Inside Hell Valley, at the gates of the Chinoike compound, quite a few Chinoike clansmen had gathered, nervously watching the people blocking the entrance.
Facing them was a group of Uchiha with stern expressions and fierce eyes.
How could the Chinoike clansmen, who had lived here for hundreds of years, have ever seen anything like this?
At the sight, every one of them trembled with fear, their calves shaking, wishing they could drop to their knees and kowtow to the Uchiha right there.
The Uchiha simply stood there in silence, staring straight at the Chinoike. Their murderous gazes made the clansmen's scalps prickle.
"Make way, make way... the clan leader is here... make way!" Just as the Chinoike clansmen were about to faint from fright, a voice rang out behind them like heavenly music.
In an instant, the Chinoike clansmen cleared a path, letting their clan leader, Naka Chinoike, come to the front.
"Hey-which idiot pushed me?" Naka Chinoike stumbled to the front. Seeing the group of Uchiha staring at him, he immediately felt a chill down his spine.
The Uchiha clansmen exchanged glances, passing a signal between them: [Why do these Chinoike seem a little stupid?]
[You know, I thought so too. Have they gone so long without fighting that their brains have rotted?]
Naka Chinoike's teeth chattered with fear, but he still worked up his courage and stepped forward, forcing a smile as he asked, "Aha, how many of you are there? Who are you? What brings you to our Chinoike Clan?"
Uchiha Takashi folded his arms and looked down at Naka Chinoike from above (he was standing on a slope; otherwise, he was not tall enough).
"Are you the Chinoike's current clan leader, Naka Chinoike?" Uchiha Takashi asked coldly.
Naka Chinoike swallowed. Although he had no idea what these people had come for, he still put up a bold front and said,
"That's right! I am the leader of the Chinoike Clan, a great clan of the Shinobi World! Naka Chinoike!"
"Pfft-" Someone in the Uchiha squad lost it and laughed, setting off the entire squad. Even Uchiha Takashi caught the laughing bug.
"Heh, the great Chinoike Clan of the Shinobi World? I've never seen a great clan with only two or three thousand people."
"Hahahaha! More like the great pigs of the Shinobi World! You can't even scrape together a hundred shinobi, and you have the nerve to call yourselves a great clan?"
"The Chinoike Clan really has gone stupid living in Hell Valley. They're not even thinking straight anymore."
Listening to the waves of mockery from the Uchiha squad, Naka Chinoike pressed his lips tightly together, his face alternating between green and white.
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he roared, "Have you laughed enough? Who exactly are you? How dare you come here and run wild in our Chinoike territory?"
Only then did the Uchiha stop laughing, and everyone immediately turned to Uchiha Takashi.
Uchiha Takashi hurriedly suppressed the smile tugging at his lips and told Naka Chinoike, "We're from the Uchiha Clan. I'm the Uchiha's third elder, Uchiha Takashi."
"The Uchiha?" Hearing that name, Naka Chinoike backed away two steps in fright. By the time he came to his senses, he had nearly hidden behind the crowd.
Only then did he notice the Uchiha clan robes the squad wore and recall the knowledge recorded within his clan. That emblem had been documented there.
Seeing the disappointed expressions of the clansmen on either side of him, Naka Chinoike gave two awkward coughs, then stepped forward twice to return to his original position.
"What business does your Uchiha Clan have here? If I remember correctly, you Uchiha are the reason our clan has fallen so far!"
Uchiha Takashi said, "Every grievance has its source, every debt its debtor-unless we're Louis XVI. The one who drove you here was the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning. What does that have to do with us Uchiha?"
"Louis what..." Naka Chinoike was rather bewildered by the name that popped out of Uchiha Takashi's mouth. He knew nothing about that person.
Uchiha Takashi said, "Don't worry about the details. In short, your enemy is the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning. We Uchiha were only responsible for carrying out the order.
"I don't want to say any more about the specifics. You know them yourselves. I came here for just one thing: do you want to leave Hell Valley?"
