Chapter Thirty-One: The Village’s Account

Frontline outpost.

News of the corpse theft has now spread completely. Although Nara Shikaku confirmed on the spot that the culprits were traitors from other villages, this explanation could only fool ordinary people; the ninja of the clans, especially those with inherited bloodlines, would not believe it at all. For a time, not only did morale on the entire front drop, but even the defensive lines were thrown into turmoil.

Fortunately, the Hidden Cloud Village did not seize this opportunity to launch an attack. This was mainly because Troy’s death disrupted the rhythm of the Cloud ninja’s planned offensive, and so, just as three months ago, they sank back into silence.

But the changes on the battlefield were no longer relevant to Uchiha Li; at this moment, he was stationed in the Uchiha camp, planning his next steps.

Originally, he had wanted to take advantage of the momentum after establishing his new image, participating in the war as much as possible to consolidate and deepen it. However, the sudden corpse theft incident completely threw off his rhythm.

Yet this disruption actually benefited him and the Uchiha clan in every way. From any angle, the Uchiha were comrades on the battlefield, dying for the village. But the ‘Anbu’, representing the village and the Hokage, had secretly desecrated Uchiha corpses and taken their Sharingan.

Uchiha Li knew very well that such acts were likely not uncommon among all the villages in secret. Moreover, the bodies of the Uchiha were especially valuable; even in previous wars, there had been disappearances within the clan, but without evidence, those cases were left unresolved.

This time, however, the act was caught red-handed and brought to light. That changed everything: inherited bloodlines were a taboo for all major clans; no clan would tolerate their members being researched!

Just as Uchiha Li had deliberately guided the discussion yesterday: This time, it was Uchiha bodies that were desecrated—who would be next?

With this, the issue was elevated to a whole new level.

Yet Uchiha Li was confident that in the end, the matter would be resolved perfectly. For now, the ruler of the village was the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Even if the issue could be resolved, the image of the Uchiha as victims would not vanish, and the empathy and sympathy it aroused would only grow deeper.

“As long as the right guidance is given in the future, the village will gradually merge with the Uchiha, and the rift will disappear…”

Unlike most, Uchiha Li had his own convictions when it came to saving his clan and protecting himself and Yao.

Truthfully, with the Uchiha’s current power, just with his and Fugaku’s pair of Mangekyo Sharingan, the entire clan could leave Konoha or even stand on their own, or join another ninja village. It was entirely possible.

But why should they have to do that? Why should he and his clan slink away in shame?

Certainly, the Uchiha had many faults, but did the current village leadership not share in the blame?

In his view, the Uchiha were the founding pillars of Konoha, and he himself was a part of the village. Now that he had some strength, if anyone were to leave, it should be those who deliberately held grudges against the Uchiha!

“Now, everything depends on the village’s response. This is a good opportunity to pause and shift my focus to Terra’s revival.”

Uchiha Li picked up a mirror from the table and inspected his eyes carefully.

Mangekyo’s ‘Terra’ was the cornerstone of his survival; whatever goal he wished to achieve, he could not do so without its aid.

But Terra was not so easily or quickly revived; the path would be arduous.

Recently, Uchiha Li had been absorbing his own chakra to accelerate Terra’s revival, but the results were minimal. This was mainly because the chakra he refined each day was limited, most of which had to be reserved for daily use.

As a member of the Uchiha, his chakra was more abundant than ordinary ninja, but still less than that of the Senju or Uzumaki clans, not to mention the Jinchuriki.

With limited total chakra, what could be absorbed was naturally scant.

“I’ll have to rely on external sources—a stable chakra supply, something I can absorb daily, little by little.”

Uchiha Li stroked his chin, pondering what might meet such requirements.

Just then, footsteps outside interrupted his thoughts.

Uchiha Meili entered and spoke directly, “Lord Li, Commander Nara has arrived with his men. He said the village’s response has been decided and wants to speak with us face-to-face.”

“So soon?” Uchiha Li thought for a moment and replied, “Gather everyone. Let’s go see.”

“Yes!”

Uchiha Meili answered, beginning to summon the rest of the clan.

Soon, Uchiha Li led the Uchiha to the camp.

From a glance, he saw Nara Shikaku standing at the front, with several Anbu beside him. Uchiha Li also spotted Danzo among them; Danzo stood behind Shikaku, his expression as dark as could be.

Around the camp, people were packed densely; it seemed nearly everyone at the outpost had come, save only the necessary guards.

“Nara Clan Leader.” Uchiha Li greeted Shikaku, ignoring Danzo, and asked, “The village’s response came so quickly?”

Nara Shikaku nodded, took a deep breath, and said, “Yes, the village takes this incident extremely seriously. The Third Hokage himself wishes he could come to apologize in person.”

“Oh?” Uchiha Li said noncommittally, not picking up the thread.

Shikaku was unconcerned, and took a letter from his breast, opening it and solemnly reading aloud:

“This corpse theft, though committed by traitors, involved Anbu personnel. Therefore, the village will provide a reasonable explanation and compensation.

“The specific compensation is as follows: every Uchiha on the front line will receive a unified compensation of five million, and the families of the fallen will receive three times that amount…

“Additionally, since this incident was due to the village’s lack of oversight, the village will issue a public apology, formally admitting its mistake…

“Lastly, as the direct superior of the traitor involved in the theft, Shimura Danzo’s poor judgment means he is relieved of all duties in the village effective immediately…”

Shikaku read at length, nearly ten minutes, before finally stopping.

He had thought that was all, but it was not the end.

Shikaku put away the letter, and before the hundreds gathered, bowed nearly ninety degrees and spoke sincerely:

“As commander, the responsibility lies not only with the village and the Anbu, but also with myself. In the name of both commander and individual, I apologize to the Uchiha and to everyone present. I hope you can forgive us.”

At the same time, the Anbu beside Shikaku all knelt on one knee, their voices echoing through the crowd: “We are sorry. Because of our mistake, we have hurt our comrades and all of you!”

Among them, only Danzo stood upright, immediately becoming the center of attention…