The night wind grew increasingly bleak, sweeping through every corner of the dilapidated courtyard, scattering the heavy stench of blood into the air.
However, that thick, deathly silence born from the carnage clung to everyone’s hearts like glue.
Pools of blood continued to seep through the cracks in the stone slabs, making faint rustling sounds.
The three Anbu elites pinned to the ground by rock spikes were now in too much pain to even scream; only wheezing sounds remained in their throats, sounding exceptionally miserable in the quiet night.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of Konoha, dressed in his white and Red-trimmed haori, was furrowing his brows tightly.
He looked at the wreckage on the ground, the skin on his aged face twitching fiercely, and even the knuckles holding his pipe turned white from excessive force.
Humiliation.
This was absolutely the most stifling night he had experienced since taking charge of Konoha.
But he was, after all, a ‘Professor of Ninjutsu’ who had weathered countless storms.
He took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the livid look on his face and the murderous intent in his eyes.
When he raised his head again, that trademark, kindly smile—like that of a neighborly grandfather—was once again squeezed out, albeit somewhat stiffly.
“Red, you are right.”
Hiruzen spoke with a double meaning, his voice not loud but heavy: “When dealing with Ninjas from enemy Villages, leaving them their lives is enough. As enemies, we truly do not need mercy.”
As the old man spoke, he stared fixedly at Red, who stood with one hand in his pocket, with eyes full of suspicion and scrutiny.
On the surface, this was agreeing with Red and praising his efficiency, but in reality, it was a soft-edged knife, a final warning—listen carefully, kid, since you know that mercy isn’t needed for enemies, then if the Uchiha ever truly dare to oppose the Konoha higher-ups in the future, I certainly won’t be soft-hearted when I make my move!
Facing Hiruzen’s pointed, veiled threat, Red didn’t even lift an eyelid.
He just stood in the dissipating dust, head lowered, emitting a cold, extremely disdainful laugh from his chest.
No mercy needed for enemies?
In the current Konoha Village, everyone has the right to say that, except you, Hiruzen Sarutobi!
During the Third Ninja World War, Konoha was clearly the victor, relying on the sacrifices of countless Ninjas to force the other great Ninja Villages to their knees.
Yet what was the result?
You, the Hokage, instead of acting like a victor, ran off to negotiate peace with the defeated nations for the sake of the so-called ‘big picture’ of peace, and even went as far as to pay compensation for their losses with supplies.
Later, when an envoy from the Land of Lightning plotted against Konoha and died at the hands of the Hyuga Clan, you, in order to smooth things over, actually forced your own top combatant, Hizashi, to give his life in exchange.
A cowardly politician, weak to the bone, who only knew how to wield a blade against his own people, now coming to talk to him about not needing mercy for enemies?
It’s truly laughable.
Seeing that Red did not retort on the spot and showed some degree of ‘restraint,’ the breath Hiruzen had been holding suddenly released, and he secretly sighed in relief.
In his political blind spot, as long as a person is still willing to follow the rules, they can be controlled.
The old man looked at the teenager before him, his mind beginning to’self-indoctrinate,’ producing a serious sense of self-satisfaction and misjudgment.
Although this kid’s strength was freakish and his Chakra reserves were terrifyingly large, he was, after all, just a teenage Uchiha.
The reason he was so violent today was nothing more than the fact that his parents died when he was young and he had suffered some grievances in the Village, leading to some resentment toward the higher-ups.
As long as Red didn’t flip the table right then and there, it meant he was still a ‘political player’ who could be reasoned with.
While directing the remaining people to remove the sharp stones and carry away the wounded, Hiruzen was calculating in his heart.
After going back, he had to find an opportunity to invite this brat to the Hokage Building alone for a talk.
When the time came, he would personally step in and use that impeccable ‘will of fire’ to brainwash him properly.
As long as he used the care of an elder and the righteousness of the Village to reform him, perhaps he could completely co-opt this terrifying, brutal power and turn it into the sharpest, most obedient blade of the Village.
The old Hokage’s mental abacus was clicking loudly, but his expression showed he didn’t want to stay a moment longer.
The atmosphere here was too oppressive, and those pairs of scarlet Sharingan looking at him made his entire body uncomfortable.
“Fugaku, then I will take the people back first. Regarding the compensation, see you at the Hokage Building tomorrow.”
Hiruzen dropped the sentence with some fatigue, then turned around.
He took the silent Uchiha Itachi, along with those three Anbu elites who were like cripples and groaning in pain, and left the remote courtyard where he had lost all face, quickly disappearing into the night.
