Autumn Year 56 of Konoha Calendar, with a hint of coolness.
The Naka Shrine was hidden deep within a dense maple forest, its vermilion torii gate like a blood-soaked wound under the pale moonlight.
Inside the main hall of the shrine, the air was stagnant as lead.
The flickering candlelight in the enclosed space cast shifting shadows on the massive Uchiha Clan's fan crest on the wall, the red and white pattern seeming ready to drip blood at any moment in the gloom.
Heavy incense could not mask the anxiety and anger permeating the crowd.
Almost all of the Uchiha Clan's core Jonin were present.
Dressed in dark clan attire, they sat formally before Fugaku, their faces etched with barely suppressed fury.
The dancing candlelight illuminated pairs of restless eyes.
"Fugaku-sama!" Uchiha Tekka slammed the table and rose to his feet, his voice like a thunderclap in the oppressive hall.
"When has Konoha ever treated our Uchiha with a shred of fairness?! The Military Police Force? Hah! It's nothing but a cage to confine us to a corner of the village! Look at the location of our clan's compound! Look at the hypocritical faces of those high above! They fear our power, guarding against us like thieves!"
"Exactly!" Uchiha Inabi immediately chimed in, his voice dripping with deep resentment, "During the Nine-Tails Attack, they pinned the suspicion on us without any evidence! All these years, mission assignments, resource allocation… which one hasn't been deliberate suppression? The Third Hokage's so-called 'peace' and 'tolerance' are nothing but boiling a frog alive, slowly grinding away our Uchiha's edge until we vanish completely!"
"We are not lambs to the slaughter!" Another voice roared, filled with inflammatory fanaticism, "Fugaku-sama! You are the leader of our Uchiha Clan, a powerhouse with the Mangekyo Sharingan! Look into the hearts of our clansmen! Konoha is already rotten, it needs new power to cleanse it!"
"Just raise your banner, and our Uchiha Clan will surely follow you, overthrow Sarutobi Hiruzen's rule! Support you as the Fifth Hokage! Let the Uchiha's might resound throughout the Ninja World once more!"
"Support Fugaku-sama! Fifth Hokage!"
"Rebel, Fugaku-sama!"
"We can't endure this any longer!"
The fanatical uproar, like long-accumulated volcanic magma, surged and churned within the shrine's main hall.
Pairs of scarlet eyes stared fixedly at Fugaku seated in the main position. Expectation, coercion, and fanaticism intertwined, almost igniting the air.
Fugaku sat upright, like a silent stone statue.
His face was stern, features hardened, his figure erect beneath the Jonin's flak jacket.
The candlelight cast deep shadows across his face. Those Mangekyo Sharingan, hidden within the shadows, calmly swept over the enraged, twisted faces below.
The pain and humiliation of his clansmen, he felt deeply.
The suspicion and suppression from the higher-ups, he understood better than anyone.
However, as the clan's head, he saw far more than this.
He saw war.
He saw that once the Uchiha Clan raised the banner of rebellion, Konoha would inevitably be plunged into an unprecedented bloody civil war.
Leaving aside the Sarutobi clan, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the Hyūga, Aburame, Inuzuka, Aburame, Shimura, and other Ninja Clans would never stand idly by.
And then there were the Anbu and Root-
Not to mention one of the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya, who is at the height of his power, and Tsunade, who is traveling abroad with an unclear stance.
No matter how strong the Uchiha were, no matter how deep their heritage, they stood no chance against the combined force of the entire Konoha village.
This path of coup d'état led straight to the abyss of clan extinction!
Furthermore, the Land of Stars rising in the western part of the continent, that 'Uchiha Hikari' who possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan, was like a sword hanging over their heads, making the Uchiha Clan's situation even more delicate and dangerous.
'Had they already forgotten the Kaguya Clan's rebellion, suppressed and exterminated by Kirigakure just a few years ago?!'
"Enough!"
Fugaku's voice wasn't loud, but it swept through the frenzied hall like an icy cold front.
The authority of the clan's head contained within that voice, and the intangible pressure brought by the Mangekyo Sharingan, brought all clamor to an abrupt halt.
Pairs of scarlet eyes looked at him with shock and doubt.
Fugaku slowly stood up. His gaze, substantial as a physical force, swept over every face, carrying an unquestionable finality, "Rebel? Fifth Hokage?"
The corner of his mouth lifted into a cold, almost mocking curve.
"What do you think Konoha is? A toy for our Uchiha to take as we please? Or do you think mere passion and these eyes are enough to oppose the entire village's foundation?"
His voice suddenly rose, heavy with soul-piercing gravity: "That is war! A foolish act that would wipe the Uchiha Clan completely off the world map! The Uchiha Clan's glory is not earned by sparking civil war, by having clansmen's blood flow in rivers!"
"I, Uchiha Fugaku, as Uchiha Clan's head, will absolutely not lead our clansmen down this path of certain doom!"
"Don't forget Uchiha Madara!"
His resounding and forceful words were like ice water, savagely dousing the hearts of everyone present.
The fanatical atmosphere instantly cooled, replaced by a stunned silence and oppressive suppression as if struck by a sudden wake-up call.
Fugaku's gaze finally settled on two silent figures at the back of the crowd.
Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi.
Both had their heads slightly lowered, expressions unreadable, but Fugaku could sense the heavy worry emanating from them, completely different from most of the clansmen in the hall.
"Meeting adjourned!" Fugaku said no more. He turned, sleeves brushing, and his figure disappeared into the shadows leading to the inner rooms.
