Chapter 188: How Did You Steal Yellow Dog’s Line
With a uneasy heart, Yoru entered the Headquarters Tent.
Kiiroinu handed over a mission scroll:
“Commander Lord, Vice Commander Lord, the ambush battle achieved a great victory.
We killed one elite jonin from Hidden Mist Village, Hozuki Murgetsu, four jonin, and 337 mist ninja.”
The assistant handed the scroll to Danzo, and Danzo looked down at it for a while.
Danzo saw that the fox had scouted intelligence on the mist ninja at the seaside, entering the battlefield one day ahead of the pre-formulated battle plan.
The five battalions happened to catch the mist ninja setting traps, causing the mist ninja to suffer a great defeat.
Danzo’s left eye, not covered by bandage, constricted instantly, making the pupil appear smaller and more dangerous.
The growth speed of Kiiroinu’s subordinates was too fast; why had the emerging fox already become a confidant major concern.
After reading the scroll, Danzo said:
“Very good. In this mission, it was mainly Kiiroinu’s battle plan that was formulated outstandingly, with comprehensive intelligence reconnaissance.
I will apply for an S-rank mission reward for you.”
Kiiroinu waited a few seconds without hearing more, and asked:
“Commander Lord, Jonin Captain Yamashiro Aoba, Uchiha Touka, and others—four jonin captains, Anbu Squad Leader Fox, and so on—can they receive S-rank mission rewards?”
Danzo frowned: “Kiiroinu, you have no qualification to question the mission rating.
Mission ratings are decided by headquarters; if everyone questions the mission rating, how can the mission system operate?”
Hearing this, Kiiroinu said nothing more.
He had no intention of continuing to tangle with Danzo, exchanged a few perfunctory words, and then left the Headquarters Tent.
Uchiha Touka, Uchiha Michi, Yamashiro Aoba, and Gekko Shizuma felt indignant inside but said nothing on the surface.
After walking far away, Uchiha Touka said:
“Sorry, Jonin Yamashiro, Jonin Gekko Shizuma, it was our Uchiha Clan that implicated you two.
Commander-in-Chief Danzo is extremely dissatisfied with our Uchiha Clan’s performance and will not easily grant us S-rank mission rewards.
If we weren’t in the mission, with such a great victory, you two would certainly receive S-rank mission rewards.”
Kiiroinu turned his head and looked at Uchiha Touka with a strange gaze.
His impression of Uchiha Touka greatly improved.
As expected of the jonin in charge of the Uchiha Young Patriarch; whether in strength or thinking, he was worthy of being an elite of the Uchiha Clan.
Yoru thought to himself, Uchiha Touka, how did you steal Kiiroinu’s lines.
In this mission, with Danzo’s hated Kiiroinu and Uchiha present, and Kiiroinu as commander, such a great victory meant they couldn’t withhold the S-rank mission reward.
No one else could get an S-rank mission reward from Danzo.
After Uchiha Touka saw the other jonin off, he went with Uchiha Michi to find the clan head.
The two greeted Uchiha Kane and returned together to the Uchiha Clan’s tent area.
After entering his own tent, Uchiha Kane sat wearily on the chair and said:
“Why does Danzo Advisor have such great hostility toward us Uchiha? I won’t say I’ve been perfectly respectful, but at the very least I’ve paid attention to every detail without any offense to him…”
Uchiha Touka pointed outward, and Uchiha Michi quickly went out to check if there was any surveillance around.
After Uchiha Michi’s safe hand signal came through the tent flap gap, Uchiha Touka said: “Patriarch, I have a guess.”
“What guess?”
Uchiha Touka said:
“In the Guard Department, I’ve handled many cases, and one case left a deep impression on me.
A criminal accidentally killed a Konoha old man and luckily evaded the investigation at the time.
In the following years, that criminal successively killed several sons of the victim.
When I interrogated him, I asked why he did it.
He said that after accidentally killing the old man, he feared being discovered by the old man’s sons as the killer, so he kept observing and stimulating the old man’s sons.
Whenever a son showed hostility toward him, he believed that son had realized he was the murderer.
