met free Chapter 260 Night Visit to the Uchiha Clan
Chapter 260 Night Visit to the Uchiha Clan
Chapter 260 Night Visit to the Uchiha Clan
Medical tents at the front-line camp in the land of rivers.
A group of people surrounded a hospital bed, their faces solemn, as if the future was full of thorns.
Jiraiya looked at Yohei lying on the bed, still recovering from his serious injuries, and said in a deep voice, "Continue your story, what happened next!"
"Following the mission instructions, I arrived at a cave in the Land of Rain, where I met the intelligence ninja who came to make the handover. However, as soon as we met, the ninja launched a sneak attack on me and tried to gouge out my eyes."
Jiraiya-sama, they're trying to steal our Konoha's Mangekyou Sharingan!
Fortunately, they underestimated my strength and I managed to turn the tables and kill them. Afterwards, worried that they might have other tricks up their sleeves, I didn't dare linger and quickly cleaned up the battlefield before returning.
As he spoke, Yangping took out another scroll and handed it over.
"These contain the bodies of two enemies. Time was too tight and the battle was too intense, so I only had time to collect these two bodies."
Minato stepped forward without any attempt to hide from the crowd, took the scroll, and immediately formed hand seals to release the corpse inside.
Two corpses appeared before everyone, accompanied by white smoke. The first thing that caught everyone's eye was their clothing.
The black robes and animal masks immediately reminded everyone present of the Dark Guard. Although assassination squads from different countries are similar, there are still some subtle differences between villages. This made everyone present realize that this was the attire of their own Dark Guard.
Those who know more about the Dark Side can also tell from the patterns on their masks that these are not ordinary Dark Side members, but members of the Root.
"This is impossible, Uchiha Yohei. What are your intentions? Where did you find these clothes?"
One of the staff officers couldn't help but exclaim in shock. If it were true that the Root organization of the village had framed their own ninjas, the impact would be enormous.
However, no one else echoed the advisor's question; everyone looked at Jiraiya to see how he would handle the situation.
Jiraiya nodded to Minato. "Minato, check it out."
Upon hearing this, Minato did not hesitate. He immediately removed the masks from the faces of the two corpses, pried open their mouths, and pulled out their tongues.
Clearly, Minato had some understanding of Root, knowing the mark that every Root ninja possessed.
As expected, each of the two corpses had a curse mark under their tongue, which was the mark of the root of tongue calamity.
No one said anything after that, not even the advisor who had just questioned Yang Ping.
The situation here is too complicated. Even though they are all Jonin, they cannot get involved casually. However, a sense of shared sorrow for the fallen is brewing in everyone's hearts.
Regardless of the reason, Uchiha Yohei was a Konoha ninja on the front lines, a hero fighting to protect the village behind him. How could they not have doubts if such a person was framed by the Root?
Seeing everyone's expressions, Jiraiya knew that those who could understand had now figured it out.
Although they want to make a fuss about this, they can't let it affect the situation on the front lines. So the information needs to be disseminated, but it can't be spread recklessly without restraint.
This is why Yangping fainted at the camp gate and remained unconscious for three hours—to get Jiraiya to cooperate in spreading the news among the upper echelons without affecting the lower-ranking ninja.
"This matter is of great importance, and everyone here knows what is important and what should and should not be said. I think you all understand. I will seek justice for Yangping, but until then, you should continue with whatever you were doing."
Jiraiya gave a serious order, but his words were quite interesting. He said it was a matter of great importance, but he didn't give a clear gag order. This made some quick-thinking ninjas immediately understand the meaning behind it: they had to speak out, even if it was necessary.
After everyone else left, only Yangping and his friends remained in the tent.
Unable to contain his curiosity, Obito sat down on the edge of the bed and asked, "Cousin, did you really single-handedly wipe out all those Root ninjas? I heard from Saori that you could ask Taiichi for help."
Yangping glanced at Obito with surprise, then turned to look at Saori. Seeing her nod slightly, he guessed that Saori must have told everyone about this to put everyone's worries at ease.
"There's no Taiyi. Isn't Taiyi on the northern battlefield? Don't talk nonsense. Leaving the front line at will will be seen as desertion."
Yangping said this, but kept winking at Obito. Fortunately, Obito wasn't stupid and quickly understood what he meant. He clearly didn't want to give anyone a reason to criticize him.
