Chapter 130: The Monitored Uchiha Clan
The night was as dark as ink, gradually enveloping Konoha.
As most people in the village had already fallen asleep, only some dim yellow street lamps, like solitary stars hanging in the sky, dotted the village in the darkness.
Inside the Anbu building beneath the Hokage Rock, however, a completely different scene unfolded.
Outside the Anbu building, it was as dark as usual, but inside it was brightly lit, with the air filled with oppressive silence, only the faint hum of some electronic equipment and occasional low reports.
Only eight-year-old Itachi Uchiha wore the distinctive dark gray uniform of Anbu, carrying a standard ninja sword on his back, his eyes calm like still water yet carrying a depth unfitting for his age, slowly walking upstairs led by a ninja wearing a white cat mask.
“From now on, you are a member of Anbu, Itachi.” Kakashi’s left eye under the white cat mask glanced slightly at Itachi Uchiha following behind.
“Yes, Senior Kakashi, please take care of me!” Itachi Uchiha’s tone was calm with honorifics.
The two soon arrived at a surveillance room, where rows of monitors were placed inside, each monitor screen flickering with densely packed small grid surveillance footage, every frame capturing real-time dynamics from somewhere in Konohagakure.
Two Anbu ninjas were monitoring, and upon hearing the noise, they turned back to greet Kakashi who had come to take over the shift.
‘This is?!’ Seeing so many familiar scenes on the monitor screens, Itachi Uchiha’s heart trembled.
In the very center of these monitor screens was prominently the gate of the Uchiha Clan, next to it was the gate of the Konoha Military Police Force, and the other screens were mostly surveillance footage of the Uchiha Compound.
‘So… the village has long been surveilling the Uchiha Clan…’ Itachi Uchiha’s breathing quickened.
“This is your main workplace for the foreseeable future.” After handing over to the two Anbu ninjas, Kakashi looked at Itachi Uchiha.
His silver spiky hair short hair gleamed faintly in the dim light, his masked face showed no expression, his tone was flat yet carried a trace of imperceptible complexity.
“This is Hokage-sama’s trust in you.” Kakashi said so: “Your task is to monitor the Uchiha Compound and the movements of Uchiha clansmen.”
‘Trust, huh…’ A bitterness surged deep in Itachi Uchiha’s heart.
This so-called trust was merely the concretization of the village high-level officials’ growing unease and suspicion toward the Uchiha Clan.
Having a Uchiha monitor the Uchiha Compound—calling it trust, how was it not also a form of intimidation?
Kakashi seemed unaware of the waves in Itachi Uchiha’s heart, pointing to several special screens among them, which showed footage without exception of the entrance and training ground of the Uchiha Compound, even residences of some important jonin within the clan.
“The Nine-Tails Attack, you know, the Nine-Tails’ eyes had Sharingan patterns.” Kakashi’s voice lowered a bit, seriously saying: “Though there’s no direct evidence, after the Nine-Tails Attack, the village became very suspicious of the Uchiha.”
“A few months ago, Shisui Uchiha went on a mission, leading the investigation into the Hoshigakure rebellion, encountered a mysterious Uchiha ninja, was beaten badly, even lost one Sharingan eye, which made the village have unprecedented suspicion toward the Uchiha Clan.”
The Nine-Tails Attack and the mysterious Uchiha ninja of the Land of Stars.
Itachi Uchiha, who had experienced the Nine-Tails Attack firsthand, had a somber expression.
And he knew about his close friend Shisui’s encounter—that mysterious Uchiha ninja in the Land of Stars was so powerful that even Shisui was no match for her!
Kakashi’s words were like a heavy stone, smashing hard onto the lake of Itachi’s heart, stirring up ripples.
He understood that what Kakashi said was fact, and it was precisely because he had joined Anbu and gained Hokage-sama’s trust that he was being told this.
The Nine-Tails incident, plus the mysterious Uchiha strong practitioner outside the village—these two events were like two sharp thorns, deeply piercing into the hearts of the village high-level officials, making them harbor indelible vigilance toward the Uchiha Clan.
“So, from now on, Anbu’s surveillance of the Uchiha Clan is all-encompassing.” Kakashi’s gaze sharpened, he turned around, staring straight at Itachi, though wearing a white cat mask, Itachi could feel that oppression.
“You are here to report any abnormalities, even any suspicious signs, to the upper levels immediately. Remember, your loyalty now is first and foremost to the village.”
Itachi’s hands unconsciously clenched tight.
The village and the family…
He recalled his father’s instructions when he joined Anbu, hoping he could obtain Anbu’s dynamics and high-level information to pass to the family.
Now Hokage-sama hoped he could surveil the Uchiha Clan for the village.
Itachi Uchiha’s heart struggled, that tearing pain like a knife twisting.
“Yes!” Itachi Uchiha took a deep breath, calming the turmoil in his heart.
He knew now was not the time to show entanglement—for the family’s future, for the village’s peace, to avoid worse situations, he must bear this pain, playing his role well between family and village.
He silently walked to an empty surveillance station, his fingers deftly sliding on the mouse, pulling up one surveillance screen after another.
The footage on the screens surged like tides, from clansmen sweating on the training ground of the compound, to children laughing and playing on the streets, to elders and women and children strolling inside the compound.
Those familiar faces, every detail, seemed infinitely magnified under Anbu’s scrutiny.
Kakashi beside him also sat on the adjacent chair, watching Itachi activate his two-tomoe Sharingan, involuntarily thinking of his deceased Uchiha companion.
And Itachi’s gaze quickly switched between screens, his Sharingan precisely capturing every subtle movement and expression.
He forced himself to stay calm, suppressing personal emotions deep in his heart, scrutinizing these screens from the angle of a pure observer.
However, when his sight swept over a footage of the compound’s main gate, his pupils suddenly contracted, his heart jolting fiercely.
That was a familiar figure—Izumi Uchiha.
She was slowly walking toward the clan gate from outside, her steps somewhat slow, even carrying a trace of imperceptible stagger, her hair somewhat disheveled, her usually clear and bright eyes now shrouded in a layer of weary shadows, her complexion also paler than usual.
Izumi Uchiha stopped in front of the clan gate, looked up at the clan gate, gently rubbed her temples, as if trying to stay alert, but her body’s fatigue could not be concealed.
Kakashi’s voice sounded beside him, pulling Itachi back from his thoughts: “Any discoveries?”
