Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

Chizuru felt disgusted when she saw Fugaku smiling at her. She immediately stared at him with even colder eyes and labeled him a hypocrite.

She had seen that smile on someone many times before.

She just didn't know why, but the way this person smiled at her made her feel disgusted.

He clearly showed hostility, yet he still gave her that disgusting smile. What a hypocrite.

When Fugaku saw Chizuru's increasingly cold gaze, his smile froze. He quickly turned his head away, no longer daring to look at Chizuru. At the same time, he couldn't help but think of Mikoto, who always gave him that smile and then blushed. He thought to himself, "Mikoto is definitely cuter."

Chizuru and Fugaku's subtle actions went unnoticed by the other Uchiha Jonin, and the atmosphere on the scene became even more tense than before.

Many hawkish Uchiha Jonin have begun clamoring to go to the Hokage Building and demand an explanation from the Hokage.

If it weren't for Homura Uchiha's hesitation in making a statement, most of the Uchiha Jonin below would have already set off for the Hokage Building to demand an explanation from the Third Hokage, and there might even have been an incident where they stormed the Hokage Building.

The few Uchiha Jonin who were considered doves were all deeply worried.

They were among the few Uchiha who had a clear understanding of the Uchiha clan's situation in Konoha. They knew that if these hawkish clan members actually went to the Hokage Building to find the Third Hokage, it would only make the Uchiha clan's situation in Konoha more difficult.

Unfortunately, they were too few in number, lacked popular support within the Uchiha clan, and lacked external assistance. Even though they kept calling on their clansmen to calm down, they only received cold stares and ridicule from the hawkish clansmen and could not stop the actions of a large number of hawkish clansmen.

Now, the only person who can stop them is the clan chief on the stage.

Hopefully, the clan leader will remain as steady as ever.

Uchiha Homura, who remained seated on the platform, looked at his clansmen below who were clamoring for him to make a statement. His face remained completely expressionless, and he simply stared coldly at his clansmen below, remaining silent throughout.

Many hawkish Uchiha Jonin were somewhat displeased to see Uchiha Homura's cold demeanor and his complete lack of reaction to their words.

However, when each of them was swept by Uchiha Homura's cold eyes, they subconsciously lowered their heads, not daring to look him in the eye.

Even though Uchiha Homura was already old, a man in his seventies, and could die at any time due to sudden illness or recurrence of hidden injuries, these people still dared not show him the slightest disrespect.

The strength of their old clan leader remains unfathomable, and the terrifying ocular power contained in his Sharingan, far exceeding that of ordinary three-tomoe Sharingan, is the best proof of this.

Only those who belong to the Uchiha clan can truly understand the terror of Homura Uchiha's eyes.

He remains the undisputed strongest member of the Uchiha clan in Konoha.

Suddenly, Uchiha Homura stretched out a hand, making a stop gesture, and the scene instantly fell silent.

Then, he said in a cold voice, "Alright, stop arguing. I've already said what most of you mean. You want to participate in the operation, right? No problem. I'll go to the Hokage Building to see the Hokage in a bit. But you absolutely cannot act on your own. If any of you act on your own and prevent everyone from participating in this operation, or even damage the reputation of the Uchiha clan, then I won't let him off the hook."

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly activated his Sharingan. All the Uchiha Jonin who were looking at him instantly realized that they had been hit by a genjutsu. A huge three-tomoe Sharingan with a blood-red, eerie glow appeared in front of them.

Looking at the enormous three-tomoe Sharingan, they found themselves completely unable to move, and even the power to mobilize their chakra to break the genjutsu was gone.

At the same time, their bodies were contorting, and they felt that time and space were beginning to become disordered.

A moment later, a large number of Uchiha Jonin who had just locked eyes with Uchiha Homura finally resumed their actions. They were all pale-faced and covered in cold sweat, completely devoid of the arrogant demeanor they had displayed during their discussion.

"..."

