The day after the deal was completed, Uzumaki Shuji continued his routine as if nothing had happened—beating up the Konoha Twelve.
Points still had to be farmed. Not a single one could be wasted.
"So even after apologizing, he still goes back to beating their kids…"
The ANBU following him found it rather amusing.
Sasuke Uchiha was beaten again. This time he didn't cry, but his face was dark as he went home.
"Didn't get enough last time, so I beat two today. Kind of tiring."
Uzumaki Shuji returned home cheerfully after finishing his "work."
Along the way, he spotted several wallets but didn't bother picking them up.
There was already one hundred million ryo stored in his Gate of Babylon.
Although the money didn't significantly boost his attributes—only about ten points—it increased his mana by a full thousand.
With all bonuses combined, his mana had reached 4,880 points.
Just 120 more, and he could finally use the Sword of Rupture.
He could easily exchange for some low-tier items using points to close the gap, but Uzumaki Shuji wasn't in a hurry.
He wasn't going to waste points unnecessarily.
"So… it's begun."
On his way home, Uzumaki Shuji noticed a large number of police force members patrolling the streets.
This was the result of the information he had given to Fugaku Uchiha.
Fight fire with fire.
He had instructed Fugaku to report that "Uchiha Madara" was planning to attack the Uchiha clan—information supposedly obtained from a member of the clan who had defected to Madara and then died.
At the same time, he told him to mention that there were spies within the Uchiha and possibly within Konoha itself.
Let Konoha fall into chaos.
The key was to make the matter as public as possible—let every clan know.
If everyone knew and the plan still succeeded, Konoha's reputation would be completely ruined.
With the situation exposed, the Uchiha clan would be safe for the time being.
Any attack now would be a direct slap to the village's face.
"Bang!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed a cherished vase to the ground, shattering it.
But even that couldn't quell his rage.
The plan he had painstakingly prepared… was now forced to halt.
He had made countless arrangements—reinforcing Danzo's forces, secretly recalling large numbers of ninja from the borders, hiding them around the village.
Everything had been ready for execution in just one month.
And now it was exposed.
The target knew.
Worse, it had been spread publicly.
He didn't even believe there was any "Uchiha defector." This had to be the result of a leak from within.
There was a traitor among them.
Danzo was now scrambling to cover things up, sending the gathered forces back to their posts.
Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane knew less of the plan, but they could guess enough. Still, there was nothing they could do.
The Uchiha police force was patrolling the entire village.
They couldn't interfere.
All the clans were watching.
During the Nine-Tails incident, the Uchiha had been prevented from helping by Danzo. If they tried to restrain the police force again now, there would be no way to justify it.
"So… what he said was true."
Fugaku still had doubts before.
But today's patrol erased them.
The police force had discovered numerous suspicious traces.
The number of ninja in the village was also noticeably higher than usual.
One anomaly might be coincidence—but so many together?
A chill ran down his spine.
If what Uzumaki Shuji said was true—if the Uchiha were wiped out by "Madara" and his own son…
He would have failed his ancestors.
"Captain!"
"It's time for the night patrol!"
A subordinate called out, interrupting his thoughts.
"Let's go."
Fugaku placed the reports in his drawer and stood up with a stern expression.
"Tomorrow is the second step…"
"Eliminate internal instability. Lock up the unstable elements first."
This was the next part of Uzumaki Shuji's plan.
The first step had prevented immediate destruction.
The second was to stabilize the clan internally.
Taking advantage of the current situation, Fugaku began purging unstable members.
The Uchiha didn't just face threats from outside—there were internal divisions as well.
Although the real traitor was his own son, this was an opportunity to suppress the more radical faction—those who supported Madara.
He wouldn't kill them.
The Uchiha had plenty of prison space.
Lock them up first.
Release them later when things stabilized.
…
At the dinner table, Itachi Uchiha looked stiff.
The situation hadn't been concealed. Following Uzumaki Shuji's instructions, Fugaku had made everything public.
Itachi's thoughts were in turmoil.
Part of him wanted the plan to proceed.
Part of him wanted it to stop.
He was so distracted he didn't even notice the dark circles under Sasuke's eyes.
Sasuke, seeing his brother ignore him, became so angry he stopped eating altogether.
What Itachi would never realize was that his interference in a child's fight had set all of this into motion.
…
"Getting the Uchiha to submit to me won't be easy…"
"But once they take the first step and taste what it's like, they won't want to keep being manipulated by Konoha."
Back home, Uzumaki Shuji focused more on his younger brother.
"Big brother… do I just not have talent? The Three Basic Jutsu are so hard. I can't even learn one, but everyone else already has…"
Naruto looked down, barely touching his food.
Today, the academy had started teaching basic ninjutsu.
For clan children like Sasuke, it was easy.
But Naruto couldn't do it.
The immense chakra of the Nine-Tails interfered with his control, making it impossible for him to precisely mold chakra and perform jutsu.