A dozen seconds later, the Hidden Cloud strike team was wiped out.
Standing among the bodies, Uchiha Yorin sighed to himself:
"So this is the power of three-tomoe Sharingan—strong, really strong. Can't even compare it to two tomoe.
If I push a little more, I can rank up to elite jōnin and finally earn a seat at the table."
Leveling up should have been good news, but Yorin couldn't feel happy.
Because Urui had mentioned the White Fang of the Konoha.
Even if he was a hero of an enemy nation, even if he'd been dead for years, there were still people who remembered Sakumo Hatake—who remembered that gentle, powerful man.
If even his enemies respected him, why were his own village, his own compatriots and comrades, so harsh?
Uchiha Yorin: "If someone unexpected is mourning you, would that make you happy, Sakumo-dono? 'Ninjas are tools'… 'Will of Fire'… what a joke."
Thinking that, he dropped his free attribute point into [Strength].
With that, his system screen now read:
Nin: 5 Body: 9 Illusion: 7 Wisdom: 8 Strength: 9 Speed: 10 Chakra/Stamina: 5 Seals: 5
Total: 58 points.
One look at that pitiful Nin and Seals—and the embarrassingly low Illusion and Chakra for an Uchiha—and you'd know why he got the title "Flame Claw of Konoha."
Unlike the official databook, the system's stats could break past 10; it wasn't capped at 10 like in canon.
After all, if you gave Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara—plus late-game, full-power Sasuke and Naruto—all "10s," that'd just be silly.
Plenty of people have a "10" because they barely scraped a 10; Madara and Hashirama have "10" because the dopey author set the ceiling at 10.
Yorin glanced over his stat sheet twice more and decided that if there were a "handsome" stat, he'd be at least a 32.
Feeling himself for all of two seconds, he fired off a Great Fireball to cremate the Cloud elite's corpse, then dug a hole and buried him—at least honoring the warrior bond.
The other Cloud ninja didn't get that courtesy. Yorin figured not chopping off their heads to cash in at the bounty office was kindness enough.
Still, he couldn't just leave them here to feed the dogs. He used a sealing technique to store the corpses in a scroll and take them along.
Those bodies were evidence Konoha could use to claim reparations from the Cloud. If they wanted to make noise, they could even serve as a casus belli.
But knowing the Third's style, he'd probably sweep it under the rug.
"Forget it. Banking on him is worse than banking on a dog. I'll be grateful if the old coot doesn't treat me like Hyūga Hizashi."
With that thought, Uchiha Yorin set off toward the village.
In the morning sun, the towering Hokage Rock loomed into view. Under the gaze of the past Hokage, the vast, biggest, and most prosperous shinobi village in the world lay ahead.
Built along the mountains, Konoha fanned outward. The Academy, hospital, and Hokage Building sat in the central district; the Police Force and prison on another side.
Because space was tight and commerce and production robust, single-story houses were rare; most buildings were low multi-story blocks. There were even a few taller ones. Streets were broad, shops lined both sides, business was brisk.
War had left the streets a bit bleak, but the underlying vitality was still there. Rather than a "ninja village," it was more like a massive self-governing city.
Deep in the forest or not, Konoha's scale, construction, wealth—everything—was top tier.
Konoha shinobi and civilians were proud, convinced they lived in the best city in the world.
When they looked at other hidden villages—or even other cities in the Five Great Nations—there was a lofty air about it. See an out-of-towner and the superiority complex practically oozed out—one step short of sneering, "Bunch of bumpkins, come to Konoha to beg, have you?"
Almost everyone was satisfied with what the Konoha had.
Even the "ambitious" Uchiha only wanted to become Hokage and run Konoha.
Uchiha Yorin was different. He wanted more.
…
Walking down Konoha's main streets, people kept greeting him:
"Yo, Yorin, you're back."
"Ah, Yorin-sama."
"Victorious return?"
Whenever that happened, Uchiha Yorin greeted them back just as warmly.
He was fairly well liked.
For an Uchiha, he didn't look down his nose at people; he wore a gentle smile—like Aizen if he hadn't slicked his hair back. Add in that face with a 32-point Handsome stat, and he'd built up quite the popularity.
By the way, he'd once tried to promote "smiling law enforcement" to the whole Uchiha clan—turn the Clan of Manic Grins into the Clan of Soft Smiles—but it flopped embarrassingly. Everyone thought it was beneath them. The only one who backed Yorin was that dope, Uchiha Shisui.
Same old story: without power, no one listens.
You can't flip public opinion overnight. The good news was there was still time.
Right now, the Uchiha's reputation was merely "arrogant and hard to approach."
It wouldn't be until after the Nine-Tails' Rampage—when Konoha's leadership cranked the propaganda machine to max and dumped the blame on the Uchiha, claiming the whole incident was their fault—that the name "Uchiha" would really be dragged through the mud.
Hold up… Damn it. It kind of was the Uchiha's fault.
Damn you, Obito—led us astray. Is it too late to strike him from the clan registry?
Thinking that, Yorin couldn't keep his smile up. He muttered a curse about "that bastard Obito," then hurried to the Police Force HQ to meet his clansmen on duty.
"Back from a mission, Yorin?"
The clansman handling his case was Uchiha Tekka. Like most young Uchiha, he was arrogant, proud, nose in the air—but also full of clan love, putting Uchiha interests above all.
Like most Uchiha, he wasn't thrilled with Yorin's methods. But he still recognized Yorin as one of their own and was willing to help and make things easier. Their conversation went smoothly enough.
Uchiha Yorin nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm back. Where's the clan head? I need to speak with him."
"The clan head? He's still at the compound."
Tekka found it odd—shouldn't you hit the mission desk at the Hokage Building for your pay first? Why look for the clan head?
"Something happened." Yorin lowered his voice. "I was ambushed by Hidden Cloud on the way back."
"What—Cloud? But we're at peace—are you—fine—Alright, I'll take you to the clan head."
Tekka froze for a moment, then hurriedly said that and led Yorin back to the compound to report to Clan Head Uchiha Fugaku.
The more Yorin explained, the darker Fugaku's face grew.
In the end he slammed the table and exploded: "Damn Cloud—how dare they kill my men!!"
And then, in a fit of rage, he… raged again.
"Come, Yorin—we're going to the Hokage!"
He looked dead serious—as if going to the Hokage would actually help.
"Of course we should. But, Clan Head, do you really think it will?" Yorin asked evenly.
"Setting aside that real power still sits with the advisory council under the Third— even if the Fourth had fully taken the reins, would he really stick his neck out for the Uchiha?"
"Then what do you propose?" Fugaku's gaze flickered; the feigned anger vanished, replaced by calm and inquiry.
"It's not what I propose. It's what 'the Uchiha' propose, Clan Head." As Yorin said this, he activated his Sharingan.
No ulterior motive—just showing some power to give his words more weight.