Having said that, Uchiha Takashi folded his arms. Watching Naka Chinoike's breathing grow heavier, he curled his lips slightly. It seemed the Chinoike really could no longer stand Hell Valley's conditions.
However, after racking his brains for a while, Naka Chinoike said, "Well, we really don't seem to know why our enemy is the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning..."
Uchiha Takashi's mouth fell open in shock, his jaw nearly hitting the ground. Had the Chinoike become this stupid? Was that the point?
Would absorbing people like these into the Uchiha lower the entire clan's IQ?
Uchiha Takashi stared at Naka Chinoike doubtfully until a Chinoike clansman beside him said, "What? We can leave Hell Valley?"
Uchiha Takashi immediately looked at that Chinoike clansman with relief written all over his face. Exactly. This was the normal turn of events he had expected.
It seemed this was not a problem with the Chinoike at all, but with their clan leader!
Only then did Naka Chinoike seem to catch on. "What? We can leave Hell Valley? Really?"
Uchiha Takashi said, "Of course. But in exchange, your Chinoike Clan must join our Uchiha Clan!"
"What-" Naka Chinoike exclaimed. "You want us Chinoike to join you Uchiha? Absolutely not!"
Uchiha Takashi narrowed his eyes. "Are you really going to refuse? Think it over carefully..."
Naka Chinoike looked back at his clansmen, who gave him a meaningful look.
He nodded in sudden understanding, then turned back around. "That's right! Even if we Chinoike don't starve, die of thirst, or drown in Hell Valley, we could never join the Uchiha!"
The clansmen behind him ( ꒪Д꒪)ノ: Clan leader, that's not what we wanted! We want to get out!
Uchiha Takashi raised a hand and waved it. "I suggest you think this through. Life in Hell Valley isn't easy, is it? Resources are scarce, aren't they? You can't even get a drink of alcohol.
"Are you really going to give up this one chance to leave?"
Naka Chinoike was about to refuse again when he saw the clansmen behind Uchiha Takashi activate their Sharingan one after another and draw the swords and weapons at their waists.
His right eyelid twitched wildly, and his instincts kept sounding an alarm. No, no, something's wrong! Why do these people look like they'll cut me down at the slightest disagreement?
Naka Chinoike lowered his eyes, recalling the words handed down through generations:
"The Chinoike Clan and the Uchiha are irreconcilable enemies. The ones watching us outside and blocking our way are the Uchiha! If it weren't for those lunatics, we would have gotten out and slaughtered the Yotsuki Clan long ago!"
"Those stubborn Uchiha! Can't they bend the rules just a little? Can't they let us out for even a short while?"
As Naka Chinoike was remembering this, he suddenly felt pressure descend out of nowhere and looked up.
Uchiha Takashi was watching him coldly as he asked, "Have you decided? Yes or no?"
Cold sweat poured down Naka Chinoike's forehead. The corners of his mouth twitched as he said, "I... we... can we choose 'or'?"
Uchiha Takashi laughed in anger, several veins bulging on his face as he said with a smile that did not reach his eyes, "What do you think?"
As he spoke, the Uchiha clansmen behind him took two steps forward, their blades gleaming in the sunlight.
Sweat kept pouring off Naka Chinoike. In just a few seconds, he was drenched from head to toe.
"We agree! We agree to join the Uchiha! As long as we can leave this place!" Naka Chinoike had just been about to agree, but before he could speak,
The clansmen behind him had already answered on his behalf. He turned back in shock. "You-you-I'm the clan leader!"
"Clan leader, don't worry. We know what you're thinking, so we answered for you." The clansmen nodded at him. "Clan leader, we know your integrity.
"You don't want to bow to the Uchiha, and we respect you. Don't worry, clan leader. Stay here and defend the Chinoike's integrity!"
One clansman looked at Naka Chinoike with determination and said, "As for us, we'll bear the humiliation... and move closer to the Uchiha."
As he spoke the latter half, a clear smile appeared on that clansman's face. Then, noticing Naka Chinoike's gaze, he hurriedly put on a serious expression again.
Naka Chinoike (☉_☉): Wow...