"However, cousin, how do you plan to explain your attack to the clan?" Stealing a Sharingan is a big deal no matter what, and it's impossible not to explain it to the clan. Besides, it's not an ordinary Sharingan, but a pair of Mangekyou Sharingan.
Yang Ping, however, remained quite calm and composed, appearing confident. "Don't worry, I've already taken care of this. There's no need for me to worry about it. My main task now is to recover from my injuries."
Obito looked puzzled, as did Kakashi and Rin. Saori, however, seemed to be deep in thought. The only person who could put Yohei at ease like this was Taichi. It seemed that they had a plan all along.
The frontline camp returned to calm, but beneath this calm, undercurrents were surging.
First, rumors circulated among ordinary ninjas that Yangping was ambushed by the enemy while on a mission, and that the enemy was able to ambush him because a spy had leaked the mission information.
Many people saw Yangping faint at the camp gate that day, and most of them believed the rumor. A ninja of Yangping's strength is not someone that can be forced to this point by just anyone. If he really can't beat someone, he can still run away. Only if he was ambushed could he be in such a sorry state.
In no time, the entire camp was filled with calls to find the spy, and Jiraiya actually followed this public opinion and eliminated several spies planted at the root.
After all, the mission manual was genuine; such a mission scroll couldn't have been made without the cooperation of insiders.
The camp, unusually, ignored this dubious rumor and allowed it to circulate freely within the camp.
On the very night that Yangping was attacked, an unexpected guest arrived outside the Uchiha clan's territory.
This man was none other than Matsushita Taichi. After rescuing Yohei, he returned to the northern camp, arranged all the affairs, left a shadow clone, and quietly returned to his home in Konoha.
At this moment, Taiyi couldn't help but exclaim once again how useful the Flying Thunder God Technique was. As long as you have enough chakra, it only takes a moment to travel from the east to the west of the ninja world.
That said, taking advantage of the dark night, Taiyi skillfully moved through various corners without alerting anyone.
He knew exactly where the barriers were in the village and how the patrol personnel operated; this was one of the results of his months in the barrier team.
Upon entering the Uchiha clan's territory, the security was noticeably higher, but this did not pose a challenge for Taiichi. His increasingly proficient Earth Release techniques were on full display at this moment. Taiichi remained hidden underground the entire time, and even when patrolling ninjas walked over his head, they did not notice that someone was hiding underneath him.
After some effort, Taiichi finally found his target: the residence of Fugaku Uchiha, the head of the Uchiha clan. After bypassing several hidden barriers, Taiichi cleverly arrived at the hall in front of the bedroom.
Upon arriving here, Taiyi no longer concealed himself and quietly released his aura.
At that very moment, Taiichi keenly noticed that in the bedroom, the breathing of Uchiha Fugaku suddenly became heavy.
Clearly, Fugaku Uchiha had discovered Taichi's presence. Considering that Taichi could have entered silently, the fact that he was now emanating an aura that allowed him to detect him was a signal of invitation.
Although he was extremely unhappy, considering the other party's ability to infiltrate silently, Fugaku Uchiha wisely gave in.
He got up and dressed quietly, but his movements still woke his wife.
"What's wrong? Why are you going out so late?"
"We have guests visiting, and I need to go and greet them. You can continue sleeping."
After saying this, he left the bedroom and headed for the living room without waiting for his wife to speak. In those few steps, Fugaku pondered many things. What was the purpose of such a powerful figure visiting him so late at night? If things turned sour, should he call upon his clan members to attack him?
All of these assumptions vanished when Fugaku saw the newcomer: Matsushita Taichi, Yohei's friend and captain. What was he here for at this time?
"Chief Fugaku seems quite surprised to see me!" Taichi looked at Fugaku, who was walking towards him, with great interest.
"I think at this point in time, I would be surprised no matter who I see, wouldn't you say, Taichi Matsushita?"
"Haha, that's true." Taiichi chuckled and explained, "It's just that there are too many people around during the day, so it's not convenient to talk about many things. Therefore, I can only visit you late at night. Please understand, Clan Chief Fugaku."
At this moment, Fugaku also came to the opposite side of Taiichi and knelt down. The two looked at each other and remained silent for a long time. Just as the atmosphere was becoming increasingly strange, a light footstep sound came.
