Chapter 691: Could It Be You?

"Lian Ye, aren't we leaving with them?"

Zhi Cun Tuan Zang looked at his good brother lounging leisurely on the treetop and couldn't help asking subconsciously.

It wasn't that he didn't want to stay here; he just didn't understand why Lian Ye wasn't leaving.

Teacher Feijian and Yuzhibo Quannai had left yesterday.

Madara Uchiha and Senju Hashirama were nowhere to be seen, presumably having also left this time-space.

Now only the two of them remained.

"Leave for what?" Lian Ye chuckled lightly. "Since they've all left, there's no need for us to go."

In his view, any time-space was the same, as long as his good brother could let loose.

Since Madara Uchiha and the others were gone, they had no need to leave either.

That way, they wouldn't have bad luck next time and end up traveling to the same time-space again!

Zhi Cun Tuan Zang nodded upon hearing this.

He felt his good brother made sense; where they went didn't really matter.

As long as he could stay with Lian Ye, that was enough.

"Want to go back to Konoha Village?"

Originally, they had intended to return to their original time-space together, but after several consecutive travels, they still hadn't succeeded in going back.

With their minds set on returning, they naturally hadn't delved deeply into this time-space.

And because of the presence of Madara Uchiha and the others, Zhi Cun Tuan Zang had basically stayed silent the whole way.

That was why he had taken this opportunity to send those few away.

Now that there were no annoying eyes around, he could travel with Tuan Cang again.

Come to think of it, they hadn't carefully understood this time-space; they only knew it was after the end of the Third Shinobi World War.

As for the exact time, they had no way of knowing, so he might as well go with Tuan Cang to take a look.

"Alright."

Zhi Cun Tuan Zang naturally wouldn't refuse his good brother's invitation.

For him, anywhere was fine.

"Then let's go back to Konoha and take a look."

Actually, for Lian Ye, these time-spaces weren't all that interesting.

They were all periods from the original story.

He was just idle with nothing to do, and since Tuan Cang had never seen them, he'd accompany him to check them out.

Konoha Village, Hokage Office.

"Ri Zhan, what exactly happened between you and the Uchiha!"

Xiaochun Zhuanqin and Mizuto Menyan stormed into the office with fierce momentum.

They didn't understand how the Uchiha and the Village had managed to bury the hatchet!

The Uchiha Clan was about to launch a coup, yet Ri Zhan had taken the initiative to reconcile with the Uchiha Clan.

It was simply foolish beyond redemption.

Yuanfei Rizhan stood by the window, puffing on his pipe without stopping, ignoring the two's interrogation.

The smoke drifted, and he squinted his eyes, recalling the scene that night.

A powerful Uchiha Clan's Member had threatened him.

If he didn't handle the relationship between the Uchiha and the Village properly, that person wouldn't mind destroying Konoha Village.

That guy was powerful and truly capable of doing it.

So, for the safety of the Village, he had chosen to compromise...

"Ri Zhan, you're not talking again!"

Seeing Yuanfei Rizhan's reaction, Xiaochun Zhuanqin's anger grew even stronger.

These past few days, every time she asked Ri Zhan about this matter, he remained silent and refused to speak, as if unwilling to explain to them.

The more he acted like this, the more curious she became.

She didn't understand what had happened that could make Ri Zhan choose to compromise.

The key point was that Ri Zhan compromising was one thing, but Tuan Cang, who hated the Uchiha the most, was also nowhere to be found.

Originally, Xiaochun Zhuanqin had wanted to find Zhi Cun Tuan Zang and have him help persuade Yuanfei Rizhan to give up on reconciling with the Uchiha.

The Uchiha Clan's intention to stage a coup posed a great threat to them, the higher-ups.

The threat must be nipped in the bud!

Unfortunately, Zhi Cun Tuan Zang seemed to have vanished into thin air.

No matter how they searched, they couldn't find any trace of him.

