Chapter 8: The Steamed Bun Shop Owner

"It's dawn."

Nanshu looked up at the sky.

The sky was already beginning to brighten; the first rays of morning sunlight pierced the darkness and spilled across the streets.

Although it was still early, there were already quite a few pedestrians on the street. As shop after shop opened, neat queues formed in front of the breakfast stalls, and the fragrance of food permeated the street. In less than a moment, more and more crowds appeared, and the originally quiet street suddenly became lively.

Nanshu walked up to a steamed bun shop. The owner, seeing that an "acquaintance" had arrived, immediately greeted him with enthusiasm.

"Oh my, Nanshu, what have you been up to lately? I haven't seen you come to my bun shop for several days."

Nanshu smiled and ordered twelve meat and vegetable buns, as well as three fried cakes.

The owner grinned as he packed all the food up, put it into a bag, and handed it to Nanshu.

"Young people sure have a good appetite. Are you eating alone again this time?"

"Ninja is a profession with high physical consumption; insufficient food intake will affect the extraction of chakra."

Upon hearing this, the owner burst into loud laughter.

"Hahahaha, that's true. It's a pity I didn't have any talent for being a ninja when I was young, otherwise I could have awakened a Sharingan or something and joined the Military Police Force to look impressive."

The owner seemed to say with a sigh, "Back when the Uchiha Clan was a nation of soldiers, people like me who could extract chakra but couldn't awaken eyes still had to go to the battlefield. But now it's an era of peace; someone like me who can only refine chakra but can't awaken eyes can't even enter the combat sequence, and can only serve as a reserve Life Ninja to contribute strength to the clan. Hahahaha!"

"But having said that, although two-thirds of the clan's population are Life Ninjas, once they awaken their eyes, our Uchiha Clan members are worth two of anyone else. When deployed on the battlefield in tactical formations, it's truly remarkable! During the Warring States period, only the Senju Clan could trade blows with our clan; no other clan dared to provoke us when they saw the Uchiha group attacking."

The owner handed over the packed food.

"But it's a pity that the times have changed; the Uchiha of today is no longer what it used to be."

Nanshu took the bag and smelled the fragrant meat buns. He couldn't resist taking one out and biting into it immediately. The moment he took a bite, a rich meaty aroma spread through his nasal cavity; the crispy yet soft dough combined with the delicious meat juices was truly tasty.

"How so?"

After eating a few buns, his stomach felt a bit of food and he felt strong again, as if his sleeping body was slowly waking up and becoming sharp once more. His originally muddled consciousness also became agile again under the stimulation of the food. Nanshu took a deep breath, feeling that his efforts were all for the sake of living for these few meat buns.

Watching Nanshu, who wore an expression of happiness, the owner also smiled with satisfaction, and then he continued.

"In the past, no matter what, the Uchiha were respected as one of the two great clans that founded Konoha, but now we are treated like rats crossing the street, ostracized everywhere."

"Ever since moving to this remote place, I haven't been out for a long time, but a few days ago the stock at home ran out and I had to make a trip to the center of the village to get some flour."

"I was in a hurry that day and didn't bring the emblem that symbolizes the clan. When I first entered the shop, the clerk greeted me enthusiastically. But when I finished choosing the flour and said I wanted the goods delivered to the Uchiha Clan Grounds, those bastards immediately changed their expressions!"

The owner said in a tone suppressing anger: "They actually refused me outright! Saying that even if they threw the flour away, they would never sell it to an Uchiha. Then, right in front of me, they unloaded all the flour that had already been loaded onto the cart."

"At that time, many people nearby ran over to watch the spectacle and laugh at me, but not a single person stood up to speak a word of justice for me! Is it just because I am an Uchiha!?"

The owner clearly remembered how he had returned home in low spirits that day, so angry that he couldn't eat for several days. He didn't understand how people in the same village could be so ostracized.

"That day, when I was about to go out to restock, some brothers nearby even advised me to use the form of posting a mission. I laughed at them for being lazy at the time, but now I finally know what's going on."

