Chapter 160 - 10

Chapter 10: Night of the Clan MassacreThe surveillance had lasted for over half a month.That cold, scrutinizing gaze was like a thorn stuck in his back—it didn't hurt, but you knew it was there. Every morning when Naruto left the house, the gaze would fall on the back of his head; every night when he lay down, it would fall on his face through the curtains. It was there when he ate, when he was in class, when he was walking—every second, everywhere.Except when he went to the bathroom.Every time he walked into the bathroom and closed the door, that gaze would vanish. Once he came out, it returned. For half a month, there hadn't been a single exception.Naruto didn't try to investigate who it was. It didn't matter.During that half-month, Naruto lived his life as usual. Every day, he created eight Clones: four to practice the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms and four to carry out justice. The Clones practicing the palm technique spent their days in the barren mountains outside the Village, practicing Moves and power-exertion techniques against rocks and trees—using no Natural Energy, only practicing the motions. After half a month, he already knew the eighteen forms of the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms by heart; every power path, body posture, and breathing rhythm was etched into his muscle memory. The Clones carrying out justice spent their days in the Village helping people find cats and dogs, moving things, giving directions, and stopping bullying, earning a dozen or twenty points every day.The original body went to school every day, sitting in the back row by the window, watching the leaves outside turn from tender green to deep green, and from deep green to dark green. Hinatawould peek at him every day, and he would pretend not to notice. Iruka would occasionally give him a few extra looks on the playground, but he didn't say anything else.The Sandaime didn't appear again. But the surveillance remained.Until this day.When Naruto woke up in the morning, he felt it immediately—that gaze was gone.It hadn't faded or weakened; it was completely gone. It was as if someone had kept a candle lit all night in the darkness and then suddenly blew it out. Normal darkness returned to the room, with only the morning light from outside seeping through the gaps in the curtains, drawing a few thin bright lines on the floor.Naruto lay in bed with his eyes closed, waiting for a few more minutes.It didn't return.He sat up, walked to the window, and pulled back the curtains. The street outside was the same as usual—someone was sweeping the street, someone was walking a dog, and the convenience store owner was moving crates. Everything was normal. But that gaze was not there.Naruto stared out the window for a while, then turned to wash up.He walked into the bathroom as usual, turned on the faucet, washed up, and then Naruto changed his clothes, put on his backpack, and headed out. As he walked, he deliberately slowed his pace, paying attention to every corner—rooftops, utility poles, convenience store windows, and carriages parked by the road. Nothing. That gaze was truly gone.He walked into the school, up the stairs, into the classroom, and sat in the back row by the window.No one was looking at him.No—Hinata was looking at him. He felt that timid, warm gaze coming from the front row of the classroom, like a kitten stealthily approaching.Naruto closed his eyes and breathed a small sigh of relief.The morning classes passed uneventfully. The Ninjutsu theory class was about Chakra nature transformation, and Naruto started to zone out after listening for a while—his Chakra attribute was Wind, but most of his power now came from Natural Energy, making Chakra secondary instead.When the first class of the afternoon ended, Irukawalked into the classroom.Iruka stood at the podium, his expression a bit more serious than usual. He scanned the class and then spoke."Students, there is a change to the afternoon classes. We will be adding extra sessions, and everyone must attend; no one is allowed to be absent."A chorus of complaints rose in the classroom, and someone banged their head against the desk with a thud.Iruka raised his hand, gesturing for everyone to be quiet."This is the school's arrangement. This afternoon, there are some... matters to handle in the Village. All students must stay in school and are not allowed to wander around. Go straight home after class and do not linger outside. Do you understand?"His tone didn't sound like he was asking for opinions; it was more like he was giving an order. The classroom was quiet for a few seconds, then a few scattered voices responded with "Understood."Iruka nodded and turned to walk out of the classroom.Naruto sat in the back row, watching Iruka's back disappear at the end of the hallway. His fingers tapped the desk twice and then