Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

Or perhaps some kind of unknown forbidden technique?

However, neither answer is a good thing.

He subconsciously released his meditation posture and assumed a defensive stance, secretly trying to alter the flow of chakra within his body. The scene before him remained unchanged, so perhaps it wasn't an illusion? But he couldn't be entirely sure, because the masked man's exposed single eye was unmistakably a crimson Sharingan.

"Don't be nervous, I'm not here to be your enemy, and you're not under any illusion spells."

Obito Uchiha stood at the door without taking another step forward. Although the Sharingan's perception was not as strong as the Byakugan, it was not difficult for him to see through Kazuma's suddenly disordered chakra.

"Sharingan? You're from the Uchiha clan?"

"It is true that my surname is Uchiha, but the so-called Uchiha clan and I are no longer on the same side. My identity as a Konoha ninja is also a thing of the past. I am not here to chat with you as a Konoha ninja or a member of the Uchiha clan. I have multiple identities now, but the one that best describes my position is probably that of an enemy of Konoha."

Enemies of Konoha?

Upon hearing this, Ma frowned even more deeply.

"What are you trying to do by telling me all this? I'm not interested in you. If you're not here to cause me trouble, please leave. Otherwise... I won't be so polite." Marco wasn't some inexperienced rookie. Trust was such a luxury that even teammates couldn't be completely trusting, let alone a suspicious stranger.

He wouldn't consider this person a close friend just because they casually uttered a few words of hostility towards Konoha.

Rather, quite the opposite.

He was already wondering if he had somehow revealed his dislike for Konoha recently, and if someone was planning a sting operation. His growing vigilance made him not even want to know Obito Uchiha's name.

"They're really vigilant..."

Obito scratched his head. It seemed that it was impossible to easily build a relationship. As expected, someone as easily fooled as Nagato was definitely a rare species in the ninja world. However, he didn't expect to resolve things here in one go. He had plenty of time. "I understand that what I'm saying now has little credibility, but... I believe we will cooperate sooner or later."

"By the way, as a gift, I'll give you some free information: Hiramiya Nariaki and his bodyguard Ogasawara Uemon are being investigated by the Konoha Police Department for their misdeeds. I think it won't be long before they find out about them."

After all,

Obito Uchiha turned and left, disappearing through the door again, appearing and disappearing like a ghost.

Kazuma stepped forward and checked the door, finding no signs of damage. He opened the door and looked around the courtyard, but found nothing... Everything was the same as usual. If it weren't for the clear memories in his mind, he might have suspected that he had been deceived and manipulated by an illusion.

"Uchiha? Who exactly is that?"

Kazuma stood at the doorway, gazing at the scenery before him, lost in thought.

But soon,

He patted his head, temporarily putting aside his speculation about the masked man's identity, and instead began to worry about another matter: the message the masked man had given him for free before leaving—had the police department already begun investigating that old man and that madman Ogasawara?

If the news is false, then everything is fine.

But if it really is... then he can't help but care. What the old man Hiramiya and that madman Ogasawara did is absolutely shameful. Once it's exposed, the daimyo's reputation will be ruined!

"No, we need to think of something!"

[256. Chapter 255 From the Heart]

"Is this the place? The address of the Arasaka family? It's so ordinary!" Uchiha Izumi looked at the unremarkable two-story house in front of her. If it weren't for the nameplate on the front door clearly saying 'Arasaka', she would have wondered if she had taken the wrong turn.

"Haha! Quan, what kind of place do you think their family should live in?"

Uchiha Torajiro asked with a smile.

"Hmm... Even if it's not as big as the clan chief's house, as the special envoy's henchmen, they should at least save up some money to buy a big house with a bamboo forest and a pond! This one... is too small, isn't it? If they gather their underlings, there won't even be a place to stand, will there?"

"There is no such person in our family."

With gray hair and a sprightly spirit, the elderly man, standing tall and straight like a pine tree weathered by time, forcefully interrupted the conversation in a loud voice, "Gentlemen from the police department, what brings you to my door?"

"Katsumasa Arakasaka?"

Uchiha Kojiro narrowed his eyes and met the old man's gaze.

"It's me. May I ask who you are?"

The old man readily admitted his identity.

“There’s no need to know our names. We’re here to investigate a case. Is Rokuro Arasaka your son?” Uchiha Torajiro refused to exchange names and simply asked, “Where is Rokuro Arasaka now? I need to find him to get some information.”

