In the compound of Shenzhai.
Following Inabi along the road paved with bluestone bricks, Duan passed through the lush courtyard and finally arrived at the living room.
At the door, a handsome man with a mole between his eyebrows stood on the steps, arms folded, waiting for them.
This was Uchiha Tetsuhiro, a newly promoted jōnin in his early twenties and a fellow comrade of Inabi in the Police Force. Both of them aligned with the Yatsushiro faction.
"You're Uchiha Duan, huh?"
Tetsuhiro looked Duan up and down with a condescending gaze, unimpressed. He barked coldly, "Once inside, behave yourself and show respect to Lord Yashiro. Understood?"
As he descended the steps past Duan, Tetsuhiro raised a hand to pat Duan's shoulder as a warning gesture.
However—
Before the hand could land, Duan's shoulder twitched. A bone suddenly protruded from under his skin like a massive iron spike, shooting straight toward Tetsuhiro's palm.
"Hss!"
Tetsuhiro yelped and stumbled back, clutching his hand in pain before landing flat on his backside.
"Don't touch me," Duan said lightly, barely even glancing at him.
His physique had been honed to the point where bones and muscles responded to instinct, launching counterattacks on reflex.
To ordinary people, even casual contact could be dangerous.
"Damn it, don't get cocky!"
Inabi helped his friend up and glared at Duan. Despite the bluster, there was unease in his eyes. Duan's body was something else entirely.
Just then—
"Let him in!" came a commanding voice from the hall.
Duan ignored the two and strode into the living room.
Inside, seated in the center, was a middle-aged man with short brown hair and sharp, narrow eyes.
Uchiha Yashiro.
To Duan's surprise, in the corner of the room sat an elder with half his face hidden behind a mask. The man gripped a cane with his right hand and rested his left on his hip, staring daggers at Duan without a word.
Uchiha Setsuna.
A known instigator in the clan's early years, Setsuna had once tried to lead a rebellion, only to be imprisoned by the Second Hokage. Released just a few years ago, he remained a key figure in the clan's radical faction.
"Duan, I heard you assisted Inabi in catching a spy. And I've also heard... about your sister being taken by the clan head, Fugaku."
Yashiro started off gently, a slight smile on his face.
"As fellow Uchiha, we should support each other. That's why I've invited you here—"
"You want me to join your faction."
Duan cut him off and sat down across from him, arms spread across the sofa.
"My brother-in-law Fugaku is moderate. You're radical. That's the difference, right?"
Yashiro blinked, then nodded calmly. "Correct. Our group believes—"
"Forget the pitch. What do you need from me?"
Duan's directness made Yashiro pause. Then he smiled again.
"You're refreshingly blunt. Fine, I'll be direct. We want you to attend next month's clan assembly and openly support us. If we can rally enough voices, we'll pressure Fugaku to adopt a hardline stance against Konoha's leadership."
That's it?
Duan tilted his head, unimpressed.
"You're not planning to move against Fugaku?"
Yashiro's expression tensed.
"No," he said cautiously. "You disagree?"
"I do."
Duan leaned forward, eyes glinting.
"I think Fugaku is weak. Internally, he can't unite the clan. Externally, he compromises too much with the Hokage and elders. He doesn't deserve to be clan head."
He rose slowly.
"I'm willing to impeach him myself at the clan meeting. Call it righteous family sacrifice. Once he's removed, you radicals should unite behind me."
The room fell silent.
Even Uchiha Setsuna, who'd been observing coldly, raised his brows.
Yashiro blinked in disbelief. Not even he, second-in-command of the radicals, had considered openly removing Fugaku.
If that were to happen, who would lead the clan next?
Was Duan implying...
"Make me the next clan head," Duan said, as if it were already decided.
His tone was calm. His ambition, terrifying.
But what came next was even more outrageous.
"Once I take the helm, I will gather Uchiha's elites and storm the Hokage Building. We'll behead the entire Konoha leadership—Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzo, Homura, Koharu—all of them.
"We'll hang their heads at the village gates and let the sun bleach their corpses for three days."
His voice was calm, yet every word dripped with bloodlust.
"I want all of Konoha kneeling before Uchiha."
Yashiro could barely comprehend what he was hearing.
"Can such a thing... succeed?" he muttered.
"It doesn't matter," Duan replied. "We don't have time to wait. A swift and brutal coup is the only path left. Delay will only allow Konoha to trap us like rats."
Just like in the original timeline.
Konoha didn't lose a single soldier. All it took was Itachi—just one Uchiha—to slaughter the entire clan, including women and children.
Yashiro fell silent for a full minute.
Then he exhaled slowly, his voice cautious:
"Duan... I won't lie. We do want to oppose the elders with force, but you're moving too quickly. We need time, coordination, leverage."
To Yashiro and the other radicals, rebellion meant controlling the Hokage and regaining power—not a bloodbath.
But Duan wasn't finished.
"If Uchiha is to fall, then let us bring Konoha down with us.
"If we bleed them dry, the other great villages will sense weakness and pounce. Sand, Stone, Cloud—they'll raze Konoha while it's vulnerable.
"Uchiha may die, but so will the Leaf."
He said this with no emotion, like a man discussing the weather.
He wasn't loyal to either side. He just wanted to break something.
"Silence!"
Uchiha Setsuna finally snapped. He slammed his cane on the floor and stood.
"Uchiha Duan, you are far too extreme!"