"Root?"
At the mention of that name, Uchiha Fugaku's face changed abruptly.
He might only be the captain of the Konoha Police Force, but when it came to the village's upper echelons, he knew more than enough — especially about Root.
Fugaku was well aware that Root was an organization founded by Shimura Danzō himself.
On the surface, Root trained personnel for the Anbu.
In reality, it was also Danzō's personal power base.
And more importantly, a large part of why the Uchiha clan had been driven down the path toward a coup was tied directly to Danzō's actions.
Even if that chapter was now closed, the sudden suggestion that the younger generation of Uchiha — those on the verge of awakening the Sharingan — should be sent into Root was something Fugaku found deeply unacceptable.
He had seen Root operatives before.
No names. No emotions. Nothing but tools molded by Danzō's hand.
Even if the Uchiha had committed a grave wrong, he thought bitterly, such a "punishment" was too cruel.
Fugaku's emotions were running hotter than usual for one reason in particular: after Itachi's departure, he was certain his younger son, Sasuke, would one day awaken the Sharingan.
And this proposal was, to him, nothing less than an attempt to take Sasuke away.
No matter what, he couldn't allow Sasuke to be brainwashed into a tool — stripped of identity, of self.
No father could accept that.
"Punishment?"
Senju Haruto looked at him with genuine puzzlement.
Punishment? What punishment?
Root, in Haruto's mind, was a perfectly legitimate and promising organization — his own special department. In all of Konoha, there was no more comfortable post for a shinobi.
Honestly, he had even been thinking about introducing benefits like pension and insurance.
And Fugaku called this a punishment?
"What exactly don't I know?" Haruto asked, brows furrowed.
"You… you don't know?"
"Know what?" Haruto tilted his head.
"…That Root brainwashes its members," Fugaku said at last, his voice lowering.
From Haruto's expression, Fugaku could tell the man really didn't seem aware of Root's darker past.
And in that moment, Haruto understood why Fugaku's resistance was so fierce.
"Root today is nothing like the Root you remember," Haruto said, pausing. "Didn't Itachi tell you what happened with Danzō?"
"Uh…"
Fugaku froze, then quickly nodded.
After all, when Uchiha Itachi and one of Haruto's Wood Release clones had joined forces to kill Danzō, Itachi had come directly to him with the news.
"Even so, Root's way of doing things…" Fugaku began, still uneasy. In his mind, even with Danzō gone, leadership of Root would have simply passed to another insider — someone steeped in Danzō's methods.
No matter who took over, he couldn't imagine Root changing overnight.
But Haruto's next words made him spring to his feet from the sofa in shock.
"I'm the new leader of Root," Haruto said lightly, as if it were the most ordinary fact in the world.
Fugaku just stared at him, speechless, trying to process it.
He even pinched his own arm, hard, and only when pain flared did he realize this wasn't a dream.
"What you're saying… is true?"
It took him a long while to calm himself enough to ask, though his voice still trembled.
Root, in Konoha, was second only to the Anbu.
If war ever broke out, Root was the village's standing army.
As its leader, Haruto had vaulted straight into Konoha's power core — into the highest ranks.
And yet, he was about the same age as Itachi.
But Fugaku knew Haruto well enough to be certain: the man wouldn't lie about something like this.
The realization made his scalp prickle with a mix of shock and awe.
If an Uchiha had ever reached Haruto's current position, the clan might never have been ostracized by the village, nor driven to resentment.
On the night of the Nine-Tails' attack, they might even have fought to the last man without hesitation.
"The brainwashing Root used to do? That's gone," Haruto said.
"I want every shinobi trained in Root to truly love Konoha."
"That, I can promise you."
He gestured for Fugaku to sit again before continuing, "And you know I've no reason to lie about this."
"…That's true," Fugaku admitted, though the knot of doubt in his chest remained.
"To be completely upfront," Haruto went on, "I'm planning to add new benefits on top of Root's existing structure."
"Benefits?" Fugaku echoed, unfamiliar with the term.
"In the past, shinobi earned their income entirely from mission pay — the harder the mission, the higher the reward.
"But in peacetime, high-ranking missions are rare.
"What I'm proposing is a safety net: retirement, healthcare… that sort of thing."
He began explaining in more detail.
In truth, Haruto's goal was to win the loyalty of Root operatives.
And beyond that, he believed it was the direction the world was heading. One day, the nations would unify, peace would come — and the shinobi system would need to adapt.
For Fugaku, though, this was all a first. The more Haruto talked, the more it felt like the ground was shifting beneath his feet.
"So, that's the idea," Haruto concluded. "Now you can see — Root is no longer the Root of Danzō's era. Letting Sharingan-wielding Uchiha join means they'll receive better treatment."
"And, at the same time, it'll foster a sense of belonging to the village — even affection for it."
He paused before adding, "I specifically want Uchiha with awakened Sharingan because Root's missions are dangerous. They require a certain level of ability."
The implication was clear: he had no interest in weaklings who couldn't even unlock their Sharingan.
"…Times really have changed," Fugaku murmured, feeling as if an entirely new era was dawning.
Pensions, health coverage — these were things no one in the old days would have even dreamed of.
"At the very least… let Sasuke have the freedom to choose," he said after a moment's hesitation.
If possible, he still wanted his son to become a jōnin and steer clear of the shadows entirely.