"······well!"

Arasaka Katsumasa and Uchiha Torajiro stared at each other for more than ten seconds before suddenly letting out a long sigh. "I had six children, but two of the younger ones died of illness, two of the older ones became ninjas and died in the war, and one of the younger ones was lucky enough to survive and return from the battlefield, but he died six years ago while fighting against the demon fox. Now I only have Rokuro left as my son."

Uchiha Izumi stared wide-eyed at the old man, who had breathed his last and was now bowing his head and hunching over, and couldn't help but feel a pang of pity.

"I'm here to ask where Arasaka Rokuro is, old man. Stop causing trouble. How many families in Konoha haven't shed blood for the village? Stop giving me this nonsense and answer my question honestly, or else... I don't mind sending my men into your homes to forcibly search them."

Uchiha Torajiro sneered.

They were not moved in the slightest by Katsumasa Arasaka's attempt to elicit sympathy.

He too had struggled to crawl out of the mountains of corpses and seas of blood on the battlefield. He had survived the horrific scenes of the world turning crimson as far as the eye could see. How could he not shed tears because of the old man's few words? He glanced at Yakushi Kabuto standing quietly to the side and nodded in satisfaction.

In contrast,

Uchiha Izumi is still too inexperienced.

It needs a lot of polishing!

"My lord, can't you really give my son a chance?" Arasaka Katsumasa pleaded.

"That's an interesting thing to say! I just said I wanted to find out some information about your son. How can you be so sure that he'll be finished once he's investigated?" Uchiha Torajiro stared intently at Arasaka Katsumasa, like a hunting dog that had smelled a bone.

"I don't know what that kid did, but he's been acting distracted whenever he comes home lately. I asked him if something was on his mind... but he wouldn't say. But I don't think it could be anything good. Sigh! I shouldn't have let him take over my job at the embassy."

Arasaka Katsumi's expression was blank, as if he had given up resisting. He said in a rambling manner, "I really don't know where Rokuro is now. He doesn't go home until dinner time every day. During the day, he spends most of his time working at the special envoy's residence, waiting for the special envoy's orders... Sigh! Why did they suddenly change the special envoy?"

He originally intended for his son to succeed him, thinking that he had long understood the special envoy's temperament and that with his guidance, his youngest son would have no trouble making a name for himself in the special envoy's office. However, the previous envoy had stayed in Konoha for nearly thirty years, and he thought he could hold on for another twenty years.

Before we knew it, this year had arrived, and just over a month later, the special envoy was transferred away.

It caught him completely off guard.

He had no idea what kind of temperament the new special envoy had, so he could only figure it out on his own. Then, it seemed that he had gotten into some serious trouble that he couldn't get out of. Faced with inquiries from the police department, he could only silently pray that his son would survive this turmoil.

"Kabuto, Izumi, you two go in and take a look. Remember to be polite. If you find anything, send a signal. If you can't find anyone, come back. We'll go to the embassy to investigate again," Uchiha Torajiro instructed.

Again,

He couldn't trust what the old man said.

It's not impossible that he deliberately misled them into conducting a search of the embassy to protect his son. One-sided accounts are unacceptable; a thorough investigation, even multiple times, is necessary to ensure peace of mind.

"Captain, don't worry, I will strictly follow the guidelines in the 'Police Department Law Enforcement Conduct Guidelines Manual'."

Kabuto the Pharmacist took a small booklet out of his jacket pocket.

This document was created to standardize the law enforcement procedures of the police department and prevent problems such as individual clan members using excessive force or failing to follow procedures. Under the guidance of Sogen, Uchiha Shisui, the director of the Department of Justice, personally took charge of the project and mobilized a large number of clerical staff from the police department. After working through two sleepless nights, this guidebook was produced.

Uchiha Izumi patted her pocket and pulled out a palm-sized manual.

The two of them flipped through the book on the spot and began a slow search according to the instructions in the manual... Watching this, Uchiha Torajiro just wanted to yawn. This was too slow. The house was so small, and they had been searching for five minutes and hadn't even finished searching. However, this was also a rare opportunity for training.

Uchiha Torajiro simply waited patiently at the door.

