[Early Morning, at the Entrance of Konoha Village]
A bloodstained Uchiha boy was carrying three human heads, walking toward the main gate.
All three heads wore masks, their faces unrecognizable.
This boy was Rengoku, who had rushed back from the Kusagakure after being rescued by Muku and Ryuzetsu.
He exchanged one piece of intel for a special rapid treatment.
He didn't dare to stop, not even to change clothes, and headed straight for Konoha.
Rengoku arrived at the village gate, and gatekeepers Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu immediately stepped forward to confirm his identity.
"Uchiha Rengoku, mission in the Kusagakure," While flipping through the file in his hand, Hagane Kotetsu glanced at the heads.
"Did something unexpected happen?"
"Rengoku-nii, you're back!", came a voice from the side.
Rengoku turned his head and saw it was a junior clansman, Uchiha Hiroyuki.
Hiroyuki was about four or five years old, not yet of school age, a tiny radish-head speaking in full childlike voice, "If Rengoku-nii had come back earlier, you would've made it to the clan meeting."
"Looks like I made it in time," Hearing the clan meeting had just ended, Rengoku also let out a breath of relief.
He had been rushing all the way, not even changing clothes, and finally made it back before the night of the clan extermination.
The Uchiha clan meeting had already concluded. Konoha had already learned from Itachi about Uchiha's planned coup.
Danzo had probably already given Itachi the order to annihilate the clan.
Itachi was likely contacting Tobi in the past few days, preparing to take action.
But since he had made it back in time, there was still a chance to gamble.
While thinking, Rengoku lifted the three heads to show the two gatekeepers, and said with implication, "Of course, it's very possible for accidents to happen during missions."
Kamizuki Izumo reminded, "Rengoku, you'd better put those heads away, don't scare the civilians."
Rengoku snorted coldly, "Are you teaching me how to do things? Hiroyuki, come with me."
Then he took his ID tag and headed toward the mission center.
"Hey… Rengoku…", Kamizuki Izumo called out but was pulled back by Hagane Kotetsu.
He turned his head and saw Hagane Kotetsu's solemn gaze. Kamizuki Izumo's heart skipped a beat and asked softly, "What is it?"
Hagane Kotetsu looked around and then whispered in Izumo's ear, "Those three heads belong to Root members."
———
Uchiha Rengoku, carrying three heads, was quite attention-grabbing.
"What are you doing at the gate?", Rengoku asked.
Hiroyuki had not awakened his Sharingan, nor was he a ninja, just a regular boy with the Uchiha surname.
Not all members of the Uchiha clan were ninja; there were quite a few ordinary people.
These were people with no ninja talent, just bearing the Uchiha name.
Who would have thought that nearly a thousand strong Uchiha clan would be exterminated in a single night?
"The Great Elder asked me to check the village gate for any returning clansmen, and bring you back."
Rengoku knew this was part of the Uchiha's preparations before the coup, but even he had been ambushed by Root during the mission.
Other teams were probably also in grave danger.
"Any other clansmen return?", Rengoku rubbed Hiroyuki's head.
Hiroyuki shook his head, "I've been guarding the village gate for two days now, only you came back, Rengoku-nii."
Rengoku sighed silently in his heart, the others probably wouldn't return.
He thought for a moment, "Do you know where Sasuke and Itachi are?"
"Sasuke is at school, Itachi-nii…", Hiroyuki pouted slightly, showing visible dislike for Itachi on his face, "I don't know where he went."
Rengoku confirmed the timing again, 'Clan Extermination Night should be tomorrow night.'
"You go back and tell the Great Elder, I'll see him after I report the mission."
"No need to wait at the gate anymore. Also tell Ryuri that I still have some things to handle and will be home later."
Hiroyuki nodded with half-understanding, then ran back to the clan grounds to report.
Rengoku watched Hiroyuki run into the distance, knowing that the clan was already gathering strength.
They could only rely on children to handle such tasks now. The clan might have sensed something, but didn't expect Konoha to act so soon.
Rengoku tapped the star above Hiroyuki's head in his consciousness.
[Ding, Uchiha Hiroyuki's Level 1 Bond has been unlocked.]
[Congratulations, host, you have obtained: Memory Fragment.]
Some memories of Hiroyuki practicing shuriken throwing were merged into Rengoku's mind.
This was one of the reasons he had to rush back and save the clan.
He discovered that as long as he formed bonds with certain people, he could find their names in his template.
There was a corresponding bond progress bar, and when the bar filled up, it would hatch a star.
Each star represented one bond level.
At Level 1, he could obtain a portion of the man's training memories.
At Level 2, he could obtain a certain amount of their chakra.
Further levels were unknown to Rengoku.
He had already tested it, only Uchiha clan members and named figures from the Ninja World would work.
There were so many ninjas in the clan, forming bonds would be easy.
If the clan were destroyed, and he became a rogue ninja, the utility rate would naturally drop.
Besides, Rengoku wasn't alone. He still had family, Ryuri.
While thinking, Rengoku walked leisurely toward the mission center, making sure everyone saw the heads he carried.
After submitting the mission report, he loudly said at the mission center, "We were ambushed during the mission. My teammates all died, but these three weren't strong enough, I killed them."
Rengoku showed the three heads to the mission receptionist before leaving.
After he left, the entire mission center buzzed with discussion, "Lately, Uchiha's losses are kind of high."
"I think I know who those three heads belong to…"
Someone next to him immediately covered his mouth, "No, you don't."
Inside the mission center were personnel belonging to the Third Hokage and Danzo. The message was quickly relayed.
———
After finishing all that, Rengoku arrived at the Uchiha clan gates. Seeing clansmen going in and out, he slowly let out a breath. Only when he saw that the clan was still here could he truly relax.
Even though the original Rengoku was dead, since he had fused with Rengoku's soul, he naturally inherited the love for the Uchiha clan.
"Rengoku's back…"
"Why are you so dirty…"
"Hurry home, Ryuri's waiting for you…"
Many familiar people greeted Rengoku as they passed. Rengoku responded to each and then headed toward the Uchiha Elder Hall.
———
Uchiha Kairen, current Great Elder of the Uchiha.
By relation, he was Fugaku's clan uncle.
But he was the Uchiha clan's most hardline hawk Elder.
Recently, however, the Great Elder had been somewhat anxious.
He flipped through the ledger in his hand, brows furrowed into the 川 character.
Konoha's oppression of the Uchiha had grown more severe, and the clan's income was steadily decreasing.
Since Shisui's death two years ago, Konoha had continuously pressured the Uchiha. Now, even the Police Force had been reduced to just two squads.
Moreover, recently, while the Uchiha were out on missions, they had lost quite a few people.
And Uchiha Fugaku remained indecisive.
Although more and more clan members supported a coup, their usable cards were becoming fewer.
Recently, when clan members went out on missions, they kept encountering accidents, neither dead nor alive.
Under such conditions, at the clan meeting two days ago, under pressure from the members, Fugaku finally agreed to the coup.
But the news hadn't spread yet, only a portion of Uchiha knew.
And just now, Hiroyuki had come to say that Rengoku had returned, at least adding a bit of leverage for the clan's coup.
"Great Elder, Rengoku requests an audience," Someone outside the door reported.
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