Naruto: The rise of Uzumaki Kingdom

"What are you doing here?" The Uchiha clan leader frowned as he looked at the one-eyed man sitting cross-legged opposite him. He said lightly, "Our Uchiha clan hasn't done anything bad recently. You should know that."

A trace of mockery appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Recently, so many Uchiha clansmen had been arrested for questioning. Now this sudden appearance before the Uchiha clan, what exactly did he want to do?

Was there still something he needed to know?

But...

The Uchiha clan leader himself didn't even know who that one-eyed Mangekyo user was!

You keep arresting people like this. It's very annoying!!

As the leader of the Uchiha clan, he couldn't even protect his clansmen's privacy. Recently, there had been many complaints about him from below.

However...

"Huh?" Danzo was completely confused. He had only returned a few days ago and hadn't even had time to investigate anything yet. Why did the Uchiha clansmen think he already knew?

What exactly was going on?

"What exactly do you want to say?" He had come here in good faith, intending to personally ask the Uchiha clan what was going on. Why was everyone giving him attitude?

Didn't he, as Konoha's Dark Will and second-in-command, deserve any respect?

"Hmph, Lord Danzo actually asks me what I mean?" The Uchiha clan leader sneered. "After arresting so many Uchiha clansmen recently, haven't you found out anything?"

"...??"

Arrested so many people?

Danzo was inwardly shocked. How could he not know about this?

He had just returned to Konoha. How could Uchiha clansmen have been arrested? Did his subordinates do it?

To silently act for Konoha's peace?

But...

That was impossible!

All Root members had been brainwashed by him. Without his orders, they wouldn't act recklessly.

Suddenly, Danzo seemed to realize something. He nodded lightly and said, "Arresting some unimportant people wouldn't reveal anything."

"So now, this old man has come to personally ask the Uchiha clan leader!"

The one who could act in his name...

Danzo knew who it was.

So this pot...

For Konoha's peace, he, the Dark Will, would bear it!!

"Hmph!" The Uchiha clan leader sneered. "You should already know everything you need from your interrogations. As for anything else, I don't know either."

Though his expression was calm, inwardly he was bitter.

He also wanted to know who that Mangekyo user was!

But...

As the Uchiha clan leader, he was completely clueless. He had no idea how the Mangekyo was awakened, only that it was extremely difficult.

And ever since Lord Madara died...

The Uchiha clan hadn't awakened the Mangekyo. Even the pro-Hokage faction's former Uchiha genius, Uchiha Kagami, might have had the potential, but he had died long ago. How he died was still unknown to the Uchiha clan to this day.

What a headache!!

The Uchiha clan leader sighed inwardly. He also wished someone in the Uchiha clan would awaken the Mangekyo. If that happened, perhaps the Uchiha could re-enter Konoha's upper echelons.

"In that case," Danzo frowned at the Uchiha clan leader's words. He wasn't used to such polite questioning. It felt unfamiliar!!

Normally, he would just point at someone and shout, "Arrest them!" His subordinates would immediately act, and after a streamlined process, the interrogation results would be reported to him.

But now...

Was this how questioning worked?

Danzo sighed inwardly and muttered, "It seems this old man isn't suited for this kind of questioning."

He was truly only fit to silently protect Konoha from the shadows...

"So, Lord Danzo, why exactly have you come here?" the Uchiha clan leader asked with a frown. As one of Konoha's two great clans, the Uchiha still had their pride. If he wanted to investigate, he could have done it secretly like last time. As long as the clansmen were unharmed, it would be fine. But...

Why appear before the Uchiha clan so openly this time? What was the purpose?

To publicly slap the Uchiha in the face??

If that was the case...

He would let them see that the Uchiha were not to be trifled with!

However...

"Don't be nervous," Danzo took a sip of tea and said lightly. "This visit isn't about the Mangekyo. Rather..."

...

"Toto, this place looks pretty good, doesn't it?" A man around thirty years old rubbed the head of a child about six years old and said with a smile. "It seems we can make a lot of money today. Then you'll have enough for your treatment."

"Mm!" Toto nodded with wide eyes, then said dejectedly, "Will I really get better?"

He had been sickly for a long time. Because of his condition, he couldn't exercise, so he couldn't grow stronger no matter how hard he tried. After spending so much money all this time, still...

He never got better. In fact, his health kept worsening.

He had fallen ill again these past few days.

Toto looked longingly at the children running around happily playing nearby. He wanted to be like that too!

"You'll get better," the middle-aged man held Toto's small hand and said. "I promised your father I'd take good care of you."

"Uncle, do you think I'll see Mom and Dad after I die?" Toto looked up at the uncle who had been wandering with him and taking care of him all this time. Because of him, his uncle had never married.

"Maybe that wouldn't be so bad either," Toto lowered his head guiltily.

"Don't think too much," the middle-aged man paused, then smiled. "Today, we still have to work hard to earn money."

"You'll definitely get better."

"Mm!" Hearing this, Toto smiled. Then suddenly...

"It's snowing!" A child nearby who had been playing shouted in surprise upon seeing the sudden snowfall. "What's going on? Is winter here?"

"Idiot," an older child knocked him on the head. "Winter's already over. Don't you see..."

"It's only snowing in this spot!!"

...

As for why the elder had urgently summoned him to the research lab, Uzumaki Jun was very curious. It was likely that some major progress had been made in a certain technological field.

And it must have been very important, otherwise the elders wouldn't have called him over.

"Elders," Uzumaki Jun entered the research lab and saw the elders excitedly gathered around a mechanical glove. This made him even more curious. What was it?

He glanced at the unremarkable mechanical glove...

Was this their latest research achievement?

But what exactly was it?

And...

It's so ugly!!

Uzumaki Jun didn't know how to describe the glove. It looked like a simple metal contraption, just an ordinary glove assembled from metal pieces without any mechanical aesthetic.

And this metal...

It felt somewhat familiar?

Uzumaki Jun stared at the mechanical glove with confusion...