Konoha Year 54.
In the Uchiha clan compound, the morning mist had not yet fully dissipated.
The bluestone paths were wet with dew, gleaming with a cool light.
“Young Master Kain!” “Lord Kain, are you going to see Clan Head Fugaku?” Clan members along the way stopped and smiled, greeting him.
The boy, about eleven or twelve years old, wore a light gray robe with an inconspicuous Uchiha fan crest embroidered on the collar.
Hearing them, he merely nodded calmly and continued walking toward the clan head’s estate without stopping.
But just as he turned a corner, his footsteps abruptly halted.
His pupils suddenly surged with crimson, and three pitch-black tomoe slowly spun.
His gaze locked precisely onto the shadows of a tall tower to his rear flank.
On the tower, two Root members wearing animal masks were staring down at his back from their vantage point, their eyes filled with undisguised malice.
“What’s he so arrogant about?
They’re just a bunch of cursed trash,” one of them muttered, his tone dripping with naked contempt.
“Once Lord Danzo gives the order, not a single one of these Uchiha will make it out alive.” “Hmph, I really don’t know why the Hokage is holding us back,” the other chimed in, his hostility even heavier.
“These guys have always been Konoha’s greatest scourge!” Separated by dozens of meters, the wind tore their hushed conversation to pieces, but the Sharingan had already read their lips with absolute clarity.
Uchiha Kain’s hands, hanging by his sides, slowly clenched.
His knuckles turned white, and the killing intent in his eyes flared up like dry grass catching a spark.
How long had it been since Shisui died?
The village’s surveillance of the Uchiha had reached a point where they couldn’t even be bothered to keep up appearances anymore.
Such blatantly undisguised monitoring—let alone the Uchiha clan, whose reconnaissance abilities in Konoha were second only to the Hyuga clan!
Even the most ordinary scout ninja could easily sense it.
They were practically writing ‘you are our prisoners’ on their faces!
But what could he do?
In terms of strength, although he had awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan early on, his eleven-year-old body hadn’t fully developed yet.
His chakra reserves and physical stamina were stuck at a bottleneck, barely scraping the threshold of an ordinary Jonin at best.
In terms of prestige, his parents were once high-ranking members of the clan, but they died two years ago in a so-called border mission—that was also the day when, amidst splattering blood, agonizing pain, and hatred, he successfully awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan.
Now that his parents were gone, even though his aunt was the clan head’s wife, Uchiha Mikoto, what could this layer of kinship amount to in the face of the overwhelming suspicion from Konoha’s higher-ups?
He closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, a faint blue light screen, visible only to him, floated before his eyes.
[Host: Uchiha Kain] [Strength: Jonin] [Bloodline: Three-Tomoe Sharingan] [Bound Clan: Uchiha] [System Status: Locked.
Host, please complete the novice mission to unlock.] [Novice Mission: Bide Time and Hide Away — Lead at least 70% of the Uchiha clan members to the New World to establish a new foundation.] [Mission Reward: Full system unlock, Novice Gift Pack x1] The light screen swayed slightly before his eyes, and Kain’s fingernails dug into his palms.
Konoha Year 54.
There was exactly one year left until that destined night of the clan massacre, where blood would flow like rivers.
He had tried every possible method.
Activating the system was now his last resort.
He had already probed and hinted to Uchiha Fugaku, both openly and covertly, a full four times.
Yet, the man still naively hoped for the mercy of Konoha’s higher-ups.
“Phew, today is the last time.
If Fugaku still refuses, even if I die, I’ll drag all of Konoha down with me!” When Uchiha Kain opened his eyes again, a resolute decision seemed to have settled within them.
If he still failed to persuade Fugaku to agree to a full clan retreat to bide their time today, then Uchiha Kain would not hesitate to detonate all the explosive tags he had found—the ones buried in Konoha for decades by Gennou, the trap master from Yanyang Village during the Second Shinobi World War.
During this time, relying on his three-tomoe Sharingan and the convenience of his position in the Konoha Military Police Force, he had uncovered every single hidden location of those explosive tags across Konoha.
The vindictiveness in his bones had prepared Uchiha Kain for the worst-case scenario.
Either he successfully got Uchiha Fugaku to agree to his plan today, or he would completely detonate those explosive tags, rally his father’s former followers, and kill Uzumaki Naruto at all costs to release the Nine-Tails, dragging the entirety of Konoha into the abyss.
He had always been a vindictive person; it was a principle etched into his very blood and bones from his past life.
Since Konoha already considered the Uchiha a menace that had to be eradicated, he didn’t mind letting this menace truly fall upon their heads.
When others suspect you of possessing a threatening weapon, you’d better actually have it!
This was a memory carved into Uchiha Kain’s soul from his previous life.
A few minutes later, the black lacquered wooden door of the Uchiha clan head’s estate was knocked three times.
“Coming, please wait a moment.” A gentle voice answered from inside, and a moment later, the wooden door was gently slid open.
Uchiha Mikoto stood behind the door, her black hair loosely tied back.
