Several days later, in the morning — the entrance of Konohagakure.
A shinobi force numbering several hundred appeared at the village gates under the morning sunlight, lining up to complete the procedures for re-entering the village.
More than half of the shinobi in the group bore the Uchiha Clan crest on their clothing—they were members of the Uchiha Clan.
The remaining members were mostly civilian shinobi.
The sudden appearance of such a large returning force quickly attracted the attention of nearby villagers. Many of them looked surprised and began whispering among themselves.
"Eh? Are frontline shinobi returning today? Why didn't I receive any notice about welcoming them?"
"Same here. What's going on?"
"Oh! I remember now. A few days ago the Hokage Tower issued a notice. It said that shinobi from the Kirigakure frontline would return to the village in batches for rotation."
"Because there are too many batches, holding welcoming ceremonies every time would disrupt the villagers' daily lives. So the celebration will be postponed until everyone returns."
"I see! The Hokage-sama really thought about us villagers. How considerate!"
"So this must be the first group returning from the frontlines. But why does it look like most of them are Uchiha?"
"You didn't hear? I heard the Uchiha played a huge role on the Mist battlefield. They contributed the most—even defeating the Mizukage of Kirigakure!"
"Wow… even the Mizukage was defeated? The Uchiha may be arrogant, but they're undeniably powerful."
"Of course! The Uchiha Clan is one of Konoha's great noble clans!"
…
The murmuring among the villagers continued.
Many of the comments were full of praise for the Uchiha Clan.
Originally, many Uchiha had been somewhat dissatisfied because they had not received the grand welcome they felt they deserved.
But hearing such admiration now eased much of that displeasure.
Several of them even revealed proud, smug smiles.
At the front of the formation, Uchiha Fugaku's previously tense expression also relaxed slightly. A hint of satisfaction flickered deep in his eyes.
"Don't celebrate too early."
Standing beside him, Uchiha Ren spoke quietly without changing his expression.
"I feel like something isn't right."
This situation felt strange.
Very strange.
The Konoha High Command had arranged for shinobi from the Kirigakure front to return in batches, canceling the welcoming ceremonies.
Clearly, this was meant to prevent any clan from gaining too much public prestige.
Yet now the villagers were suddenly praising the Uchiha so openly.
It felt contradictory.
In fact, Ren quickly noticed something suspicious.
Among the gathered villagers, he spotted several planted voices deliberately guiding the conversation.
For a moment, even Ren couldn't fully understand what the old men of Konoha's leadership were planning.
Fugaku frowned slightly and replied in a low voice,
"Ren, could you be overthinking it? Maybe this is simply compensation for the Uchiha Clan."
"Compensation?"
A flash of realization crossed Ren's mind, and his expression darkened.
"I'd say it looks more like killing with praise."
"Killing with praise? What do you mean?" Fugaku asked, confused.
Ren let out a faint cold laugh.
"Listen carefully. In all the villagers' discussions, have you heard any other clan mentioned besides the Uchiha?"
"If this continues, it'll soon sound like driving back Kirigakure was entirely the Uchiha Clan's achievement."
"And how do you think the other clans will feel about that?"
Fugaku's expression changed immediately.
He finally realized the seriousness of the situation.
Although the Uchiha Clan had indeed achieved remarkable feats on the Mist battlefield, the contributions of other shinobi were equally significant.
If the Uchiha alone became famous while the others received no recognition—
It didn't take much imagination to guess how the other frontline shinobi would feel.
And Uchiha shinobi were famously bad at diplomacy.
If they grew arrogant because of this praise, they might unknowingly attract the resentment of all their comrades.
This move from Konoha's leadership was essentially placing the Uchiha Clan on a roasting rack over an open flame.
After thinking for a moment, Ren continued:
"This probably isn't the end of it."
"When you go to report your mission later, be extremely cautious."
"No matter what the Third Hokage says to you, don't agree to anything immediately."
"Let me investigate the situation first."
Fugaku took a deep breath and nodded.
"I understand."
Inside, he felt somewhat bitter.
Although he was nearly ten years older than Ren, when it came to political insight he felt like a child in comparison.
If Ren hadn't warned him, he might still be basking in the illusion of the Uchiha Clan's improving reputation.
The feeling left him deeply uncomfortable.
Perhaps…
It was time for him to step aside.
Ren, however, had no interest in Fugaku's inner thoughts.
Right now, his only priority was to contact his informants and find out what had happened in the village recently.
A few days earlier, after receiving the urgent message, Ren had arranged matters in the Land of Rain before leaving immediately.
After traveling day and night, he finally reunited with the returning force before dawn yesterday, slipping back into the ranks without anyone noticing.
It was as if he had never left at all.
However, because he had been rushing the entire time, Ren had fallen somewhat behind on outside information.
That morning, he had only managed to briefly exchange updates with Uchiha Shisui, who had just returned from the Fire Daimyō's capital.
They hadn't yet had time to investigate the situation inside the village.
"Lord Fugaku, here is your entry authorization."
"Thank you for your hard work."
After finishing the personnel check, the gate guards finally handed Fugaku the official document.
Turning back toward the group, Fugaku spoke loudly.
"Everyone, we'll disband here!"
"You're free to return home and rest."
Those words were directed toward the civilian shinobi.
As the commander of the returning force, the others could not leave without his permission.
With those words, the returning unit officially disbanded.
"I still need to report to the Hokage Tower."
"Shisui, take the others back to the Uchiha clan compound. The clan members should already be waiting."
Shisui glanced at Ren.
After seeing Ren nod, he replied,
"Yes."
"I'll be leaving as well," Ren said to Fugaku.
Then he added another quiet reminder:
"Remember—no matter what the Third Hokage proposes, don't agree immediately."
"Don't worry," Fugaku said solemnly.
"I understand."
After exchanging a few more words with Shisui, Ren separated from the group.
Instead of heading toward the Uchiha district—
He walked toward the edge of Konohagakure.
His destination was the Konoha Orphanage.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789