Blazing eyes (Uchiha OC/SI) chapter 23 (Patreon)

Chapter 23

Kaen could feel eyes on him every time he returned to the village. Danzo couldn’t let him be unmonitored. At the same time, Danzo could do nothing in the village against Kaen. Kaen couldn’t do anything to him too. Outside the village, if Danzo tried something, Kaen would get rid of his men, but in the village, Danzo could watch him as he wished because if he did something, Danzo would get a justification to get rid of him.

To Kaen, it was annoying. Danzo still didn’t understand that Kaen wasn’t a fool. If Kaen started to attack his men, he would do so until everyone was dead, including Danzo. So, he thought it was time to teach Danzo a lesson. That is why he was sitting within the Hyuga clan residence.

“Ha,” A young girl yelled as she was sparring with a bit older boy.

“I am sorry for such a sight. My daughter is still lacking,” Hyuga clan leader Hiashi Hyuga said. “But my nephew, on the other is quite talented. What do you think, brother?”

“Neji still has much room to improve,” said Hizashi Hyuga, brother of the clan’s leader.

“Talented and hard-working,” Kaen replied. “But for what? To be branded as a slave of the main branch?”

Kaen said with such a loud voice that every member of the clan inside the residence heard it. The spar stopped as both participants turned to look at him. Hinata, the daughter of Hiashi, was tired and had to breathe heavily to regain her energy. Neji hasn’t broken a sweat yet. The difference was noticeable.

“I work hard to protect the clan,” Neji responded.

“The clan, not the village?” Kaen asked. “If it was someone else, they might think you were planning a coup.”

“Kaen Uchiha, I will not listen to your accusations even if I am indebted to you,” Hiashi was angry even if he kept his calm.

“Haha,” Kaen laughed. “You take my jokes too seriously. Isn’t protecting the village’s clan the same as protecting the village?”

“Your words are wise, Kaen-san,” Hizashi nodded in agreement.

“And if you are not protecting one of the clans of the village, you could be considered a traitor to it, wouldn’t you agree, clan leader?” Kaen asked.

“If they desire to harm a clan from Konoha, they are harming Konoha itself,” Hiashi agreed.

“So why are you putting your clan into slavery?” Kaen’s black eyes became sharp as blades as he looked at every clan member. “Wouldn’t you consider it as harming the clan?”

“How dare you?” An elder of the clan stood up.

“Sit down. You are speaking to the head of the Uchiha clan,” Hizashi quickly discouraged anyone else from standing. “The seal is a clan tradition long before we joined Konoha, clan leader.”

“And Uchiha fought the Senju clan long before anyone could remember,” Kaen replied. “Yet we were able to put our difference aside, two mortal enemies, yet the Hyuga clan can’t do the same within the clan?”

“Even if you are the leader of the Uchiha, it is not for you to interfere in our affairs,” Hiashi replied.

“You are right, but if I were a Hokage, it would give all the reason to do so,” Kaen said to everyone’s shock. “If you support me, I will get rid of the seal.”

“And why would we do so?” Hiashi asked.

“Because if you don’t, I will still get rid of the seal, as I want to see how the branch family will feel about the main family refusing to set them free?” Kaen said. “And you not only be against the Uchiha clan but against the wishes of the Senju clan.”

“Senju clan?” Not only Hiashi but everyone was shocked. “You mean lady Tsunade is returning? If so, where is she now?”

“Haha,” Kaen laughed. “Now I have your attention, but why would any of you want to know her location? Are you perhaps want to stop her from returning?”

“Enough,” Hiashi stopped anyone else from questioning Kaen. “I heard enough. Please leave Kaen Uchiha. You are not welcome in our household.”

“Very well,” Kaen stood up, and before leaving, he bowed to the clan leader.

The acting was on point. Hiashi, that sly old fox, put quite a lot of work into this plan. Kaen was surprised to be presented with such a plan when he went to seek help from him. Even Hizashi was doubtful and nervous, but Hiashi had resolved to see this to the end no matter what outcome it would lead.

Now Kaen had only to wait. Wait for Danzo’s response, for Kaen knew that Danzo would never let an Uchiha become a Hokage. But what can he do? He can’t touch Kaen in the village, but will he let it go? Of course not. He will feel more desperate with each mission Kaen finish. As Kaen’s contributions grow, this desperation will do, so he will do everything to hinder Kaen.

It was about time to get rid of some of Danzo’s forces. So far, Kaen didn’t show any capabilities above Jonin. Even if Danzo is cautious, he will still somewhat underestimate Kaen. Even if he wasn’t in a position to fight Danzo directly, Kaen couldn’t wait any longer to fuck that bastard up. The Uchiha blood boiled in anger, hatred, and excitement.

Kaen had long since ago started preparing for war. And the war in shadows wins those who can see through shadows. Now that he was a chunin, he could take missions alone or lead a team. But Kaen knew that he needed to take the most secretive missions, so Danzo could get a chance of interference or take the most high-profile mission to earn a reputation.

