Konohagakure.
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi was sorting through documents.
"Hokage-sama… there's an issue concerning Uchiha Yue of the Uchiha clan."
An ANBU shinobi appeared before him.
Hiruzen looked up, his brows knitting slightly.
"What is it?"
"Uchiha Yue accepted a mission and left the village, heading south… but we've just received intelligence that his whereabouts were detected in the north."
"…What?!"
Hiruzen immediately fell into contemplation.
That could only mean one thing—
Uchiha Yue had deliberately made a wide detour, circling around to the north.
Why?
The north…
Wait—the north!!
Hiruzen suddenly jolted upright.
Yu Ye's mission was in the north!
"Damn it! Was this a smokescreen thrown by the Uchiha clan?!"
Towering rage surged into Hiruzen's eyes.
The animosity between the Uchiha clan and Yu Ye was no secret.
When Yu Ye left the village to carry out a mission in the north with the "Eternal Genin" Might Dai, Hiruzen had already anticipated that the Uchiha would try something.
Soon after, he learned that four Uchiha chūnin had formed a squad and were heading north on another mission.
In response, Hiruzen secretly dispatched ANBU to tail that four-man Uchiha team, with orders to suppress them immediately if necessary.
He thought that would be enough.
But he had been wrong.
The Uchiha clan had played him with a perfect smokescreen.
That squad of four chūnin was bait—never meant to target Yu Ye.
The real blade was Uchiha Yue.
He had traveled south, made a massive detour, then doubled back north.
His true target was Yu Ye.
Uchiha Yue—
A Konoha jōnin.
A shinobi who had once personally killed two enemy jōnin.
Even elite jōnin would never dare underestimate him.
If someone like that went after Yu Ye—
It would be a guaranteed kill. No chance of survival.
"It's already too late to stop it…"
"Uchiha clan… very good. Very good indeed."
Hiruzen took a deep breath.
The raging fire in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by an icy, murderous calm.
Ever since Yu Ye had killed Uchiha Han and revealed his almost monstrous talent, Hiruzen had made his stance clear:
No one was allowed to touch Yu Ye—especially not the Uchiha clan.
Yet now, the Uchiha had chosen to ignore everything.
They were willing to slap him—Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage—across the face just to kill Yu Ye.
That was what truly enraged him.
Had he, the Hokage, become less important than Yu Ye in their eyes?
Was he something they could toy with at will?
Since matters had reached a point of no return, Hiruzen decided—
He would make the Uchiha clan understand what the title of Hokage truly represented in Konohagakure.
"Summon the Captain of the Konoha Military Police Force."
Hiruzen's voice was icy cold.
"Yes."
The ANBU vanished.
Before long, Uchiha Kageyama arrived in the Hokage's office.
His expression was calm—almost as if he had foreseen this moment.
Since he dared to scheme against Hiruzen and send someone to assassinate Yu Ye regardless of the consequences, he had long since prepared himself.
At this moment, only two people stood in the Hokage's office:
Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Uchiha Kageyama.
The atmosphere was oppressive, like a storm about to break.
Yet Hiruzen did not explode in anger.
Instead, he calmly poured himself a cup of tea and drank slowly.
Uchiha Kageyama waited patiently, watching him.
But the pressure in the room only continued to mount.
When Hiruzen finally set the teacup down gently on the desk, the atmosphere had grown as heavy as an abyss.
"I hear Uchiha Yue has gone out on a mission," Hiruzen said.
"Yes," Kageyama replied.
"Mmm. The Uchiha clan serving Konoha wholeheartedly—that's commendable."
Hiruzen nodded, then abruptly changed the subject.
"I also hear your son, Uchiha Fugaku, is exceptionally talented. He's already awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan, hasn't he?"
Kageyama's eyes flickered sharply—
But the intensity vanished in an instant.
"Yes. I'm preparing for him to succeed my position. However, he's still young and needs more experience."
"Experience is a good thing," Hiruzen replied lightly.
"How about letting him serve in ANBU for a while?"
"That won't be necessary, Hokage-sama."
Uchiha Kageyama looked calmly at Hiruzen.
"Some days ago, I happened to discover a few… matters."
As he spoke, he placed a scroll on the desk in front of Hiruzen.
Hiruzen glanced at it without changing expression, but his heart grew cold.
So this—
This was the confidence the Uchiha clan had to face his wrath.
Hiruzen picked up the scroll and opened it.
His pupils contracted slightly.
"What a bold move…"
"Was it really worth it?"
He abandoned all pretense and spoke plainly.
"The Uchiha clan cannot afford stains on its name," Kageyama replied calmly.
"I believe the Hokage understands. This isn't about any single individual—it's about the honor of the clan."
He lifted his chin slightly, meeting Hiruzen's gaze.
In truth, the Uchiha clan wasn't afraid of Yu Ye growing stronger.
So what if he matured?
The Uchiha had never feared anyone.
Their real goal was to send a message to all of Konoha—
The Uchiha clan is not something anyone can provoke at will.
This was about prestige.
About presence.
About the dignity of an entire clan.
Hiruzen fell silent.
Uchiha Kageyama had made his stance unmistakably clear.
He was even implicitly saying—
If this wasn't acceptable, the Uchiha clan would leave Konoha.
Under normal circumstances, Hiruzen would have crushed such defiance with even harsher authority.
You dare leave? I'll wipe you out.
But now—
He couldn't.
The Second Great Ninja War was looming.
The three major villages had already swept up the surrounding minor nations and were converging toward the borderland—
Amegakure, the Land of Rain.
Everything pointed to an unavoidable war.
If he fell out with the Uchiha clan now, the price would be far too great.
"Very good," Hiruzen said.
"Very good."
He repeated it twice, then calmly put the scroll away.
Seeing this, a faint curve appeared at the corner of Uchiha Kageyama's mouth.
"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave. I still have matters to attend to."
Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked toward the door.
Hiruzen stared coldly at Kageyama's back.
He neither spoke nor stopped him.
Just as Uchiha Kageyama reached the doorway—
Another shinobi suddenly pushed the door open and rushed inside.
"Hokage-sama! Something's happened!"
"What now?!"
Hiruzen's voice carried barely restrained anger.
"A Kirigakure elite unit has infiltrated the Land of Fire. Leading them is the infamous Kirigakure jōnin—Hōzuki Mugetsu."
"How bold!"
Hiruzen, already seething, let out a cold snort and was about to immediately dispatch ANBU.
Uchiha Kageyama, however, merely shook his head faintly.
This had nothing to do with him.
Without another glance, he continued walking out of the Hokage's office.
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