Within the dense forest, Uchiha Hiroaki sprinted relentlessly. He had to make it back to the village before Root returned. After running frantically through the night, Uchiha Hiroaki staggered back into Konoha around noon the next day, looking utterly battered. At the village's main gate, the two Konoha shinobi on duty were startled by his wretched state and moved to ask what had happened.
"Get lost!" Unexpectedly, Hiroaki glared at them with eyes full of killing intent and snarled the command. Right now, his heart was filled with hatred for Konoha's leadership, and even the entire village. Being cursed at like that, the two guards' faces turned ugly, fury burning within them. Uchiha Hiroaki ignored them, rushing straight into the village towards the Military Police Force headquarters. He wanted the clan to avenge them.
Ten minutes later, inside the Captain's office. "Captain!" Hiroaki cried out frantically, looking at Fugaku Uchiha with wild eyes. "Elder Yashiro and Yasumasa were killed in battle! Our caravan… it was likely wiped out too! It was Danzo's Root! The village is preparing to move against the clan!" Watching the disheveled and desperate Hiroaki, Fugaku Uchiha sighed inwardly. He stood up. "Return to the clan compound," he said simply, then turned and walked out of the office. Seeing this, Hiroaki assumed Fugaku was actually going to start the fight, and he immediately fell in step close behind him.
Shortly thereafter, all the Uchiha elites stationed at the Military Police Force headquarters left the building en masse, heading towards the Uchiha clan compound. Among them were Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Misuke. Shisui looked slightly apprehensive and somber. Misuke, on the other hand, appeared outwardly calm, but her periodically clenching and unclenching fists betrayed her inner turmoil. Why did Hiroaki return to the village? Shisui wondered constantly. Did something go wrong with the plan? The plan they had agreed upon beforehand had been to eliminate all three radicals: Uchiha Yashiro, Uchiha Hiroaki, and Uchiha Yasumasa.
Shisui didn't know that Tatsuya had intentionally altered the original plan. After Jizo and Kagutsuchi discovered Danzo and his group's actions, Tatsuya had immediately decided to improvise, turn the situation to his advantage, and pin all the blame squarely onto Root. This approach certainly risked escalating tensions between Konoha's leadership and the Uchiha clan. However, based on Tatsuya's understanding of the Third Hokage, especially when Root was so clearly in the wrong, Hiruzen wouldn't easily make a move against the Uchiha clan. Doing so would shake the very foundation of Konoha's governance – the Will of Fire ideology. The brazen actions of Root, coupled with any overt cover-up or persecution by the village leadership, would breed disaffection and erode trust. For Hiruzen, who so often spoke of the Will of Fire, he would absolutely avoid making such a choice unless pushed to the final extreme. Exacerbating the conflict between the Uchiha and Root, and bringing it out into the open, might subtly shift the overall power dynamics rather than simply worsening the Uchiha's situation. As long as the Third Hokage remained in power, Tatsuya believed, there would be no danger of the situation exploding into an irreversible crisis. And by the time the Third Hokage passed away, Tatsuya was confident that he would possess the absolute strength needed to control everything.
Inside the Uchiha clan compound's meeting hall. Fugaku had gathered all the clan's elites and elders. When Uchiha Hiroaki finished recounting the events of the previous night, the scene of mass indignation he had envisioned failed to materialize. Instead, a brief, awkward silence fell over the hall. At the head seat, Fugaku Uchiha stood with his arms crossed, utterly silent. Flanking him, neither Shisui nor Uchiha Misuke seemed inclined to speak. Shisui's gaze swept across the faces of the assembled Uchiha. Misuke stood stoically, her expression cool. Below, the few remaining Uchiha who had belonged to the radical faction exchanged glances, then all seemed to tacitly agree to shift their focus towards Fugaku above, and towards Uchiha Misuke. With Uchiha Yashiro dead, the radical faction was now completely leaderless. While Hiroaki possessed some skill and reputation, he lacked the prestige and accomplishments needed to command their loyalty. Therefore, these individuals now pinned their hopes on Uchiha Misuke, who had originally been part of Yashiro's circle. Furthermore, Fugaku had been deliberately suppressing Yashiro for the past two years, causing the radicals' influence and numbers to dwindle significantly compared to before. The Uchiha clan members, while often paranoid, were not fools. Knowing there was no future in following Hiroaki, who would rally behind him? Within the clan, it was still the Clan Head who had the final say on all matters.
"What's wrong with all of you? Captain?" Stunned by the lack of response, Hiroaki stared around in confusion. When had the clan changed so completely? He was utterly baffled. At the same time, a sharp, stinging sense of betrayal and bitter resentment grew faintly within him.
Breaking the difficult silence, Fugaku finally spoke slowly. "Two more clansmen just escaped back. According to their report, Danzo did indeed lead Root in this attack. I will go see Lord Hokage immediately. The village must give our clan an accounting for this."
"An accounting?" Hiroaki stared at Fugaku in disbelief, his voice turning shrill. "Captain, shouldn't we be launching a coup against the village right now?" This was not the outcome he had expected.
Ignoring Hiroaki's piercing question, Fugaku turned to address the rest of the hall. "Does anyone have any objections to this course of action?" he asked gravely. Initially, no one in the hall responded. After several seconds, Uchiha Misuke's cool voice was the first to break the silence. "I support the Clan Head's decision."
"I also support the Clan Head's decision." "Support the Clan Head's decision." ... Following her lead, others in the hall began to voice their support one after another. Watching this unfold, Hiroaki was consumed by frenzy and hatred. Shisui observed the scene with complex emotions. Misuke-nee has already gained such incredible influence within the clan without me even realizing it! At the head seat, Fugaku seemed completely unaware of these undercurrents. He stood up and walked straight out of the hall.
The clan meeting concluded amidst Uchiha Hiroaki's enraged shouts. The assembled Uchiha gradually dispersed. Uchiha Misuke and Shisui left together as well. Walking side-by-side, Shisui spoke after a moment. "Misuke-nee, congratulations!" There was no reply. Shisui turned his head and was surprised to see tears streaming down Uchiha Misuke's stunningly beautiful face. She was weeping soundlessly. She had endured so much to reach this day. Now that the root cause of all the trouble had been eliminated, she intended to use that person's power to completely reform the Uchiha clan.
Meanwhile, in an inn within Kirigakure, a faint smile touched Tatsuya's lips. He had just received the full report via the memories shared from a Shadow Clone Jizo had dismissed. Although events had deviated from the original plan, the outcome was actually proving to be even better.