[Kamui Space]
Only after escaping here did Obito finally catch his breath.
He had nearly lost his life.
The Kamui Space was his eternal safe haven. As long as he returned here, his heart could be at ease.
He took off his mask. That spare three-tomoe Sharingan had already turned grey and was completely ruined.
Obito sat on the stone platform, his expression unreadable as he pondered.
'How did the Uchiha clan know my Kamui's weakness?'
'Was this all a trap specially set by Uchiha Itachi?'
"Whose Amaterasu was that? That man wasn't Itachi," When Obito was covered in Amaterasu, he had no time to clearly distinguish who the opponent was.
But with his peripheral vision, he still caught a glimpse of Rengoku's appearance.
Amaterasu, this Mangekyo ability, had appeared more than once in the Uchiha clan's history.
Obito wasn't completely ignorant of this technique.
Now, with the likelihood of Itachi possessing Mangekyo, yet another Mangekyo had appeared.
The key was that the other man even knew he would become tangible while attacking.
This alone directly cut off Obito's future plans of treating the Uchiha like his backyard.
Uchiha didn't have a treasury anyway, so continuing to loiter around there now brought no benefits.
After all, one more Amaterasu and he'd be dead.
He just didn't know whether the Uchiha clan and Konoha would break out into full conflict tonight.
These uncertainties made Obito feel very passive.
Apart from that, there was one most important issue.
That was, the Three-Tails Jinchuriki Yagura had escaped from his control.
This meant the Land of Water could no longer supply the Akatsuki organization with money and resources.
Previously, Obito had relied on these resources to cooperate reasonably with Nagato and Konan.
But now that all these resources were gone, there would probably be some changes in the future.
Also, what Yagura would do afterward, he wasn't clear about.
But Kirigakure was far away anyway. It was better to first see what the situation in Konoha was.
Having made up his mind, Obito also began moving rapidly within Kamui Space.
No matter what, he had to first return and replace the Sharingan.
Only—Sharingan, not many were left...
———
[Uchiha Clan Grounds]
After returning, the Grand Elder, Rengoku, Fugaku, and the others settled all the clan members.
Then they gathered all the leadership for a meeting.
This included Itachi, Makumi, Kiyan, Yusuke, and Rinjin.
The Second Elder, the Third Elder, and their supporters, along with Fugaku's supporters, these were all the current high-level figures of the Uchiha.
Aside from the three elders, most were young people.
Because the Uchiha gained power through strength, the casualty rate was extremely high.
The Grand Elder, Second Elder, and Third Elder had all fought their way up.
But the Second Elder and Third Elder had suffered such serious injuries that they had withdrawn from active duty.
In recent years, the Uchiha had lost many people in the ninja world wars, which had also made the two elders inclined toward peaceful coexistence with Konoha.
Although this battle with the Root organization was a total victory, and the clan had suffered almost no casualties, it also made the two elders realize that Konoha's intent to destroy the Uchiha hadn't died.
Grand Elder Uchiha Kairen fiercely criticized Konoha. After returning, while Fugaku was settling the others, he gave the two of them a harsh scolding too.
Now the Second Elder and Third Elder didn't even dare to fart.
"Rengoku, why don't you speak," said the Grand Elder, seeing the two elders quiet down and handing over the floor to Rengoku.
Even though Rengoku had the face of a 17-year-old, the ninja world only cared about strength, so age didn't matter.
"Although our Uchiha survived this calamity, this is only the beginning," He didn't bother with pleasantries and directly began speaking.
"Although I've isolated the Konoha leadership from the other ninja clans this time, so they won't become Konoha's tools..."
"But the strength of the Third Hokage isn't just about those few Anbu in Konoha."
"This is also why I didn't take this opportunity to stage a coup by force."
Everyone's expressions changed slightly. Fugaku then asked, "Rengoku, are you saying the Third Hokage has hidden strength?"
Rengoku nodded and said, "Everyone knows the Fourth Hokage couple died in battle, and the Third Hokage took their inheritance."
Seeing everyone wasn't too concerned, Rengoku added, "Most of you don't know how much inheritance the Fourth Hokage's wife left behind."
"Kushina alone inherited all of Uzumaki Mito's assets."
"Conservatively estimated, several streets' worth."
"This inheritance is enough for Hiruzen to raise thousands of ninjas," Rengoku considered carefully and gave a conservative number.
But in fact, ten years later in the original timeline, during the Fourth Great Ninja War, there were three thousand Sarutobi troops.
Now, although it was ten years early, the numbers likely weren't small either.
Everyone present inhaled sharply. The entire Uchiha clan only had about a thousand people, including civilians.
Among them, the number of combatants had been greatly reduced due to years of war.
After the Third Great War, there were only a little over 400 left, and not even 100 had awakened the Sharingan.
If what Rengoku said was true, Konoha really wasn't that easy to take down.
Everyone was curious where Rengoku's intel came from.
But Rengoku didn't explain and instead said to Fugaku, "The clan head's wife had some connections with Kushina. Maybe she knows something specific."
Fugaku froze a bit, he really hadn't thought of that.
"I understand. I'll go ask Mikoto to confirm."
Rengoku continued, "The reason we Uchiha have never gained the upper hand in political struggles—"
"Is because most people misunderstand the Third Hokage."
He pointed at Itachi, "Itachi, you've served in the Anbu for quite some time. Tell me, does the Third Hokage know everything happening in Konoha?"
Itachi calmly answered, "Every day, our clan members go out, where they go, and what they do, Anbu knows it all."
"As long as you leave the clan grounds, anything involving Konoha, Anbu can investigate it clearly."
Rengoku raised his hand, "What I'm emphasizing isn't just how strictly our people are monitored, but that Anbu surveillance covers all of Konoha."
"In this situation, everything Danzo does is under the Third Hokage's tacit approval."
"In fact, many things that the Third Hokage finds inconvenient, he lets Danzo handle. Danzo is the one doing the dirty work."
What Rengoku said was something high-levels in other clans already knew.
But because they were Uchiha, with an average IQ of 50, Rengoku's explanation was necessary.
Sure enough, after he finished, several clan members showed expressions of sudden realization.
Rengoku sighed, 'The Uchiha aren't lacking in strength.'
'It's just... brainpower is a bit lacking.'
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