Once the Konoha higher-ups left, the previously oppressive and deathly silent Uchiha compound instantly exploded like boiling water.
The Uchiha clansmen, who had long been ostracized, monitored, and guarded against like thieves, could no longer hold back.
The radical members who were usually suppressed by Fugaku for the sake of the ‘big picture’ had their emotions instantly rebound.
“Bah! What garbage!”
A middle-aged Ninja from the Konoha Military Police Force spat on the ground, pointed in the direction Itachi had left, and cursed loudly, his three-tomoe Sharingan trembling violently in his eye sockets: “Look at that dead look on Uchiha Itachi’s face just now! Wearing the grey light armor of the Anbu, does he really think he’s a dog raised by the Hokage? The family members were almost taken as hostages, and not only did he not help as an older brother, but he even came to tell us it was a misunderstanding? He doesn’t even know what his surname is anymore!”
“Exactly! A traitor who eats inside and out!”
Another young clansman nearby was also full of disgust and disdain, gritting his teeth in agreement: “It’s a waste that the clan used to brag about him being a once-in-a-century genius, the future clan heir! I think he’s just a weasel with a fried brain! It’s truly disgusting!”
The clansmen’s angry curses carried far into the deep night.
Itachi’s performance tonight had completely trampled his remaining reputation and prestige in the clan into the dirt. Get faster updates on g.com.
In their eyes, Itachi was no longer the pride of the Uchiha, but a traitor to the clan, firmly nailed to the pillar of shame.
After cursing Itachi, everyone’s gazes turned in unison, landing fixedly on Red.
This time, in those pairs of scarlet Sharingan, the previous scrutiny and indifference were gone, replaced by unprecedented fanaticism, reverence, and worship!
“Thanks to Red tonight! If it weren’t for him, we would have had to swallow this humiliation again today!”
“Did you see that seal-less Ninjutsu Red used just now? He didn’t even take his hands out of his pockets, just a flick of his thumb, and the Anbu elites were finished! Even the Third Hokage came personally and couldn’t do anything to him, having to obediently agree to compensate our Uchiha!”
“This is what we call the backbone of the Uchiha! Unyielding against external enemies and the Hokage, iron-fisted! Red, from now on, our Konoha Military Police Force only follows you!”
The waves of sound grew higher and higher, and the fanatical clansmen spontaneously surrounded Red, their heated gazes seemingly capable of igniting the silent night sky.
At this moment, Red’s prestige in the compound had completely trampled the clan heir, Itachi, into the mud, and invisibly, even overshadowed the legitimate clan leader, Fugaku, who was standing in front.
Listening to the overwhelming praise from those around him, as well as the cursing and sighing directed at his eldest son, Uchiha Fugaku stood not far away, his tall figure somewhat lonely, as if he had aged ten years in an instant.
He looked at the indignant clansmen, then looked at Red, who stood in the center of the storm yet looked as indifferent as an outsider, and could only sigh silently in his heart.
This clan had been completely torn apart.
As a father, he could not defend or whitewash Itachi, who had already gone to extremes; as a clan leader, he could not blame Red, who had stepped forward for the clan’s dignity.
Long-term weakness and compromise had turned him, the titular leader, into a ridiculous figurehead after tonight.
An unprecedented sense of powerlessness and fear gripped Fugaku’s heart, making him almost unable to breathe.
Fugaku took a deep breath and began waving to disperse the clansmen who were still excitedly discussing: “Alright, it’s late, everyone disperse! The Konoha Military Police Force leave a few people to clean up here, everyone else, go back to sleep!”
Although the clansmen were somewhat reluctant, considering Fugaku’s usual authority as clan leader, they dispersed one after another.
The long lines of torches gradually moved away, and the surrounding houses extinguished their lights one by one.
After just a short while, the courtyard, which had been extremely noisy, returned to emptiness and silence once again.
In the air, there remained only the bloodstains that hadn’t dried yet, and that faint, scorching aura belonging to the Desert Tyrant.
The night wind blew through the empty Uchiha streets, and under the cold moonlight, only two long, drawn-out shadows remained.
Fugaku patted the dust off his clothes, clearing his mind of those messy and complicated emotions.
He slowly turned around, looking at Red, who still had his hands in his pockets and looked completely composed.
The two men’s gazes met in mid-air.
In Fugaku’s eyes was fatigue and probing, while in Red’s eyes, there was still that coldness that trampled all rules.
“Red, come have a cup of tea at my place.” Fugaku took the initiative to invite, his voice somewhat hoarse, carrying a hint of imperceptible compromise.
“Sure, lead the way, Clan Leader.”