At this point, the sight of Kagami Uchiha calmly stating the clan's position was about as surprising as finding an Akimichi at a barbecue shop.
The man had fully embraced his inner Uchiha, swapping his old village-first blinders for a brand-new pair of clan-colored ones.
But now was definitely not the time for a philosophical debate.
Hiruzen sucked in a weary breath, the kind usually reserved for finding ANBU trying to microwave their mission reports.
"Kagami," he said, his voice a gravelly mix of 'I'm the Hokage' and 'I need a vacation.' "You are aware our village is currently sprouting more spies than ever, correct? So, would you care to explain why the entire Uchiha Police Force has left their posts without so much as informing me, the Hokage? I could have at least coordinated things better."
Kagami offered a wry smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. It was the universal expression of 'My boss is a pyromaniac and I'm just holding the kindling.'
"Hiruzen," he sighed, "you've known our Clan Head. Azula doesn't 'inform.' She 'decrees.' She sees a problem, and her solution usually involves a terrifying amount of flawless execution. What, exactly, was I supposed to do?"
His meaning was simple: when it comes to Azula, even you, the Hokage, are about as effective as a paper umbrella in a fireball jutsu.
And now? She might just be stronger than you.
Hiruzen wisely decided not to ask why Azula hadn't bothered to notify him. Some questions only lead to mutually assured embarrassment.
Instead, he cut to the chase. "So. Your Matriarch has summoned all the Uchiha in the village. She must have a truly earth-shattering reason. What is it?"
Kagami nodded, explaining. "She received a help request from her sensei. The Uzumaki are about to be attacked. She's taking the clan to provide support."
Kagami stood there, beaming, clearly expecting a round of applause for this act of noble charity. To him, this was a no-brainer—Konoha helps its closest allies. It's what heroes do!
The faces of the Council, however, curdled like month-old milk. You could practically hear the sound of four simultaneous aneurysms.
Koharu Utatane was the first to explode, her voice hitting a pitch that could shatter glass. "SHE WANTS TO TAKE A CLAN—THE CLAN—TO DECLARE WHAT AMOUNTS TO WAR WITHOUT CONSULTING THIS OFFICE?! HAS SHE FORGOTTEN THAT THIS IS A VILLAGE, NOT HER PERSONAL Fiefdom? HAS THE UCHIHA CLAN BECOME A LAWLESS GANG?!"
Kagami's smile finally wilted.
"Now, Koharu, let's be fair. Was it wrong to start a clan-wide meeting without informing the elders? Absolutely. A severe breach of protocol. But," he held up a placating hand, "you all know Azula. Had any of us known, we would have tried to stop her. But you have to understand her perspective: she's trying to help her teacher."
"Never forget, beneath all that terrifying competence and the aura of a conquering warlord, she is a fourteen-year-old girl who sometimes sees 'geopolitical conflict' as a boring subject for people who aren't on fire."
A heavy silence descended upon the room, each elder lost in their own special brand of misery.
For Hiruzen, the weight of the hat had never felt heavier. He wanted to help the Uzumaki. But he also had four other major villages sharpening their knives, just waiting for Konoha to show a moment of weakness.
Lady Mito, a saint of patience, had understood this delicate dance. She'd only gathered her own kin from what he'd just received and probably just requested Azula's help.
But Azula, in her typical 'go big or go home' fashion, had looked at Mito's modest request and decided to bring the whole Uchiha clan.
The problem was now a ticking time bomb. The proper response was to punish the Uchiha for gross insubordination. The realistic response was to stare at the problem, sweat nervously, and do absolutely nothing.
Because the Uchiha clan wasn't just a clan. They were the undisputed, heavyweight champions of the shinobi world. They were Konoha's beating heart of power and its most influential political block.
If he, Hiruzen Sarutobi, were to actually try and punish them... the thought alone was enough to give him heartburn.
His mind conjured images of Tajima Uchiha, a man whose mere glare could curdle blood, and Azula, his brilliant, unhinged daughter, who treated international incidents like a particularly challenging puzzle.
No. He couldn't afford to tear that particular piece of paper. The cost would be Konoha itself.
All he could do was sigh, mentally calculate how to balance things. Being Hokage was all about making the tough choices, and today, the toughest choice was deciding whether to be angry or just profoundly, deeply tired.
He was going with tired.
Kagami, along with the others, wasn't an idiot. They could all read Hiruzen's face like a well-worn Azula novel.
Hiruzen's expression screamed, 'I am not dealing with the Uchiha today,' with the same energy as a man who'd just found a spider in his sandal and decided to let it keep the house.
Danzō, however, had the patience of a startled cat.
"Tsk," he hissed, the sound dripping with more venom than a senbon. "No matter how young she is, if she's prancing around as the Uchiha Matriarch, she must face the consequences of her actions."
Kagami didn't rise to the bait. He simply offered a smile so serene it could calm the Nine-Tails. "You know, Danzō, you're absolutely right. We should punish her."
Danzō blinked. "You think this is a game, Kagami? Where is your Will of Fire? You, of all people, should understand the village's precarious situation!"
Internally, Kagami felt the familiar tug-of-war. The first twenty years of his life had been sculpted by Tobirama's pragmatic, village-first ideology. It was a hard habit to break, like trying to unlearn how to walk.
But then Azula had stormed into his life, grabbed his worldview by the collar, and given it a good shake.
"The village isn't the buildings, you sentimental fool," she'd once told him, her voice laced with that terrifying, impeccable logic. "It's not the vaults of jutsu or the fancy Hokage Mountain. It's the people. The second you start sacrificing the people to protect the 'village,' you're not a leader. You're a curator for a future ghost town."
It was a glorious, inconvenient, and profoundly idealistic pain in the ass. It was also why he and the ever-kind Torifu were slowly becoming the weird, morally strict uncles of the group, while their old comrades were sliding into 'acceptable casualties' territory.
He didn't blame them, not really. Running a village required getting your hands dirty. He just preferred to wash his hands more often.
Hiruzen, looking like a man who desperately needed a cigarette and a time machine, finally cut through the tension.
"So," he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "How, exactly, does she plan to support the Uzumaki? Please don't tell me she's planning to pack up the entire clan and launch a spontaneous vacation to a warzone."
Kagami's smile didn't falter. If anything, it grew wider. "Oh, you know Azula. She believes in giving people a choice. She's rallying any Uchiha willing to fight under a very... compelling banner."
He paused for effect, letting the dread build in the room.
"She's promised to Make Uchiha Great Again."
(END OF THE CHAPTER)
It's exactly my ideal time to publish chapters. It's midnight: I sleep and wake up at 6 a.m., go jogging, have breakfast, and take care of everything before university, which runs from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Then I eat, take a two-hour nap, meet my friends, and review my lessons before starting to write around 8 p.m. and finishing at midnight. And the cycle repeats.