The Land of Fields, Yamanashi Castle.
Yoshida Jin's residence, in a secluded study located in the western district.
"Master, the situation is extremely urgent. We must decide on a course of action quickly!"
Inside the room, a middle-aged steward dressed in brocade robes spoke anxiously to Yoshida Jin.
"Those damn bastards! They see Ansei Hall is about to make a huge profit, so they want to gang up and suppress us? Not a chance!"
Seated in the master's chair, Yoshida Jin's face was livid. He slammed his fist onto the nearby table, his voice full of hatred.
The middle-aged steward was startled by Yoshida Jin's outburst. He said in a trembling voice, "But, Master, they've already secretly gathered a large number of rogue ninja. They've also spread the word that we should surrender quickly, or they'll attack directly..."
Hearing this, Yoshida Jin's face twitched repeatedly.
After a moment, he said, "Go and fetch Lady Yukari!"
"Yes, sir."
The middle-aged steward quickly acknowledged the order and left.
After the steward left, Yoshida Jin sighed to himself alone in the room.
He felt frustrated and resentful!
In the year or so since Ansei Hall was established, Yoshida Jin hadn't had many days of peace.
The incredibly effective Six-Flavor Rehmannia Pill had indeed brought Ansei Hall tremendous fame and fortune, but it had also attracted numerous probes and covetous eyes.
Setting aside the troublesome aspects of running the business, the constant probing from various large and small factions was enough to drive Yoshida Jin mad.
To deal with this, Yoshida Jin had spared no expense in hiring a large number of rogue ninja to form a protective force.
Naturally, this deterred some of the less influential small factions from targeting Ansei Hall.
But as time went on, this suppressed undercurrent showed signs of erupting.
In the past half-month, the Narita and Taniguchi families, who had always been suppressed by Yoshida Jin in Yamanashi Castle, had begun to stir.
According to the information gathered by the middle-aged steward who had just left, the Narita and Taniguchi families had recruited hundreds of rogue ninja. This number even included jonin and chunin-level rogue ninja, suggesting they were preparing to openly attack Ansei Hall.
When Yoshida Jin learned of this, he almost cursed out loud!
Jonin and chunin-level rogue ninja? The hell could the Narita and Taniguchi families afford them?
Clearly, other forces were involved behind the scenes.
It seemed that the gradually developing Ansei Hall had become a piece of juicy meat in the eyes of many.
The current situation was already beyond Yoshida Jin's control. Ten days ago, he had already considered asking Pakura for help!
She was backed by Sunagakure, a major power. Surely, she would have a solution, right? Yoshida Jin mused vaguely.
To this day, Yoshida Jin had a faint feeling that he had been tricked.
When Tatsuya brought Pakura to Yoshida Jin, he had made their identities clear, giving Yoshida Jin the mistaken impression that he was working with the backing of both Konoha and Sunagakure.
But so much time had passed, and aside from Tatsuya and Pakura, Yoshida Jin hadn't seen any other ninjas from the two hidden villages.
Even of these two, Tatsuya had disappeared early on, and Pakura, although living in Yoshida Jin's residence under the alias of Yurika, only focused on teaching her disciple.
Apart from the matter of opening an Ansei Hall pharmacy in Konoha, Pakura showed no interest in anything else.
If it weren't for Tatsuya's recent rise to fame in the ninja world and Pakura's own renown as Sunagakure's Scorch Release user, Yoshida Jin would have considered simply giving up and switching sides!
Lost in thought, Pakura was soon brought in by the middle-aged steward.
As a former elite jonin of Sunagakure, Pakura had seen her fair share of things.
Faced with Yoshida Jin's plea for help, she naturally saw through the crux of the matter quickly!
Someone was trying to test Ansei Hall's strength.
If this matter wasn't handled properly, Ansei Hall would likely be quickly carved up by the various forces swarming in.
To this end, Pakura immediately used her summoning ninja cat, Kura, to relay a message to Tatsuya.
This was also the reason why Tatsuya insisted on leaving Konoha.
Pakura's Scorch Release bloodline limit was too conspicuous. If she took action, it would easily expose her identity.
Once her identity was exposed, Ansei Hall would likely face targeting from Sunagakure.
After Yoshida Jin explained the situation in detail, Pakura waved her hand and said, "Don't worry! Just wait patiently for two more days. He'll be here soon."
In truth, Pakura herself wasn't entirely sure.
The other side had already made their move. A direct confrontation was unavoidable.
But could Tatsuya risk exposing his identity to fight them head-on?
Although Pakura didn't understand, she could only choose to trust Tatsuya.
Meanwhile, in Konoha, at the Uchiha clan compound.
"Clan Leader!"
Uchiha Hiroaki and Uchiha Yasumasa arrived together at Fugaku Uchiha's home.
"Mm! Have a seat!"
Fugaku Uchiha sat in the seiza position, gesturing to the space opposite him.
Uchiha Hiroaki and Uchiha Yasumasa respectfully bowed and then sat down.
"Captain, we heard a piece of news today..."
After sitting down, Uchiha Hiroaki and Uchiha Yasumasa exchanged a quiet glance, and Uchiha Hiroaki spoke.
"Are you talking about the news that Akimichi Tatsuya killed an Uchiha clansman who had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan?"
Fugaku Uchiha maintained his usual stern expression.
"Yes, Captain!"
Uchiha Hiroaki replied.
"Don't you find this news suspicious? Shisui has been at the Military Police Force Headquarters all this time. When did another member of the clan awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan?"
A hint of mockery appeared at the corner of Fugaku Uchiha's mouth.
Clearly, Fugaku Uchiha didn't believe this rumor.
Did they really think the Uchiha clan's Mangekyo Sharingan was as common as cabbage?
If the Mangekyo Sharingan were so easy to awaken, the Uchiha clan wouldn't have been suppressed by the Hokage's faction for so long.
Hearing Fugaku Uchiha's words, Uchiha Hiroaki and Uchiha Yasumasa also showed hesitant expressions.
After a moment, Uchiha Hiroaki gritted his teeth and said again, "Captain, if it were just this news, we certainly wouldn't believe it! But, we also heard another piece of news from Teppei..."
The Teppei they mentioned was named Uchiha Teppei, and he was of the same generation as them within the clan.
"What news?"
Fugaku Uchiha looked puzzled.
"Captain, according to Teppei, Teru left the village on the same day as Akimichi Tatsuya and hasn't returned since," Uchiha Hiroaki said.
"Teru? Are you saying that the clansman who awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan is Teru?" Fugaku Uchiha frowned, still somewhat skeptical.
Although Uchiha Teru had already awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan, his strength was only ranked in the middle among the clan's jonin.
Fugaku Uchiha thought the probability of him awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan was low.
"Captain, have you forgotten? Elder Senkai passed away some time ago! According to Teppei's recollection, in the days before Elder Senkai's death, Teru claimed to have an eye ailment and stayed home for several days, not even attending Elder Senkai's funeral," Uchiha Hiroaki suddenly said, his emotions somewhat agitated.
Hearing this, Fugaku Uchiha's body trembled slightly, and his face gradually revealed a complex and unreadable expression.
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