Uchiha Clan District.
Uchiha Obito stood by the bathroom mirror, tears streaming down his face as he looked at his reflection.
The Sharingan in the mirror was a pair of Two Tomoe Sharingan!
He was still in the Ninja Academy, yet he had awakened the Sharingan.
He didn't want this pair of Sharingan at all.
Tonight, Konoha Village had been attacked. Obito hadn't obeyed the clan's order to go to the shelter caves. Instead, he had immediately gone to help a neighbor, an uncle who had lost his legs.
The uncle had difficulty moving. If Obito didn't help him, the uncle would surely die.
That uncle was very pitiful; his wife and daughter had died in the war, his own legs had been blown off, and he suffered from severe phantom limb pain every day.
However, when he rushed to the uncle's house, he first saw a figure darting out of the window.
The kunai in that person's hand was stained with blood, droplets sprinkling through the air!
Obito hurriedly rushed into the uncle's house and saw him collapsed on the path leading to his wheelchair.
There was a long wound on the uncle's chest; his ribcage had been sliced open.
Seeing it was Obito, the uncle said desolately that when he was young, as a Police Force ninja, he had sent a criminal to Konoha Prison.
That criminal had held a grudge ever since being released and, taking advantage of the chaos in Konoha Village, had come to his house to kill him.
The uncle was very weak, speaking almost as if giving his Dying Wish:
"Obito, you must never become a Police Force ninja. In all my years as one, I only felt more and more hatred.
Every villager I policed hated me, every criminal wanted revenge on me."
Obito agreed verbally, but in his heart, he only wanted to take the uncle to find a medical-nin.
Obito lifted the uncle onto the wheelchair. Just after he pushed the uncle out the door, the uncle fell off the wheelchair. When Obito checked on him, the uncle's lung had fallen out, and he was already dead.
Crying, Obito laid the uncle flat, then went to save other neighbors.
Along the way, he felt nothing but despair!
The Police Force ninja had all gone to evacuate the villagers, leaving the clan district empty. He didn't know who started it, who was inciting it, or who was agitating, but Obito saw dozens of Konoha ninja entering the Uchiha district, coming for revenge and to settle grievances!
Besides the uncle, Obito found three other murdered neighbors one after another.
It wasn't until he saw the corpse of the neighbor sister who always combed his grandmother's white hair, her miserably soaked in blood, that Obito completely broke down.
That sister was so kind. She felt sorry for his grandmother taking care of him alone and often came to look after him and help his grandmother.
Every time Obito returned home, he could tell from his grandmother's hairstyle whether the sister had come to help.
Obito's helpful personality was something he learned from her.
Such a good sister was also killed!
Obito saw the killer's retreating figure. It was the sister's former classmate, who, after failing to win her affection, had always lurked menacingly around her.
Though Obito was young, he understood what the sister's disheveled clothes meant.
The chaotic night ended. Obito faced the mirror, the twin tomoe in his eyes spinning rapidly.
Just moments ago, the Jonin Commander, Nara Rokaku, a big shot in the village, had personally come to the Uchiha district.
Nara Rokaku told the Uchiha clan that the murderers who took advantage of the chaos to kill Uchiha clansmen were not Konoha ninja, but White Zetsu, subordinates of Uchiha Madara, in disguise.
White Zetsu mastered a transformation technique that could mimic others' chakra, making it undetectable even by the Byakugan.
Nara Rokaku expressed grief over the Uchiha clan's suffering.
Clan Leader Uchiha Kane accepted this explanation.
But!
Obito did not accept it!
The man who killed the uncle had been sent to Konoha Prison by the uncle.
The man who killed the neighbor sister was a Special Jonin who had become resentful after his advances were rejected.
Identities can be faked, but can hatred be faked too?
How could White Zetsu possibly know so accurately? How could they know exactly who the enemies of the neighbor uncle and the neighbor sister were?
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
Obito wiped the tears from his face and put on his Goggles.
He was only 7 years old this year, yet he had awakened the Two Tomoe Sharingan. He was almost on par with the geniuses in his clan's history.
At the border of the Land of Fire.
