The balance was destined to be broken sooner or later.
Such was the natural course of history.
Every power eventually entered a period of growth.
Every power eventually entered a period of decline.
Once strength reached a certain level—or fell below one—people inevitably began thinking one of two things.
Either...
"I’m strong enough now."
Or...
"If I don’t act now, it’ll be too late."
Curiously, both kinds of people often arrived at the same conclusion.
Conflict.
The strong sought war to prolong their ascendancy.
The weak gambled everything in one desperate attempt to halt their decline.
Simply put...
Those with momentum pressed their advantage.
Those without it wagered their future.
After receiving Jiraiya’s reply, Hiruzen felt that fortune was smiling on him once again.
It was time to make his move.
The first stone.
The opening move at the opening move , the center point of the Go board.
Family ties had always been the strongest chains.
If used properly...
Even the Uchiha Clan’s main and branch families could be turned against one another.
Standing atop the Hokage Tower, Hiruzen gazed toward the Uchiha compound.
The barrier prevented him from seeing anything beyond it.
Yet the amusement in his eyes was unmistakable.
He looked forward to the spectacle that was about to unfold.
Several months had already passed.
Ever since leaving the Uzumaki residence that day...
Uchiha Fugaku had remained deeply troubled.
Back then, after waiting anxiously at the Uzumaki home, he had finally met Minato.
Unfortunately...
He learned nothing.
The Hokage had issued a strict gag order, and Minato—whose opinion of the Uchiha had soured considerably—had no intention of violating it.
The only answer Fugaku received was:
"Go ask Uchiha Kei about the wonderful things he’s done."
The head of the Uchiha Clan found himself politely rebuffed.
Minato’s dramatic change in attitude toward the Uchiha immediately caught Fugaku’s attention.
He just couldn’t understand why.
When he returned home, he finally discovered that Kei hadn’t merely taken a few dozen followers out of the village without authorization.
He had relocated his entire branch family.
Only then did everything begin to make sense.
Danzō must have suffered quite a loss.
Fugaku wasn’t particularly surprised.
Housing in Konoha wasn’t cheap.
The Uchiha could no longer accommodate their growing population.
As clan head, he wasn’t the Hokage.
He couldn’t simply annex new land whenever he wished.
If the clan needed more territory...
It had to purchase it.
Given that, Kei’s decision to return to the Uchiha ancestral lands was both unexpected and perfectly understandable.
But...
Something else had happened.
Something serious enough to completely change Minato’s opinion of the Uchiha.
No matter how hard Fugaku’s intelligence network searched...
It found nothing.
That wasn’t normal.
Kei had encountered Danzō.
After that...
What happened between them?
Why had every trace of it disappeared?
Should I speak with Kei?
Or should I continue waiting for him to approach me first?
I’m still the clan head.
Surely he can’t ignore me forever...
And so...
Fugaku hesitated.
Just as always.
He had never been a decisive man.
His indecision lasted so long that he completely overlooked the growing undercurrents within the Uchiha Clan itself.
During these months...
The clan’s various family branches quietly began contacting one another.
Building connections.
Forming alliances.
Every elder received a private promise from the Hokage.
Each promise differed.
Each was carefully tailored to its recipient.
Some appealed to ambition.
Others targeted hidden weaknesses.
Some exploited long-buried secrets.
Others preyed upon personal desires.
The elders could no longer remain indifferent.
The Hokage’s intimate knowledge of each of them sent an unmistakable message.
"I know everything about you."
"I can ruin you whenever I choose."
Accept the offer...
Or have your secrets exposed.
There was no third option.
After all...
Who among those in positions of power truly had clean hands?
Especially when the Hokage wasn’t merely threatening them—
He was offering benefits as well.
If betraying the young man standing above them could secure those advantages...
Why refuse?
One day...
Within an elegant pavilion on the Uchiha estate...
Three elders gathered.
A flask of sake.
A platter of sashimi.
To outward appearances...
It was nothing more than a friendly private meeting.
After exchanging pleasantries for quite some time...
The oldest among them finally broke the silence.
Uchiha Hokaku set down his cup and sighed.
"Our lives certainly aren’t what they used to be."
"Ever since that brat named Kei somehow gathered a group of mysterious followers..."
"Even meeting among ourselves requires caution."
"In the old days..."
"We never tolerated children sitting above our heads."
Before he could continue...
The representative of the Uchiha moderates, Uchiha Yakumi, calmly interrupted him.
A loyal supporter of Fugaku, Yakumi naturally followed the clan head’s lead in all matters.
"Lord Hokaku."
"Please choose your words carefully."
"They possess the Sharingan."
"They are Uchiha."
"That much cannot be denied."
"Hmph."
"If they refuse to obey us..."
"Can they still truly be called Uchiha?"
Uchiha Setsuna slammed his sake cup onto the wooden table.
The leader of the hardline faction had always dreamed of unifying the entire Uchiha Clan and restoring its former glory.
Naturally...
