Uchiha Tonan returned home and cleaned up the living room. While at it, he put Enkuu’s corpse into a storage scroll and hid it in the basement. He told himself he had no choice. After all, Enkuu’s body was too hard. Ordinary methods of dealing with corpses were completely useless.
The following days were uneventful. There was no word from Sarutobi Hiruzen’s side. It seemed that the Suna team incident was suppressed. There was no inquiry about Enkuu either.
Tonan was very happy. He went to see the welfare institution’s reconstruction every day and then visited the orphanage to chat with the lonely elderly people. At other times, he just absorbed natural energy at home.
When the emotional power was not enough to absorb more energy, he would activate his Mangekyo and use Tamamo-no-Mae Dojutsu to absorb the negative emotions of the people in the Uchiha district.
One part of the natural energy was stored in his body and integrated with his chakra to form the senjutsu chakra. And the other part spread throughout, strengthening his cells and refining his Adamantine Body. Tonan felt a bit like he had become a cultivator.
He didn’t even go to watch the Chunin Exam finals. He stayed at home, accumulating strength. In the end, Namikaze Minato and the others came to the Uchiha district to pull him out for having dinner together. They were celebrating Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Obito becoming chunin.
Kakashi won the tournament unsurprisingly. Obito’s talent too improved considerably after the cultivation cursed seal was implanted in him. He made it to the top twelve and finally lost to Morino Ibiki.
According to everyone’s chatter, Tonan understood that Obito lost in the intelligence department and thereby was defeated by Ibiki. Since he had already gained all of their acknowledgment, he didn’t need to pretend to gain their trust and affection.
After gaining the Adamantine Body, he knew how he should walk on the future path. He no longer had to act cautiously. As long as he didn’t break his public persona too much, he could be himself and push till the start of the Fourth Great Ninja War.
At critical moments, he would need to plan a bit more. While ensuring his profits, he must also ensure that the plot would progress smoothly and didn’t get out of his control. After dinner, Tonan entrusted the baby Hatake Kotoura to Kakashi.
He told them he would be going to participate in the Honorary Chunin Competition next month and needed to prepare well.
Time passed. The closer he was to the date of departure, the more Tonan felt that Konoha’s atmosphere was tense. It seemed that something had reached a critical point and was about to explode.
Rumble… In the early morning, the sky was covered with dense clouds, lightning flashing across the sky. At first, there was a slight drizzle that then turned into heavy rain. The rustling sound of leaves in the wind matched the rhythm of the rain. Sometimes, it was heavy, and sometimes, soothing.
Tonan woke up from his meditation and leisurely put tea leaves into the teapot, placing it on the stove. He went to the bedroom and put on a new set of clothes, hanging the Kusanagi Sword on his waist. He took off his glasses and cleaned them as well before wearing them back again.
He then sorted out his ninja bag putting many useful things into a storage scroll, which was then put into the bag. Once he was all set, he lit up three incense sticks and stuck them on the altar in front of the wood carvings.
Finally, he took the teapot and picked up a teacup. Sitting down under the eaves, he watched the rain falling from the sky while drinking his tea. After an hour, his ears moved and he slowly opened his eyes. Soon after, the courtyard gate was knocked. Tonan took a sip of the tea and put down the cup, “Enter.”
An Anbu member walked through the rain and stopped in front of the eaves, “Tonan-sama, Hokage-sama has invited you.”
Tonan nodded slightly and got up. He went back to the room to take out an umbrella. With the umbrella in his hand, he leisurely walked towards the Hokage Residence. An hour later, he walked into the Hokage Office and saw Sarutobi Hiruzen sitting behind the desk, looking at him coldly.
Tonan walked in front of him without avoiding his gaze. The two looked at each other and the atmosphere gradually became solemn. After a long time, Tonan slightly lowered his eyes and saw an already stamped mission sheet on the table.
He reached for the sheet without any politeness. However, just when his hand touched it, Hiruzen reached out and held his hand. His eyes flickered and he solemnly said, “I admit I didn’t handle some things properly and completely disappointed you. The matter of Enkuu, Suna, and even other things I don’t know about, I can let go of it all. If you still regard me as a sensei, leave Danzo’s side as soon as possible.”
Tonan replied indifferently, “I don’t care about the higher-ups’ struggle, I just stand firmly on the side of justice. Hokage-sama, I think Danzo-sama understands the Will of Fire better than you.”
Hiruzen snorted and said with deep eyes, “Even at this time, why are you pretending to be muddleheaded? I admit there are many ugly things deep within Konoha, but that’s inevitable. You also know that you are involved in it now.”
“I’ve always been clear-headed and I know what I want,” Tonan forcibly broke free and put the mission sheet in his ninja bag. Without saying anything else after that, he turned around to leave.
Hiruzen, who was behind, picked up the smoke pipe and lit it up. He smoked it and said while squinting his eyes, “Do I still have a chance?” Tonan paused slightly and then strode out of the office.
At the barrier of the village gate, Shimura Danzo was waiting for a long time with a group of Root ninjas. Step, step, step… Danzo narrowed his eyes as he heard footsteps.
Soon, Tonan appeared on the street and stopped in front of him. Danzo scanned him and solemnly said, “You don’t have to go. The Fire Capital is even more dangerous now than before. As long as you can endure rumors for some time, with my guarantee, Hiruzen won’t do anything to you. After all, Konoha cannot afford to lose a top combat power now.”
The corners of Tonan’s mouth rose and he said with a smile, “I’m not going because of arrogance. I just don’t like to break the rules. Some things must be resolved sooner or later.”
He walked past Danzo and headed towards the barrier. “Don’t be impulsive. Once you do some things, the entire Ninja World will be your enemy,” Danzo warned from behind.
Tonan stopped and looked back, “As I said, I don’t like to break the rules.” He then stepped out of Konoha’s barrier.