Chizuru, who had just cleverly avoided making eye contact with her grandfather, now had a thoughtful expression on her little face.

Chapter 103: Uchiha and Konoha

After Uchiha Homura made his assurances and intimidated them, all the hawkish Uchiha Jonin dared not speak again. They all obediently lowered their heads and left, not daring to breathe.

"Hmph, a bunch of good-for-nothings. They still dare to go and demand an explanation from that old codger Sandai. They've been living comfortably in the village for too long and don't know what's what."

Uchiha Homura looked at the hawkish Uchiha Jonin who were now behaving like cowards and huddled together, and sneered inwardly.

At the same time, he was also worried about the growing hawkish faction within the Uchiha clan.

He wasn't against these hawkish Uchiha clan members' dissatisfaction with the Third Hokage's policies and the Uchiha's current status in the village; he was simply worried that these clan members were too foolish to choose the wrong methods to resist.

They stormed the Hokage Building, demanding an explanation from the Third Hokage.

Which idiot came up with such a stupid idea?

Why should the Uchiha clan have to act according to the Third Hokage's wishes? Since the Third Hokage doesn't trust the Uchiha clan, why should the Uchiha clan lower themselves to fawn over him and do something as foolish as offering a warm face to a cold backside?

So what if they're isolated? Ever since that person killed Hashirama Senju, the Uchiha clan has been isolated and feared for quite some time now.

But the Uchiha clan still managed to establish themselves in Konoha and grow stronger.

As long as the Uchiha clan is strong enough and no more fools like that person appear, the Uchiha clan's position in Konoha will remain as stable as ever.

Since the decline of the Senju clan, the Uchiha clan has been the most powerful ninja clan in Konoha. The Uchiha clan now accounts for at least a quarter of the overall strength of Konoha.

Once Konoha loses the Uchiha clan, it's tantamount to cutting off its own arm, immediately becoming the weakest of the five great ninja villages.

At that time, Konoha, which occupies the richest land in the ninja world, will surely be besieged by other ninja villages.

It has always been Konoha that needs the Uchiha, not the other way around.

Unfortunately, fewer and fewer Uchiha clan members are seeing this clearly now.

"The Ninja Academy, that despicable guy Tobirama Senju, finally succeeded. The cowardly Will of Fire has begun to erode the younger generation of the Uchiha clan, making them unconsciously inclined to protect Konoha rather than their clan."

At that moment, Uchiha Homura thought of Tobirama Senju and the ninja academy he founded, and felt a surge of resentment.

The reason why the Hokage lineage in Konoha began to grow stronger was precisely because of the Ninja Academy.

The Hokage lineage instills the so-called Will of Fire into young children at the Ninja Academy, deeply influencing them until they become their henchmen.

By the time the Uchiha clan and other Konoha clans realized what was happening, it was too late; the die was cast.

Unbeknownst to many, the power of the Hokage lineage has become the strongest force in Konoha. The rapidly growing and massive civilian ninja community is a staunch supporter of the Hokage lineage, and many young geniuses from various clans also aspire to join it.

At this point, it had become impossible for the various ninja clans of Konoha to destroy the Ninja Academy. They could only silently go with the flow, sending their best members to the Ninja Academy every year in an effort to secure a place within the powerful Hokage lineage.

Once upon a time, the Uchiha clan held a very high position in the Hokage lineage.

Unfortunately, everything changed after Uchiha Kagami's unexpected death. The Uchiha clan was never able to break into the inner circle again, and under the deliberate exclusion of those four despicable Tobirama disciples, they continued to drift away from the core of Konoha's power.

"This absolutely cannot continue; we must break the deadlock."

Uchiha Homura thought with a heavy heart.

As the clan leader, he had to work hard to ensure the Uchiha clan's continued survival in this world.

The next moment, he looked at the small figure still sitting in the corner of the room, then beckoned to her to come over.

Seeing her grandfather's gesture, Chizuru reluctantly walked over and said coldly, "What?"