The owner sighed, "Now I finally know why people in the clan like to go out less and less. The atmosphere in the village is truly too malicious!"

"I used to take my family out for outings to relax every three days, but now our family plans not to leave the clan area until the end of the year. Anyway, going out just means being looked down upon, so why go looking for trouble?"

Having said that, the owner shook his head with a bitter smile.

"..."

Nanshu ate the buns in silence.

The experience of the steamed bun shop owner was actually a microcosm of many Uchiha people. This was also why the Uchiha Clan became increasingly reclusive on the eve of the clan's extermination, and why the clan's emotions became increasingly radical and dissatisfied with the status quo.

Many people in the clan actually wanted to go out and interact with the outside world, but unfortunately, Konoha Village was at the peak of "political correctness" at the time, and it was the kind that involved the whole population.

The Uchiha were the dark side of Konoha, a symbol of shame—dangerous, reclusive, and heartless. In a village where such thinking was rampant, there was simply no place for the Uchiha. And since the Uchiha Clan were all proud and arrogant people, how could they endure such grievances? Therefore, the collision between the two was bound to erupt into a fierce ideological conflict.

So, rather than saying the Uchiha rebellion was about seizing power, it was more that they had reached the end of their rope; if they didn't resist, they would truly reach a dead end.

"Sorry for saying things that affect your appetite. Just pretend you didn't hear it."

The owner sighed, a look of dejection appearing on his face; it seemed he was truly hurt.

"But if things go on like this, I really worry about whether the clan can continue to stay in Konoha... Perhaps, it would be better for the Uchiha to just move out than to stay here and suffer such humiliation."

"Heh, perhaps I'm overthinking it. Even if the Uchiha Clan wanted to leave, I have a feeling the village wouldn't let us go easily."

The owner laughed at himself, and beneath the dim smile was a sense of fear for the future.

"Welcome back next time."

"Goodbye."

Nanshu left the shop while eating the buns, walking toward his home.

The plight of the Uchiha Clan was both moving and sorrowful. From being one of the two pillars that built the village, they had fallen into being stray dogs that everyone shouted to beat, suffering from malicious exclusion and discrimination. Yet even so, the Uchiha chose a policy of enduring again and again, attempting to use concession to win the sympathy of the higher-ups.

And until the Fourth Hokage appeared, this small and humble spark of hope had never been extinguished. They were full of expectations, trying their best to win back their former glory, just like a bluebird fallen into a quagmire, flapping its wings with effort to return to the blue sky. It was not because it was noble, but because it was "born this way." For others, that might be an unreachable distance, but for the Uchiha, that was the world they truly belonged in.

Therefore, their current struggle and effort were not to show off their pride to others, but because that was the world they should have been living in.

Even if covered in sores and stained with mud, struggling endlessly in the quagmire, even if their feathers withered and their bones broke, they would still struggle to flap their wings. Even if there was only a one-in-ten-million chance, even if it was only for a single moment of taking flight followed by a shattered end—that was the future they looked forward to, right?

Because the pride of the Uchiha permeated from their very bones.

This was the conclusion Nanshu had reached after spending these days with the Uchiha clansmen. Therefore, one could also conclude that the arrogant Uchiha would never just give up and flee Konoha like stray dogs. They would not do that, because they were too arrogant.

Of course.

This pride was not without a price.

The cruelty of the night of the clan's extermination led to the near-total annihilation of the Uchiha Clan. The streets were stained red with blood, blood gathered into rivers, and a large number of corpses lay in the ruins of the streets and alleys. Their bodies were pierced through vital points by blades, and the screams and pleas for mercy they made before death were not accepted, and they were coldly killed—regardless of whether they were men, women, the elderly, children, or even infants and toddlers; not even a dog raised by an Uchiha family was spared.

The aftermath of the battle echoed in every alley of the clan; the sounds of explosions and slaughter—it was a truly cruel and cold-blooded battle.

Burning streets, panicked people running everywhere, and a miserable red blood moon hanging in the night sky.

It was a tragic sight like hell.

And Nanshu's mission was how to prevent this tragedy, by any means, at any cost.