When Uchiha Shao Yu first transmigrated, he had already considered the path of defection.
Anyone who has seen Naruto knows that the Uchiha Clan is practically loathed by everyone in Konoha.
Especially the Konoha High-level, those old geezers like Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura; those two are the prime examples.
That old fellow Danzo Shimura is constantly thinking about the demise of the Uchiha Clan.
The hatred for the Uchiha Clan began with the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama. That old man even created the Konoha Military Police Force, which caused the Uchiha Clan to be completely marginalized within the entire Konoha Village.
But although that naturally evil Senju brat, Senju Tobirama, disliked the Uchiha Clan, it hadn't reached the point of extermination; at most, he carried out a series of suppressions.
However, since Senju Tobirama died on the Kumogakure battlefield and Hiruzen Sarutobi took office, life for the Uchiha Clan has become increasingly difficult.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura, one playing the good cop and the other the bad cop, have been constantly suppressing the Uchiha Clan.
If it were just that, it might be fine, but not only has the Uchiha Clan offended the higher-ups, they don't even have a good reputation in the rest of Konoha Village.
Which of the other Ninja clans looks at the Uchiha Clan with favor?
But there's no helping it.
The Uchiha Clan's great talent and the resulting power have led to their innate arrogance, making them out of place in Konoha Village.
As for the other Konoha Village residents, they are even worse.
The term 'Konoha's unruly mobs' isn't used for nothing.
Shao Yu felt that if he didn't defect and continued to stay here, he would eventually be suffocated to death by frustration.
With such powerful strength, where would their Uchiha Clan not be embraced and respected? Instead, they are marginalized like this in Konoha Village.
Expanding his Six Eyes to observe the situation outside, Uchiha Shao Yu already knew that Danzo had arrived. However, the Clan Chief had indeed blocked him. It seemed the current Clan Chief wasn't yet that softie Fugaku from later on; he still had some backbone.
But since the Clan Chief belonged to the Dove Faction, Uchiha Shao Yu, planning to defect, thought it better to go find the leader of the Hawk Faction, Uchiha Setsuna.
Uchiha Setsuna was a smart man; he would know what to do.
With the Clan Chief here, Danzo wouldn't be able to get through, which gave him some time to prepare... Danzo looked at the group of red eyes surrounding him and felt a bit uneasy.
Although he loathed these Uchihas, he had to admit that their combat power was indeed extraordinary; it was difficult for Ninjas of the same level to contend with them.
He knew that if he tried to force his way in, he would surely be minced into meat sauce by these Uchiha Clan members.
Although he was still relatively young and possessed Kage-level combat power even without using his trump cards, he was certainly no match for so many Uchihas.
"So many Three-Tomoe Sharingan... these damned Uchihas still possess such great power. They must be weakened."
After all, the Root Ninjas he had brought along weren't of much use here.
"Damn it, after I return this time, I must have Hiruzen sign off on some paperwork to get some Bloodline Limit Ninjas from the clans into our Root. Otherwise, I'll have no one useful at all."
"And what's going on with Fox and Bear? Why haven't they finished yet? Don't tell me those few can't even take down a heavily injured person?"
After waiting for a long time and seeing that his subordinates still hadn't returned, Danzo knew those useless trash had likely failed and wouldn't be coming back.
"Clan Chief Tenjima, we shall meet again."
With a dark expression, Danzo left the Uchiha Clan Compound in a huff.
Seeing Danzo leave, Tenjima also relaxed.
He truly didn't want to clash with Danzo, but if Danzo had entered and taken away a genius of the Uchiha Clan right under his nose, he might as well stop being the Clan Chief.
"Sigh, these are troubled times."
...Uchiha Shao Yu stepped onto the moonlit stone path of the clan compound, his pace light yet steady.
The Hawk Faction's gathering place deep within the compound was hidden behind an old pine forest; it was an unremarkable stone house that carried a faint scent of gunpowder year-round.
Those were the marks left by the Hawk Faction members' constant private training and sparring.
He raised his hand and knocked on the stone door. The rhythm of three long and two short was the internal signal of the Hawk Faction, and steady footsteps soon approached from inside.
The one who opened the door was an old man with a hunched frame but a straight back. His silver hair was like frost, combed meticulously, and his forehead was etched with deep wrinkles—marks left by time and the battlefield.
At the corner of his left eye was an old scar that ran through the brow bone, looking particularly fierce in the dim light. It was indeed Uchiha Setsuna.
He was over seventy years old, dressed in dark, stiff-starched combat gear. The uchiwa clan crest on his collar had faded slightly from age, and his gnarled finger joints were swollen, yet he could still hold a weapon steadily.
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun slowly within the cloudy whites of his eyes. When he saw it was Shao Yu, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes, and he stepped aside to let him in. His voice carried an aged rasp but remained firm.
"Shao Yu? To come looking for me at this time, do you have urgent business?"
The stone house was simply furnished, with only a stone table missing a corner and a few low stools. A few bundles of firewood were piled in the corner, and the Ninjutsu diagrams hanging on the wall had yellowed and curled.
As soon as Shao Yu sat down, he spoke bluntly.
"Elder Setsuna, I've come to tell you that I'm defecting from Konoha."
The reason he said it so directly was because, in the memories of Uchiha Shao Yu's previous self, the Elder Setsuna before him was absolutely trustworthy regarding the matter of defection.
Uchiha Setsuna was one of the few smart people in the Uchiha Clan; he knew what choice he should make.
As the words fell, the air in the stone house instantly froze. Uchiha Setsuna's hand holding the coarse ceramic teacup paused, his knuckles turning white from the grip. He didn't immediately object, but simply looked steadily at Shao Yu, the tomoe in his Sharingan rotating slowly as if weighing the gravity of those words.
"Do you know what these words mean? A defector will be hunted by Konoha, and from then on, the world may be vast, but there will be no place for you to stay. I have lived for over seventy years and have seen the ends of too many defectors."
There was one more sentence he didn't say.
"The last Uchiha to defect was named Uchiha Madara."
"I know better than anyone."
Shao Yu met his gaze, the Six Eyes operating quietly as a sharp light flickered in his eyes.
"But staying in Konoha only leads to a dead end. Danzo's Roots have already reached the edge of our compound. If the Clan Chief hadn't stopped him just now, he might have already broken in."
"You and I both understand that the high-level's suppression of our Uchiha has never been for the order of Konoha, but to eliminate dissidents. If we wait any longer, we will either be slowly worn down by them or face the end of our clan."
He paused, his tone becoming increasingly firm.
"Our Uchiha Clan possesses the finest bloodline and the most powerful Sharingan. Why should we take the abuse of those old geezers in Konoha? Why should we be marginalized as monsters by the villagers? Instead of suffocating to death in frustration here, it's better to carve out a bloody path and find a place where the Uchiha can truly stand."
Advance chapter available on pãtrêon Got1808