Thus, he came to view that family with enmity, hating not to kill them all.
This behavior can be called ‘retaliatory attribution,’ believing that the family’s reporting, testifying, or revenge will lead to his own harm.
Or ‘psychologically twisted projection’; rather than wait for the victim’s relatives to seek blood revenge, better to strike first.
Patriarch, we cannot terminate the death investigation of Kagami Uchiha…”
“Stop!” Uchiha Kane stopped Uchiha Touka, his eyes flickering, but he ultimately sighed in defeat:
“Touka, your most important task now is to train Fugaku, let Fugaku realize his talent; other matters, I will handle.”
“Alright, I understand.”
Uchiha Touka said nothing more.
He felt some doubt again, wondering if Fugaku could lead the Uchiha Clan to revival.
He knew Fugaku, and it was the same as what Anbu Copper Fox said: the young clan head lacked aggressiveness.
“No, you don’t understand.” Uchiha Kane said:
“The Uchiha Clan bears original sin.
After the village was founded, Uchiha Madara betrayed it, returning twice to threaten the village’s destruction.
The second time, he brought the Nine-Tails back and died by the First Hokage’s hand, while also causing the First Hokage to age prematurely.
For the Uchiha Clan to survive in the village, we must learn compromise.
When the Nine-Tails seal transfer caused a rampage, the Senju Clan suffered heavy losses, and the village claimed it was Uchiha Madara’s doing.
That ancestor truly lived up to his name as a living ancestor, giving no thought to the Uchiha Clan.
Look at the Uzumaki Clan; their strength was no weaker than the Uchiha Clan, and Hidden Whirlpool Village and the Land of Whirlpools formed one country and one village.
Hidden Whirlpool Village was so strong, but so what.
Without Konoha’s true protection, even such a powerful ninja clan wasn’t annihilated overnight?
If we leave Konoha, the other four great ninja villages will pounce like hungry wolves and gouge out our Sharingan.
Staying in Konoha means learning patience and waiting.
Perhaps the clan under Fugaku will gain a bright future.
All ninja will die.
Whoever holds enmity toward us may die in some accident.
What we must do is wait, is legacy, not make enemies everywhere.”
Uchiha Touka thought to himself, perhaps the Young Clan Head Fugaku’s mild temperament was the result of the Patriarch’s constant teachings.
He also felt headache for the clan; in the short term, he couldn’t find a way to break the situation.
He could only endure.
Ever since Kagami Uchiha died, the clan had no communication bridge with the village high-ranking officials, and everything was very difficult.
The Guard Department, as the village’s law enforcement department, could smear the Uchiha’s reputation with any casually hyped case.
If enforcement was strict, they said it was brutal methods.
If enforcement was lax, they said it was utterly ineffective.
If Konoha villagers judged cases, Uchiha ninja would face the death penalty per capita.
Seeing Uchiha Touka’s troubled expression, Uchiha Kane said: “Touka, no need to worry. The War of the Land of Whirlpools is about to end.”
“End? It’s about to end?”
Uchiha Kane said:
“I saw the battle report; the Land of Earth War is already in negotiations.
As long as the Land of Earth War ends, the War of the Land of Whirlpools will inevitably end.
Yuan Shi doesn’t want to see Mito Mon’en and Orochimaru on the battlefield either.
Orochimaru has earned the title of ‘Cold Lord’ in the Land of Grass and Land of Earth.
No other reason; he killed too many.
When Stone Ninja encounter Orochimaru, they don’t even leave corpses; some are even swallowed alive by Orochimaru’s summoning giant snakes.
Besides the influence of the Land of Earth battlefield, the Anbu Kiiroinu Battalion coming to the front line was precisely to end the war.
Anbu already has a battalion on the front line led by Otoyo, and the Third Hokage also sent the Kiiroinu Battalion.
The Kiiroinu Battalion achieved a brilliant victory; I guess the Third Hokage will use this victory to force Hidden Mist Village to the negotiation table.
Our Uchiha Clan has sacrificed over 150 people on the front line, and with the war about to end, we can return to the village.”