Only under his own leadership.
Yakumi wisely remained silent.
Trying to reason with someone like Setsuna was pointless.
Hokaku, meanwhile, simply smiled and raised his cup again.
"I assume..."
"The Hokage has made each of you a promise as well?"
With a single sentence...
He exposed the secret everyone possessed yet believed no one else knew.
Neither man answered.
They simply stared at him.
Setsuna had already formed half of a hand seal beneath the table.
The atmosphere instantly grew tense.
Hokaku, however...
Remained completely relaxed.
He had once served Madara Uchiha personally during the latter’s later years.
Neither of the other two could match him in battle.
More importantly...
He possessed enough leverage to persuade them.
"I don’t know exactly what the Hokage offered either of you."
"But I doubt either proposal was easy to refuse."
Hokaku stood, deliberately turning his back toward the others to demonstrate his confidence.
"The details don’t matter."
"All we’re doing..."
"Is giving that youngster a fair trial."
"As clan elders..."
"That is our rightful authority."
"We’ve tolerated his tyranny long enough."
He paused, allowing the others time to digest his words.
Then he suddenly turned back, placing both hands firmly on the table.
"Think carefully."
"Since that child rose to power..."
"When was the last time any of us had a voice during a clan meeting?"
"Are you truly satisfied with that?"
Yakumi remained silent, calmly sipping his sake.
Setsuna, however, finally snapped.
His face flushed red—whether from drink or anger was impossible to tell.
His hunger for authority ran deep.
Watching his influence steadily diminish hurt him more than death itself.
"So what if I’m dissatisfied?"
"We can’t defeat the people serving him."
"Even someone as strong as you could only handle one or two of Kei’s best subordinates."
Hokaku smiled dismissively.
"And what about Madara Uchiha?"
"In the end..."
"He left the clan alone."
"When the wall begins to collapse..."
"Everyone pushes."
"No one follows a man abandoned by all."
He casually lifted a slice of sashimi with his chopsticks.
An effortless gesture.
"As before..."
"All we have to do is make Kei another man with no allies."
"You are both intelligent."
"And intelligent people always stand with the victors."
"You already understand what that child is about to face."
"What exactly are you suggesting?"
"My suggestion is simple."
"Doesn’t the clan still have those orphans Kei didn’t take with him?"
"We use them to lure him out."
"His followers are formidable..."
"But Kei himself isn’t."
"If the opportunity presents itself..."
"We kill him."
"Then we carry his head to recruit the subordinates he left behind."
"The three of us can divide his forces among ourselves."
"Our influence will become incomparable."
It was only a tentative proposal.
Setsuna frowned.
"He’s always surrounded by bodyguards."
"It won’t be that easy."
"As long as we have an idea..."
"We’ll find a method."
"There are always situations where bringing escorts would be inconvenient."
"For example..."
"An invitation from a pair of beautiful twin sisters."
Setsuna blinked.
"What are you implying?"
"Young men are naturally attracted to beautiful women."
"Even old men like us would have difficulty refusing twins."
"How could a hot-blooded youth possibly resist?"
The greasy smile on Hokaku’s face immediately revealed the sort of reward the Hokage had offered him.
Setsuna was tempted.
Yakumi remained unconvinced.
"And if it fails?"
"Hokaku..."
"You’re making too many assumptions."
"You might be willing to do such things."
"That doesn’t mean Kei is."
"Then we proceed with the Hokage’s real plan."
Hokaku rolled his Three-Tomoe Sharingan dismissively.
Twins might be every man’s dream.
Even so...
He couldn’t refute Yakumi’s point.
After all...
No rumors had ever connected Kei with women.
Perhaps the boy simply didn’t understand such things.
"What plan?"
"No plan is foolproof."
"a wise strategist always has multiple backup plans ."
Hokaku smiled.
"The Hokage intends to have respected members of the Uchiha Clan publicly call upon every clansman."
"In the name of protecting clan unity..."
"We’ll denounce Kei for attempting to divide the Uchiha."
"We’ll pressure his own followers."
"Even if only a small number abandon him..."
"That will be enough."
"Better yet..."
"If it leads to bloodshed between Uchiha..."
"The Hokage will finally have a legitimate excuse to intervene personally."
The other two exchanged glances.
Each silently imagined how they would respond if placed in Kei’s position.
Neither found an answer.
None of them believed every one of the Uchiha’s thousand-plus members supported Kei wholeheartedly.
As long as they wrapped themselves in the banner of justice...
It wouldn’t be difficult to incite a handful of hotheads.
After all...
Kei really had led part of the clan away.
That much was undeniable.
The three men raised their cups.
Clink.
Their sinister laughter echoed throughout the pavilion.
By then...
The banquet had reached its height.
They had already begun discussing how they would divide Uchiha Kei’s inheritance after his death.
Then...
A message from the Hokage reached the Uchiha Clan.
The moment they heard it...
All three became convinced.
Victory...
And a brilliant future...
Were already within their grasp.
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