For the next few days, Tatsuya adopted a leisurely vacation mode.
Aside from his daily morning trip to Kurenai Yuhi's house to study genjutsu, Tatsuya had practically nothing to do! With the Shadow Clone Technique acting as an experience cheat, Tatsuya didn't need to exert himself much. All he had to do was constantly "pay to win" by purchasing high-energy foods.
At noon, Tatsuya sat alone at the counter in Ichiraku Ramen, quietly enjoying his meal.
Come to think of it, since arriving in this world, Tatsuya didn't really have many truly reliable friends. Originally, he considered his two teammates from Squad 31, Sakawa and Teru Yuhi, to be among them. However, Tatsuya's strength improved too quickly, and he hadn't spent much time in Squad 31 before leaving.
Currently, Squad 31 was still led by Ichii Kawa, and a new genin had already replaced Tatsuya's vacant position. Since Tatsuya had been promoted to Special Jonin and entered ANBU, Sakawa and Teru Yuhi rarely came to hang out with him. The three of them, all busy with their own missions, found it difficult to coordinate their schedules.
As for ANBU Team 11, Tatsuya had become quite close to Kakashi and Guy, to the point where they were genuine friends he could rely on. However, Guy was currently undergoing secret medical treatment, making it difficult for Tatsuya to even see him. And Kakashi, that guy, seemed to be more interested in his Icha Icha books, leaving him no time to chat idly with Tatsuya.
Although Tatsuya had a good impression of Shisui, that atypical Uchiha, he didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble. Thus, outside of mission time, Tatsuya had temporarily decided not to actively engage with him too much. Until he possessed sufficient strength to protect himself, Tatsuya wasn't prepared to get involved in the conflict between the village's higher-ups and the Uchiha clan. Besides, Shisui was currently being kept hidden away by the Uchiha clan.
Even though Tatsuya had no intention of getting involved, an incident that occurred during his meal still caught his attention.
Thud!
"Argh!"
"Heh! Try running now, you little punk!"
A sound of a heavy object hitting the ground came from outside the ramen shop, followed immediately by a scream of pain and a vicious curse.
Peeking through the curtains of the ramen shop, Tatsuya saw three members of the Konoha Military Police Force, wearing Uchiha clan attire, on the street. Less than three meters in front of them, a young ninja lay on the ground. This young ninja was also wearing Konoha's uniform. His chest had suffered a heavy blow, and blood was trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"Get out of the way! It's the Military Police!"
"Those arrogant bastards again!"
...
This scene caused quite a few pedestrians to stop and watch. A murmur of discussion rose from the crowd. From their words, it was clear that the Uchiha clan's reputation in the village was distinctly unfavorable.
"I just said a few things about you Uchiha, which village rule did I break? What right do you have to take me back to the Military Police headquarters? This is a blatant abuse of power!" The young ninja clutched his chest, his voice filled with indignation as he looked at the three Uchiha who were subtly surrounding him.
"We, the Uchiha clan, are in charge of the village's Military Police Force and bear the heavy responsibility of maintaining the village's security. You, needlessly criticizing the Uchiha in the street, are disrupting the village's peace. Of course, we can detain you," the leader of the three Uchiha said with a cold sneer.
Having said that, this Uchiha took a few steps forward, directly approaching the young ninja. Under the young ninja's terrified gaze, he lifted his right foot high and brought it down heavily towards the young ninja's ankle. If this blow landed, the young ninja's leg would definitely be crippled.
Just then, the unexpected happened!
Three long snakes shot through the air, flying straight towards the Uchiha clan member who had made the move. The Uchiha clan member quickly dodged, saving the young ninja on the ground from a crippled leg.
"Insolence! Who dares to attack the Military Police Force?" The other two Uchiha clan members on either side had already adopted fighting stances, shouting sternly. While their tone was severe, they didn't rashly attack.
Hidden Shadow Snake Hands! This was one of the signature ninjutsu of Orochimaru, one of Konoha's Sannin.
"Hey! You Uchiha guys, he just had a loose tongue. A simple lesson would have been enough. To try and cripple someone's leg in broad daylight, isn't that going too far?" From the crowd, Anko Mitarashi emerged, her eyes filled with disapproval.
Behind her, Hayate Gekko and Yugao Uzuki followed.
"Anko Mitarashi, do you also want to oppose us? The Uchiha are Konoha's foremost noble clan, shouldering the responsibility of maintaining the village's security. Even if you have Orochimaru as your backer, you'll have to pay the price," the leading Uchiha said coldly, his gaze dark as he looked at Anko Mitarashi. They had recognized the three's identities at a glance.
Anko was undeterred. "Tch! You should say that to my teacher's face!"
"Hmph! Consider yourself lucky. Let's go!" Hearing this, the leading Uchiha glared coldly at the young ninja on the ground, snorted, and then turned to leave with the other two Uchiha.
With the departure of the three Uchiha, the surrounding onlookers quickly dispersed.
Anko, who remained, watched the backs of the three departing Uchiha, her expression darkening. "These Uchiha have been acting more and more unbridled lately. What exactly are they planning?"
Beside her, Hayate Gekko, upon hearing this, looked around and then leaned towards Anko, saying in a hushed tone, "I heard from an elder in my clan that it seems the strongest of the younger generation of the Uchiha clan, Shisui Uchiha, has awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan..."
Anko's pupils constricted. "Mangekyo Sharingan! Is that the terrifying power said to be able to rival the First Hokage?"
Hayate shook his head. "I don't know if it's as terrifying as the legends say, but according to the elders in my clan, anyone in the Uchiha clan who awakens the Mangekyo Sharingan is definitely a being who possesses power surpassing the vast majority of ninjas in the world."
Anko murmured softly, "Then wouldn't that be comparable to my teacher?"
A moment later, the three of them also prepared to leave.
Before leaving, Anko's gaze involuntarily swept towards Ichiraku Ramen, just catching sight of Tatsuya walking out of the shop. Seeing Tatsuya, an undisguised look of disdain appeared on her face, clearly blaming him for not stepping in to help earlier.
In response, Tatsuya shrugged, a gesture of helplessness.
Seeing this, Anko let out a cold snort and turned to leave with Hayate Gekko and Yugao Uzuki. The young couple, Hayate and Yugao, childhood sweethearts, didn't seem to have any issue with Tatsuya and nodded at him friendly before they left.
Currently, the identities of the four members of ANBU Team 11 were a well-known secret among the young elite of the village's various clans.
After Anko and the others had left, Tatsuya walked home with a slight frown.
Based on his memories from his previous life, although Tatsuya didn't know exactly when the news of Shisui possessing the Mangekyo Sharingan was revealed, he knew that the scope of the news had always been limited, and until the very end, only a select few among Konoha's top brass knew.
But now, due to the ambush by Kumogakure and the outstanding performance of ANBU Team 11, the news of Shisui possessing the Mangekyo Sharingan had spread far and wide much earlier. In that battle, the formidable combat power of the Mangekyo Sharingan had also been somewhat displayed.
In the month since returning to the village, Tatsuya had also sensed that the Uchiha clan seemed to be much more active in the village.
It seemed that the spread of this news had caused a huge chain reaction within the Uchiha clan, giving the majority of the radical Uchiha, who had long been unwilling to be suppressed, a sense of "the advantage is ours," giving them the confidence to resist and act arrogantly.
After Orochimaru defected, this sentiment within the Uchiha clan would likely intensify even further.
In this situation, Shisui, what will you do?
Walking along the road, Tatsuya couldn't help but silently worry about Shisui Uchiha's predicament.
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