Chapter 158: Crows

After the sun had completely set, as the night fell and the silver moon rose, the entire village of Konoha grew much quieter than it was during the day.

Aside from the bustling and lively commercial district, the residential areas were far more tranquil. Most of Konoha's villagers had finished a day of exhausting labor and had already drifted off into sweet dreams.

In the core residential area at the center of Konoha, within the sprawling compound belonging to the Uchiha clan, one small courtyard was still brightly lit.

This was the courtyard of Uchiha Yadai. Right now, several Uchiha clansmen were standing in the yard, looking anxiously toward a tightly shut door.

Aside from Uchiha Yadai's parents, there were several clansmen who were close to him, including the Uchiha who had been on patrol with Yadai earlier that afternoon.

"Caw-caw... caw-caw."

A crow flew in from afar, landed on the bare branch of the only tree in the courtyard—its leaves having entirely fallen—hopped a couple of times, and squeezed into a nest nearby, huddling against another crow already residing inside.

Perhaps it was simply too crowded, prompting the other crow in the nest to cry out as well.

"Caw-caw... caw-caw."

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"Achoo!"

A biting cold autumn wind swept past, and the Uchiha clansman who had accompanied Uchiha Yadai on patrol that afternoon let out a sneeze.

"Konoha's damn weather this year changes on a whim. Just half a month ago, the lingering autumn heat was still raging, making every single day hot as hell, and now it's turned into this piercing chill. This autumn wind is really freezing!"

"Achoo! You're telling me, this weather is completely abnormal." Another Uchiha clansman was likewise provoked by the cold wind into a massive sneeze. "What on earth is wrong with Yadai? When you were patrolling the streets with him during the day, didn't you notice anything unusual?"

"It seems to have something to do with his Sharingan. When he was patrolling with me this afternoon, the two of us had just finished questioning an outsider. Then his Sharingan suddenly manifested on its own, and right after that, his whole body started trembling and he passed out almost immediately."

"Didn't Yadai's Sharingan only evolve into the two-eyed three-tomoe stage a little over half a year ago? It's been fine for more than six months."

"I don't know the specifics either. The Clan Head and the elders called me in earlier to question me about everything, and after that, I was sent out here to wait with you all."

"After he passed out, I carried him back to the Military Police Force headquarters. Later, along with some other clansmen, I brought him back to his own home within the clan compound. The Clan Head and several elders have been in there for hours now, and who knows what the situation is inside."

"I heard Yadai's mental state hasn't been normal lately, it seems related to..."

"Shh, keep it down. The Clan Head and the elders are coming out, let's hear what they have to say."

The door of the house in the courtyard was pushed open, and several elder Uchiha clansmen walked out.

The one leading the group glanced at the clansmen gathered in the yard, then looked at Uchiha Yadai's parents, and said, "Alright, stop crowding around this courtyard. Uchiha Yadai doesn't have any major issues anymore."

Yadai's mother asked anxiously, "Clan Head, is Yadai really alright?" Beside her, Yadai's father also stared fixedly at the Clan Head with a tense expression.

"He's fine, don't worry too much. This is a good thing for Yadai. For the next few days, don't disturb him; I will make special arrangements for someone from the clan to come and take care of him."

Seeing the deep worry written all over the faces of Uchiha Yadai's parents, the Uchiha Clan Head offered a few more words of reassurance.

"Alright, disperse, stop crowding around here." After finishing with Yadai's parents, the Clan Head turned back to the other clansmen in the courtyard and spoke in a stern tone.

"And remember to watch your mouths! Uchiha Yadai fainting today is classified as a clan secret, and all discussion among the clansmen is strictly prohibited!"

"Understood, Clan Head!" a chorus of Uchiha clansmen replied from the courtyard, and immediately began to leave the small compound one by one.

Watching the clansmen depart, the Uchiha Clan Head nodded with satisfaction. After offering a few more comforting words to Yadai's parents, the Clan Head and the elders accompanying him also left the courtyard.

Now that the matter here was settled, they, the upper echelon of the Uchiha clan, had far more important issues to discuss.

As members and elders of the Uchiha clan, they naturally knew that the three-tomoe Sharingan was not the highest level of the Uchiha's ocular power.

Above the three-tomoe Sharingan lay the even more powerful Mangekyo Sharingan. These facts were recorded in the Uchiha family genealogies, chronicles, and various other secret texts of the clan.

However, among recent generations of Uchiha, no one had been able to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan. The last clansman recorded in the clan's archives as having awakened the Mangekyo could be traced all the way back to the Warring States period, an era before the founding of the village of Konoha.

Uchiha Yadai's Sharingan was evolving toward the higher-level Mangekyo Sharingan!

This was the conclusion the Clan Head and elders had deduced after carefully observing Uchiha Yadai's condition. While they could not be one hundred percent certain just yet, it was close enough.

If Uchiha Yadai truly awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan afterward, it would unquestionably be a matter of immense significance to the entire Uchiha clan.

The Mangekyo Sharingan meant ninja strength surpassing that of a Jonin; it meant having the opportunity to suppress, or even control, the Tailed Beasts. This was a matter of tremendous weight, both for Konoha and for the Uchiha clan.

Tonight, for Uchiha Yadai, who was still unconscious inside the house, it would be a sleepless night filled with pain and torment.

Tonight, for Uchiha Yadai's parents, it would be a sleepless night filled with tension and worry.

Tonight, for the Uchiha Clan Head and the elders, it would be a sleepless night filled with joy and hope.

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Tonight, for Kato Mitokado hiding up in the tree branches, it was a boring and rather unhappy night.

It was boring because he had been waiting in this tree for quite some time. The autumn wind had stripped every last leaf from the branches, leaving it utterly bare. Aside from a crow's nest and a single crow, there was simply nothing else to help him pass the time during this tedious wait.

It was unhappy because tonight he had been kicked out by Tsunade. His wish to hold two big white rabbits in his arms while sleeping had been ruthlessly rejected.

Back at Tsunade's house, in order to thoroughly appease a previously angry Tsunade—and more importantly, for the sake of his own blissful nocturnal life—Kato Mitokado had pulled out all the stops and deployed his ultimate culinary skills to prepare a dinner that was a feast of color, aroma, and taste.

Kato Mitokado's culinary craftsmanship was beyond reproach, honed from over twenty years of bachelorhood in his past life, all for the sake of one day conquering a girlfriend's stomach.

Tsunade's stomach had indeed been conquered by Kato Mitokado.

Looking at the massive spread of delicacies that had been completely devoured, Kato Mitokado thought his blissful nightlife for tonight was firmly secured.

Events proved, however, that Kato Mitokado was still too naive. Conquering Tsunade's stomach did not necessarily mean capturing Tsunade's heart—at least, he hadn't managed to capture it tonight.

Otherwise, Kato Mitokado should right now be sleeping while holding two big white rabbits instead of playing a staring contest with a crow inside this bird's nest.