Uchiha Madara and Tobi walked slowly through the forests of the Land of Fire.
Uchiha Madara didn't seem to be in a hurry.
Konoha's location wasn't far from the Uchiha clan's district during the Warring States Period.
The Uchiha clan excelled in Fire Release; the forests of the Land of Fire were their home ground.
Madara was so familiar with this place. Even after decades, he still loved the feeling of walking through these forests.
Arriving at a U-shaped Bend of the Nakano River, Uchiha Madara fell into reminiscence.
This U-shaped bend of the river was the site of the Uchiha clan's district during the Warring States Period.
It had once been so glorious.
Unfortunately, after he defected from the village, under Senju Tobirama's direction, this place was completely destroyed by Konoha Village.
Only the foundations of a few buildings remained, testifying to how prosperous this place had once been.
A White Zetsu emerged from the ground.
"Lord Madara, I killed five people that Uchiha Obito was very close to, and finally stimulated his Sharingan to awaken!
If he hadn't awakened it then, I would have had to kill his grandmother too.
Uchiha Obito's talent is indeed high; he awakened the Two Tomoe Sharingan directly."
"As it should be," Uchiha Madara said.
"Uchiha Obito's Dōjutsu talent is plain to see.
Or rather, Uchiha Obito is a truly good child, a good child completely devoid of malice.
Therefore, when he despairs, he will erupt with the most powerful force.
When an honest person reaches despair, discovering that their past values were a joke and their persistence was trash, they often commit the most extreme acts.
Actually, we should have waited for Obito to grow a bit more, but our plans have encountered many changes, forcing us to Force his Growth.
Weakening Konoha, creating hatred between Konoha Village and the Uchiha clan, accelerating Uchiha Obito's growth... we achieved all our goals tonight.
Let's return to the Land of Rain. I need to change an eye."
Hokage Building.
Yōkō crouched on the eaves outside the Hokage's Office window, guarding the Hokage Building's safety.
Looking out, Konoha Village was a scene of devastation.
Five breaches had appeared in the Konoha perimeter wall; four were caused by the Wood Clone Susano'o, while the largest one on the east side came from Uchiha Madara's Complete Body Susano'o.
Beneath the wall, many buildings were destroyed.
In the distance, one could see many ninja carrying corpses, pairs of them taking the bodies towards the direction of the Memorial Stone.
The Senju clan district was in complete disarray.
The Susano'o's feet had plowed deep trenches into the ground, and the Susano'o's giant sword had carved out even deeper gullies.
Besides this, White Zetsu had also caused numerous deaths and chaos.
Inside the Hokage's Office, Nara Rokaku was reporting the village's losses from the night.
Among the higher-ups, Utatane Koharu, Hatake Sakumo, and Akimichi Torifu had sacrificed their lives.
Over 270 ninja had died.
Among the villagers, those killed by the aftershocks of the Susano'o attacks and by White Zetsu numbered over 1100.
Property damage and destruction of houses were incalculable.
Nara Rokaku placed the summary scroll on the desk and pushed it towards the Third Hokage, saying:
"Hokage-sama, these are the losses within the village.
What I'm more worried about is the storm to come.
The external stability that Advisor Sakumo had secured has, with his sacrifice, reverted to its original state.
When the Daimyō of the various nations hear that Konoha has been severely weakened, they will certainly develop other ideas.
The doubts of the Daimyō are one aspect. We also must guard against other hidden villages, seeing Konoha's weakness, becoming restless and starting to provoke us."
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked grave and coughed once.
Tonight, he had already smoked five pipefuls.
Konoha's predicament gave Hiruzen a headache. He said, "Rokaku, let's tackle things one by one. First, the troubles within the village."
Nara Rokaku said, "Matters like Compensation, Reconstruction, and such are easy to arrange.
Hokage-sama, I've gathered some complaints. These complaints might threaten the village's reputation."
Nara Rokaku was being very tactful. In reality, he meant that some rumors were already threatening Hiruzen himself; villagers were questioning Hiruzen's capability.
Sarutobi Hiruzen motioned for Nara Rokaku to continue.
"Some ninja in the village believe the village was too slow in dealing with Uchiha Madara.