"Go find Kirito and bring him over. I need to talk to him."

Uchiha Homura commanded coldly.

Chizuru did not answer immediately, but instead activated her two-tomoe Sharingan and stared at Uchiha Homura.

"Your eye power is quite good, even stronger than a typical three-tomoe Sharingan. It seems that kid gave you quite a few good things. Don't worry, I'm just talking to that kid, I won't do anything to him. Besides, that kid is very cunning, he wouldn't come to me in person, would he?"

Uchiha Homura sneered.

Chizuru snorted coldly, then closed her Sharingan and turned to leave.

As Chizuru turned to leave, Homura Uchiha's face immediately showed a look of relief.

The seed of hope for breaking the deadlock has been found; the question now is whether it can grow successfully.

About half an hour later, Chizuru arrived at the orphanage and found Kirito's shadow clone busy in the laboratory underground.

"Your grandfather is looking for me?"

In the underground laboratory, Kirito said with a surprised look.

"That's right, I'm just here to deliver a message. Whether you go or not is up to you."

Chizuru said coldly, then looked around at the strange creatures soaking in the green solution, her eyes showing curiosity.

She had been to Kirito's lab a few times, but the last time she came was a year ago.

In just one year, this place has changed dramatically.

She remembered that when she last came here, the place was quite simple, with just a broken computer and a dozen or so glassware pillars. Now, not only has the space been greatly expanded and luxuriously renovated, but there are also a lot of new equipment, and the number of glassware pillars has increased to more than fifty.

This is only what she sees now. She discovers that there are other rooms connected to this place, and she estimates that there are many things she hasn't seen yet.

When did this guy become so rich?

She remembered this guy saying that working in biology is very expensive, and he was always worried about not having enough money.

She originally wanted to give him some financial assistance, but the guy was too proud and refused to ask her for money.

Finally, Chizuru's gaze fell upon a normally developed humanoid creature.

That was a person with very pale skin, whose face was eight parts similar to Kirito's, almost like Kirito a few years older.

This person's hair is red.

"I see. But since you've come all this way to see me, I can't refuse."

Kirito sighed upon hearing Chizuru's words.

He didn't say what it was about, nor did he say whether he should go or not. Given the traditionally arrogant personality of the Uchiha, it must be something important that he had to go.

However, he did owe Uchiha Homura a huge favor, or more precisely, he owed Chizuru. Thanks to the list Chizuru provided him, he was able to so easily cause Danzo's Root organization a lot of trouble and get his revenge.

Since the other party asked Chizuru to come find him, he would go for Chizuru's sake.

"what ever."

Chizuru said coldly, but a smile appeared on her face.

Chapter 104: Kirito and Uchiha

Led by Chizuru, Kirito enters the Uchiha clan's territory.

Unlike the quiet and deserted Senju clan territory, the Uchiha clan territory was a lively place.

In Konoha, the Uchiha clan is undoubtedly the number one ninja clan. This is not only because their overall strength is the best among all the ninja clans in Konoha, but also because they have the largest number of members among all the ninja clans in Konoha.

The reason why the Uchiha clan is so numerous is largely because the Second Hokage allowed the Uchiha clan to take over the Konoha police force, thus enabling the Uchiha clan to retreat from the front line and recuperate.

Furthermore, since the Third Hokage did not conscript many Uchiha clan ninjas to fight on the battlefield, the Uchiha clan's population naturally continued to grow.

Because the Uchiha clan is rather xenophobic, a small market has automatically formed within the vast Uchiha clan territory to meet the clan's material needs. The clan territory also has a small commercial street where you can find almost any shop or goods that are available outside.

Over the past few years, Kirito has visited the Uchiha clan's territory many times, and he's become quite familiar with the area.

However, even though he made several high-spending purchases here, he was still a good friend of Chizuru, the granddaughter of the Uchiha clan's eldest daughter. As he walked here, he could still feel the hostile or wary gazes from many Uchiha clan members at all times.