He left behind a deathly silence in the hall, only the candlelight jumping unwillingly, illuminating the disappointment, resentment, anger, and a trace of forcibly suppressed fear on the faces of the Uchiha clansmen.
…
Hokage's office.
The huge floor-to-ceiling windows were open. The night wind, carrying the lights of thousands of homes in Konoha, poured in, but could not disperse the heaviness within the room.
Hiruzen stood by the window, his back seeming somewhat hunched.
The pipe in his hand had long gone out, its last wisp of smoke dissipating under the moonlight.
Behind him, Itachi, kneeling on one knee, had just finished his report, recounting word for word the volatile clan meeting that had taken place at the Naka Shrine.
"Father refused." Itachi's voice was low, burdened with a weight difficult for a youth to bear, "But the emotions among the clan's Jonin... are on the verge of losing control. Father is under great pressure."
He looked up. Those black eyes, inherited from the Uchiha's bloodline, were filled with deep concern for the village's future and a trace of barely perceptible pain.
Hiruzen slowly turned around.
The moonlight illuminated his wrinkled face, his graying beard trembled slightly.
His gaze towards Itachi was complex… gratified by Itachi's loyalty, yet deeply weary of the Uchiha Clan's situation.
"I understand, Itachi. You've done well. You may go back now." His voice was hoarse, carrying an inescapable fatigue.
Itachi bowed respectfully. His figure, like a leaf merging into shadow, retreated from the office without a sound.
The moment the soft sound of the door closing faded, the shadows in the corner of the office writhed as if alive.
A figure stepped out slowly, leaning on a cane, his right eye and right arm wrapped in layers of bandages. It was Shimura Danzo.
His single eye gleamed with a sinister, cold light in the dimness, like a venomous snake waiting to strike.
"On the verge of losing control?" Danzo's voice was dry and raspy, laced with undisguised sarcasm.
"Hmph."
"Hiruzen, are you still deceiving yourself? The Uchiha Clan's rebellion is no longer 'on the verge'… it's an arrow already nocked on the bowstring!"
"Fugaku's refusal is merely the last fig leaf, powerless to suppress the surging rage within the clan! Look at those scarlet eyes! Look at the hatred burning in their hearts! Your so-called 'time' and 'dialogue' are nothing but nurturing a tiger to bring calamity, sowing the seeds of Konoha's destruction!"
Hiruzen's brow furrowed deeply. He unconsciously rubbed the pipe in his hand, "Danzo, the Uchiha Clan's heritage... is no small matter. Once conflict erupts, it will be a war that engulfs all of Konoha! We need to gather the entire village's strength, we need a more secure..."
"More secure what? Wait until they truly raise their banner of rebellion and join forces with that Uchiha Hikari from the Land of Stars?!" Danzo interrupted him sharply, his cane thumping heavily on the floor with a dull sound.
His single eye stared fixedly at Hiruzen, "What are you afraid of? The Uchiha Clan's heritage, or the legendary Mangekyo Sharingan? Especially that Uchiha Hikari, already confirmed to possess the Mangekyo Sharingan and serving 'Shura'?"
"Her existence is a blade hanging over Konoha's head! One Uchiha Hikari is already so troublesome. What if Fugaku, or another Uchiha, even Itachi, also awakens the Mangekyo Sharingan? What will Konoha use to resist?!"
Hiruzen remained silent, his gaze turning towards the fading lights of Konoha Village outside the window, his eyes deep with insoluble worry.
Danzo's words had struck his deepest, most hidden concern.
'The Uchiha Clan's Sharingan, especially the Mangekyo, possessed power enough to change the tide of a battle.'
'And that mysterious Uchiha Hikari, based on Shisui's report, her strength might rival that of Uchiha Madara in his day!'
But their Konoha Village no longer had a powerful Ninja like the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama.
"We cannot wait any longer, Hiruzen." Danzo's voice lowered further, carrying a cold resolve, "We must strike while their wings are not yet full-grown, before they are completely unified internally! Weaken them first! Sever their sharpest claws!"
"Enough! Danzo! I am the Hokage!" The fingers holding the pipe whitened at the knuckles.
"You will regret this, Hiruzen!"
Danzo gritted his teeth, turned, and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
Bang!
The office was left with only the sound of Hiruzen's worried smoking and the distant noise of the city outside the window.
…
Konoha's Root Base.
This place was deeper and colder than the Naka Shrine.
The air was permeated with a bone-chilling dead silence.
The light was dim, barely illuminating the crisscrossing metal passages; cold water droplets condensed on the walls.
Danzo's figure appeared in the command room at the core of the base.
The sinister intent and killing intent in his single eye were now completely unconcealed, tangible as ice.
"Relay my orders." His voice was dry, like rusty blades scraping against metal, "Assemble all members."
"Yes, sir!" Aburame Tatsuma immediately conveyed the command.
In the darkness, silent ripples spread out.
One by one, Root Ninjas wearing animal masks, their auras lifeless, emerged silently from their hidden corners like ghosts, assembling before Danzo.
The eyes behind the masks were empty and numb, showing only absolute obedience.
Danzo looked at the dozen or so Root's members before him and nodded with satisfaction.
"[Body Flicker] Shisui..."
Danzo murmured, his single eye gleaming with an almost greedy craving for power.
"We absolutely cannot let this power become the confidence behind the Uchiha rebellion!"
Ever since learning that Shisui's Sharingan was the Mangekyo Sharingan, and understanding the power of its Dojutsu, Kotoamatsukami, Danzo had coveted Shisui's eyes.
But due to various reasons, he had not been able to take action.
Now, he couldn't wait any longer!