Those eight Uchiha clan members went to the Hokage Tower, requesting an audience with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
When Hiruzen learned that those Uchiha clan members had come looking for him, he immediately understood—they could no longer resist and were ready to accept the cursed seals.
Hiruzen gladly agreed and received these Uchiha representatives.
Just as Hiruzen had guessed, upon meeting him, this group of Uchiha members immediately dropped to their knees, saying they had reconsidered everything and began confessing their mistakes, hoping to receive the cursed seal and reintegrate into Konoha.
Naturally, Hiruzen agreed. After all, at this point, the Uchiha Clan only had fewer than thirty people remaining total; every additional member was valuable. Plus, the power of life and death over them rested in his hands.
Looking at the eight individuals before him, Hiruzen suddenly furrowed his brow slightly, "I remember… weren't you originally supposed to be nine people?"
"We're truly sorry, Hokage-sama. We tried convincing Yoshihiko, but he remained stubborn and refused our persuasion, insisting on staying at the clan grounds."
Hiruzen let out a forced sigh, "I see. I believe he'll come around eventually."
Smiling warmly, Hiruzen continued, "Well then, welcome back to Konoha—the great family you all once belonged to. Later on, some ninja will apply the cursed seals upon you. Don't worry, only myself and the two advisors know how to activate them, and we absolutely won't trigger them easily—it won't affect your daily lives at all. Feel free to relax.
Once the cursed seals are applied, new housing will be arranged for you as well. All the rights and privileges others receive will be extended to you as well. Welcome back to Konoha."
The eight Uchiha clan members lowered their heads to the ground in gratitude: "Thank you, Hokage-sama!"
After the eight Uchiha clan members left, an Anbu ninja entered the office and reported, "Hokage-sama, the barrier has been triggered, and Yoshihiko Uchiha has disappeared. Additionally, some books regarding the history of the Uchiha Clan within the clan grounds have also gone missing."
Hiruzen frowned and asked, "Have you identified who triggered the barrier yet?"
The Anbu responded, "No, this situation is just like what happened right before the Uchiha Clan incident—we detected sudden activation, immediately dispatched a team there, but found nobody present. At the same time, Yoshihiko Uchiha also vanished without a trace."
With a grave expression, Hiruzen ordered, "Issue instructions immediately—change all the technical formations of the barriers across Konoha. Also, lead a squad of Sensor Ninja to track down Yoshihiko Uchiha!"
"Yes!"
The Anbu disappeared instantly.
He leaned back in his chair, lost in thought.
Only high-ranking officials knew the technical formations of Konoha's barriers. After resolving the Uchiha Clan matter, Hiruzen had already started investigating this issue—but came up empty-handed.
Initially, he suspected Danzo, since it had Danzo's fingerprints all over it.
So, Hiruzen immediately sought out Danzo to verify.
Although Hiruzen generally didn't trust Danzo's words, this time Danzo's behavior seemed unusually genuine.
As someone who had known Danzo for many years, Hiruzen could usually tell whether or not he was lying.
If Danzo had done this, he would certainly try to explain himself and distance his involvement.
But if Danzo hadn't done it, when questioned about it, he probably would have responded with something like "do whatever you want to think."
That's exactly what happened when Hiruzen Sarutobi had previously asked him about the barrier matter. Danzo had spoken to him just like that.
Therefore, Hiruzen still wanted to believe a little bit that Danzo hadn't leaked the barrier technical formation to others.
At that time, Hiruzen had originally planned to modify the barrier technical formation. But since he'd promised Izumi Uchiha the village's barrier would remain unchanged—so Itachi could sneak back in anytime to check on Sasuke—he decided to set the matter aside.
However, now this situation had appeared again, along with the disappearance of Yoshihiko Uchiha, making it impossible for Hiruzen to continue ignoring the problem.
Moreover, Hiruzen now leaned more toward believing there must be some ninja skilled enough to unlock the barrier formation who bypassed the need to use the technical formation altogether, directly passing through the barrier.
Whether the barrier technical formation had been leaked or there was someone capable of unlocking it, the conclusion remained the same—Konoha's barrier technique needed to be changed.
Hiruzen picked up his pipe and took a puff.
Based on this incident, it seemed likely that Yoshihiko Uchiha had been taken away by someone who passed through the barrier.
Could that person...be the Akatsuki member mentioned by Itachi?
This mysterious Akatsuki member was the prime suspect in slipping past the barrier.
Hiruzen exhaled a puff of smoke. The issue regarding the Uchiha Clan—the largest yinhuan (hidden threat)—had already been resolved. Chinya had voluntarily left Konoha, and now there were no internal threats remaining. He could now focus fully on external matters.
...
Inside the new residential area of the Uchiha Clan.
Sasuke Uchiha sat alone in his room, curled up in a corner, staring blankly ahead.
Sasuke hadn't attended the Ninja Academy for many days.
Even now, Sasuke couldn't believe that Itachi Uchiha—who had once been so kind and caring—could have done something like this.
Could someone really kill their own parents just to test their limits?
How cruel and twisted must a person be to do something like that?
Had that warm, gentle Itachi Uchiha all just been an act?
Suddenly, the door to Sasuke's room opened, and Izumi Uchiha entered carrying a tray of food.
Looking at the untouched meals on the table, Izumi frowned slightly.
She placed the food down and approached Sasuke, squatting before him and gently saying, "Sasuke, you can't go on like this. Please eat something."
Sasuke didn't respond to Izumi at all; he continued staring blankly into space.
Izumi sighed softly. She understood how Sasuke felt. After all, she had gone through it too.
She had also felt completely crushed for days, as if her whole world had collapsed.
But now, she had recovered, hiding her pain deep inside.
Seeing how much weight Sasuke had lost, Izumi realized things couldn't go on like this—it was going to ruin his health completely.
Izumi Uchiha had tried persuading countless times, but Sasuke never listened.
Once again, Izumi tried, "Sasuke, a lot has changed in the clan. No matter how long you keep drowning in self-pity, nothing will change. This path leads nowhere—it'll just ruin your health.
It's natural to grieve—we all feel that pain deeply. But we each have things we must do. We can't let sorrow stop us from moving forward."
After saying this, Izumi stepped out of Sasuke's room. Pressing too hard would only backfire. Some things needed for Sasuke to realize on his own.
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