THE EVIL OF UCHIHA BYAKUYA

The Sand Ninjas, once sworn protectors of the Hidden Sand Village, now found themselves labeled as traitors.

Confused and directionless, they turned toward the only authority figures left—Chiyo and Rasa.

"Elder Chiyo… Lord Rasa…"

"What should we do now?"

It was, after all, Chiyo and Rasa who had ordered their retreat. Now they had been declared rogue ninja by their own village, and all eyes demanded a response.

"Everyone, calm down…" Chiyo spoke gravely, feeling the pressure of so many expectant gazes. "This is all a scheme—Uchiha Byakuya has manipulated the situation."

She pointed firmly toward the cause. "The Sand Village has been seized. The true traitor… is Pakura. She must have aligned herself with Byakuya to seize the position of Kazekage!"

"Elder Chiyo is right," Rasa added quickly, bitterness lacing his voice. "Pakura betrayed us to grab power. That position should've been mine…"

Rasa's pride was clearly wounded. For years, he had positioned himself as the next Kazekage. That Pakura, once thought dead, would return and take the title—with Byakuya's backing, no less—was intolerable.

Their accusations gave the surrounding Sand Ninjas a moment of clarity, their panic fading slightly.

"Then… Lord Chiyo, Lord Rasa—what do we do now?"

Chiyo folded her arms. "We need time. First, we recover and regroup."

"There's a small town on the border of the Land of Rivers," Rasa added. "With our numbers, we can secure it easily. That will be our base—for now."

Without delay, Chiyo and Rasa led the remaining Sand forces toward the town. Thanks to their superior strength, they quickly seized control of it. Such was the way of the ninja world—power ruled all. Even the Five Great Nations were not exempt from that rule.

Meanwhile, in the Hidden Leaf Village…

Ever since Byakuya led the Uchiha clan to intercept the Sand's invasion, Konoha's top brass—headed by Sarutobi Hiruzen—had been unusually jubilant.

With Byakuya gone and most of the Uchiha elites absent, the old Konoha hierarchy had reasserted itself. In their minds, the village had returned to its rightful state: under their complete control.

They believed Byakuya would never return.

Sarutobi wasted no time. He swiftly reclaimed all the shops and properties Byakuya had taken from the Konoha establishment. But his ambitions didn't stop there.

To secure tighter control over the Uchiha clan, Hiruzen used his authority as Hokage to release Uchiha Fugaku from the prison Byakuya had placed him in. He reinstated Fugaku as clan head.

Fugaku, always the cautious loyalist, complied.

So long as Hiruzen invoked the "Will of Fire," Fugaku obediently accepted every decision—even those that harmed his own clan.

The unity and influence that Byakuya had painstakingly built for the Uchiha were quickly undone.

Inside the Hokage's council chamber, Sarutobi sat with Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, a satisfied smile playing across his face.

"Koharu, Homura… What's the latest on the village status?" he asked.

"Don't worry, Sarutobi," Koharu replied confidently. "Konoha is under full control again. We've reclaimed the Uchiha district assets, and surveillance is tight."

"The Uchiha are no longer a threat," Homura added.

"Excellent…" Hiruzen's eyes narrowed with satisfaction. "This is the Konoha I envisioned."

"But what about the battlefield?" Koharu pressed. "Is there any word on Byakuya?"

"That's the true question…" Homura murmured grimly. "Even if we've regained the village, as long as Byakuya lives—none of this is secure."

If Byakuya hadn't died and returned safely to Konoha Village, everything they had just gained would be lost in an instant. They couldn't afford to lose it all again.

That's why they remained fiercely loyal to their current stance against him.

"Don't worry…"

"Even if Uchiha Byakuya survived, he must be seriously injured by now…"

"Do you really think the Uchiha clan alone can stand against an entire village?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke with a calm and calculating expression. Though his combat strength had declined with age, Hiruzen remained supremely confident in his political maneuvering.

In his mind, everything was unfolding as planned.

By now, Byakuya should have been encircled by the Sand Village's forces.

Even if they couldn't kill him outright, they would at least wound him badly enough to ensure he wouldn't return to Konoha at full strength.

And once that happened—he would fall into their hands.

"That's right," Koharu Utatane added. "No matter how strong he is, even Madara couldn't permanently stand against the Five Great Nations. There are limits."

"Shikaku's intelligence should be arriving any moment now," Homura Mitokado said, finally relaxing. "Let's see how the situation has developed."

At that moment, a hawk soared in from the horizon.

"Look—it's Shikaku's eagle!" Hiruzen exclaimed, recognizing the code-flight pattern.

The hawk landed, and Hiruzen removed the scroll attached to its leg. Instead of reading it himself, he handed it to Koharu and Homura with a knowing smirk.

"Go ahead… See what good news it brings us."

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