…

The Hokage office, with every visit the smaller it got to Kaen. Yet it has become more significant than ever. With this office lay the power to change the world. Well, maybe not to this extent, but Konoha was one of the five great villages. One order from Hokage and the world will react to it in one way or another.

“I heard you had quite a disagreement with the Hyuga clan,” The Third Hokage said.

“Words spread fast,” Kaen replied.

“Yes, they do indeed,” The Third Hokage seemed amused by this situation. “Since when have you started plotting for my hat?”

“When it started to be too heavy for you,” Kaen answered.

“And you wish to take by making enemies?” The Third Hokage asked.

“If I take care of all my enemies now, I won’t have to worry about them after I become a Hokage.”

“But I still don’t understand. Why do you want this hat?” The Third Hokage asked. “The Village has not given you anything but only taken from. Your family and clan are gone because of the village, so why would you try to protect it?”

“What a stupid question. Do I need a reason to protect my home?”

“You confident you can do it?”

“I will not lose to anyone,” Kaen stated. “So, just promote me to a Jonin, old man.”

“You still a long way from becoming one,” The Third Hokage replied before giving him a paper. “This is your next mission.”

“Missing farmers?” Kaen asked after reading the contents of the paper.

“A village of seven farmer families disappeared overnight. The Daimyo is very concerned,” The Third Hokage explained. “For the contents of the mission are to be kept secret. You must find what happened to them and report directly to the Daimyo.”

“My team?” Kaen asked.

“You will go alone. I can’t offer you any assistance.”

A high-profile secret mission, it looked to Kaen that The Third Hokage had already grasped what Kaen wanted. The old man was still sharp. Kaen had no reason to refuse the offer, so he took it and left to prepare. Kaen wondered how many men Danzo would send to be killed by his hand.

…

“Concentrate,” Kaen yelled as Sasuke was training. “To throw weapons, the most important thing is to concentrate, you can’t relax even for a moment, or you will lose momentum.”

“I am trying,” Sasuke complained.

“Are you complaining?” Kaen asked as he narrowed his eyes and looked at Sasuke. “Don’t think about anything. Hold your breath as well and focus only on the target. How are the target moving, its speed and direction? Throw your weapon only when you know it will hit.”

Sasuke did as he was told and threw his kunai at a wooden plate thrown into the air. The kunai pierced the target, and he relaxed to be hit with a stone in the head. Sasuke looked at Kaen, who was jiggling stones in his hand. Kaen was sitting on the tree branch, looking down at Sasuke.

“It hurts,” Sasuke stated.

“Pain will remind you to listen to what I told you,” Kaen said. “Do you think there will be only one enemy around you?”

“Hn,” Sasuke just got up and picked up his throwing weapons. “If I had Sharingan, I could see it all.”

“You fool,” Kaen hit Sasuke’s head with another stone. “Are you saying that without Sharingan, you are useless?”

Sasuke had nothing to say, so he just stood up and resumed training. Kaen stayed by his side and commented on his training. All Sasuke wanted was to be as strong as Kaen, yet no matter how hard he tried, it didn’t seem like he was getting closer. He should be patient, even if he knows that he will still help but think that he will never get closer to Kaen or Itachi.

…

Seven houses, big enough to hold a small family in each of them. The farmlands were extensive, too, big enough to feed the families and sell enough crops to sustain themselves. Yet something was off, Kaen couldn’t point it out, but the houses were too clean, and the farmlands were well attended.

Yet nothing was growing from the farmlands: no crops or rice. And yet the lands were prowled, fences were built. The seed should have been planted before the farmers went missing. So, why was nothing growing? Even if it were left unintended, something still would have grown.

The houses still contained clothes and food. Yet every room felt empty like nobody was living inside them. Where families should live, children would play with toys, yet the toys were orderly on shelves. The toys were only touched for a short time. Nobody has slept in a bed for a long time too.

The other houses were the same. The people should have been gone for longer than the report suggested. After looking around a bit more, Kaen concluded what was happening there. If the report didn’t contain false information, then there was only one possibility. Someone has impersonated a farmer.

It was a group that pretended to be farmers, but why? They should hide while they are on the run or until the right time comes to reveal themselves. To do so, they had to eliminate the farmers in this village. Kaen needed to find their bodies, yet there was nothing. It didn’t seem like the ground was dug up, nor did any burning marks. Nobody can hide the bodies of seven families without any traces.

“Shit, I hate my life,” Kaen cursed as he looked at the outhouses.

Taking a shovel, he blew the outhouse away and started digging the shit. It didn’t take long before he found four bodies. From the looks of it, it was male, female, and two children. Cursing himself again, he dragged the bodies to inspect them. Even if he hated to be any near it and it smelled genuinely awful, he did his job checking how long they were dead and how they died.

It didn’t take long to find that they died from their throats being cut or stabbed in the heart. He dug up all seven families and found the same wounds. It was impossible to determine when they died, but they died long before the report suggested they were gone. Kaen concluded that a group of assassins was hiding in the village, now was the time to find them.