It turned out to be Fugaku's wife, Uchiha Mikoto, who was bringing over two cups of hot tea.
"Oh, it's Taiichi. I've heard Kushina mention you more than once." She placed a cup of tea in front of Taiichi. "Please have some tea."
"Thank you." Tai nodded in thanks. "I've heard Kushina-nee talk about her good friend more than once. You're even more beautiful than I've heard."
"Hehe." Mikoto said with one hand, "You little one really knows how to talk. I won't disturb your business discussion any longer, so I'll take my leave now."
With that, Mikoto placed another cup of tea in front of Fugaku, then got up and left the living room.
"Chief Fugaku has a good wife."
"Mikoto is indeed a good wife." Fugaku smiled happily.
Taiyi picked up the teacup, took a small sip, and then put it down, his expression turning serious.
"Clan Chief Fugaku is unaware that I just rescued Yohei from an ambush this morning."
"What! An ambush!" Upon hearing this, Fugaku stood up straight in shock, his hands unconsciously clenching into fists.
"Yes, ambush." Tai nodded, then took out a letter from his pocket and pushed it next to Fugaku. "This is a letter written by Yohei. It contains what Yohei said to you. You can take a look first."
Fugaku took the letter, opened it, and began to read it immediately. The first thing he read was the contents, which made him feel a chill run down his spine and were also quite shocking.
I looked at the hidden lines between the lines a second time. These were the secret codes agreed upon after I confirmed contact with Yangping last time, in order to prevent others from using the letters to transmit incorrect information.
After verifying everything, Fugaku put down the letter, took a deep breath, and calmed his turbulent emotions.
"Taiichi, do you have any thoughts?" This time, Fugaku even changed his form of address and became much more polite.
"Yohei has explained the whole story in his letter, so I think Chief Fugaku will no longer have any doubts. Danzo of Root has always been prejudiced against the Uchiha clan. This time, in order to seize the Mangekyou Sharingan, he directly sent ninjas to kill his comrades in the village. This has crossed the line."
Fugaku Uchiha was also angry, but his eyes showed more helplessness. Since the Second Hokage, the Uchiha clan had been somewhat isolated from the other ninja clans in the village. Now that they had encountered this situation, they didn't even have a comrade to support them.
Moreover, if the radical members of the clan find out about this, who knows what kind of trouble they'll cause.
Looking at Fugaku Uchiha's expression, Taiichi could roughly guess the inside story. It could only be said that the Uchiha clan lacked a decisive force. The entire clan was divided into three factions, and the strength of these three factions was roughly the same. None of them could do anything to the others, which made it difficult to make many decisions and prevented them from forming a united force.
"Clan Chief Fugaku, this is a rare opportunity. I want to know if the Uchiha clan can truly stand firmly behind Yohei. If they can't even do that, then there's no need to continue this conversation."
Fugaku Uchiha suddenly looked up and stared intently at Taichi. Taichi's words were a huge insult to them. If they couldn't even do this, what future did the Uchiha have to talk about?
Thinking back to what the elder had told him before, the future of the family might just lie in the hands of this young man and Yang Ping.
He immediately made up his mind that, no matter what, the entire clan must have only one voice this time. At worst, he would personally take to the field and beat all the opponents to let them know that he, Fugaku Uchiha, did not get his position as clan head through connections.
"Taiyi, don't worry. This time, the entire Uchiha clan will support Yangping. Just tell us your plans, and we will definitely cooperate."
"Alright, with the clan leader's words, I can rest assured." Taiichi also breathed a sigh of relief. "Did the Fugaku clan leader notice that during this sneak attack, the Root ninjas initially targeted the Mangekyou Sharingan, but after Yohei dodged it, they switched to killing Yohei first?"
Fugaku Uchiha recalled Yohei's letter and realized that it did mention these things, which made him even angrier. The Sharingan was the symbol of their clan, and now someone was actually eyeing it. This was definitely a violation of the bottom line of a bloodline clan.
"This is precisely what we can take advantage of. When news of Yangping's framing reaches Konoha, I hope the clan head will visit each of the other ninja clans to gather everyone's strength. Only in this way can we force the village's leadership to compromise."
"But, Taiichi, to be honest, our clan doesn't have a friendly relationship with the other ninja clans. They might not help us in this regard; on the contrary, they might be hoping something bad happens to us."
This is truly a tragedy.