[Uchiha Clan Grounds]
A training field bustling with voices.
After Sasuke stopped going to school, Rengoku also began his activity of "wool-gathering"(exp farming) in the clan grounds.
In the Uchiha clan, generally, the stronger one is, the more arrogant they are.
Someone like Rengoku, already known to possess the Mangekyo Sharingan, who still looks others in the eye and is willing to instruct fellow clansmen, there are very few like that.
There was once Shisui, but Shisui never revealed his Mangekyo, so most people didn't know.
One must admit, while most of the Uchiha clan members have irritable and impulsive tempers, their nature is still sincere.
Seeing someone as powerful as Rengoku who enjoys instructing others in the clan, everyone's affection and admiration for Rengoku increased greatly.
As a result, anyone who sparred with Rengoku started off with at least a one-star bond.
Even with a one-star bond, he could obtain the opponent's combat experience, and with Rengoku's Mangekyo-level observation ability, he could spot flaws and areas for improvement within a few moves.
Rengoku, too, tirelessly (until reaching two-star bond) instructed each person.
This caused Rengoku's prestige to skyrocket.
Fugaku and Kairen had both come to the training field to observe, but both came and left quietly.
It was rare for the clan to produce such a powerful man willing to blend in with the clan. It wasn't easy.
Even Fugaku and Kairen rarely instructed others.
They were also very approving of Rengoku's actions.
Rengoku didn't seem like someone of his age at all, possessing both great strength and outstanding intelligence, with a calm and steady temperament.
If not for the timing being inappropriate, Fugaku already wanted to pass his position to Rengoku.
Rengoku shifted his consciousness back and opened his eyes.
The people Itachi took out with him hadn't gone to do bounty hunter work or anything like that.
Aside from those who escorted Karin and her mother, the others had gone to the Land of Wind.
To be precise, they brazenly passed under Konoha's outpost eyes.
Itachi, meanwhile, entered the Land of Earth via the Four Nations Route.
The Four Nations Route was the intersection of the Land of Fire, Land of Grass, Land of Waterfall, and Land of Earth.
Each of these areas had Konoha outposts.
The aim was to create a diversion, making the Third Hokage believe that the Uchiha might be trying to collude with other shinobi villages.
In reality, all the Uchiha had other purposes and never made contact with other village ninja.
Rengoku was merely doing this in passing, it didn't take much effort.
By his calculations, the Third Hokage's people had already arrived, and the other factions should also arrive one after another in the next couple of days.
———
The Uchiha clan had always been located near the outskirts of Konoha Village.
Logically speaking, the patrol range of the outer patrol units of Konoha should include the Uchiha grounds.
But they all deliberately avoided it.
The reason was simple. For others wanting to enter Konoha Village, entering via the Uchiha area was the easiest.
But most bounty hunters weren't fools, and hardly anyone tried to take a shortcut through the Uchiha's land.
After all, anyone with awakened eyes in the Uchiha clan was not to be trifled with.
Besides, this bounty mission was issued by the Uchiha.
Even if no one patrolled the forest surrounding the Uchiha territory, no one would dare invade Konoha from this side.
But exceptions always exist, there are always those with skill and courage.
On a tree just outside the Uchiha territory, stood a man and a woman.
The man had long black hair, vertical golden pupils, purple eye shadow extended to the nose wings, pale skin, and wore cyan blue comma-shaped earrings.
The woman had bluish-gray hair, a green robe over a red inner layer, and a confident expression on her face.
They were Orochimaru and Guren.

At this point in time, Orochimaru had just founded the Hidden Sound Village and was being recruited by the Akatsuki.
But now the conflict between Konoha and the Uchiha had drawn the attention of the entire ninja world.
Orochimaru had yet to come into contact with Pain.
What interested him now was the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Orochimaru had long ago noticed Itachi's suicidal training methods and had been fascinated by the Sharingan since then.
His spy in the village reported that the Uchiha had simultaneously revealed three Mangekyo Sharingan, severely injuring Danzo while confronting the Third Hokage head-on, and officially breaking ties with Konoha.
Ever since his defection, Orochimaru had become much wiser politically.
He might not know everything, but the fact that Danzo's eye was dug out proved that killing him wasn't that hard.
The Uchiha clearly spared Danzo's life to use him as a reason to attack Konoha.
Therefore, they had the absolute upper hand in the standoff with the Third Hokage, forcing the latter to retreat.
As for the Uchiha issuing a bounty on Danzo on the dark web, the point was to signal to the outside world that the Uchiha had broken from Konoha, and anyone who wanted to take down Konoha should hurry up.
After all, Konoha had only one Nine-Tails.
But with the Mangekyo Sharingan in play, whether Konoha dared to fight back was another question.
The Uchiha had completely turned the tables on Konoha.
Now, the Third Hokage was having a very hard time.
"Orochimaru-sama, shall we go investigate the Uchiha?", Guren asked eagerly.
Orochimaru had just founded the Hidden Sound, and didn't have many experts under his command yet.
More precisely, most hadn't matured yet.
Originally, Orochimaru had planned to visit the Land of Water to scout for good seedlings.
But the buzz in Konoha changed his mind.
Among his followers, Guren was quite capable, so Orochimaru brought her along.
Guren was skilled in Crystal Release and was a candidate to be Orochimaru's next vessel. Loyal to him, she naturally wanted to take the lead.
Although Orochimaru was confident in himself, he wasn't reckless:
"Let's observe first, there will be those more anxious than us."
"Yes, Orochimaru-sama!"
Guren pulled out a crystal ball from her person.
"Far-seeing Technique!"
Various scenes began appearing on the crystal ball.
This technique was the same as the one the Third Hokage used to monitor Naruto.
However, Guren didn't lock onto a specific Uchiha member.
It was more like a bird's-eye view, scanning the situation over the Uchiha compound.
This technique was extremely rare and thus highly stealthy.
In the original timeline, Guren used this technique to monitor Kakashi at his peak, and Kakashi never noticed.
"Orochimaru-sama, although the defenses inside the Uchiha compound have increased, the atmosphere isn't tense," Guren's view slowly swept over the Uchiha grounds as she reported to Orochimaru.
Orochimaru leaned against the tree, indifferent to what Guren was seeing.
Having her use the far-seeing technique was his way of seeing whether anyone would notice them.
Guren's view quickly shifted to the crowded training field.
When her view landed on Rengoku's face, Rengoku immediately raised his head.
A giant Sharingan reflected directly into the crystal ball.
With a "crack," a crack appeared on the crystal ball.
"Orochimaru-sama, I've been discovered," Guren reported with some surprise.
Orochimaru let out a soft laugh, "Let's leave for now, and go check the village's situation."
With that, he led Guren away from the outskirts of the Uchiha territory.
By the time Rengoku arrived at the spot based on chakra response, Orochimaru had already left.
He had come out because he sensed being probed, but that feeling of being locked on came from above.
In this world of countless strange and bizarre techniques, Rengoku couldn't recognize them all.
Still, anyone daring to linger in that spot likely wasn't friendly, "Heh, interesting. Looks like Konoha is about to get lively."
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