Dressed in a plain kimono, her features looked gentle and mild—a rare, completely unsharpened softness within this hostility-soaked clan compound.
Seeing Kain outside, a layer of joy first rippled in her eyes.
She raised her hand and gently rubbed the top of the boy’s head, her fingertips still carrying the fresh scent of newly washed green plums.
“Aunt Mikoto,” Kain lowered his head slightly, his tone carrying the respect of a junior.
“What is it?
Here to discuss things with your uncle again?” Mikoto stepped aside to let him in, a hint of imperceptible worry hidden in her eyes.
Over the past half-month, this nephew had come running back and forth four or five times.
Every time he left, Fugaku would sit in the tea room until late at night, his brows never unknitting.
Kain lowered his eyes.
His voice was very soft, yet it carried the unwavering certainty of a chess piece played with no regrets.
“Yes.
Today should be the last time.” Mikoto’s brows furrowed imperceptibly, but she ultimately didn’t ask further.
She only called out toward the house, “Fugaku, Kain is here.” The sliding door was pulled open, revealing the scene inside the tea room.
Uchiha Fugaku was kneeling before a low table, files from the Military Police Force spread out in front of him.
A cold cup of tea sat to the side, indicating he had been sitting there for quite a while.
Seeing Kain enter, he first let out a heavy sigh.
“Kain, you’re here.” Kain acknowledged him and, at his gesture, knelt down opposite the low table.
The atmosphere was as heavy as ice.
Mikoto spoke softly, “I’ll go brew a fresh pot of tea for you two.” Fugaku didn’t stop her, but Kain calmly shook his head.
“There’s no need, Aunt Mikoto.
You should hear this too.
There’s no need to avoid it.” “Hmm?” As soon as these words came out, Fugaku’s brows instantly knotted together.
The previous few times, no matter how harsh the boy’s words were, he had always avoided Mikoto.
Today’s posture meant he intended to lay everything out in the open, leaving no room for retreat.
He actually knew what this was about.
Over the course of four or five visits, Kain’s underlying message had always been to persuade him to lead the entire clan away from Konoha.
But leave?
Easier said than done.
Konoha was founded by the Uchiha and the Senju together.
This was their root, the home they had guarded for fifty years.
How could they just up and leave?
Just as his thoughts were churning, the boy’s voice across from him turned cold, carrying an icy sharpness.
“Uncle, you should know why I am here today.” Fugaku remained silent for a long time.
His fingertips rubbed the rim of the cold teacup before he spoke hoarsely, “Is it about…
leaving Konoha?” Beside them, Mikoto’s face suddenly turned pale, and the tea tray in her hands nearly slipped.
But looking at Kain’s tense profile, she ultimately didn’t interrupt.
She knew this nephew very well.
He had been calm and independent since childhood, precocious to an extent unmatched by his peers.
Ever since her brother and sister-in-law died in that border mission two years ago, the boy had become increasingly silent, always hiding something heavy and incomprehensible in his eyes.
“Uncle, even now, do you still hold out hope for Konoha?” Kain raised his eyes, his gaze fixed straight onto Fugaku’s face without the slightest evasion.
Fugaku’s voice remained slow and heavy, carrying the stubbornness of a clan head.
“Konoha was founded by the Uchiha clan—” “But there is no longer any place for the Uchiha here!” Kain abruptly cut him off, his voice suddenly rising.
“Kain!
You are being too extreme!” “Am I being extreme, or are you being too naive?!” Kain didn’t yield an inch, his crimson three-tomoe Sharingan instantly flaring to life.
“Shisui is already dead!
I don’t care if you’re hiding a Mangekyo Sharingan or not.
On the surface, who else in the entire Uchiha clan besides you has a name remembered by enemy nations and the presence to hold the line?!” At this point, there was no need to hide anything anymore.
All scruples, all roundabout tactics, were completely torn to shreds today.
“Kain!
What exactly are you trying to say?!” Fugaku’s expression also darkened.
“Your cousin Itachi has already entered the Anbu.
The Hokage—” “Did he enter the Anbu, or was he brainwashed by them?!” Kain interrupted him again, every word like a knife.
“How long has it been since you had a proper conversation with him?
Do you even know who he’s in contact with every day, or what he’s doing?!” “Kain!
You’re crossing the line!” “Uchiha Itachi has already decided to ally with Konoha’s higher-ups to purge the entire Uchiha clan.” Kain’s voice was very flat, yet it exploded like a thunderclap in the small tea room.
“He has allied with that masked man and plans to make a move against the entire clan very soon.
Only by doing this can he save the life of his precious little brother, Uchiha Sasuke.” “What nonsense are you spouting?!” Fugaku slammed the table and stood up abruptly.
His crimson Sharingan locked fiercely onto Kain, his chest heaving violently.
“Kain!
If you dare slander Itachi one more time, don’t blame me for disregarding our family ties!” CREATORS’ THOUGHTS Otaku_Senpaii Want more chapters?