Obviously, Fugaku had seen this thing before.
Waving at his wife and son through the windows, Fugaku turned to face everyone:
"Brothers, this journey truly means leaving Konoha with no way back!"
"Come on, Clan Head, quit being so damn wishy-washy! Don't block me - let me get on the bus!" The burly Uchiha Tetsuka grumbled impatiently.
Seeing this, Fugaku rolled his eyes irritably and stepped aside.
Once on board, everyone's first sensation was coolness - the breeze instantly dispelled the heat from their bodies and hearts.
Rows of seats were neatly arranged. Behind the seats, family members sat in orderly fashion, with only mischievous children poking their heads up from behind the seat backs.
While organizing everyone to board in order, Fugaku sidled up to Kagami and whispered:
"Uncle, did you get everyone?"
Kagami nodded.
"There are two more buses of people ahead, mostly elderly. I had Shisui lead them - they left Konoha first."
Hearing this, Fugaku breathed a sigh of relief, then made small talk.
"By the way, Uncle, where's my teacher?"
At this, Kagami immediately rolled his eyes and grumbled internally:
"Hell if I know! I haven't seen him in ages either! Before, that guy just wandered around alone, but now he's corrupted Sakumo too. Both of them have been AWOL for three damn months!"
Seeing Kagami's huffing and puffing expression, Fugaku wisely shrank back and didn't dare bring up the topic again.
Don't let Kagami's harsh words fool you - that old guy was tight with his teacher!
If he chimed in with a few insults, his teacher's pure gold belt buckle would get some action!
Just thinking about himself, the dignified Uchiha clan head, getting a beating in front of his son, wife, and clansmen made Fugaku shudder violently.
If that really happened, he might as well dig a hole and bury himself right now!
While shuddering, everyone finished boarding.
Fugaku and Kagami didn't get on the bus. Instead, they first opened the courtyard's low gate, then walked ahead of the vehicle to clear the path.
Behind them, the bus temporarily powered by Lightning Release chakra started silently, slowly turning to follow their pace.
Looking at the streetside scenery, Fugaku felt deeply moved.
This village where he'd spent half his life finally couldn't accommodate this great Buddha after all!
Just as Fugaku was feeling sentimental, a lone figure suddenly appeared on the road ahead.
The next second, Fugaku felt Uncle Kagami beside him instantly burst with violent killing intent.
But within three seconds, that killing intent vanished as if it had never existed.
Just then, Kagami's icy voice rang out.
"Long time no see, my old classmate!"
From the other end of the street came an equally cold voice.
"Uchiha Kagami, you shouldn't have... come back!"
"Come back? That's a funny word. Perhaps 'visiting' would be more appropriate!"
"Hmph!" A low snort.
Accompanied by the tap-tap-tap of a cane hitting the ground, the dark figure walked up to Kagami and Fugaku, revealing Danzō's sinister face.
"Where's Sakuho Rinjin? Where's that guy hiding?"
"How would I know? Maybe he's infiltrated someone else's base again."
Uchiha Kagami's eyes narrowed slightly, his face full of meaningful expression.
On the other side, Danzō, quite sensitive to the words "base," also narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the hooded Kagami before him.
"Since Sakuho Rinjin isn't here, we need to have a good talk! Uchiha Kagami, you're not a Konoha citizen - why are you infiltrating Konoha in the dead of night? And if I'm not mistaken, that's Uchiha Fugaku beside you!"
At this, Fugaku raised his head, revealing a big smile under his bamboo hat, completely lacking the presence of a clan head.
Just then, Kagami spoke up.
"Enough with the bullshit - it's just an exchange of interests. So, what do you want?"
"Guess. If you guess right, I'll step aside without another word!"
Hearing this, a flash of red light instantly crossed Kagami's eyes. He then forcefully suppressed his killing intent, remembering Riie's instructions before leaving the village.
Preserve the land and lose the people, lose both land and people; preserve the people and lose the land, gain both people and land.
The Uchiha must be brought back - this was the bottom line. War could be waged if necessary.
Responsibility suppressed hatred. Kagami frowned and stared hard at Danzō, speaking word by word:
"Eighth Hokage? Support from Hidden Rain? I can give you both if you want. Now... please step aside!"
Hearing this, Danzō raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth imperceptibly curling up.
As a veteran negotiator, he immediately tested Kagami's bottom line.
Obviously, the Uchiha Kagami who was eager to leave could still be squeezed further.
Just as Danzō was preparing for another round of extortion, Kagami suddenly removed his bamboo hat and muttered to himself:
"Forget it, I can't handle this shit. Better let that Rinjin guy deal with it!"
With that, his hands began forming seals for a summoning jutsu.
Instantly, Danzō's scalp went numb!
No way! Old classmate, you're doing just fine with this - why call that dog-faced hairless thing over? That would really hurt our friendship!
Waving his hands frantically, Danzō hurriedly tried to stop him:
"Enough, enough! You guessed right - I'll step aside right now!"
With that, he nimbly stepped to one side of the road with his cane.
Seeing this, Kagami sneered coldly to himself.
He couldn't actually use the "Summon Big Brother" technique - only the village chief knew that one!
But seeing Danzō scared into such a pathetic state made him feel much better.
That's more like it!
Leading the giggling Fugaku, Kagami walked toward the village outskirts without another word.
Behind them, the bus silently followed like a steel fortress.
What they didn't know was that ahead, Sarutobi Hiruzen was already waiting for them again.
And the Third Hokage's target was none other than Uchiha Fugaku's youngest son - Uchiha Sasuke.
It all stemmed from a dream Sarutobi Hiruzen had - a very bizarre dream.
In the dream, his worries became reality.
Sakuho Rinjin had brazenly launched the Fourth Great Ninja War over a decade later, intending to unify the entire ninja world and enslave everyone under his iron heel.
However, just then, two saviors appeared.
One had orange hair with the shadow of the Nine-Tails faintly visible behind him.
The other had blood-red Sharingan with the phantom of a towering giant behind him.
With the Sage of Six Paths' help, these two defeated and sealed the great demon king Rinjin, bringing peace back to the ninja world.
Then the Sage of Six Paths told Sarutobi Hiruzen that one of these children was called Uzumaki Naruto, and the other was Uchiha Sasuke!
As for why the figure sitting cross-legged in the void in his dream was the Sage of Six Paths, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't know either.
He just felt it was!
The dream had become reality. No matter what, Sarutobi Hiruzen had to keep this child and couldn't let him fall into the great demon king Rinjin's embrace!
Otherwise, this kid would definitely be like his father - without a trace of the Will of Fire in his heart!
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