Chapter 106: Uchiha Shinichi’s Unwavering Faith

Chapter 106: Chapter 106: Uchiha Shinichi’s Unwavering Faith

Konoha Village — Uchiha Clan Compound.

Uchiha Shinichi knelt alone outside the great residence, his expression grave.

The death of the woman he loved had plunged his entire world into darkness.

But he had not given up hope.

Because he firmly believed that the glorious Uchiha clan would never let that damned murderer go unpunished.

An Uchiha would never die in vain.

Of that, Shinichi was absolutely certain.

He glanced at the tightly shut doors of the residence before him, a trace of expectation appearing in his eyes.

At this very moment, an Uchiha clan meeting was being held inside.

The elites of the entire Uchiha clan had gathered there to discuss the murder of Uchiha Yui at the hands of a Root ninja.

Suddenly, Shinichi frowned.

His Sharingan had activated on its own.

For some reason, lately he had begun to feel as though his Sharingan was slipping beyond his control. It felt strangely awkward whenever he used it, and even more inexplicably, his ocular power had suddenly increased by a tremendous amount.

In the past, something like this would have delighted him.

He probably would have strutted all over the clan compound, showing it off to everyone he came across.

But Yui had only just died.

Even with his ocular power increasing so dramatically, Shinichi simply wasn’t in the mood to care.

Inside the great residence.

Sitting quietly in a corner, Shisui looked utterly exhausted.

This exhaustion wasn’t entirely due to maintaining a shadow clone of Hyuga Kagami.

More than anything, it was exhaustion of the spirit.

Recently, the relationship between the Uchiha clan and the village had not improved in the slightest. Instead, the tension between the two sides had only grown sharper.

As for the murder of Uchiha Yui by a Root ninja, Shisui instinctively sensed that something about the entire incident was strange.

He trusted Hyuga Kagami’s judgment.

Before the village formally signed a ceasefire agreement with Kumogakure, Konoha’s upper echelon would never make a move against the Uchiha clan.

Based on that assumption, Shisui couldn’t see any reason why Danzo would have ordered Uchiha Yui’s death.

Moreover, judging by Root’s usual methods, if they truly intended to kill someone, they would undoubtedly send several operatives at once and finish the job as quickly as possible.

There was no way they would deliberately allow Uchiha Shinichi to discover them, only to flee in a panic afterward.

"No matter how I look at it, this feels like a trap!"

Shisui sighed inwardly.

At first, he hadn’t entirely believed what Hyuga Kagami had told him—that someone outside the village was constantly plotting against the Uchiha clan and against Konoha itself.

But after this incident, Shisui was beginning to feel that perhaps Kagami had been right.

Perhaps somewhere outside the village, there truly was someone carrying the blood of the Uchiha clan...

Someone who was secretly manipulating everything from behind the scenes.

At that moment, an angry voice rang through the residence.

"Clan Head, Danzo has gone too far! He actually dared to refuse to hand over the murderer! This is nothing less than a provocation against our Uchiha clan!"

"That’s right! We absolutely can’t let him get away with this!"

"We need to show them what the Uchiha clan is capable of!"

As usual, the Uchiha clansmen gathered inside the great residence were agitated and fierce.

As the clan head, Uchiha Fugaku sat cross-legged with his arms folded across his chest, his expression as stern as ever.

After silencing the arguing clansmen, he glanced toward Shisui in the corner and asked,

"What did the Third say?"

Shisui shook his head helplessly.

"My request to meet with him was rejected."

Ever since every member of Anbu Team 11 had been suspended from duty, Shisui had lost the privilege of meeting the Third Hokage directly.

If he wanted to see the Third now, he had to submit a formal request just like any other ninja.

And this time, the Third had rejected Shisui’s request.

Hearing this, Fugaku’s expression darkened even further.

Regardless of whether Danzo was truly responsible for this incident, the village’s upper echelon was no longer even bothering to conceal its hostility toward the Uchiha clan.