The village should have organized a large force to eliminate Uchiha Madara early on, then the village wouldn't have suffered such severe losses.
Some villagers say they heard the name Uchiha Madara a year ago, so why wasn't this threat dealt with over the past year." Nara Rokaku added finally:
"Reconstruction isn't difficult; what's difficult is reuniting people's hearts."
Sarutobi Hiruzen took a puff of smoke, thought for a long time, and said:
"Uchiha Madara is very old. When we first discovered him, our thinking was to wait a few years, for Uchiha Madara to die, or for him to grow even older, before dealing with him.
Who could have imagined that Uchiha Madara, clearly so aged, still possessed such formidable power.
Our response to Uchiha Madara did indeed seem slow; we only sent ANBU to monitor the movements of Madara's rogue ninja organization.
Regarding Madara's surprise attack on Konoha, Rokaku, guide the Public Opinion. Direct it towards the Uchiha clan to reduce the villagers' complaints against us."
Nara Rokaku pondered this after hearing it, then nodded, acknowledging the Hokage's idea.
It was a good method.
Uchiha Madara was a rogue ninja from the Uchiha clan. Directing the hatred towards the Uchiha clan could indeed reduce the pressure on the higher-ups.
Sarutobi Hiruzen continued, "As for the external pressure...
I will quickly appoint new Foreign Affairs and Internal Affairs Advisors to prove that Konoha Village still has a deep pool of talent.
In response to provocations from other villages, we will respond forcefully and handle troubles at the borders.
Regarding the Daimyō's doubts, I will have the new Foreign Affairs Advisor pacify them as soon as possible.
If absolutely necessary... assassinating some Daimyō is not out of the question."
Nara Rokaku's heart tightened. Had the situation become so critical that it forced the Hokage to resort to such emergency measures?
He asked, "Hokage-sama, who should be selected as the new Foreign Affairs Advisor and Internal Affairs Advisor?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen said, "I've decided to appoint Yellow Dog as the Foreign Affairs Advisor. As for the Internal Affairs Advisor, that's not as urgent.
For the time being, Rokaku, I need you to work harder and temporarily manage the affairs of internal affairs."
"Understood. I'll get to work then, Hokage-sama."
Nara Rokaku turned and left the Hokage's Office.
As he went downstairs, he thought to himself that the Hokage had still chosen his son.
Tonight, Yellow Dog hadn't taken action; the Wood Clone Susano'o were handled by others, and Uchiha Madara was dealt with by the Hokage himself.
Yellow Dog was responsible for monitoring the Uchiha clan, preventing them from contacting Uchiha Madara and causing chaos like an inside job.
Given the relationship between the Ino–Shika–Chō Trio Clans and the Sarutobi clan, Nara Rokaku should be very supportive of Yellow Dog becoming an advisor.
But Konoha's current dire situation filled Nara Rokaku with deep concern.
Was Yellow Dog truly capable of handling the role of Foreign Affairs Advisor?
If Yellow Dog couldn't cope with the current complex situation, Nara Rokaku even considered having the Ino–Shika–Chō trio give up their positions as Guardian Ninja of the Land of Whirlpools.
An incompetent Foreign Affairs Advisor would be unable to pacify the various Daimyō.
An incompetent Foreign Affairs Advisor would be unable to handle the provocations of the other four great hidden villages.
The more Nara Rokaku thought about it, the more chaotic his thoughts became.
Sarutobi Hiruzen worked in the Hokage's Office until 4 AM before finally leaving and returning to the Sarutobi clan district.
Yōkō's guard duty ended, and he finally had time to go to the Uzumaki Clan's Mask Hall.
The Mask Hall was a Shrine built specifically for Uzumaki Kushina within Konoha Village, its layout identical to the Mask Hall in Uzushiogakure.
"Sorry I'm late."
Tsunade was leaning against a pillar. Hearing Fox's voice, she said:
"The ANBU Vice Minister is indeed busy. But I just finished assessing the damage to the clan district.
So, Fox, tonight is destined to be a sleepless one. What did you want me here for?"
***
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(End of Chapter)