Chapter 285: The Arrival of Uchiha Sasuke

A group of people sat around a campfire.

"Clan leader, how much longer do we have to live here?"

A young man with black hair, wearing a simple uniform, spoke up. He had a forehead protector from Takigakure (Hidden Waterfall Village), and was accompanied by a few children, who seemed no older than three or four years.

"This is where Uchiha Raijin and his people once appeared. They took the tailed beasts, so they must have left some traces behind," said a middle-aged man sitting by the fire, poking at the embers with a branch.

"If we find any traces, we can track down Uchiha Raijin again, and then..." He trailed off, his tone calm, as if he had repeated this many times before. It was clear that this rhetoric had become the norm.

Over the years, the clan members had grown impatient. They had been wandering the ninja world for several years now, fleeing from one place to the next. After receiving some initial information about Uchiha Raijin, he had seemingly vanished without a trace. The entire ninja world had no news of him, and they had searched everywhere.

They had done everything they could.

Fugaku Uchiha felt a deep sense of loss. Under his leadership, the Uchiha clan had been destroyed. Fortunately, he had at least preserved some of the Uchiha bloodline. As he glanced at the children beside them, Fugaku took some solace in knowing that these were all descendants of the Uchiha. He had even found a woman and spread the Uchiha bloodline further.

As long as the Uchiha bloodline didn't die out in the ninja world, he wouldn’t be seen as a disgrace to his clan. Still, Fugaku harbored a lingering resentment. The Uchiha had been reduced to a mere remnant in the ninja world, becoming a part of history, and he struggled to accept this fate.

"Clan leader! Konoha no longer has much strength left! Even the Third Hokage has stepped down from power. Shouldn’t we take some action now, like reclaiming what rightfully belongs to the Uchiha?" another person suddenly suggested.

Though their numbers had dwindled, their strength was still considerable, especially since Fugaku Uchiha possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan—one of the Uchiha clan’s most powerful abilities. Despite having lost an arm, it hardly diminished his overall strength.

"Enough! Jiraiya is still in Konoha, and it would be difficult to break through," Fugaku waved his hand, exhausted. "We can’t afford to expose ourselves again. Root has been searching for us in the ninja world. This time, we can’t risk being discovered."

Fugaku was frustrated by the radicalism surrounding him. He had hoped that with just a few of them left, things would settle down. But it seemed that, even with their reduced numbers, his clan members were still obsessed with attacking Konoha and reclaiming the Hokage title.

Couldn't they see the disparity in strength? Their numbers were far too few, and not even a Mangekyo Sharingan could close that gap. Konoha, despite being weakened, was still a force far greater than their ragtag group. Even before, they might not have stood a chance against Konoha, and now, with their numbers reduced to just a handful, attacking would be suicidal.

"Clan leader! Konoha belongs to the Uchiha! If we manage to take Konoha back, the Uchiha clan can thrive again!" another person pleaded, not wanting to continue their life as wandering shinobi. They were tired of this harsh existence and would rather die fighting for Uchiha in Konoha than die unknown in a place like Takigakure.

"Enough!" Fugaku interrupted, standing up. "Konoha is too powerful for us to deal with. Let's focus on finding the clansmen taken by Uchiha Raijin first." With that, he walked toward his quarters. He couldn’t understand why everyone seemed so eager to rush toward death. Konoha’s strength was far beyond what they could handle. Going back now would only lead to certain death.

"Uchiha Raijin... when will your promised revenge happen?" Fugaku muttered as he stared blankly at the ceiling. He had once carried the hopes of the Uchiha clan, but now he could barely hold on. The Uchiha didn’t need such a weak leader. He had lacked the courage when in Konoha, and even now, he was merely surviving.

If only he could pass the burden onto Sasuke, Fugaku thought, then perhaps he could finally rest.

"Hmph! A bunch of fools, thinking they could stand in my way," Sasuke said coldly, sliding his blade back into its sheath. Despite being small in stature, the sword looked a bit out of place in his hands.

"Sasuke, things are pretty chaotic around here. Even bandits are bold enough to try robbing us!" a boy with freckles said, poking the body of a fallen bandit with a grin.

This was their first time out in the world, but they hadn’t expected to arrive in a new place only to be ambushed. It was bad luck for those robbers to cross paths with Sasuke Uchiha—the last person they should’ve angered.

Everyone at the ninja academy knew that Sasuke was the toughest. His teacher was none other than Hawkeye Mihawk, and he had grown up mastering the art of combat. Despite being only eleven, Sasuke could hold his own in fights against seasoned pirates—warriors who had survived life-or-death battles. Sasuke’s ability to fight these pirates proved his strength.

"This place is poor and chaotic," Sasuke said calmly. "There’s been war here for a long time. While the big villages are recovering, the small ones, caught in between, have to keep fighting to survive."

Sasuke had learned a lot about the history of the ninja world, not only through combat training at the academy, but also through lessons from elderly Konoha ninja his mother, Uchiha Mikoto, had arranged for him. Although he had never lived in the ninja world, their descriptions had given him a deep understanding of it, particularly Konoha.

"So, what’s your plan now that we’re separated from Z?" Ace asked, shrugging. The world was survival of the fittest, and he had no intention of meddling in other people's affairs. He just planned to follow Sasuke and help him with his goals.

As for Zepyr? He didn’t need their help.

"We’re looking for the tailed beasts, but that’ll take some time. In the meantime, I’m going to do what I’ve always wanted."

"I’m going to find my father and kill him with my own hands. The honor of the Uchiha should never have been tarnished by his existence. He betrayed our clan, becoming a traitor—just like Uchiha Itachi."

