The guard's report was like a clap of thunder, instantly exploding in Third Hokage, Ay's office.
"What? The Uchiha Clan? Seeking an audience outside the village? And they've revealed their Sharingan?!"
With a physique as imposing as a mountain, dark skin, a thick beard, and wearing only a white cape and a waistcloth, Third Raikage Ai stood up abruptly from behind his massive desk.
His voice was like a resonant bell, making the windows vibrate. His sharp gaze was filled with surprise and scrutiny.
"Yes! Raikage-sama! They claim to be from Konoha's Uchiha. The leader is a young man, and there's a child among them, twelve people in total."
"They said they have urgent matters to report to you in person."
The guard knelt on one knee, reporting quickly and clearly.
"Uchiha... Defection? Or envoys?"
Ay's thick eyebrows furrowed.
As the leader of a ninja village that had been in open and secret conflict with Konoha for years, his understanding of the Uchiha far exceeded that of ordinary people.
He was well aware of the clan's strength and the terror of the Sharingan.
At the same time, the discord between the Uchiha and Konoha's higher-ups was not a secret among the upper echelons of the Ninja World.
"Let's go! I'll see for myself!"
Raikage Ai didn't hesitate. With a wave of his hand, not even waiting to gather more guards or Advisors, his burly figure blurred and vanished from the office, leaving only a faint afterimage and a gust of wind.
He wanted to see exactly what these Uchiha were up to.
Scarcely ten minutes after the guard left, a violent, swift, and oppressive figure—like a human lightning bolt—tore through the air and crashed down outside the gates of the Hidden Cloud Village.
It was none other than Third Hokage, Ay.
Standing there, he was like an immovable iron tower, his muscles bulging with explosive power. Invisible Lightning Release Chakra seemed to flicker around him, slightly distorting the surrounding air.
That pure pressure belonging to a top-tier powerhouse was released without restraint.
The guards and other nearby Cloud Ninja immediately bowed, their eyes filled with awe.
The Uchiha group also instantly felt the tangible pressure washing over them.
Except for Sho U, even Jonin like Renka and Tekka felt their breath hitch. Several Chunin couldn't help but take a half-step back, horror flashing in their eyes.
So this was the "strongest spear" and "strongest shield," the Third Raikage; he certainly lived up to his reputation.
Only Uchiha Shao Yu remained as calm as ever, his expression not even flickering.
He looked up slightly, meeting Raikage Ai's sharp, searchlight-like gaze. Their eyes locked in mid-air.
Uchiha Shao Yu's height of over 1.8 meters made him look like a little girl in front of the Third Raikage's 2.1-meter stature.
Raikage Ai's gaze swept over the twelve people like a scanner.
His eyebrows rose slightly... they were all very young, and the leader was unexpectedly so.
But that steady demeanor, those deep eyes, and the elite aura faintly emanating from the clansmen behind him—even with a child and the wounded—showed that this was no ragtag bunch.
They bore the weariness of long-distance travel and... a faint scent of blood? Had they just been in a battle?
Meanwhile, Uchiha Shao Yu was also observing the Raikage.
Powerful, domineering, and full of strength, yet deep in those eyes was not just the bravery of a brute, but the shrewdness and prudence of a ruler.
This was a leader who combined strength and wisdom quite perfectly.
After a brief silence, Raikage Ai spoke first, his voice rolling like muffled thunder.
"I am the Third Raikage, Ay. Which of you is the leader?"
Uchiha Shao Yu took a step forward and nodded slightly.
"Third Raikage, I have long heard of you. I am Uchiha Shao Yu."
"Uchiha... Shao Yu?"
Raikage Ai repeated the name under his breath, his mind racing through information.
As Raikage, he possessed intelligence on Konoha's key figures. Soon, he remembered.
A genius youth of Konoha's Uchiha Clan who had risen to fame in recent years, one of the representative figures of the Hawk Faction. His strength was said to far exceed his peers, and some intelligence even listed him as a potential threat requiring close attention.
