"Which things do we have to take?" Uchiha Mei suddenly asked.
At that moment, her palm — though smeared with traces of blood — bore no wound at all.
"The plants and the books," Uchiha Shien replied immediately, understanding what she meant.
She wasn't just asking what to pack — she was telling him: take everything important, and destroy what you can't.
The most valuable things were all in Uchiha Shien's head anyway. But those plants had taken him a long time to cultivate. They weren't irreplaceable, but regrowing them would cost too much time and energy. He couldn't afford to lose them.
As for the books — those were borrowed. Damaging them wasn't an option.
Everything else? Just odds and ends he'd earned from part-time jobs — nothing worth mentioning.
Mei clapped her hands lightly.
Whoosh!
Two Uchiha-clan shinobi appeared at the door.
"Lady Mei!"
"Lady Mei!" they greeted in unison.
Of course — as the eldest daughter of the Main House, how could she not have protection? Especially here, inside the village.
Danzo's hostility toward the Uchiha was never hidden; no one dared be careless.
"Take all the plants and books back. Dispose of the rest," Mei ordered coldly.
Then she turned and strode out, Uchiha Shien following quickly behind. They had to move fast — the longer they waited, the worse their position would become.
Hokage's Office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had been reviewing village paperwork, suddenly looked up.
A new document had appeared on his desk.
After reading it, his face grew grim. He immediately summoned an ANBU.
"Call Danzo and the two Elders," he ordered.
"Yes, Lord Hokage!"
The masked figure vanished in a blur.
Before long—
Tap… tap…
The sound of a cane striking wood echoed down the hallway, followed by the creak of a door.
"Hiruzen, what did you call me for?" Danzo entered without so much as a greeting, his tone blunt and unapologetic — as if the Hokage were a mere peer.
And in Danzo's mind, that was exactly the case. He saw himself as Konoha's Root, equal in stature to its Hokage.
"Address me as Lord Hokage," Hiruzen snapped, irritation flashing across his face.
Danzo's constant disregard for his authority was infuriating. If he didn't put the man in his place now and then, who knew what line he'd cross next?
Danzo, of course, had no intention of backing down.
At that moment, two more figures entered.
"Hiruzen, you summoned us—" Mitokado Homura began as he and Koharu Utatane hurried in, only to find the two old friends already glaring daggers at each other. With a sigh, Homura quickly changed the subject.
"Has something happened this time?"
After all, by now he was used to these two bickering.
"Danzo, don't you think you owe me an explanation?" Hiruzen suddenly barked.
"What do you mean?" Danzo replied, feigning confusion with flawless acting skills.
Anyone else might have been fooled. But the people in this room had grown up together — they could all tell when he was hiding something.
"You know perfectly well what I mean," Hiruzen said coldly.
"Medical treatment formulas are not something Root should be coveting!"
He slammed the document down on the desk, sliding it toward the two Elders.
"Hiruzen, you've been spying on me?" Danzo roared, face twisting in outrage.
After all I've done for you — you monitor me? Are we splitting the village now?
He conveniently forgot, of course, about the numerous spies he'd planted inside the ANBU "to protect the Hokage." That, in his mind, didn't count as surveillance.
"Danzo, these medicines belong under the Medical Department," Koharu said firmly after scanning the document.
If the information inside was true, the discovery was of tremendous significance.
A potion that could reduce the reliance on medical-nin would give Konoha a massive advantage on the battlefield.
As for the potion's original creator? To the Elders, that was irrelevant. Whoever held the formula held the power.
After a round of internal discussion, Konoha's F4 — Hiruzen, Danzo, Homura, and Koharu — reached their usual behind-the-scenes consensus. Next came implementation.
"Hiruzen, leave this to Root," Danzo said, eyes gleaming with greed.
"I'll make sure the formula is secured."
The one who could develop such a thing — Uchiha Shien — was far too valuable to let slip away.
Yes, Orochimaru was a genius too, but Danzo couldn't control Orochimaru. This boy, on the other hand…
He wanted it all — not just the medicine, but the person.
"No," Hiruzen rejected flatly.
"Koharu will handle negotiations. Root is not to interfere."
He knew Danzo too well. This kind of talent was a village asset, not a Root property.
Of course, Hiruzen's willingness to protect Uchiha Shien came with a condition — that the boy remained loyal to the Will of Fire. Otherwise, he wouldn't hesitate to hand him over.
Danzo immediately argued back, but he was outnumbered three to one. In the end, Hiruzen's final line cut him down completely:
"Danzo — I am the Hokage!"
Yes — Hokage meant doing whatever he pleased. Even if Danzo didn't like it, he'd have to obey.
"Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"
Bang!
The door slammed as Danzo stormed out.
Root might be barred from acting openly, but that was fine. There would be other chances. He wasn't after the potion, after all — he was after the boy himself.
"Hiruzen, you should be careful," Homura warned quietly, adjusting his glasses.
"Danzo's getting more extreme lately."
"Don't worry," Hiruzen said dismissively.
As long as he was Hokage, there was nothing to fear.
It was that very confidence — that arrogance — which had allowed Root's power to grow unchecked under his watch. In his eyes, the stronger Root was, the more "dirty work" it could handle for him. To him, it was all gain, no loss.
Meanwhile —
A meeting was underway within the Uchiha Main Branch.
And note — this was a meeting of one branch, not a full clan assembly. No need to gather at the Naka Shrine for this.
The meeting was being held in none other than the courtyard shaded by those two interwoven mulberry trees.
The Uchiha clan numbered over a thousand, divided into four main branches.
First Branch (Main House): Hardline hawks — the line descended from Uchiha Madara himself. Its current head: Uchiha Mei.
Second Branch: The doves — pacifists. (Uchiha Shisui, yet unborn, would belong to this line.)
Third Branch: The current clan head's line, led by Uchiha Fugaku, considered the neutral faction.
Fourth Branch: Fence-sitters — their heiress, Uchiha Mikoto, had married Fugaku, helping the Third Branch secure the clan leadership.
What the anime never even hinted at, the real world of this story revealed to be an intricate web of power and politics.
Though Uchiha Mei had not yet officially taken over as branch head, convening a private First Branch meeting was well within her rights — especially since everyone lived nearby.
And once the members assembled, the sheer depth of the clan's power became obvious.
More than half a dozen jonin knelt in the room.
Think about that — the entire village had maybe a hundred jonin total, and the Uchiha alone accounted for over twenty.
With numbers like that, it was no wonder the other clans banded together to suppress them. You're too strong — if we don't unite, we wouldn't even qualify to spar with you!
Thankfully for the rest of the village, the Uchiha's top-end power was lacking. They had many elites, but no superstars — no one on par with the Three Legendary Sannin. Otherwise, even Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Hokage himself, might never sleep easy again.
Clatter.
The door slid open.
All six kneeling jonin of the First Branch turned to look toward the entrance — where two figures stepped into the room.
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