"I need to know what really happened back then. Only then will I decide whether to kill Uchiha Raijin... or not."

Sasuke's eyes were filled with killing intent as one hand rested on the hilt of his blade at his waist. His emotions were incredibly complex, especially for someone who took so much pride in being a Uchiha.

He could never have imagined that it was his father and brother who had betrayed the Uchiha clan.

His father had led the clan to ruin through his weakness.

And his brother, having colluded with the higher-ups of Konoha, became a traitor to the Uchiha.

Sasuke couldn't accept it!

At the very least, he couldn't accept things as they were.

He needed to hear the truth of that time directly from his father's mouth.

"Uh! Are you still planning to go against Lord Raijin? I think you should give up on that idea," Ace said, shrugging. "Unless you can easily defeat Master Zephyr, who has unlocked the Eight Gates, I don't think you have any chance, even if you were to lose your eyes in the fight."

Ace wasn’t trying to dampen Sasuke's spirit, but he was stating the facts. There was no other way around it.

Ace himself had trained in the Eight Gates under Zephyr and had also mastered the Iron Fist technique. With just one punch, he could shatter a ship.

But even with all that, Ace still had no hope of winning against Uchiha Raijin.

This man was too powerful!

Even a slight glimpse of his aura was enough to make Ace unable to stand steadily.

If Karp and the others were considered monsters, then Uchiha Raijin was probably an even stronger one.

"Hmph! Once I unlock the Mangekyō Sharingan, I will defeat him!" Sasuke said darkly. "You don't understand the power of the Uchiha’s Sharingan."

But even as he spoke, there was a trace of uncertainty in his voice.

After all, it wasn’t as if no one in the Uchiha clan had unlocked the Mangekyō before.

With the addition of Hashirama’s cells, about three people had already unlocked it.

But their strength...

Sasuke felt a little conflicted, unsure of how to evaluate their power.

It seemed that even the Four Emperors' lieutenants would have a hard time defeating them.

"Well, if you think it’s fine, then so be it," Ace said with a shrug after a moment of silence.

He doubted Sasuke would succeed, but if Sasuke thought he could win, there was nothing more to say.

"Wait! Someone’s coming!" Sasuke suddenly stopped in his tracks, pulling Ace into the bushes with him.

Two ninjas wearing Mist Village headbands appeared in their line of sight.

Sasuke wasn’t too surprised. This was the Land of Waves, located near both the Land of Fire and the Land of Water.

Even if Mist Village ninjas showed up, it wasn’t that unusual.

"The members of Root have already arrived. Don’t forget the instructions from Lord Mizukage," one Mist ninja reminded his companion. "We must not reveal any weaknesses. Only then can we assess whether Konoha still has the strength to fight."

If negotiations failed, they would be killed here in the Land of Waves.

Konoha's ninjas were ruthless nowadays, often killing messengers outright.

Especially that “Shadow of the Ninja World,” who seemed to hold a high position within Konoha.

"I understand. I'll wait for your signal here," the other ninja nodded, watching as his partner left. Afterward, he started looking around for a hiding spot.

Dealing with Konoha meant being extra cautious.

Swoosh!

Suddenly, a cold blade was pressed against his neck, the icy steel making his body go stiff, unable to move.

"It seems you mentioned Danzo just now," a voice came from behind as a pair of Sharingan spun into view. The blood-red eyes locked with his, and in the next moment, his world went dark as he lost all sense of light.

The Uchiha clan!

A clan thought to have vanished from the ninja world years ago still had survivors—survivors lurking near Mist Village's territory.

That was the Mist ninja's final thought before everything went black.

Sasuke began interrogating him with his Sharingan, learning that Mist Village was planning to ally with Konoha against the Cloud Village.

Cloud had been pressuring Konoha relentlessly.

After Konoha’s defeat in the previous war, Cloud had seized most of Konoha's mission contracts, along with other resources.

Losing so much each year had left Konoha simmering with anger.

So, Danzo secretly contacted Mist Village, intending to start a war and unite with them to defeat Cloud.

This was the essence of Danzo’s plan.

"Konoha... Danzo..." Sasuke muttered as his blade flashed, and a spray of blood followed.

Without giving the dead body a second glance, Sasuke continued on. These men were of no use to him anymore.

Now, his focus shifted.

Danzo likely knew more about the truth of what happened back then.

Perhaps... just perhaps, Danzo held some additional intelligence.

"What now? Should we contact Master Zephyr about the Mist ninjas?" Ace asked, jumping out to join Sasuke.

"As far as I know, Mist Village’s two tailed beasts are also being targeted by Dressrosa."

"No need. I’ll settle my revenge myself!" Sasuke replied coldly. "But... do me a favor and contact White Zetsu. He should be able to locate Uchiha Fugaku."

"Once I find Fugaku, I’ll deal with Konoha afterward."

After a brief moment of calm, Sasuke spoke again.

He wanted to take revenge on Konoha desperately, but first, he planned to unlock the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.

The fact that he hadn’t unlocked it yet wasn’t a big issue for him.

With his talent, he believed that once he killed Uchiha Fugaku, the Mangekyō would awaken.

And once he had the Mangekyō, everything would fall into place.

With that power, he could become the leader of the Uchiha clan.

“A man who hates his father and another who wants to kill his father are teaming up, huh?” Kakashi remarked, flipping through a book with a smile on his face.

Jiraiya’s work wasn’t that engrossing, but the idea of a lifelong virgin writing about these kinds of scenes was amusing in its own way.

He almost wanted Jiraiya to remain a virgin forever.

(End of chapter)