"What happened?"
Late at night, outside the Uchiha residential area, Habara, who had just received a sudden assembly order, asked a ninja beside him.
He had been sleeping soundly when he was abruptly pulled out for a mission.
Unusually, Habara was wearing his Anbu mask, meaning he had received an Anbu order, and the task ahead was a "wet work" operation, something best kept in the dark.
The Anbu ninja beside Habara glanced at the "sword case" on Habara's back and immediately replied, "Two ninja investigating the Uchiha disappearance accidentally wandered into the Uchiha clan compound. When the Uchiha ninja discovered them, they mistook them for the culprits responsible for the disappearance… The Uchiha were enraged and wanted to kill the two ninja outright."
Because he always carried a particular ninja tool, Habara's identity was too easily recognizable. He really couldn't hide his identity as an Anbu. But precisely because of this, the other Anbu ninja respected him somewhat. Habara's Anbu experience was also quite inspirational; after all, he had just left behind the "Unbeatable Legend" in the Anbu, and then immediately went on to "single-handedly fight" the Nine-Tails.
Habara thought for a moment, then said, "The pressure the village has put on the Uchiha is a bit too much. It might be making them irrational, even…hysterical."
People become neurotic under heavy pressure, and the Uchiha have always been emotionally charged.
The Anbu ninja beside him didn't know why Habara could calmly analyze the Uchiha clan's psychological state at a time like this. He simply continued, "If the Uchiha clan refuses to hand over our two ninja, or actually kills them, then we'll likely launch a direct attack on the Uchiha and completely eliminate this threat."
Judging from his words, it seemed that the Anbu ninja, in general, had run out of patience with the Uchiha clan.
Habara shook his head. "Who will give that order?"
Once the Uchiha actually killed Konoha ninja, the Third Hokage would have the moral high ground. Such a killing would signify the Uchiha clan's open rebellion against Konoha. After that, even if the Third Hokage ordered the complete annihilation of the Uchiha, no one could criticize him.
But would the Third Hokage issue such an order? That seemed a bit too…ruthless.
But then Habara was suddenly startled. "Has Shimura Danzo returned to the village? Or is it Orochimaru who's currently commanding the Anbu?"
Unfortunately, the Anbu ninja beside him couldn't answer that question, because he didn't know who was in command of the Anbu at the moment. He could only confirm that the supreme commander was present.
More and more Konoha ninja gradually surrounded the Uchiha residential area, but faced with this pressure, the Uchiha clan remained unmoved.
So, Konoha decided to apply a little more pressure.
"Anbu, listen up. Raise your torches."
One by one, torches were lit. In the blink of an eye, a ring of fire pierced the darkness, encircling the entire Uchiha residential area.
Habara silently curled his lips. What was this called?
Probably "openly brandishing weapons," right?
The Anbu ninja were silent, but what was illuminated by the flames and concealed by the night was the same thing… a chilling killing intent. Konoha now wasn't the Konoha of ten-plus years later. The Great Ninja War had only just ended; the ninja hadn't forgotten the taste of blood.
Will there really be a fight tonight? Even Habara, amidst this chilling atmosphere, couldn't help but start to wonder.
Fortunately, after a while, several people emerged from the Uchiha clan compound.
At the front was Uchiha Fugaku. Following the clan leader was Uchiha Shisui, and behind them were the two trapped Konoha ninja… All four of them looked grim, but the two Konoha ninja appeared unharmed.
After seeing this, Habara knew that tonight would be another close call… Nothing major would happen.
After some exchanges, the Uchiha clan returned the two Konoha ninja, and the Anbu ninja slowly began to retreat… By dawn, it would be as if nothing had ever happened.
But was the matter resolved? Had the killing intent dissipated into nothingness?
This night, the Uchiha quieted down, but unfortunately, they paid a heavy price.
...
The next day, in response to the sudden incident from the village, the "Akakammuri" held a small meeting. In the conference room, Habara yawned while fiddling with some small object, while Kakashi described what had happened the previous night.
"…So, this whole thing was an accident. The two ninja were underground for too long and became disoriented, which is how they ended up in the Uchiha compound. The Uchiha ninja then lost control, and three rational Uchiha ninja were accidentally stabbed to death while protecting the two Konoha ninja. The clan leader, Uchiha Fugaku, arrived later and brought the situation under control."
Uzumaki Kushina shook her head. "It wasn't an accident. As long as Konoha and the Uchiha clan maintain this tense relationship, something like this was bound to happen sooner or later."
This assessment was spot-on. While last night's conflict was accidental, a similar clash was arguably inevitable.
Last night's conflict also brought about a series of changes. First, Konoha withdrew its search for the missing Uchiha ninja. No one could object to abandoning the mission at this point. Konoha had invested a tremendous amount of manpower into this task, but what was the result? The ninja involved in the investigation were nearly killed by the Uchiha.
The key point was that it wasn't one Uchiha ninja who wanted to harm them, but a group of Uchiha ninja who wanted to kill them. In this situation, who would want to continue with this mission?
Another change was that the 30 reserved spots for Uchiha ninja in Konoha's new Security Force were suddenly filled. A portion of Uchiha ninja suddenly became more receptive to Konoha. What happened that night made many Uchiha ninja, who usually kept quiet, feel that their clansmen had gone insane… Why would they turn on and kill their own?
From this point on, the Uchiha clan began to truly split into two factions: the Konoha-loyal faction and the anti-Konoha faction. The latter held the dominant voice within the clan, but the former had genuinely emerged.
After the homicides occurred, Konoha chose not to intervene. The existing Uchiha Police Force took on the case, and one Uchiha ninja was sentenced to life imprisonment… This sentence was clearly problematic. Three people died in an instant; how could only one person have been responsible?
Even if it was one person killing three, wouldn't that warrant the death penalty? Why life imprisonment?
In short, due to this series of accidents, the Uchiha ninja disappearance case was once again left unresolved. Although the Uchiha clan was gradually dividing into two factions, overall, Konoha's view of the Uchiha clan worsened.
Uchiha Shisui and his group truly found themselves in an impossible situation.
The newly established Konoha Security Force, "Meibu," was also located not far from the Hokage's office building. One day, when Hatake Kakashi arrived for work, he happened to run into Uchiha Shisui and called out to him.
"Uchiha Shisui, Kushina-sama asked me to relay a message to you… Konoha cannot change the Uchiha. Only the Uchiha can change the Uchiha. And only the Uchiha can save the Uchiha."
Uchiha Shisui had lost three like-minded comrades, a heavy blow to him, but he was not discouraged. His thoughts had not changed… His goal was not to save a portion of the Uchiha, but to change all Uchiha. Therefore, in the face of such a tragedy, he was not blinded by anger, nor did he resort to any "killing spree."
"I understand. Please thank Kushina-sama for her reminder."
Uchiha Shisui remained steadfast, but the future of the Uchiha clan?
Still out of reach.
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