"Mangekyō?!" Muroto Jōmon looked at the Uchiha clansman who had suddenly awakened the Mangekyō. Although he had already learned about it from Lord Jun, seeing it with his own eyes still shocked him. After all, back then...
That pair of Mangekyō, which had dominated the world, had truly frightened the Chinoike Clan.
"Don't be nervous." Muroto Jōmon sat down and said with a smile, "Let the past stay in the past. Now, we are all citizens of Uzushiogakure."
"In fact..."
"We are even colleagues!"
This was what most of the Chinoike Clan thought. If the Uchiha Clan were still a noble clan of Konoha, then vengeance would have been inevitable. But now that they had become a clan of Uzushiogakure...
It was time to let go.
So many years had passed, and the Chinoike were living well now. Just as Lord Jun had said, there was no need to dwell in hatred. They should cherish what they had in the present. And indeed, having suffered hardships, the Chinoike valued their current lives more than anyone else.
"You aren't...?" Uchiha Fugaku saw that Muroto Jōmon had no intention of attacking him, so he also sat down. After a moment of silence, he decided to ask, "Who exactly is that Mangekyō user?"
His hands clenched tightly. The Uchiha Clan's current predicament was partly due to the policies set by the Second Hokage, but another reason was...
Uchiha Shin!
The one who had stirred up chaos across the shinobi world!
"I don't know either." Muroto Jōmon shook his head and sighed. "That Mangekyō user always wore a mask. No one knows his true identity."
As someone who already knew Lord Jun's true identity, he had rehearsed their story yesterday.
Any blame...
Would be pinned on Konoha!
"Back then, our Chinoike Clan also thought we would be wiped out, but the leader of the Akatsuki took us away." Muroto Jōmon spoke with a tone of relief. "They are an organization that yearns for peace and is dedicated to public welfare."
"So, we were brought to Uzushiogakure. You probably know this already, but Uzushiogakure seems to have a partnership with Akatsuki. They have been searching for a path that can bring hope and peace to this chaotic shinobi world."
"If you don't understand, you can look around Uzushiogakure later." Muroto Jōmon smiled at Uchiha Fugaku. "You'll see how different Uzushiogakure is from other nations."
"You'll come to like it here."
"Then..." Uchiha Fugaku fell silent after hearing Muroto Jōmon's words. He was aware of the relationship between Akatsuki and Uzushiogakure—or rather, most shinobi villages knew about the close ties between that powerful organization and Uzushiogakure. In the end, he sighed regretfully. "No one knows?"
He had thought that here, he might finally learn the identity of the Mangekyō user who had reduced the Uchiha Clan to this state.
If... if he could just find him, with his own Mangekyō, perhaps he could capture him.
But now...
No one knew!
"No!" Muroto Jōmon shook his head, frowning. "According to Akatsuki's intelligence, that Mangekyō user is indeed from Konoha."
"And..."
"It seems he only has one Mangekyō eye."
Sigh!
These were all things Lord Jun had instructed him to say. No matter what, they would shift the blame onto Konoha.
"One eye... Mangekyō?" Uchiha Fugaku frowned and muttered, "Who could it be?"
Konoha...
The only ones in Konoha who could awaken the Mangekyō were the Uchiha. But now, even with the Uchiha Clan in such a state, that Mangekyō user still hadn't appeared. So...
"Uchiha Shin... Konoha!" Uchiha Fugaku clenched his fists, his face twisting in fury. "I will find out the truth!"
"Calm down, calm down!" Seeing Uchiha Fugaku like this, Muroto Jōmon broke into a cold sweat internally and quickly said, "In our line of work, we must always wear a smile. We can't let emotions interfere with our duties."
"I..." Uchiha Fugaku paused, took a deep breath, and regained his stoic expression. "My apologies."
"It's fine. I understand." Muroto Jōmon smiled bitterly and shook his head. "Back then, our Chinoike Clan..."
"Now, only a dozen or so clansmen remain."
"I... the Uchiha..." Uchiha Fugaku didn't know how to respond to Muroto Jōmon's words.
But...
"It's fine." Muroto Jōmon waved his hand and smiled. "Back then, we were on opposing sides. What's past is past. Now, we are both part of Uzushiogakure, so there's no need to worry."
"Thank you." Uchiha Fugaku let out a sigh of relief. If conflict broke out between the Uchiha and the Chinoike now, he didn't know how Lord Jun would react, especially since...
The Chinoike Clan had arrived in Uzushiogakure long before the Uchiha!
"What do you need me to do?" Uchiha Fugaku took a deep breath, suppressing his hatred.
Right now, his duty as clan leader was to ensure the Uchiha Clan's stability.
"Hmm..." Muroto Jōmon thought for a moment. "For the next few days, familiarize yourself with the workflow. Follow the patrol officers on their rounds to get accustomed to the environment."
"Understood." Uchiha Fugaku nodded.
This would be a good opportunity to see how Uzushiogakure's police force differed from Konoha's security team.
"Then I'll head out to work now." Uchiha Fugaku stood up. "I'll make sure the Uchiha Clan behaves appropriately."
"Don't worry." Muroto Jōmon smiled and nodded. "Someone outside will guide you on your tasks, so there's no need to be nervous."
"Oh, right."
As Uchiha Fugaku turned to leave, Muroto Jōmon suddenly remembered something and asked, "How much did the Uchiha borrow from that loan shark?"
That ruthless bastard...
The interest rates just kept climbing!
"Loan?" Uchiha Fugaku turned back in confusion. "The Uchiha Clan didn't take any loans."
"Before coming here, Lord Jun told us to bring some money, so the Uchiha Clan doesn't need loans."
It was just a shame they couldn't bring the valuable land deeds from Konoha.
Meanwhile...
Hearing Uchiha Fugaku's words, Muroto Jōmon stared blankly at his retreating figure, then...
"No fair!!"
A wail echoed through the office.
Danzo sighed as he looked at the Uchiha Clan leader, who had plunged a long sword into his own stomach. He hadn't even planned to do anything, so why had the man committed suicide?
And even killed his own clansmen...
What a ruthless man!
When the ANBU tried to take the Uchiha corpses away, Danzo invoked the Hokage's authority and brought them all to ROOT instead.
"Sharingan..." Danzo murmured. "How enviable."
The Wood Release of the God of Shinobi, and the Mangekyō of the God of Shinobi's rival.
These two kekkei genkai were coveted by the entire shinobi world. But ever since the First Hokage and Madara had left, no one else had awakened them.
Well, no—that wasn't entirely true.
The deceased Senju Clan leader had also awakened Wood Release in his final moments.
Danzo walked up to the Uchiha Clan leader's body. The man had kept his back turned the entire time, and after just a few words...
He had killed himself.
"What a waste of eyes." Danzo stared at the closed eyelids, then touched the bandages covering his right eye. "In that case, leave them to me."
"Let these eyes continue protecting Konoha."
He reached out and pried open the Uchiha Clan leader's eyes.
But then...
Danzo's own eyes widened in shock. "Mangekyō?!"
Indeed, what lay before him was not the standard three-tomoe Sharingan the Uchiha Clan leader had possessed, but...
A pinwheel pattern formed by three interconnected tomoe.
However...
"Why only one?" Danzo frowned at the empty socket of the other eye.