"Ri Zhan, since you're unwilling to say, I'll ask another question."

Seeing this, Xiaochun Zhuanqin had to compromise and switched to a question she was more concerned about.

"Where did Tuan Cang go?"

Upon hearing this, Yuanfei Rizhan's body stiffened for a moment, then returned to calm, continuing to take small puffs from his pipe.

Clearly, he didn't want to answer this question either.

Xiaochun Zhuanqin keenly noticed Ri Zhan's movement and narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Ri Zhan, tell us the truth!"

The Ri Zhan of the past wouldn't have hidden things from them; she didn't know what had happened to make him become like this.

"Yes, Ri Zhan." Mizuto Menyan chimed in to persuade. "We are the Hokage Advisors, aren't we?"

Yuanfei Rizhan let out a silent sigh, turned to his two friends, and said hoarsely.

Tuan Cang is dead.

Xiaochun Zhuanqin and Mizuto Menyan both widened their eyes in shock as the words left his mouth.

Tuan Cang is dead?!

Yuanfei Rizhan decided not to hide any longer and recounted what had happened that night.

At first he didn't know about Zhi Cun Tuan Zang's death; it was only after being threatened by Sasuke Uchiha. He intended to tell Tuan Cang about it, so the other side wouldn't keep seeking trouble with the Uchiha, otherwise even he couldn't protect him…

But when he arrived at the Root, he saw Zhi Cun Tuan Zang's corpse.

He knew without even thinking.

The death of Tuan Cang is inseparable from the Uchiha who threatened him.

Even though his friend's tragic death grieved him deeply, he did not entertain thoughts of revenge against the Uchiha.

Everything is for the village!

The reason he was unwilling to tell Xiaochun Zhuanqin and Mizuto Menyan is that he feared they would learn the truth and seek revenge against the Uchiha.

By then, the conflict would truly be unavoidable.

Xiaochun Zhuanqin and Mizuto Menyan, upon learning the truth, wore very complicated expressions.

They hadn't expected the Uchiha to have such powerful clan members.

No wonder Ri Zhan suddenly made peace with the Uchiha, and Zhi Cun Tuan Zang suddenly vanished.

Uchiha Clan Territory.

"Brother, aren't you unhappy?"

Sasuke Uchiha noticed his brother sitting in the corridor, staring off, and stepped forward to ask with concern.

He never acted like this before; what on earth has happened these past few days?

Itachi Uchiha, recalling the guy he met that night, snapped back to attention upon hearing Sasuke's words, and gave a faint smile.

"I'm fine, Sasuke."

"Brother, you're lying!"

Sasuke Uchiha pouted in displeasure, his cheeks puffed out.

His brother clearly looked burdened with thoughts, yet pretended nothing had happened.

Itachi Uchiha lightly poked Sasuke's forehead and said with a smile.

"I'm really fine; this afternoon I'll take you to practice shuriken."

"Really! That's great, brother!"

Sasuke Uchiha's eyes lit up, and he cast the previous matters from his mind.

He had invited his brother many times, but his brother was always busy and never had time to accompany him.

Now there's finally time!

"Of course it's true."

Having received his brother's affirmation, Sasuke Uchiha happily ran off.

He is going to find his mother to share this.

"Will it be you?"

Itachi Uchiha watched his younger brother's retreating figure, his smile fading, and whispered softly.

"Sasuke…"

On a Konoha Village street.

"What's going on?"

Lian Ye noticed several ninja dressed in Uchiha attire passing by, and said with a shocked expression.

"The Uchiha weren't exterminated?!"

The passing Uchiha Clan's Members halted, their faces dark, and looked at the guy who had just spoken.

They indeed have a poor reputation in the village, but it doesn't seem that bad to this extent.

Zhi Cun Tuan Zang: "…"

A good brother, if you speak ill of someone, at least do it behind their back!

How can you curse someone for being exterminated right to their face!