If things continued like this, a war between the Uchiha and the village would eventually become inevitable!

Unlike the ordinary clansmen, Fugaku, as the clan head, understood the Uchiha clan’s position within the village far more clearly.

Although the Third Hokage’s strength had already begun to decline with age, he was still one of the strongest shinobi in the entire village.

Even Fugaku himself, despite being the head of the Uchiha clan, had no confidence that he could defeat the Third Hokage in battle.

On top of the Third Hokage, there were several members of the advisory council, the immensely powerful Jiraiya, and large numbers of elite Anbu and Root ninja.

If the Uchiha clan were to launch a rebellion, their chances of victory would be virtually nonexistent.

More importantly, the attitudes of Konoha’s various major ninja clans were far too ambiguous.

When the Uchiha found themselves in a difficult position, those clans might occasionally speak up on their behalf.

But if the Uchiha clan actually raised the banner of rebellion, Fugaku was certain of one thing—

Those clans would never stand with the Uchiha.

In fact, they would most likely join the village’s side without the slightest hesitation.

Looking at the agitated expressions of the clansmen before him, Fugaku silently sighed.

How could he not want to restore the glory of the Uchiha clan?

How could he not want to reclaim the position of Hokage—a position that, in the eyes of the Uchiha, should rightfully have belonged to them?

But with the situation as it was, even the slightest wrong move on his part could bring utter destruction upon the entire clan.

He had the desire...

But not the power to make it a reality.

...

Inside the Hokage’s Office.

At the same time that the Uchiha clan was holding its clan meeting, the Third Hokage, Danzo, and the other two advisors were gathered in the Hokage’s Office for an emergency discussion regarding Uchiha Yui’s murder.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Danzo furiously struck the floor with his cane and roared,

"I’ve already told you! I did not order this!"

Koharu Utatane asked,

"Then why did one of your men kill a member of the Uchiha clan?"

Danzo hesitated briefly.

Then, he recounted to everyone in the office the report that the Root ninja had given him.

After finishing, Danzo said,

"I suspect that this entire incident was staged by the Uchiha themselves!"

Homura Mitokado asked in a grave voice,

"Do you have any evidence?"

"This is obviously extortion!"

Danzo snorted angrily before continuing,

"They’re trying to take advantage of the village while we’re negotiating peace with Kumogakure and extort concessions from us!"

Danzo had always been the one scheming against others.

Yet this time, a black mark had inexplicably been pinned on him.

Naturally, he was absolutely furious.

Although he had also vaguely sensed that some other force might be interfering from behind the scenes, for the moment, he had no choice but to direct the blame toward the Uchiha.

As for how he would investigate the matter in secret...

That was another matter entirely.

Danzo’s words only made the Third Hokage even more irritated.

Konoha’s peace negotiations with Kumogakure had been progressing extremely poorly.

Several months had already passed since the fighting ended, yet the representatives of both sides still had numerous disagreements over the terms of the peace agreement.

As the side that had been attacked, merely agreeing to peace negotiations in the first place had already placed the Third under enormous pressure.

If he were to make further concessions regarding the terms of the agreement, then even with the Third’s prestige, he would no longer be able to suppress the criticism within the village.

But Kumogakure remained extremely uncompromising.

When it came to the issue of reparations, they refused to yield even an inch, leaving the Third in an extremely difficult position.

Setting down his pipe, the Third said firmly,

"We must give the Uchiha clan an explanation for this matter. I don’t want any unrest breaking out inside the village while the peace negotiations are still underway!"

Danzo’s gaze turned cold.

"What kind of explanation do you intend to give them?"

The Third also understood that he couldn’t push Danzo too far.

Otherwise, it could easily have the opposite effect.

So he said,

"Have your subordinate personally go and explain everything clearly to Fugaku.

"I believe Fugaku won’t do anything foolish."

Danzo narrowed his eyes into thin slits.

After a moment, he finally nodded.

"I’ll make the arrangements."