"I've heard of your name. The genius of the Uchiha Clan."
Raikage Ai's eyes were like torches as he stared intently at Shao Yu.
"So, Uchiha genius, what brings you and your clansmen to the gates of my Hidden Cloud Village? Are you envoys from Konoha? Or... something else?"
His questions went straight to the heart of the matter, carrying blatant inquiry and a hint of... anticipation? If it really was a defection... Meeting the Raikage's gaze without flinching, Uchiha Shao Yu spoke two words clearly and calmly.
"Defection."
Although he had his suspicions, hearing those two words so bluntly from Uchiha Shao Yu's mouth caused Raikage Ai's pupils to contract slightly, and an undisguised look of surprise appeared on his face.
"Defection?"
He repeated, his tone thick with confusion.
"With your talent and the Uchiha background, your future in Konoha should have been bright. Why defect? And with..."
He glanced at the clansmen behind Shao Yu. "So many of your kin?"
This was a crucial question. The reason for their defection would determine their sincerity, value, and the potential trouble they might bring.
However, the drool nearly escaping the corner of his mouth suggested he wasn't exactly calm right now.
Uchiha Shao Yu sighed softly, a sigh filled with complexity, but mostly cold mockery.
"Raikage-sama might not be aware, or... might be unwilling to fully believe," he said slowly, his gaze sweeping over the indestructible gates of the Hidden Cloud Village and the towering buildings in the distance.
"The Uchiha Clan's situation in Konoha Village has long ceased to be as glorious as that of a 'founding clan'."
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a sense of sorrow.
"Ever since the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, established the Konoha Military Police Force and confined the Uchiha to it, the seeds of suspicion and estrangement were sown."
"By the time the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Danzo Shimura took power, this suspicion evolved into omnipresent suppression, surveillance, and marginalization."
"The Uchiha were excluded from Konoha's core power. The Police Force became the shackles that bound us, and the high wall that isolated us from the ordinary villagers."
"Any talented or free-thinking Uchiha clansman would receive special 'attention' from the higher-ups—either guided toward the path they deemed correct, or... quietly disappearing."
"In the eyes of Konoha's leadership, our Sharingan is not a source of glory, but a threat; not a power, but a tool that needs to be watched and controlled."
"Staying in Konoha meant either becoming numb and depressed in an increasingly oppressive environment like most of our kin, eventually being assimilated or forgotten."
"Or, like us, choosing to resist, and then... being labeled as inherently evil, accused of intending to rebel, and purged."
Shao Yu's tone gradually sharpened.
"It's not that we didn't try to communicate or integrate. But in return, we received cleverer political division, tighter surveillance, and the watchful eyes of Root."
"Until recently, the higher-ups even began planning a purge against the Uchiha, which we simply detected ahead of time."
He looked at Raikage Ai, his gaze open and honest.
"Konoha has long since ceased to be a place for the Uchiha. Staying means only death or a life worse than death. So, we chose to leave."
"We are not betraying the villagers of Konoha, nor the so-called will of fire. We simply... no longer wish to be meat on the chopping block, nor do we want the Uchiha's Sharingan to be completely tarnished by suspicion and suppression."
Raikage Ai listened quietly, the surprise on his face gradually replaced by deep thought.
He didn't entirely believe Shao Yu's side of the story, but the details mentioned aligned with certain intelligence he possessed.
More importantly, Uchiha Shao Yu and his group indeed carried an aura of burning their bridges and possessed actual combat power.
If all this were true... then what would these twelve Uchiha mean for the Hidden Cloud?
Even if Konoha were extremely wealthy, they surely wouldn't send so many geniuses as undercover agents.
He could see clearly; while he couldn't see through the Uchiha brat in front of him, among the others were two Jonin-level Uchiha, with the rest being Chunin. Most importantly, they were all so young.
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