Wen Lan lowered his head in confusion and glanced at his bathrobe.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Pakura smiled softly and shook her head.
"Nothing. It's just the first time I've seen you wearing a bathrobe."
Wen Lan shrugged, sat down at the table, and started eating heartily.
In the Hokage's office, Minato reported everything that had happened during the Rain Country mission, including Wen Lan's ultra-fast regeneration ability.
This was something Minato simply couldn't conceal. After all, there were five ANBU present—he couldn't exactly kill them to keep it secret.
The Third Hokage took a deep drag from his pipe and slowly exhaled a wisp of smoke, which curled through the silent office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's first thought was Senju Hashirama.
But even Hashirama couldn't regenerate from having only a single arm left.
When he heard that Danzo had used Edo Tensei to summon both the First and Second Hokage, Hiruzen was furious.
He removed the pipe from his mouth and tapped it against the edge of the desk.
What truly concerned him now, however, was the Rinnegan.
He wasn't surprised that the Rinnegan had appeared in the ninja world. Back during the Second Shinobi World War, Jiraiya had stayed in the Rain Country for a time.
According to Orochimaru and Tsunade, it was because of three children—one of whom possessed the legendary Rinnegan.
After Jiraiya returned, Hiruzen had questioned him about it, but Jiraiya never revealed anything about Nagato.
Later, both he and Danzo had sent people into the Rain Country to search, but they found nothing.
Eventually, the matter faded away.
And yet now, Wen Lan and Minato had brought that very person back to Konoha.
Just as Hiruzen was about to stand up and go see the Rinnegan for himself, an ANBU suddenly rushed in, dropped to one knee, and reported:
"Hokage-sir! Several ANBU assigned to monitor the Uchiha clan compound have been attacked!
"And the Uchiha have announced to all of Konoha: anyone who approaches Uchiha territory without prior notice will be killed on sight!"
Hiruzen's pupils shrank sharply.
He immediately realized that the situation had completely spiraled out of control.
He had originally agreed to give the Uchiha three high-ranking positions to placate them. However, the ANBU surveillance had never been withdrawn.
The Uchiha had always known they were being watched—but they had never acted.
Hiruzen had assumed the Uchiha just wanted a symbolic concession. He gave it to them and planned to step down soon anyway. But the surveillance, in his mind, could not stop.
This time, however, the Uchiha had openly torn their faces with him.
Previously, Konoha had four individuals with Kage-level strength:
Hiruzen SarutobiShimura DanzoNamikaze MinatoOrochimaru
But Minato would never oppose the Uchiha.
Danzo had now been crippled and imprisoned.
That left only Hiruzen and Orochimaru.
Yet from Minato's account, Wen Lan had easily killed Danzo, possessed an eerie regenerative ability, and could even cut through a Tailed Beast Bomb.
His strength had already surpassed the level of a normal Kage.
Wen Lan alone was enough to make Konoha uneasy.
If Hiruzen continued to act stubbornly, it would inevitably lead to catastrophe.
The Uchiha could be part of Konoha—but if pushed too far, Konoha could just as easily become the Uchiha's enemy.
After a long silence, Hiruzen finally said:
"Withdraw the ANBU. From now on, there will be no more surveillance on the Uchiha."
Then he looked at Minato.
"I've already discussed it with the Daimyō. In one month, you will assume the position of Hokage."
That night was destined to be anything but peaceful.
Fighting around the Uchiha clan compound never stopped—explosions, shouts, and clashes echoed nonstop.
Pakura sat on the roof of Wen Lan's courtyard the entire night.
Meanwhile, Wen Lan slept soundly in his room, as if none of it concerned him.
The next morning, as Wen Lan was brushing his teeth, he heard knocking at the door.
Pakura was catching up on sleep.
Wen Lan walked out to the courtyard with a toothbrush in his mouth and opened the door, only to see a completely exhausted Fugaku and a clearly confused Itachi.
"Yo, Clan Head, Itachi—morning!" Wen Lan greeted cheerfully.
"Morning my ass! I didn't sleep all night!" Fugaku snarled as he shoved Wen Lan aside and stormed into the courtyard.
Itachi raised his hand as if to stop him, but hesitated and said nothing.
Wen Lan didn't get angry. After all, he had just thrown Fugaku into the fire—letting him vent was only fair.
After Wen Lan finished washing up, he saw Fugaku and Itachi sitting on the veranda. Wen Lan brought over two cups of water and set them down beside them.
Fugaku snorted.
"Last night, the Koharu faction sent three jōnin and twenty chūnin.
The Mitokado faction sent one jōnin and thirteen chūnin.
The Shimura faction sent two jōnin and thirty chūnin.
"And foreign spies swarmed in as well—twenty-three jōnin in total!"
Wen Lan shrugged, took a seat with his cup of hot water, and said calmly:
"Wasn't that expected? The Rinnegan's appeal is enormous."
Fugaku glared at him, barely restraining his anger.
"You're relaxed about it, but the entire Uchiha clan became a target because of you!"
Itachi lowered his head silently, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the rim of his cup.
Wen Lan took a sip of water, his expression tranquil.
"Did you kill them all?"
"We did," Fugaku nodded.
He knew this was a turning point for the Uchiha—and one where no one could truly find fault.
Although three Konoha clans had tried to take advantage of the chaos, many of those infiltrators were foreign spies.
If those three clans tried to demand accountability later, the Uchiha could simply respond:
"We thought they were enemy spies and killed them."
Everyone would know it was an excuse—but no one would dare tear their faces apart.
If they tried to make trouble, the Uchiha could counterattack with accusations of colluding with foreign enemies, instantly turning the situation against them.
They wouldn't even be able to deny it.
After all—
Were your clan's ninja or were they not sneaking in together with enemy agents?
That fact alone was enough.
Through this incident, the Uchiha had also sent a clear message to Konoha:
The Uchiha are no longer the Uchiha of the past.
If you continue to bully us as before, this is the fate awaiting your ninja.
Wen Lan set his cup down, his gaze turning cold.
"Last night was only the beginning, not the end."
"The Rinnegan is the eye of the Sage of Six Paths. That name alone is enough to drive the entire ninja world mad."
"Just a name?" Fugaku was startled. He didn't understand why Wen Lan called it a pretext.
The corners of Wen Lan's lips curled upward as he looked at Fugaku.
"Clan Head… you don't really think the Mangekyō Sharingan is the final evolution of the Sharingan, do you?"
Fugaku froze.
When he connected that statement with all the talk about the Rinnegan, he suddenly shot to his feet. His eyes widened in shock, emotions surging so violently that his Sharingan activated unconsciously.
Hot water spilled onto his clothes, but he didn't even notice.
"You mean… the final evolution of the Sharingan is… is…!"
His voice faltered. He couldn't even bring himself to say it out loud.
Wen Lan smiled—and slowly nodded.
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