Danzō's reinstatement was terrible news for the Uchiha. Of course, for foreign village spies, it was an even bigger headache.
When dealing with the Uchiha, Danzō would only monitor you openly, targeting you at every turn. Covertly, he would ensure your geniuses, your promising talents, fell victim to one 'enemy assassination' after another.
But dealing with these foreign spies? Heh... Do you know why that old dog Danzō is called the Darkness of Shinobi?
Konoha was truly undergoing a great purge this time. This wasn't the small-scale trouble caused by three young boys; Danzō was conducting a real, thorough cleansing. Suspects were being taken away everywhere, though Danzō showed restraint this time, not targeting any shinobi clans directly.
What a joke! I, Danzō, may be ruthless and cunning, but I'm not stupid. Just got out to reassert my presence, that's all. If I started biting my own people right away, what would everyone think? They'd say I've gone rabid! I'd be sent back to my bedrest in no time.
As for the Uchiha... don't worry, we'll settle our accounts slowly. Right now, it's time to slaughter the piglets that have grown fat over the years.
There's a saying: when you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.
Utatane Koharu, as usual, had been instructing Uzumaki Kushina on some medical techniques. Feeling a bit tired, she thought this student wasn't bad—a bit rough around the edges, like Tsunade in her youth, but unlike Tsunade, she respected her elders. Perhaps being an orphan, though a princess in her own right, made her more mindful of how others perceived her.
Checking the time, she stopped Kushina's training, gave a few instructions, and began walking home under Anbu protection. Halfway there, she remembered her child wanted dango, so she detoured to the food street to buy a few skewers personally.
Just as she turned to leave, she was ambushed. In her panic, she instinctively dashed into the panicking crowd, seeking cover. The Anbu were fending off the assassins, but they were clearly unprepared for this, and the attackers had no intention of letting her go, throwing several shuriken tagged with explosive notes into the crowd.
The explosions left a scene of carnage, casualties everywhere. Utatane Koharu, to her credit, still had some fight in her. She turned, ready for a last stand. Just then, a Root member assigned to her covert protection appeared and swiftly escorted her away.
Another Root member, seeing the elder had escaped, ignored the rest and left immediately.
The fight lasted only a dozen seconds before an Uchiha patrol arrived and quickly eliminated the attackers. Seeing the bodies and wounded littering the ground, they immediately signaled, putting all of Konoha on high alert.
When Uchiha Kairen arrived, he was met with rows of cold, lifeless bodies. Then he spotted a familiar figure—the dual-wielder Uchiha Kirito—kneeling on the ground, clutching a body too mangled to recognize.
He was afraid to go closer, terrified his suspicion would be confirmed. Watching the frantic crowds, seeing families crying and comforting each other beside their loved ones, he couldn't hold back any longer. He felt his entire being ignite. What the fuck happened here?!
As he stepped closer, his eyes spun rapidly, finally settling into the three-tomoe pattern.
Even with the three-tomoe Sharingan active, his vision blurred. Tears streamed down his face. Clenching his fists, he kept asking why, how could this happen? He found no answers.
He wanted to see his cousin's face, but all he saw was a bloody, mangled head.
Hatred surged in his heart. He wanted to kill everyone involved in this. Everyone!
The attack left Konoha with heavy casualties: 47 dead, 121 injured. Among the dead were 17 children who had been eating dango at the time!
Bowing to public fury, Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered a ruthless purge of spies within Konoha, declaring it better to kill innocents by mistake than let any escape.
The Uchiha clan lost three members: two children and one woman. The woman had used her body to shield the children from the first wave of projectiles but couldn't protect them from the explosive notes thrown into the crowd.
When the Uchiha learned the full story, the entire clan was enraged. How shameless! How dare you call yourself a shinobi! Hiding in a crowd for cover—do you have no shame?!
Despite the Third Hokage and his faction desperately whitewashing the incident, claiming Elder Koharu was 'knocked into the crowd,' and despite Danzō arresting anyone spreading unfavorable information, everyone present was a shinobi. Who in their right mind would knock a target into a crowd during an assassination? It was adding legs to a snake—pointless and chaotic. Weren't there enough people around the assassination target already?
Seeing the public anger couldn't be quelled, Utatane Koharu resigned from her position as advisor, citing her responsibility for the many innocent villagers killed or injured during the attempt on her life. This barely stabilized the situation.
At the Uchiha cemetery, Uchiha Kairen stood silently before his cousin's gravestone for a long time. Uchiha Retsu, unable to bear seeing him like this, tried to comfort him. "Your cousin was always so lively and lovely. She wouldn't want to see the older brother she admired so heartbroken."
Uchiha Honō looked at Retsu, speechless. Brother, if you don't know how to comfort people, just shut up. That's not helping; you're just rubbing salt in the wound!
Uchiha Kairen stood up, touched the tombstone, and kissed its upper edge. He then turned to his two teammates. "I need to go home now. I have something to tell you both at the training ground tomorrow."
They understood he needed to be with his family. The three nodded and parted ways.
Returning home, Uchiha kairen found only his father. Asking about his mother, he learned she was at his aunt's house and wouldn't be back for some time. His teacher, Uchiha Ankoku, was also at his uncle's place. Everyone was worried his uncle might do something rash in his grief.
Something rash. Hearing those words, Uchiha Kairen's Sharingan activated instantly. "Something rash? Like taking a knife to that old hag?! If he's going after her, Uncle had better take me with him!"
The handsome middle-aged man was stunned by his son's words. Collecting himself, he said, "Don't talk nonsense. The root of this actually traces back to you. If you hadn't started that spy hunt and let the Military Police Force claim all the credit, the Third wouldn't have reinstated Danzō to bolster the Anbu's deterrent power. Danzō's mad-dog tactics provoked a counterattack from the spies, leading to this assassination... We're all part of the same village. We should be united against external enemies!"
Uchiha Kairen didn't want to hear any more. "Who did you just meet with?"
The handsome man sighed. "No one in particular. I just ran into Elder Homura while buying some sake and chatted for a bit."
This is unbearable! How could his father be so naive, so easily swayed? Believing whatever others said. By that logic, the police shouldn't arrest criminals!
No matter what, he was just performing his duty. That old witch got herself targeted, ran like a scared dog into a crowd, got his cousin killed for it, and his father was still taking their side? Now he understood why his mother had left—she must have been furious too!
He couldn't stay here any longer, or he might just explode on the spot.
"Father, I'm going to ask Mother to come back. Aunt probably has enough people with her already." He picked up a flask of sake as he left.
Walking away, he called back, "Don't drink so much for no reason! Alcohol rots your brain!"
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