Chapter Forty-Four: The Murderer and the Diplomatic Mission

The next day, the sun hung high in the sky.

Uchiha Li awoke naturally, and now he was seated at the breakfast table, eating the meal Yao had set aside for him. As he ate, his mind was occupied with the possible repercussions of yesterday’s events.

First, there was the matter of the clan meeting. Though the process had been fraught, even offending two clan elders, the issue of Kakashi possessing the Sharingan had been successfully suppressed. No matter who the mastermind behind this was, their scheme had been quietly foiled. As for whether he would encounter trouble from Uchiha Liang and Uchiha Xiong when he took up the squad leader position, Li cared little. Those doomed to be swept away by the tide of time were hardly worth his attention.

In contrast, his meeting with Orochimaru yesterday was of great significance. As long as he could acquire a Sharingan from the clan’s secret vault, he would obtain the complete gene technology—a special version supplied by Orochimaru himself. This was crucial to the path and achievements that lay ahead for Uchiha Li.

Thus, his thoughts now turned to how he could successfully obtain a Sharingan from the secret vault. The vault was guarded by the clan’s elite and situated directly within Clan Leader Fugaku’s home. Though he possessed the Mangekyo, Fugaku did as well; any reckless action would be quickly noticed.

“Perhaps I should simply lay my cards on the table with the clan leader and have him hand over a portion of the Sharingan to me?”

This idea sprang up in Uchiha Li’s mind and quickly took hold; he felt the chances of success were not low. In less than a year, his influence and strength had become evident to all, and Uchiha Fugaku knew he possessed the Mangekyo. From this perspective, so long as his request wasn’t excessive, Fugaku would likely not refuse. Yet what Li sought were the Sharingan eyes of deceased clan members—he would likely need some persuasive argument to secure them.

With this in mind, he finished his breakfast in a few swift bites and headed directly to the Guard Division. The sooner this matter was resolved, the sooner he could begin learning gene technology and initiate the transplantation of the First Hokage’s cells. Uchiha Li knew well that gene technology was not something easily mastered; it required time and accumulation. Even after learning it, the transplantation itself would have to be handled with utmost care—any mishap could result in death by petrification.

Lost in thought, Uchiha Li arrived at the Guard Division building.

Upon entering, he immediately sensed something was amiss. Clan members hurried through the halls, the air tinged with tension. Frowning, Li knocked and entered Fugaku’s office.

Seeing Li’s arrival, Fugaku rubbed his eyes and asked in confusion, “Didn't I tell you to rest for two weeks before returning to work? Though now you’re here, it’s just as well—I have something to ask you.”

Noting the fatigue in the clan leader’s expression, Li spoke directly: “From the look of things, something’s happened?”

Fugaku nodded. “Indeed, some incidents occurred.”

He gestured for Li to sit and continued, “It happened after the clan meeting yesterday. We haven’t gotten to the bottom of it yet.”

Hearing the mention of the clan meeting, Li shot Fugaku a glance, his disappointment plain to see.

“I didn't handle the Kakashi matter properly,” Fugaku admitted awkwardly, then shifted the topic: “But that’s not the main issue. The crucial point is that last night, some clan members were attacked!”

“Attacked?”

Li was taken aback, a sense of foreboding rising within him.

“Yes, attacked,” Fugaku said. “Yesterday evening, someone infiltrated the clan grounds and injured two clan elders. They’re still in the hospital, and it seems their recovery will be slow.”

At this, Fugaku fixed his gaze on Li, as if searching for something.

Li was somewhat bewildered by the scrutiny, but quickly recovered and asked in disbelief, “You don’t mean Uchiha Liang and Uchiha Xiong, do you?”

“Exactly them.”

“How could it be such a coincidence?”

Li was stunned. No wonder Fugaku looked at him so strangely. Only yesterday, he’d clashed with Liang and Xiong, even activating his Sharingan in front of them—had Fugaku not intervened, a fight might have broken out. Afterwards, the two had blocked his path, trying to force him to yield, but he’d refused. And now, that very night, both were attacked, and judging from Fugaku’s tone, their injuries were severe.

The problem was, after meeting Orochimaru yesterday, he had gone straight home and slept until dawn—he hadn’t attacked anyone. Despite his dislike for those self-important elders, he would never strike at them from the shadows. If he wanted to teach them a lesson, it would be openly, in front of the whole clan.

“Could it have been Orochimaru?”

Li’s mind raced, considering the possibility, but he quickly dismissed it.

Orochimaru had met him via a white snake, not in person. That snake was ordinary, lacking any combat ability—it couldn’t have seriously injured two Uchiha elders. Despite Li’s low opinion of them, their strength was not to be underestimated; with three tomoe activated, they were at least jonin level. Unless Orochimaru himself had appeared, it would be impossible. And if Orochimaru had been there in person, those two would not merely be injured—they would have been killed or captured.

Someone else must be responsible.

Suddenly, Uchiha Li recalled a past incident in the Guard Division’s deepest cells. He had once arrested a Root ninja for defecting, only for the prisoner to be murdered by a mysterious assailant—someone who had never been apprehended.

For some reason, the more he thought about it, the more Li suspected this same individual. He voiced his conjecture.

Fugaku’s eyes flashed as he responded, “If it’s that individual, it’s certainly possible. But the problem is, we have no intelligence whatsoever—not even whether ‘he’ is male or female!”

Li pondered a moment and said helplessly, “Has anyone suspicious been seen entering or leaving the clan recently?”

He paused, then added, “Did the Guard Division’s patrols notice anything unusual?”

This matter was beyond his knowledge, and even he had no immediate solution. The only good news was that the perpetrator hadn’t killed anyone this time—perhaps out of caution, or for other reasons.

Fugaku shook his head. “The Guard Division is now fully mobilized to investigate, but I doubt we’ll find anything useful any time soon.”

He paused, then shifted the topic: “There is, however, some good news from the village.”

“What good news?” Li asked absently, still troubled by the mystery attacker.

Fugaku replied, “Yesterday, the Hidden Cloud Village announced a ceasefire. They’ll soon send a delegation to sign a peace agreement…”