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All the elders stepped forward, greeting and saluting one by one.
After all, these were the top figures of the Hidden Mist Village—people not to be ignored or slighted. The reason they hadn't been able to remain in the Hidden Mist Village in the past was due to the rapidly deteriorating relationship between the Uchiha Clan and Kirigakure.
Even though Konoha's high-level officials had frequently targeted them, it wasn't as if the Uchiha were completely innocent, either.
This time, however, under the leadership of Uchiha Haru, their clan had come to Kirigakure to begin anew.
Naturally, they had to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.
A true warrior never stumbles twice on the same path.
Therefore, the elders greeted the Kirigakure officials with gracious smiles, maintaining the utmost respect and courtesy.
But what surprised the Great Elder was…
It made sense for him to act so politely.
No matter how powerful the Uchiha clan once was, no matter how strong Uchiha Haru had become, they were still on someone else's territory now. Humility was a necessity.
But what confused him was: why were these Kirigakure high-level officials being so polite in return?
The elder who looked even older than him had come forward personally to welcome him.
The fearsome, stone-faced leader of the Kaguya Clan greeted him with a stiff but genuine smile.
Even Mei Terumi, the Fifth Mizukage herself, extended warm pleasantries.
What the hell was going on?
The Great Elder was stunned. He had played out countless scenarios of what might happen during this encounter, but not a single one resembled what was happening now.
Still, he was no fool. As the most senior elder of the Uchiha Clan, he had seen the rise and fall of many powers. He knew one thing with certainty:
In this world, nothing comes without a price.
These famed, formidable figures of Kirigakure were not treating him and the Uchiha clan like honored guests out of sentimentality.
It wasn't for the sake of his old and wrinkled face.
How could his name possibly command this kind of respect?
Nor was it purely because of the Uchiha name. After all, the Uchiha who left Konoha were like duckweed without roots—adrift, fragile. Who in their right mind would bet on a clan that had once been wiped out?
There could only be one explanation for this treatment.
It was all because of Uchiha Haru.
In this short time, Uchiha Haru had already carved out a formidable presence within the Hidden Mist Village.
Even though they were all aware of how powerful Haru was, witnessing the level of respect he commanded was another matter entirely. It was awe-inspiring.
The Uchiha Clan had suffered their darkest night during the massacre. It was the greatest catastrophe in their clan's history.
Yet somehow, Uchiha Haru had not only survived it—he had taken the shattered remains of their legacy and was leading them toward a new beginning.
After greeting the clan members and exchanging brief pleasantries, Mei Terumi and the other high-ranking officials of Kirigakure departed.
It was already a great honor for them to come all the way to the village gates to welcome the Uchiha personally. There was still much work awaiting them.
The Uchiha clan, too, had their hands full. From housing to security protocols, there was a mountain of details to manage.
Uchiha Haru, naturally, excused himself. With the arrival of the clan, the establishment of his Police Department needed to begin immediately.
There was far too much to handle for him to linger.
He temporarily handed off the logistical tasks to the leader of the Kaguya Clan, entrusting him with coordinating the clan's resettlement.
"Great Elder, let's go," the Kaguya clan leader said. "We've already prepared a residence for the Uchiha Clan."
"Good, good, very good," the Great Elder said with relief, exhaling a long breath as he gave Uchiha Haru a look of deep gratitude. So much was conveyed in that single glance.
He turned and asked, "Has everything from the ship been unloaded?"
"Not yet—there are still some things left," one of the leading Uchiha members responded from behind.
Since the cargo wasn't fully offloaded, the Great Elder turned back to the Kaguya Clan leader and said, "Please, give us a moment."
To everyone's surprise, the normally irritable Clan Leader Kaguya appeared unusually patient.
"Don't worry. Take your time," he said calmly.
In the past, he had only admired Uchiha Haru for his strength.
But after Haru had agreed to help him find Lady Tsunade to heal Kimimaro, the Kaguya leader's admiration turned into gratitude. The Uchiha Clan was Haru's bloodline. For their sake, he was willing to wait as long as it took.
Even if it meant standing here for an entire day, he wouldn't complain.
He quietly watched as the Uchiha clansmen began unloading bags from the ship.
He couldn't help but glance at the bundles—worn sacks with faded stitching, some patched clumsily, others torn around the edges.
It didn't look like they held anything of great value.
"Great Elder," the Kaguya Clan leader spoke up, "some of these things don't seem essential. You don't need to bring everything with you. The village has already prepared nearly everything you'll need."
After all, this was Uchiha Haru's clan.
Neither he nor Mei Terumi would treat them with any degree of carelessness.
Accommodations had been arranged. Essentials were in place. They could've arrived with nothing and still been comfortably housed.
But the Great Elder only smiled, a glint of pride in his eyes. "No, it's necessary. We must bring everything."
"These things," he added, "may not seem important to outsiders. But to us—they're the last pieces of our home, the last fragments of who we were."