stopped.Some matters to handle in the Village.All students must stay in school.Not allowed to wander around.He knew what day it was.The night of the Uchiha Clan massacre.On this day in that story, the Uchiha Clan was slaughtered by Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Obitoworking together. The entire clan vanished from Konoha overnight. When Sasuke returned home from school, what he saw were corpses everywhere and his parents lying in a pool of blood.He knew.So what?He wasn't a savior. He was only six years old. He had the Nine Yang Divine Skill at Nine-patternPerfection, the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, and the Breath Concealment Art—but was that enough? Enough for him to do anything in front of Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Obito? Enough for him to stop this massacre?Not enough.Nowhere near enough.But he couldn't do nothing.Naruto stood up and walked out of the classroom through the back door. The hallway was quiet; other classrooms were still in session, and occasionally the voice of a teacher could be heard leaking through a door crack. He walked down the hallway, down the stairs, across the playground, and toward the bathroom behind the teaching building.But he didn't enter the bathroom.He turned into a small space under the stairwell—there were a few old brooms and an overturned bucket piled there, and normally no one came by. He crouched down and formed hand seals."Shadow Clone Technique."Poof. White smoke exploded in the narrow space, making him cough. After the smoke cleared, a blonde boy identical to him crouched opposite him, blinking."Go to class for me," Naruto said. "Sit in my spot, don't talk, and don't cause trouble. Go home when class is over.""Got it."Naruto stood up and used the Transformation Technique, bypassed the Clone, and walked out of the stairwell. The Clone watched his back, silent for a second, then turned and headed toward the classroom.Naruto walked across the playground and past the school gate—the guard at the gate was dozing off and didn't notice him. He left the school, turned into a small alley, and then quickened his pace.He was going to the Uchiha Clan's gathering place.He knew the way. His Clones had become familiar with the route while doing good deeds; the Uchiha Clan Compound was on the far eastern side of the Village, near the Naka River. It was an independent area with its own streets and training grounds, like a miniature Village built inside Konoha.He walked through the commercial street, through the residential area, and through a small forest. There were fewer and fewer pedestrians on the road, and the surrounding buildings became older—not dilapidated, but a kind of agedness that came from being deliberately ignored. There was a clear boundary at the outer edge of the Uchiha Clan Compound: the walls on this side were new, while the walls on that side were starting to peel; the shops on this side were open, while the shops on that side were locked.He stopped and stood behind a large tree.From here on was the Uchiha Clan Compound.He could see the streets in the distance—empty, with not a single person. It wasn't the normal "no one's out" kind of emptiness, but a deathly silence, like the quiet before a storm. Not even the sound of birds chirping. There was an indescribable smell in the air, not of blood—there was no blood yet—but a cold, metallic scent, like the air before a thunderstorm.Naruto found a hidden spot—the canopy of a large tree with dense foliage, invisible from the outside. He climbed the tree, found a thick branch to sit on, leaned against the trunk, and used the Breath Concealment Art to withdraw all of his presence.He sat in the tree, looking at the Uchiha Clan Compound in the distance.The sun was overhead, just past noon. There were still several hours until dark.He didn't know why he had come here. He didn't know what he could do. He didn't know if he could stop Itachi or Obito, and he couldn't stop the decision the Konoha higher-ups had already made. He was just a six-year-old child with a Nine-pattern inner core and a set of palm techniques he hadn't used yet.But he came anyway.He sat in the tree, watching the sun Move bit by bit toward the west. Shadows grew from short to long, and the light changed from white to yellow, then from yellow to orange. The Uchiha Clan Compound sat silent under the orange sunset, like the corpse of a dead giant beast still emitting its final residual warmth.He didn't know what he would see from the tree. Maybe he would see nothing. Maybe he would sit here all afternoon and then go home before dark, go to school normally tomorrow, and pretend he knew nothing.Or maybe he would see things tonight that he would never be able to forget.But he didn't leave.He leaned against the tree trunk as the inner corein his Dantian slowly rotated. He closed his eyes and waited.