After half a month of mundane life, Ye Liang was happily preparing to organize the Chūnin Exams.
Word has it the bounty this time was unusually large. He gleefully looked at the mission list, his cheeks spreading into a wide grin.
"One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand! There's actually a reward of ten thousand taels of silver! That's enough for me to buy another house!"
Ye Liang muttered excitedly as he counted.
Once you're done counting, get started right away. This time is tight—ninja from all Five Great Villages are coming, and we only have one month," Sarutobi Hiruzen said calmly before waving his hand in dismissal.
Ye Liang walked out afterward.
After giving Team 7 some instructions, he went home to relax...
"Lunch? I'll treat!" Kakashi cheerfully slapped Obito Uchiha's back. This mission promised great rewards, and as Ye Liang's disciples, they were also set to receive a considerable reward.
"I'd better pass today. I've got something urgent, so I won't do the mission," Obito replied nervously and quickly left the Hokage's office.
"Kakashi, don't you think Obito has been acting strange lately?" Rin Nohara approached from beside.
"Yeah, he does seem off. Rumor is something happened with his family."
"Family?"
"Mm."
Half an hour later...
Obito Uchiha walked absentmindedly toward the edge of Konoha.
He kicked a small stone forward, feeling annoyed.
This had been going on for several days now.
The people of Konoha had started distancing themselves from the Uchiha clan several days ago.
It wasn't just during meals—now even going out to use the restroom required being monitored by hidden ANBU guards!
Although Obito didn't know exactly what was happening, something was clearly wrong!
In a rush, he made his way out of the village.
Previously, due to political reasons, the Uchiha clan's main compound had been relocated outside the village.
"WHY HASN'T IT COME YET?!" Obito swiftly leapt across tree branches, but the path home still felt long.
"Who goes there!"
A voice came from ahead, causing him to slow down cautiously.
"Are those village guardian Jonin? What are they doing here?" Obito recognized the ninja blocking his way.
They wore standard Konoha uniforms and jonin-ranked forehead protectors—he recognized them instantly.
"This is a special period—we need to perform routine checks!" The two Jonin stood threateningly in front of Obito and forcibly snatched his Ninja Tool Pouch away!
"That was a gift from my sensei..."
Obito argued briefly, but only got an eye-roll in response.
"You may proceed, but this pouch contains dangerous weapons—it must be confiscated!"
"What?"
Obito was stunned for a moment.
In the ninja village, there had never been a rule about confiscating ninja tool pouches—even though they indeed contained dangerous items, they were ninjas after all!
Without their tools, could they even call themselves ninjas anymore?
Obito immediately tried grabbing back his pouch.
"What are you doing! Do you realize we can charge you with desertion for this!" The two men glared angrily at Obito, expressions filled with apparent disgust.
"This was a gift from my sensei! I can't give it to you!" Filled with rage, Obito charged furiously at the two village guardian Jonin.
But with his current skill level, how could he possibly defeat the opponent? Not only did he fail to retrieve the item, but he also got beaten so hard he saw stars and almost passed out.
"Get lost! If it weren't for the fact you're still a child, I'd kill you right here!"
"Darn it!" Obito pounded the ground in frustration, yet there was nothing he could do.
After watching the two jonin leave, he could only silently make his way into the Uchiha village.
...
Inside the Uchiha clan's ancestral hall.
A crowd of angry Uchiha clansmen stared furiously at Fugaku Uchiha.
"Leader, if things keep going like this, the Uchiha will completely lose its dignity!"
"That's right! Those guys are already bullying us straight to our faces. Are we really going to keep swallowing our pride like this? I say we rebel against Konoha now and seize control of the village!"
"Agreed!"
The crowd erupted into noisy shouts.
Fugaku's brow had already furrowed deeply.
Previously, due to Danzo's suppression, the Uchiha were forbidden from participating in the battle against the Nine-Tails. At first, this seemed beneficial since it prevented Uchiha casualties. But it sowed hidden seeds of disaster.
All other clans lost people in battle, yet the Uchiha didn't suffer a single death—who do you think would accept that?!
Because of this, villagers now held deep resentment toward the Uchiha.
"Enough," Fugaku said wearily, trying to calm the room. "I understand everyone's feelings, but we absolutely cannot clash with the Senju. Let's not even mention the fact that the Senju already have the Hyuga's support—the mysterious expert Ye Liang alone would be more than enough trouble for all of us. How can we possibly oppose the Senju under these circumstances?"
Silence fell over the crowd.
They understood Fugaku's concerns. Facing just the Hyuga alone, the Uchiha wouldn't have feared the Senju at all—but now with Ye Liang in the picture, everything had changed!
Besides having to deal with the two old men Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo, they also had to face the super-Kage-level expert Ye Liang!
Ye Liang had previously defeated Madara Uchiha!
At this moment, Ye Liang had already become an immovable mountain within their hearts.
"What should we do then? Just let our Uchiha people get bullied?"
Sighing, Fugaku concluded, "I'll discuss this matter thoroughly with Hokage-sama tomorrow and hope to receive a satisfactory explanation for our clan." With that, today's family meeting came to an end.
Meanwhile, a team of Anbu ninja had already quietly spread out across various corners of the Uchiha compound. Two figures wearing cat-faced masks hovered above the ancestral hall.
"Shisui, are we really going through with this? These are our own clansmen after all."
"But you heard them too—they're planning rebellion."
"But the clan head has already made his opposition clear."
"Itachi, you must understand—even if they don't rebel today, there's no guarantee they won't in the future. Once someone harbors thoughts of becoming a rogue ninja, eventually they will take action."
Shisui spoke coldly and decisively.
The other figure remained silent.
This person was none other than Itachi Uchiha, one of the sons of Uchiha clan leader Fugaku Uchiha.
If Fugaku had decided to lead the clan in betraying the village today, Itachi naturally wouldn't have hesitated to act without mercy. However, today's situation seemed different from what Danzo had described.
Itachi Uchiha hadn't truly opposed Konoha, which caused his beliefs to waver.
"If you can't bring yourself to do it," Shisui Uchiha continued, "then allow me to kill your family. After all, I'm also Uchiha, and it's my duty to deal with traitors personally!"
Years of brainwashing from the Anbu had already stripped away the value of family ties.
To the Anbu, the village's interests outweighed everything!
"Then please don't harm my younger brother. He's still a child," Itachi Uchiha added.
"Fine," [Flatly]
As night fell, they made their way toward the village.
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