Dawn arrived like nothing had happened.
That was Konoha's greatest talent.
It pretended.
Lanterns were replaced by morning sunlight. Merchants reopened their stalls. Civilians whispered about tremors in the night but dismissed them as training accidents or construction faults.
Only the shinobi knew better.
Inside the Uchiha district, patrol density had doubled.
The broken wall of Ren's home had already been repaired.
No one mentioned Root out loud.
But everyone understood.
This was no longer a hidden problem.
This was a line.
Hokage Tower.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood at the window, watching smoke drift faintly from the direction of the Uchiha district.
An ANBU knelt behind him.
"Confirmation," the ANBU said quietly. "Root operatives engaged Uchiha Ren during the night."
Hiruzen closed his eyes briefly.
"Was the boy harmed?"
"Minor injury. He disabled both attackers."
Of course he did.
Hiruzen exhaled slowly.
"Summon Danzō."
Root Headquarters.
Danzō did not rush.
He never rushed.
He entered the Hokage office with the same steady pace he had used for decades.
Hiruzen did not offer tea.
"You acted without sanction," Hiruzen said calmly.
Danzō's visible eye remained cold.
"I acted for the village."
"You escalated a situation I was containing."
"You were allowing growth."
The words hung heavy.
Hiruzen's tone hardened slightly.
"He is a child."
"He is an anomaly," Danzō corrected.
Silence.
"You fear him," Hiruzen said quietly.
"I fear instability," Danzō replied.
"He cannot be allowed to inspire defiance."
Hiruzen turned toward him fully now.
"Or what? You eliminate him? In his home?"
Danzō did not flinch.
"If necessary."
The air in the room thickened.
Hiruzen's voice dropped lower.
"You will not move against him again without my direct order."
Danzō's gaze sharpened.
"Then prepare for the consequences of hesitation."
Neither man blinked.
Neither yielded.
But something had shifted.
Trust, thin as paper, tore a little more.
Uchiha District.
Fugaku stood before several clan elders.
"The Hokage has summoned us," one reported.
Fugaku nodded once.
"And the boy?"
Ren stood outside the meeting hall, leaning against a wooden pillar, arms folded loosely.
He looked relaxed.
He wasn't.
The drums were quiet.
Waiting.
Doom.
He knew what was coming.
When power shifts publicly, it demands alignment.
He would be asked to choose.
Village.
Clan.
Or something else.
The doors opened.
Fugaku stepped out.
"You will accompany me," he said.
Ren nodded.
"Of course."
Hokage Tower – Main Hall.
This time, it wasn't a quiet meeting.
Hiruzen stood at the head of the chamber.
Danzō to one side.
Fugaku on the other.
Several council members watched in silence.
Ren stood between them.
A child in the center of three powers.
Hiruzen spoke first.
"Last night, Root operatives engaged Uchiha Ren without my authorization."
The room stirred.
Danzō did not deny it.
Fugaku's voice was measured.
"The Uchiha district will not tolerate further unsanctioned incursions."
Danzō's reply was sharp.
"The Uchiha district does not dictate village security."
Ren watched them all.
They weren't arguing about him.
They were arguing about control.
Hiruzen raised a hand.
"Enough."
Silence fell.
"Ren," Hiruzen said calmly. "You have become a focal point of instability."
Ren met his gaze.
"I didn't choose that."
"No," Hiruzen agreed. "But it is reality."
Danzō stepped forward slightly.
"He must be placed under structured supervision."
Fugaku's eyes hardened.
"He will not be isolated by Root."
Danzō's voice did not rise.
"Then the clan assumes full responsibility for his actions."
That was the trap.
Responsibility meant blame.
Blame meant leverage.
Ren smiled faintly.
"Interesting."
All eyes turned toward him.
"You speak of responsibility," Ren continued calmly. "But none of you speak of accountability."
The council stiffened.
Danzō's gaze sharpened.
Hiruzen studied him carefully.
"You challenge authority boldly," the Hokage said.
Ren shrugged slightly.
"You tried to bury me. Then kill me."
Danzō cut in sharply, "You distort facts."
Ren looked directly at him.
"You distort people."
The room grew colder.
Hiruzen stepped between the tension.
"This ends now."
He looked at Ren.
"You will be placed under joint observation."
Joint.
Ren's brow lifted slightly.
"Meaning?"
"You will train under village supervision," Hiruzen said. "But remain within the Uchiha district."
Danzō's jaw tightened subtly.
Fugaku considered.
A compromise.
No one satisfied.
Which meant it might hold.
Ren exhaled softly.
"And if Root moves again?"
Hiruzen's eyes flicked toward Danzō.
"They will not."
It wasn't reassurance.
It was warning.
Danzō did not respond.
But the silence said enough.
Later.
Ren stood on the roof of the Hokage Tower.
Alone.
The village stretched beneath him.
So fragile.
So structured.
The drums rolled quietly.
Doom.
He understood now.
This wasn't about strength.
It was about position.
If he moved recklessly, he became an excuse.
If he moved carefully, he became influence.
Behind him, footsteps approached lightly.
Itachi.
He stopped beside Ren, looking over the village.
"They fear you," Itachi said quietly.
Ren nodded.
"They should fear cages more."
Itachi's gaze remained forward.
"You're changing things."
Ren's smile was faint.
"No."
He looked toward the forest beyond the walls.
"I'm revealing them."
Wind passed between them.
Below, Root operatives shifted in shadow.
Above, ANBU watched from rooftops.
Politics had begun.
And beneath it all—
The drums continued.
Slow.
Steady.
Waiting.
Doom.