Land of Fire, Konohagakure!
The Uchiha Clan Compound.
"Good grief! That mission was insanely dangerous—I almost died out there!"
Yufeng cursed inwardly.
Yufeng, who had transmigrated from Earth, was actually ambushed while carrying out this mission!
Fortunately, heaven favors the lucky—he managed to come back alive in the end!
"Brother Yufeng, you're back!"
A voice came from nearby.
Yufeng turned his head and saw a junior from the clan—Uchiha Renzhi.
Renzhi was only four or five years old, not yet old enough to attend the ninja academy.
"If Brother Yufeng had come back a bit earlier, you could've made it to the clan meeting."
"Looks like I still made it."
Hearing that the clan meeting had just ended, Yufeng let out a sigh of relief.
He had rushed all the way back without even changing his clothes, finally returning before the Night of the Massacre.
The Uchiha clan meeting was already over. Konoha had obtained intelligence from Itachi that the Uchiha were preparing a coup.
Danzo had probably already issued the extermination order to Itachi.
These past few days, Itachi should be contacting Obito, preparing to take action.
But since Yufeng had made it back in time, there was still a chance to gamble on changing everything.
While thinking, Yufeng lifted the three severed heads in his hand and showed them to the two gate guards, saying meaningfully:
"Of course, when you go on missions, accidents are always a possibility."
Izumo Kamizuki reminded him, "Yufeng, you'd better put those away. Don't scare the civilians."
Yufeng snorted coldly. "Are you teaching me how to do my job? Renzhi, come with me."
He took his identity plaque and headed straight for the Mission Center.
"Hey… Yufeng—!"
Izumo called out, but was stopped by Yan Jun.
Turning around, Izumo saw Yan Jun's grave expression. His heart skipped a beat, and he asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
Yan Jun glanced around, then whispered into Izumo's ear, "Those three heads… they're Root members."
Uchiha Yufeng carrying three heads through the streets was nothing short of brazen.
"What are you doing standing at the village entrance?"
Yufeng asked.
Renzhi hadn't awakened the Sharingan, nor was he a ninja—just an ordinary person with the Uchiha surname.
Not all Uchiha were ninja; a considerable number were civilians with no talent for ninjutsu.
Who would have thought that this clan of nearly a thousand people would be wiped out in a single night?
"The Grand Elder asked me to keep watch at the village entrance. If any clansmen came back, I was to bring them home."
Yufeng knew this was the Uchiha building up strength before the coup. Yet even he had been ambushed by Root while on a mission.
Other squads were probably facing grim odds as well.
"Did any other clansmen return?"
Yufeng rubbed Renzhi's head.
Renzhi shook his head. "I've been guarding the village entrance for two days now. You're the only one who came back, Brother Yufeng."
Yufeng sighed silently. The others… probably weren't coming back.
After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Do you know where Sasuke and Itachi are?"
"Sasuke went to school. As for Big Brother Itachi…"
Renzhi pouted, his dislike for Itachi clearly written on his face.
"I don't know where he went."
Yufeng confirmed the timing once more. The Night of the Massacre should be tonight.
"Go back and tell the Grand Elder. I'll turn in my mission at the Mission Center, then come see him."
"And don't wait at the village entrance anymore. Go tell Xiyue that I still have things to take care of and won't be home for a while."
Renzhi nodded half-understandingly, then ran back toward the clan compound to deliver the message.
Watching Renzhi's retreating figure, Yufeng knew the clan was already mobilizing.
They were reduced to sending children to do such errands. The clan had sensed something was wrong, but hadn't expected Konoha to move this fast.
In his consciousness, Yufeng tapped the star above Renzhi's head.
"Ding! Level 1 Bond with Uchiha Renzhi unlocked."
"Congratulations, Host. You have obtained: Memory Fragment."
Fragments of Renzhi practicing shuriken throwing flowed into Yufeng's mind.
This was one of the reasons he had rushed back—to save the clan.
He had discovered that once he formed bonds with certain people, he could find their names on his system interface.
There would be a corresponding bond progress bar, and once it was filled, a star would hatch.
Each star represented one bond level.
Level 1 allowed him to obtain part of the other person's training memories.
Level 2 granted him a certain amount of the other person's chakra.
Beyond that, Yufeng didn't yet know.
He had already tested it—aside from Uchiha clan members, only characters who appeared in the storyline could trigger bonds.
With so many ninja in the clan, forming bonds wasn't difficult at all.
But if the clan were wiped out and he became a missing-nin, the system's usefulness would drop sharply.
Moreover, Yufeng wasn't alone. He still had family—Xiyue.
While thinking, Yufeng walked unhurriedly to the Mission Center, making sure everyone saw the heads he was carrying.
After turning in the mission proof, he loudly announced in the Mission Center:
"We were ambushed midway through the mission. My teammates all died. These three were weak—I killed them."
He lifted the three heads to show everyone who was taking missions, then left.
After he departed, the entire Mission Center erupted in discussion.
"The Uchiha have been taking heavy losses lately…"
"I think I know who those three heads belong to—"
Someone beside him immediately covered his mouth.
"No. You don't."
Personnel affiliated with both the Third Hokage and Danzo quickly carried this information away.
…
After finishing all this, Yufeng arrived at the Uchiha clan gates.
Seeing clansmen coming and going, Yufeng slowly let out a breath.
Only when he saw that everyone was still here did he truly relax.
Even if the original Yufeng had died, he had inherited Yufeng's memories—and naturally, his love for the Uchiha clan.
"Yufeng's back…"
"How did you get so dirty…"
"Hurry home, Xiyue's still waiting for you…"
Many familiar faces greeted him along the way. Yufeng responded to each in turn, then headed toward the Uchiha Elders' Courtyard.
…
Uchiha Yandai, the current Grand Elder of the Uchiha clan.
In terms of relations, he was Fugaku's clan uncle.
He was also the most hardline hawkish elder of the Uchiha.
Recently, however, even the Grand Elder was feeling anxious.
Flipping through the account books in his hands, his brows were tightly furrowed.
Konoha's oppression of the Uchiha had been growing increasingly severe, and clan income was shrinking by the day.
Since Shisui died two years ago, Konoha had repeatedly suppressed the Uchiha. Now even the Police Force had been reduced to just two squads.
Recently, the Uchiha had also suffered heavy casualties during missions.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Fugaku continued to waver.
Although more and more clansmen supported a coup, the cards they could actually play were fewer and fewer.
Lately, when clansmen went out on missions, accidents kept happening—no one returned alive, and no bodies were found.
Under such circumstances, at the clan meeting two days ago, Fugaku was finally forced by pressure from the clansmen to agree to the coup.
However, this news had not yet spread—only some within the Uchiha knew.
Fortunately, Renzhi had just returned with news that Yufeng was back. At least that added a bit more weight to the clan's coup plans.
"Grand Elder," a voice announced, "Yufeng requests an audience."