By the same little river near the Hatake Clan's compound, several skewered fish roasted quietly beside the campfire.
On the nearby patch of grass, Uchiha Yuan and Hatake Haruka sat cross-legged facing each other.
The two were discussing their earlier taijutsu training—mostly Uchiha Yuan doing the talking, pointing out the flaws and weaknesses in Haruka's attacks.
Every now and then, Hatake Haruka would raise a question, his face alternating between delight and frustration.
After a short while, Haruka finished one of the grilled fish. Tossing away the bones, his gaze flickered uncertainly toward Uchiha Yuan, his expression showing clear hesitation.
"Haruka, is there something you're unsure about?"
Noticing the look on his face, Uchiha Yuan set aside the half-eaten fish and asked calmly.
After a brief moment of inner struggle, Haruka finally spoke in a low voice. "Yuan-kun… it's about my uncle."
"You mean White Fang-senpai?"
Uchiha Yuan hadn't expected Hatake Haruka to still be brooding over White Fang's death. He sighed softly. "Didn't I already tell you? If you can't make sense of it, then stop tormenting yourself. What happened to White Fang-senpai… is already in the past."
"Yuan-kun, I've figured it out!"
Suddenly, Hatake Haruka shouted, eyes burning with emotion.
Then, slowly regaining his composure, he said, "These past few days I've been thinking about it nonstop. I even asked the elders of my clan about what truly happened to my uncle back then.
And I finally realized the truth of that incident… though I can hardly bring myself to believe it."
"The biggest possibility is that my uncle was framed by the village!"
He enunciated each word with grim certainty, a trace of ferocity flashing across his face.
The doubts Uchiha Yuan had planted before had given him a direction to think in, and the more he pieced things together, the more it all reeked of conspiracy.
"But there's still something I can't understand—why would the village frame him? My uncle was a hero who fought all his life to protect it!"
Uchiha Yuan could see the turmoil in Haruka's eyes—rage toward the village for betraying his uncle, and confusion at the realization that the "village" he believed in wasn't as pure as he thought. For the first time, he had glimpsed the darkness within Konoha.
Uchiha Yuan chuckled quietly. When Haruka's expression began to shift, he stopped laughing and said seriously, "Haruka, can I trust you?"
The question caught Hatake Haruka off guard, but he quickly nodded. "Yuan-kun, you can trust me completely."
Meeting his gaze, Uchiha Yuan spoke solemnly. "What I'm about to tell you must stay in your heart. You can't speak of it to a third person. Ever."
"I understand."
Once Haruka nodded firmly, Uchiha Yuan continued, "You can't understand why the village would frame White Fang-senpai, but the reason is actually very simple."
He stood up and pointed toward the distant Hokage Rock. "You see that?"
"That's… the Hokage Rock."
"That's the reason your uncle was framed by the village's top brass."
Seeing Haruka's confused expression, Uchiha Yuan went on, "After the Second Shinobi World War ended, voices of dissatisfaction toward the Third Hokage grew louder and louder.
At that time, the Three Legendary Sannin had just made their names known, but their prestige wasn't the highest."
"Guess who people most often mentioned as the next Hokage after the Third?"
Haruka hesitated. "My uncle?"
"Exactly."
Uchiha Yuan patted his shoulder. "If nothing unexpected had happened, White Fang-senpai would have become the Fourth Hokage. Unfortunately…"
"Hokage… my uncle…"
Haruka's face flushed red with shock and pride. He had never imagined his uncle, Hatake Sakumo, had once been considered for the Hokage's mantle.
After a long silence, Haruka asked, "So that's why the village turned on him? Why? Wasn't he qualified to be Hokage?"
"You probably don't understand just how terrifying the name Konoha's White Fang was to the entire shinobi world," Uchiha Yuan said. "White Fang-senpai was a man who commanded an era.
If he had succeeded the Third, it would have been the will of the people—even the Sannin would have had no objections."
Then Yuan's tone shifted, his eyes growing cold. "But there were people who didn't want that to happen."
"Who?!" Haruka demanded, his voice trembling with fury.
Uchiha Yuan sneered. "Who else but the village's high council?"
"Yuan-kun… you mean… the Third Hokage himself?" Haruka stammered, disbelief in his eyes.
Uchiha Yuan let out a soft laugh. "Of course, him and the rest of that upper echelon."
When Haruka's face still showed resistance, Yuan smiled faintly. "What's wrong? You don't believe me?"
Haruka gave a bitter smile. "I believe you… I just can't accept that the Third could do something like that. To think his true face is so… frightening."
"The Third's true face?"
Uchiha Yuan chuckled. "You think the Third's kindness and warmth were just an act?"
"Wasn't it?"
"That only shows how shallow your understanding is."
Uchiha Yuan's tone grew deep and cold. "Human nature is complex. Every person has two sides.
The Third may truly love the village. When you pose no threat to his position as Hokage, he's a kindly old man who cares for you.
But the moment you threaten his power, he becomes the hand that weaves the web of conspiracy."
"Then… why did he have to destroy my uncle?" Haruka asked through gritted teeth.
"Because, in their eyes, White Fang-senpai was not qualified."
"What?! How could he not be qualified? Like you said, he had the strength, the reputation—everyone respected him!"
Uchiha Yuan smiled bitterly. "I meant that he wasn't qualified in their system. White Fang-senpai wasn't one of the Hokage faction."
"The village leadership—from the Hokage down to the elders—are all disciples of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.
The Third was chosen by the Second himself, not by the will of the people.
The First was the Second's brother, the Second was the Third's teacher—so of course, the Fourth was also meant to be the Third's student. To them, no one else had the right to be Hokage."
"In our eyes, the village belongs to everyone. But in their eyes, it belongs to them."
"They've monopolized Konoha's power for generations, and to maintain that power, darkness must exist. White Fang-senpai was one of its victims.
Just like the Uchiha—why do you think our clan is always suppressed? Look at the Hyūga; they're a noble clan too, yet the village never targets them.
The only reason is that the Uchiha have the strength to challenge the Hokage's authority."
After listening to all this, Hatake Haruka fell into a long silence. His mind was in turmoil.
This was the first time he had truly glimpsed the web of politics behind the village. He wanted to deny Uchiha Yuan's words—but deep down, logic told him they might very well be true.
Then, he heard Uchiha Yuan speak softly. "Haruka, will you become my comrade… and help me shatter the darkness of this village?"
Hatake Haruka met his gaze. After a long pause, his eyes hardened with resolve. He reached out his hand and clasped Yuan's tightly.
"Yuan-kun, we were already comrades long ago."
With that, the two shared a quiet, knowing smile.
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