For some reason, the head of the Kaguya clan suddenly noticed that when Elder Genji looked at the bundles wrapped in worn cloth, his face lit up with a radiant smile, his eyes gleaming as if he were gazing upon a treasure trove.
This made the Kaguya patriarch feel strangely emotional.
It seemed the Uchiha clan had truly fallen on hard times since leaving Konoha.
They treated even these tattered items like precious heirlooms. They insisted on carrying them wherever they went, no matter how ragged they appeared.
It was like watching refugees flee a famine.
A pang of sympathy stirred in the Kaguya clan leader's heart. Once they settled back in, he resolved to find some way to help the Uchiha clan.
They were simply too destitute.
However, he didn't voice these thoughts aloud.
After all, this was Uchiha Haru's clan, and they deserved at least that much respect.
At the same time, the villagers of Kirigakure began to notice what was happening. Small groups gathered in twos and threes, murmuring quietly among themselves.
"It looks like the Uchiha clan is really down on their luck. They've come all the way to Kirigakure and still refuse to throw away those piles of junk."
"Yeah, looks like we'll have to do a charity drive this time."
"I told you, there's no way that ship belonged to them. They're so broke they won't even throw away those rags. How could they afford to rent that massive boat?"
"Exactly, exactly. I was saying the same thing earlier."
…
The murmurs turned to whispers, whispers to snickers, and soon, more and more people began pointing and gossiping from the sidelines.
If anyone believed that the Uchiha clan didn't hear any of it, they were being willfully blind.
But the Uchiha clan just smiled calmly and kept at their task, moving their so-called "junk" with the same quiet dignity.
It was the Kaguya patriarch who couldn't hold back anymore.
No matter how ruined the Uchiha clan might appear, no matter how desperate or poor they seemed now—
As long as Uchiha Haru stood behind them, they remained a formidable and dangerous clan.
Who dared to laugh at them?
His face darkened, and his cold eyes swept across the villagers who had been whispering.
The shift in the atmosphere was immediate.
The crowd fell silent. Those who had been mocking the Uchiha clan a moment ago lowered their heads in shame and fear, avoiding eye contact. The color drained from their faces.
Everyone in Kirigakure knew the Kaguya clan leader's infamous temper. He was known for his brutality and lack of patience. If someone offended him and he decided to settle scores later, the outcome would be bloody.
Thanks to his intimidating presence, the chatter surrounding the Uchiha clan quickly died down.
After a while, the Uchiha finally finished unloading their goods and prepared to move.
But then, another problem arose.
There was simply too much cargo, and it all looked heavy. Carrying it by hand would be difficult.
The Kaguya clan leader wanted to assign some of his men to help carry the load, but the Uchiha clan firmly declined in unison.
"We can handle it ourselves," they said together, almost like a chant.
The Kaguya patriarch narrowed his eyes.
It wasn't that they didn't want to trouble others.
They were afraid their belongings might be taken.
He really couldn't understand it.
The Uchiha had once been one of the most powerful clans in Konoha. Surely they had seen the world, known luxury.
Why treat these bundles like they were priceless?
Who would want this junk anyway?
No one would even take it for free!
But since the Uchiha clan insisted, and out of respect for Uchiha Haru, the Kaguya patriarch didn't argue further.
Instead, he instructed his men to find over a dozen carts.
All the bundles were loaded onto the carts and prepared to be transported.
This time, the Uchiha didn't object—on one condition.
Only Uchiha clan members were allowed to push the carts. No one else could touch them.
Chief Kaguya shrugged it off. It wasn't worth arguing about.
Once the carts were ready, they started rolling them away.
But just a short distance later, a sudden loud bang! rang out.
Then came the clanging crash of metal hitting stone—clear, sharp, and oddly melodious.
The elder's face twisted in alarm. "It's broken!"
Broken?
What's broken?
Those useless old things?
Chief Kaguya turned his head, only to be utterly dumbfounded by the sight.
Money.
A sea of coins and bills had spilled across the ground.
It poured out from one of the tattered cloth bags that had torn open when it slipped from a cart.
His eyes widened. He froze in place.
That bag had been full of money?
The idea struck him like a bolt of lightning.
Could it be... all those bags?
Were they all filled with money?
More than a dozen carts of them?
He wanted to scoff—who would be so insane as to stuff literal millions into trash bags?
But his gut screamed otherwise.
His instincts told him he was absolutely right.
It explained everything—the elder's radiant expression when glancing at the bags, his insistence on handling them personally, his refusal to let anyone else touch them…
It all made perfect sense now.
And this time, there was no hiding it.
A single misstep had pulled back the veil and revealed the truth.
Nearby, the villagers of Kirigakure were just as shocked. Mouths dropped. Eyes bulged.
Even the Uchiha member who had accidentally dropped the bundle stood frozen in place, unsure what to do next.
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