By doing this,

Katsumasa Arasaka couldn't leave either, but despite his sorrow, the old man wasn't flustered at all by the search. Instead, he chatted with Kojiro Uchiha, subtly inquiring about the case in Kojiro's hands and how serious it was.

However, Uchiha Kojiro didn't let slip a single word.

He's definitely managed to cut his way out. Rokuro Arasaka probably wasn't home, otherwise the old man wouldn't be so calm. Of course, it's possible the old man has a strong mentality and is a liar, but if he's really that good, there's nothing to complain about if he gets fooled.

"By the way, old man, you said before that your family doesn't have any younger brothers? Are you trying to fool us?" Uchiha Torajiro suddenly asked.

"We are not gangsters."

Katsumasa Arasaka sighed, “Perhaps in your eyes, those thugs are our family’s underlings, but in fact they are all people from the special envoy’s office. Our family is just entrusted to manage them. After all, the special envoy represents His Majesty the Daimyo, and it would be beneath him to have direct contact with those thugs. Although our Arasaka family is not a famous family, we are still considered to have a strong presence in Konoha. In addition, I was quite clever when I was young, which is why I was appreciated by the previous special envoy and promoted to a leader.”

"I see!"

Uchiha Torajiro casually agreed.

He didn't really care about the truth.

Whether the Arasaka family is a gang of thugs or not is irrelevant; what's important now is to thoroughly investigate the missing persons case.

It took Kabuto Yakushi and Izumi Uchiha a full eight minutes to finally finish their search of the Arasaka residence. As expected, they found no one, including Rokuro Arasaka. The target wasn't home at the moment; if Katsumasa Arasaka wasn't lying, he should be at the embassy.

Uchiha Torajiro rubbed his temples in exasperation.

The reason he didn't go to the embassy to find someone first, but instead came to the Arasaka family to investigate, was to try to avoid unnecessary conflict with the embassy. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. Arasaka Rokuro didn't seem to know what skipping work meant, but instead worked very diligently.

I have no choice but to go to the special embassy!

Hopefully, it will end peacefully!

Their team left the Arasaka family residence in the center of the village and headed quickly toward the embassy. Unbeknownst to them, Uchiha Itachi and Kaguya Kimimaro, two young men, were secretly following and protecting them.

······

The embassy occupies a large area. Although it is called a "pavilion", it is actually a garden with ponds, islands, hills, streams, wooden bridges, pavilions, terraces and so on. The main hall of the embassy is located on an artificial island in the center of the pond. This large garden was built by the first embassy with the help of famous craftsmen and ninjas who are good at construction.

The most interesting thing is that the first special envoy paid for the entire construction of this garden himself.

It didn't cost Daming Prefecture a single penny.

However, this is not surprising. The third special envoy to date, Hiramiya Nariaki, has been a nobleman without exception, and one who is a close confidant of the daimyo. They have never worried about lacking money. What they worry about is how to spend their money most effectively. Spending money to show their loyalty to the daimyo is the basic practice of nobles.

Arakasaka Rokuro stood on the bamboo bridge spanning the stream, staring blankly at the clear water flowing below. His mind, however, was far from the beautiful scenery; he was currently agonizing over his next move. Ever since he received intelligence that the police had visited the brothel, he had been startled and immediately abandoned the brothel, switching to another channel to continue collecting 'goods'.

however,

He knew it very well.

The exposure of the brothel meant that he was also exposed. After all, in order to build these channels for collecting goods, he had to personally step in, otherwise it would not have been so easy to subdue those local bullies. But whether he was careless at the time or had no other choice, he is now facing the trouble of being arrested by the police at any time.

He didn't know what to do next.

Should he surrender to the police department and confess all the things he had done? No, that won't do. Doing so would undoubtedly offend Lord Hiramiya, who is the special envoy. Even if Lord Hiramiya himself wouldn't have a good ending, the Hiramiya family is such a behemoth that it still occupies the Daimyo Prefecture. The Arasaka family can't withstand the Hiramiya family's retaliation.

Refusing to surrender

Then he can only stubbornly deny it to the end. If he really can't deny it anymore, he will take all the responsibility on his own shoulders. In this way, he will certainly have no future, but at least his father, his nephew, his son, and all his family members will still have a chance to continue living.

But... I'm not willing to accept this!

I'm not willing to accept it no matter what.

He didn't want to die; he hadn't lived enough yet!