Fang Yuan had a good rest after returning to the village. The next day, while strolling down the street, he passed by Quan's meatball shop and noticed Quan stepping out with a beautiful woman.
They were both dressed in black, holding black umbrellas. Quan carried a bouquet of flowers wrapped in black paper.
Seeing Fang Yuan, Quan was momentarily surprised but quickly greeted him, "Fang Yuan-san, you're back! Did you have a good time these past two days?"
She had been planning to look for Fang Yuan when she went into the village with her mother today, but she hadn't expected him to have already returned to the clan.
"Izumi, good morning. And Aunt Yueye!" Fang Yuan greeted politely.
Uchiha Yueye, holding Izumi's hand, nodded in a friendly manner. She spoke to Fang Yuan with a hint of regret, "Xiao Fangyuan, Quan and I have to go into the village to attend a funeral today, so we can't go with you. Please forgive us."
"It's no problem," Fang Yuan replied with a smile, shaking his head.
He hadn't expected that, in the eyes of these adults, Uchiha Izumi was just playing every time she came to see him. In reality, she was practicing ninjutsu very seriously each time.
Despite her talent, which marked her as a genius in the Uchiha clan, her mother and grandmother still saw her as a weak little girl.
Was a six-year-old with dual magatama Sharingans really that unremarkable? Izumi's father had died in the Nine-Tails Rebellion a few years ago. She had witnessed his tragic death with her own eyes.
That experience had triggered the awakening of her dual magatama Sharingan, a secret she had only shared with her good friend, Uchiha Fang Yuan.
"Quan, don't worry about me..." Fang Yuan saw the joy in the little girl's eyes, which made his heart skip a beat. He quickly looked away and said goodbye to the mother and daughter.
Seeing Uchiha Yueye heading to the funeral, Fang Yuan could guess the situation. The fact that a female ninja from the Uchiha clan was attending the funeral meant the deceased was likely someone of noble status or a fellow ninja.
The most recent female ninja to die was close in age to Uchiha Yueye—one of the women Fang Yuan had seen teaming up with Kakashi in Hanawan-cho.
He hadn't expected the Third Hokage to hold a funeral for her. Fang Yuan was indeed a little surprised. He knew the nature of the work of the Anbu personnel. Under the principle of "mission first," the identity information of their members would never be exposed to the outside world.
So even if they died during a mission, most Anbu ninjas died in obscurity, with no one to mourn them.
But this time, something unexpected had happened. Konoha's leaders not only prepared a funeral but a grand one at that. Not only that, they had even invited the Uchiha clan, who had always had a strained relationship with the village.
Their purpose was obvious—they were fishing, hoping to catch the big fish, Fang Yuan.
Since Fang Yuan had revealed his Sharingan in front of Kakashi, Konoha's leaders had specially invited the Uchiha clan this time, hoping to identify Fang Yuan through their investigations.
However, no matter how hard they tried, they could never imagine that the true mastermind behind the Huawanyi Town incident was a six-year-old child. Even if Fang Yuan admitted to everything, no one would believe it.
"I doubt the village will be peaceful in the coming days," Fang Yuan analyzed.
Due to the influence of Putian Yilang, all departments in Konoha were conducting investigations and searches. The next few days would be especially uneasy for spies from various countries.
Fang Yuan walked to the corner of the Uchiha clan's territory. Although it wasn't as bustling as the commercial streets of Konoha Village, it still had a variety of businesses.
The place Fang Yuan was most interested in was a restaurant called Jiuxianju. After entering, he contacted the clerk and bought a few bottles of the cheapest liquor.
Though Fang Yuan had a million ryo, he knew he couldn't draw attention or make others covet him, so he started by buying the cheapest wine.
"Let's try our luck tonight. If we can find the drinking bug, that would be ideal. If not, we'll have to figure out how to get some good wine later," Fang Yuan muttered.
He summoned a ninja tool bag and put several bottles of wine inside. The clerk's attitude immediately became more respectful after seeing Fang Yuan's actions.
The number of ninjas in Konoha Village was relatively small compared to civilians, and even fewer were from the Uchiha clan, who rarely intermarried with other clans. It was hard for a civilian not to show respect when encountering a ninja.
Although Fang Yuan was often belittled and laughed at by those who knew him, to ordinary people, someone who could become a ninja at such a young age was likely an elite of the Uchiha clan, someone they dared not offend.
"Keep what you saw today to yourself. I'll come back to buy more wine later, and I'll make sure to reward you handsomely," Fang Yuan said, glaring at the clerk and casually handing over a small tip.
The clerk nodded earnestly and watched Fang Yuan leave with a respectful expression.
Such was the nature of small people. Xiao Huikeli might keep some secrets for Fang Yuan, but if Fang Yuan spent too lavishly, it would draw attention to his assets, which seemed inappropriate for his age.
Within a day, news of Fang Yuan spending large sums of money on wine would reach Uchiha Dongtu's ears.
Though Uchiha Dongtu didn't wield any real power among the Uchiha elders, he still had some authority over street management and shop taxes.
For instance, when their family's large villa was first built, his uncle had deducted some illegal revenue from the clan's commercial street.
That's why the current Uchiha culture is so disliked. It would be one thing if they were hostile to the villagers, but they were equally harsh towards their own. The left-wing elements, led by Uchiha Huo, secretly spread dissenting views everywhere, criticizing Konoha's unfair treatment of the Uchiha clan.
Many in the Uchiha clan had been influenced and now harbored resentment towards the village. Most of their husbands and children had died in the Nine-Tails incident.
The Uchiha, who should have been honored as heroes, were instead framed as the culprits by those with ulterior motives, who spread the theory that the Nine-Tails had been controlled by the Sharingan.
It was hard not to feel resentful after hearing such remarks.
Not only that, but the Third Hokage had also been quite ruthless in this matter. At Danzo's urging, he delayed the compensation to the Uchiha clan for this incident for various reasons.
He also took the opportunity to further restrict the Uchiha's living space under the pretense of village safety, ordering Uchiha Fugaku to relocate the clan's territory to the outskirts of Konoha.
As one of Konoha's founding clans alongside the Hyuga, the Uchiha had always considered themselves the village's nobility and had never been treated this way before. It almost led to a riot that year.
If Fugaku hadn't personally paid compensation for the fallen clan members, things might have escalated even further.
Of course, even after these actions, the seeds of hatred had already been quietly planted, waiting to sprout one day.