Uchiha En returned to the Uchiha Clan's tent and waited for three hours before Uchiha Mei came back.
"Senior Mei."
"Don't make that face. I just went on a mission; I'm not dead yet," Uchiha Mei said with a smile.
"Senior Mei, is Lord Orochimaru using the three of us to force the Uchiha, Hyuga, and Ino–Shika–Choji clans to send people on this mission?" Uchiha En asked.
"I'm afraid this isn't Orochimaru's idea. Orochimaru told us about the Fourth Mizukage possibly coming right after our big skirmish with the Kirigakure ended.
At that time, he didn't ask us to send people to investigate; instead, he took it upon himself, saying he would find a way to confirm the Fourth Mizukage's specific situation.
But a few hours later, a Root Ninja arrived and changed Orochimaru's mind."
"Root?"
Uchiha Mei saw Uchiha En's unnatural expression and thought he didn't know about Root, so he casually explained, "It's normal for you not to know about Root. Root's existence is related to Danzo Shimura.
Root, short for 'Anbu Training Department,' is an organization located underground in Konoha, like a large tree deeply rooting itself in the darkness.
Root's main goal is to secretly eliminate obstacles that would hinder the Village's prosperity.
To this end, they stop at nothing to complete their missions, making them a ruthless and cruel organization.
The Root organization is even more hidden than the Anbu, and the things they do are even more unsavory."
"Senior Mei, Hokage-sama must also know about Root's existence, right?" Uchiha En asked tentatively.
"Naturally, he knows. A force as large as Root must have Hokage-sama's tacit approval to exist for so long.
It's just that now, Hokage-sama has most likely lost control over Root," Uchiha Mei sighed.
Uchiha En's expression remained unchanged, but new thoughts were already forming in his mind.
From Uchiha Mei's words, Uchiha En basically confirmed one thing: Uchiha Mei, or rather the dove faction of the Uchiha Clan, always believed that the Konoha higher-ups who were dissatisfied and resistant to the Uchiha Clan were the two Hokage Advisors and Danzo.
Danzo could even act according to his own will, independent of the Third Hokage's control.
But Uchiha Mei's idea was undoubtedly wrong.
The Third Hokage was not a puppet Hokage; his authority in the Village was absolutely unrivaled, and Danzo and the two Advisors could not have any substantial influence on him.
The Uchiha Clan's extermination, without the Third Hokage's consent, would have been absolutely impossible to achieve with just the cooperation of Danzo, Uchiha Itachi, and Uchiha Obito.
However, there was one point where Uchiha Mei thought the Uchiha Clan's dove faction might be right: at this stage, the Third Hokage did not have the same direct intention of destroying the Uchiha Clan as the two Advisors and Danzo.
The real reason the Third Hokage decided to annihilate the Uchiha Clan was most likely the crimson Three-Tomoe Sharingan in the Nine-Tailed Fox's eyes during the Nine-Tailed Fox's rampage.
At this stage, the Third Hokage only wanted to suppress the Uchiha Clan, preferably by reducing the number of Uchiha Clan members through this war, weakening the Uchiha Clan's power, and allowing the Village to better control the Uchiha Clan.
This can be seen from the fact that after the Third Great Ninja War, only the First Squad of the Konoha Police Force consisted entirely of Uchiha Clan members, while other squads had to recruit a large number of outsiders.
Thinking of this, Uchiha En sighed and changed the subject, asking, "Senior Mei, are there any casualties among our clansmen in this war?"
"Seven people have minor injuries, two have serious injuries, one lost an arm and probably won't be a Ninja for the rest of his life, and the remaining four are fine."
"Thankfully, no one sacrificed their life."
"Yes! No one sacrificing their life is the greatest fortune. However, after the Fourth Mizukage arrives in the Land of Bears, the fighting here will only become more brutal. If we can confirm the Fourth Mizukage's arrival time in advance, it will also be good for the other clansmen.
So, En, you don't need to feel guilty. As the leader of the Uchiha Clan in the Land of Bears, this is what I should do. I would have participated in this mission whether you were here or not."
After listening to Uchiha Mei's words, Uchiha En fell silent. He wasn't foolish; he naturally understood that Uchiha Mei's words were mostly meant to comfort him.
If it weren't for him, why would the Uchiha Clan need to get involved in this mess?
"Senior Mei, I..."
"Didn't you say before that you're a man and don't want to sleep with Cai and Yin? If you're a man, don't be so wishy-washy. If I die, remember this hatred and kill the Fourth Mizukage for me to get revenge.
But I definitely won't die. After all, I'm the captain of the Third Squad of the Police Force. I'm not boasting, but there are no more than 10 people in the entire Uchiha Clan stronger than me." After speaking, Uchiha Mei ruffled Uchiha En's hair and turned to leave.
He had to rush to rendezvous with Aburame Shibi and the others, quickly familiarize himself with his teammates' situations, and maximize his chances of survival.
Uchiha Mei specifically came back to tell Uchiha En that this matter had nothing to do with him, so he shouldn't feel any pressure.
A similar conversation also occurred between Asana and that Ninja from the Hyuga Clan's branch family.
Asana initially didn't understand why Uchiha En had changed, why he wanted to change the Uchiha Clan. Now, looking at the back of that senior, she seemed to understand a little.
"If one day the Caged Bird Seal can truly be removed, I hope to fly with all the members of the branch family," Asana thought to herself.
In the early hours of that morning, under the cover of night, Aburame Shibi and his group of six set off.
This operation was extremely dangerous. Even with six Jonin, two of whom were Elite Jonin like Uchiha Mei and Aburame Shibi, there was no guarantee they would return unscathed.
With Aburame Shibi's departure, Uchiha En's squad no longer had a supervising Jonin.
Orochimaru, for reasons unknown, did not assign them another supervising Jonin, instead letting their squad execute missions independently, just like other reconnaissance squads.
Unbeknownst to them, three days had passed since Aburame Shibi and his group left, and Uchiha En's squad received their first mission.
(PS: Personally, I feel that the Third Hokage didn't intend for the Uchiha Clan to be annihilated from the very beginning. The Third Hokage wasn't purely a politician or schemer; he genuinely loved Konoha.
The behavior of Konoha's residents when the Third Hokage died shows that he was deeply loved in Konoha, and goodwill cannot be won by schemes and tricks alone.
Of course, I don't deny that the Third Hokage did many foolish things, and I won't whitewash him. We can't really let Danzo take all the blame!)
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