uchiha Yinglang temporarily taking over as elder and joining forces with the other four core elders to strip Yuanguang of power... it took only two days."

He gently laid the report on the desk and tapped the paper with a finger.

"Nearly six years old... looks ten... possesses the forbidden technique 'Dragon-Slaying Breathing Technique.' Each move costs anywhere from several days to several years of his lifespan. Shatters bluestone barehanded, overwhelms everyone present with his presence."

He raised his eyes and looked out at Konoha beyond the window. "A shortened lifespan... does that count as a drawback?"

The Anbu froze, not daring to answer.

"No." Tobirama Senju answered his own question, narrowing his eyes behind his lenses. "For a ninja, living long enough to die of old age is a luxury. What are a few years of life in exchange for gaining strength that overwhelms your peers in the shortest possible time? Rapid physical growth, rapidly developing strength... this forbidden technique was practically made for an age of war."

He fell silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "How has Yuanguang reacted?"

"He's shut himself away at home. Several of his confidants tried to make moves, but Uchiha Honoikazuchi's men stopped them."

"Useless." Tobirama Senju spat the word coldly.

He rose and walked to the window. Konoha's outline gradually sharpened in the morning light, but he knew that some things had already changed.

Uchiha Yinglang...

A child who could turn an elders' council upside down at six. A monster wielding a lifespan-consuming forbidden technique, his strength uncanny. A... clever man who turned the "Will of Fire" into a blade and plunged it into his political enemy's heart.

Trouble.

Enormous trouble.

He had kept that dog Yuanguang for so many years, hoping to slowly take hold of the Uchiha's reins. And now, before he even had a firm grip on the dog's leash, a wolf cub had leaped out of the den and bitten through its neck.

Tobirama Senju's fingers tapped unconsciously against the window frame.

I need to hurry.

Before that wolf cub fully matures, I need to do something.

He turned to the Anbu. "Keep watching closely. Especially Uchiha Yinglang-everyone he meets, everything he says, every technique he practices... I want to know it all."

"Yes."

The Anbu withdrew. The office fell quiet again.

Tobirama Senju returned to his chair, picked up the report, and read it once more. His gaze settled on the words "Dragon-Slaying Breathing Technique" and lingered there for a long time.

A forbidden technique that shortens your lifespan...