Across from him, Uchiha Tanaka frowned when he saw Renya step forward.
So the Third Hokage's confidence really was this guy.
Only… how exactly he planned to stop this conflict was unknown.
"Hey, all of you, stop."
Renya's indifferent voice, enhanced by chakra, clearly reached the ears of everyone present.
The Anbu didn't hesitate in the slightest. They instantly pulled back from their opponents and retreated behind Danzo.
Only Renya stood alone at the very front of the formation, calmly watching the dozens of elite Uchiha jōnin before him.
Even with tens of Sharingan pairs staring at him, his expression did not change.
"You're nothing but a traitor who got kicked out of the clan. What right do you have to boss us around?"
A Uchiha hawk-faction jōnin said with disdain.
"Brat, get out of the way. Don't get in the way of us Uchiha!"
Renya had been expelled from the Uchiha for over twenty years. Younger shinobi might not know, but these veteran jōnin knew it all too well.
An Uchiha, taken in by their mortal enemy, the Senju—he even refused to return to the clan.
All day long he stayed in the kitchen experimenting with recipes to curry favor with Senju Tobirama.
Back then the whole affair had spread wildly through the clan. Renya was practically the disgrace of the Uchiha!
Even though Renya earned countless merits on the battlefield—
Even if the Uchiha didn't dare target him openly, they were deeply displeased in private.
So now that Renya stepped out to play mediator, the hawk faction naturally reacted with hostility.
Shimura Danzo and the others instinctively retreated a few steps when they heard this.
The Uchiha hawk faction really was suicidal!
The last person who dared talk to Renya like that… the grass on his grave was already up to the ankles.
"Shut up!" Uchiha Tanaka barked.
Even if he didn't know what Renya's hidden cards were, Konoha's "Poison Master" was absolutely not someone to provoke lightly!
If Renya got angry, he might even poison the clan's water well in the middle of the night.
This guy couldn't be judged by common sense.
But the enraged Uchiha clansmen didn't care about their clan head's warning.
They continued to throw insults at Renya.
What right did this brat have to stand up as mediator?
Being raised by the Senju for decades—did he really think he was a Senju now?
"Kid, we didn't bother looking for you all these years, but you actually ran here looking for death!"
"Today we'll show you the price of being a mediator!"
A large group of Uchiha glared fiercely at the silent Renya.
They were convinced the brat had been scared stiff.
"Hmph, isn't he just someone who kills with cheap tricks? And they call him the 'Poison Master'? What a joke!"
Mocking jeers from the Uchiha rose one after another.
Dozens of elite jōnin really had no reason to fear one Renya.
That was why they dared be so brazen.
Even if Renya was known as the "Poison Master," he couldn't kill all of them.
They all had three tomoe—who should fear who?
Fifteen against one, the advantage is ours!
Uchiha Tanaka's face darkened. These fools were getting more and more out of control!
They didn't even listen to their clan head anymore!
Among the Uchiha, strength decided everything.
But Uchiha Tanaka was old now, and his prestige had indeed waned.
With hawk-faction members riling up emotions, no one cared about his words.
Shimura Danzo and the others stepped back again.
"Kagami, your clansmen really aren't afraid of death," Sarutobi Hiruzen muttered under his breath.
Uchiha Kagami could only give a bitter smile. This wasn't going to end peacefully.
Although Tobirama-sensei had said not to cause any deaths—
But that order was for Danzo, not for Renya…
If possible, he truly wanted to tear the mouths off these clansmen.
Did they really not understand that disaster comes from careless words?
"Stop talking to him. Just take him down!"
The hawk-faction jōnin who had mocked Renya earlier said coldly.
"That's right—let the traitor see the consequences of betraying the clan!"
The Uchiha prepared to charge, and Uchiha Tanaka urgently tried to stop them.
"All of you, stop!"
"Clan Head-sama, you're getting old. After this matter is done, you should retire."
The leading hawk-faction Uchiha said expressionlessly.
Uchiha Tanaka said nothing.
The man was clearly challenging his authority, but he didn't respond.
After provoking Renya, surviving was already uncertain.
He had no need to get angry at a man about to die.
Most of the clansmen Tanaka had gathered here were hawk-faction members. The rest were uncertain and easily swayed.
If they really ended up being killed by Renya, then it was simply what they deserved.
He had long wanted to use the Hokage's hand to eradicate these unstable elements.
The plan was proceeding smoothly—Renya had already been provoked.
These people were as good as dead.
"Clan Head-sama, must it really come to this?" the clan head's guard asked, face full of reluctance.
After all, the hawk faction were still Uchiha clansmen…
"Use their deaths to buy the clan peace…" Uchiha Tanaka looked at his guard. "Do you think it's worth it?"
The guard said no more.
The Uchiha had lived peacefully for too long; their bloodthirsty spirit had long faded.
If they had any left, they would have followed Madara back then.
Back then, no matter how passionately Uchiha Madara spoke, the clan refused to abandon the hard-won peace.
Only after Madara left did they realize he had been right.
But there are no medicines for regret.
So those dissatisfied clansmen began inciting the others.
Thus the hawk faction was born.
Uchiha Tanaka did not want a war between the clan and the village, so he had no choice but to use such a method to stop it.
He looked at the clansmen rushing toward Renya, a complicated emotion flashing in his eyes.
The village was far too strong now—not something the clan could ever hope to oppose.
Only by sacrificing them could he exchange for the clan's peace.
"All units, fall back immediately."
Shimura Danzo ordered the Anbu to move away from the battlefield, unable to hide his excitement.
It's happening—it's really happening!
He could finally watch Renya pummel the inherently evil Uchiha clan!
Uchiha Kagami's face turned pale, his body frozen.
Had things already reached the point of no return?
His mind couldn't help recalling Renya's countless repeated words.
"Very simple—just kill all the hawk faction."
Uchiha Kagami suspected Renya had long wanted to do this.
Now he finally had the chance.
Renya drew the katana at his waist and instantly appeared beside a jōnin.
That jōnin hadn't even reacted before Renya cut him clean in half at the waist.
"How is that possible?!"
The other Uchiha jōnin were stunned. How did this guy just disappear?
Even their Sharingan couldn't track Renya's movements.
"Kunai—the kunai on the ground!"
A sharp-eyed Uchiha spotted several kunai with markings stabbed into the ground around the field.
And the bisected clansman had been standing right beside one bearing the seal.
The Uchiha immediately recognized the technique Renya was using.
The signature jutsu of the inherently evil Senju Tobirama!
"Flying Thunder God Technique!"