A dozen seconds later, the Kumogakure strike squad was wiped out.
Standing among the corpses, Uchiha Yorin let out a sigh:
"So this is the power of the three-tomoe Sharingan—strong, so strong, utterly incomparable to two tomoe.
If I push a little further, I can rank up to elite jōnin and barely earn a seat at the table."
An upgrade in strength should have been good news, but Yorin couldn't feel happy.
Because Uruī had mentioned Konoha's White Fang.
Even as a hero of an enemy nation, even after so many years, people still remembered Hatake Sakumo—that gentle and mighty man.
If even his enemies respected him so, why were his homeland, his compatriots, and his comrades so harsh?
Uchiha Yorin: "Would you be pleased to know who remembers you, Master Sakumo? 'Ninja-as-tools,' huh… The Will of Fire—what a joke."
As he thought this, he put the free attribute point into \[Power].
Thus, on the system screen, Uchiha Yorin's stats became:
Nin: 5 Body: 9 Illus: 7 Wis: 8 Pow: 9 Spd: 10 Chakra: 5
Seals: 5
Total 56 points.
One glance at the pitiful Nin and Seals—and the face-losing-for-Uchiha Illus and Chakra—and you know why he was called Konoha's Flame Claw.
Unlike the official databooks, the system's stats could exceed 10, not cap at 10 like in those books.
After all, if you set Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara—and late-stage complete-form Sasuke and Naruto—all at "10," that's just silly.
Many people being "10" means they barely hit 10; Madara and Hashirama being "10" only meant the silly author set 10 as the ceiling.
Yorin glanced twice more at his stat sheet and thought: if there were a "handsome" stat, he'd be at least 32.
After two seconds of self-satisfaction, he cast another Great Fireball to cremate the Kumo elite's corpse, then dug a pit and buried him—honoring a warrior's due.
As for the other Kumo, they didn't get that treatment. Not chopping off their heads to cash in for pocket money was already him being generous.
Of course, leaving them here for the dogs wouldn't do either. Yorin used sealing techniques and stowed the bodies in scrolls.
These corpses were evidence for Konoha to demand reparations from Kumo. If they wanted to make noise, they could even be grounds for war.
But with the Third's way of doing things, they'd probably downplay it.
"Forget it. Better to trust a dog than trust him. I'll be grateful if the old man doesn't treat me like Hyūga Hiashi."
Thinking this, Uchiha Yorin headed toward the village.
In the morning sun, the towering Hokage Rock was faintly visible. Under the gaze of former Hokage, the vast, largest, and most prosperous shinobi village in the world lay ahead.
Built along the mountains in a fan shape, Konohagakure spread out. The Academy, Hospital, and Hokage Building sat in the central district; the Police Force and prison on another side.
Due to tight land and strong commerce and industry, the village had few single-story homes—mostly multi-story blocks. Even fairly tall buildings weren't rare. Broad streets, shopfronts lining them, vibrant commerce.
Because of the war, Konoha's streets were a touch bleak, but the foundation remained. Rather than a "shinobi village," it was a colossal self-governing city.
Deep in the forest as it was, Konoha's scale, construction, and wealth were all top-tier.
Konoha's shinobi and residents took pride in this—believing they lived in the best city in the world.
They looked down on other villages, even the cities of the Five Great Nations, from on high. Seeing outsiders, they brimmed with superiority; they were a breath away from sneering, "You country bumpkins, come to Konoha to beg."
Almost everyone was satisfied with all Konoha had.
Even the so-called ambitious Uchiha only wanted to become Hokage and rule Konoha.
Uchiha Yorin was different—he wanted more.
…
Walking Konoha's main street, people often greeted him:
"Yo, Yorin, you're back."
"Lord Yorin."
"Victorious return?"
Each time, Uchiha Yorin greeted them warmly in turn.
His popularity was decent.
Despite being Uchiha, he didn't look down his nose at people; he smiled gently, as if he hadn't slicked his hair like some blue-dyed villain. Add the face-powered "handsome" stat of 32, and he'd gathered plenty of goodwill.
By the way, he had tried to promote "smile-enforcement" to the entire Uchiha clan—turn the Clan of Grins into the Clan of Smiles—but failed shamefully. The clan thought it beneath them. His only supporter was that goof Uchiha Shisui.
As ever: without strength, no one listens to you.
Public sentiment doesn't shift overnight. The good news—there was still time.
Right now, Uchiha's rep was merely "arrogant, hard to approach."
After the Nine-Tails' Rampage, once Konoha's top brass revved the propaganda machine to the max and dumped the blame on the Uchiha—claiming the incident was all their fault—the name Uchiha would truly be dragged through the mud.
Hold on… damn it, it actually was the Uchiha's fault.
Damn you, Obito—you've dragged us all down. Is it too late to strike him from the clan registry?
At that thought, Yorin's smile faltered. He muttered "damn you, Obito" and hurried to the Police Force to meet the clansman on duty.
"Yorin, back from the mission?"
The clansman handling him was Uchiha Tekka. Like most young Uchiha, he was arrogant and proud, nose in the air, yet brimming with clan love, holding the Uchiha's interests as supreme.
Like most of the clan, he wasn't thrilled with Yorin's ways, but he acknowledged Yorin as Uchiha—willing to help and facilitate. The two talked without friction.
Uchiha Yorin nodded. "Yeah, I'm back. Where's the clan head? I have things to discuss."
"The clan head? Still at the compound."
Uchiha Tekka found it odd. After a mission, shouldn't he first go to the Hokage Building's mission hall for payment? Why seek the clan head?
"Something happened," Yorin lowered his voice. "I was ambushed by Kumo on the way back."
"What—Kumo? But we're at peace—Are you—Fine, I'll take you to the clan head."
Tekka froze, then hurriedly said so, leading Yorin back to the compound and informing Clan Head Uchiha Fugaku.
The more Uchiha Yorin said, the darker Uchiha Fugaku's face grew.
At last he slammed the table and cursed, "Damn Kumo—dare to kill my men!!"
Then, in fury, he fumed a little more.
"Come, Yorin, we're going to the Hokage!"
Seeing him so dead serious—as if going to the Hokage would help.
"The Hokage—of course. But, Clan Head, do you really think it will help?" Yorin asked calmly:
"Leaving aside that real power still sits with the Third and the advisory council—even if the Fourth has the reins, will he truly stick his neck out for us Uchiha?"
"Then… what do you want?" Uchiha Fugaku's eyes flickered; the feigned anger vanished, replaced by cool inquiry.
"It's not what I want—it's what 'Uchiha' wants, Clan Head." Uchiha Yorin said as he activated his Sharingan.
No other intent—just a display of strength, to lend his words weight.