The seeds of betrayal had already been planted.
Once sown, it was only a matter of time before they sprouted.
The second move: a play on the adjacent corner , building living space.
Hiruzen still held the one thing the Uchiha desired most.
That was why he wasn’t afraid they wouldn’t take the bait.
Ever since Madara Uchiha left the village, the Uchiha Clan’s political standing had plummeted.
Returning to the center of Konoha’s political stage had become the deepest wish of the entire clan.
Since there would soon be no Uchiha Clan left to speak of...
There was no point in keeping this card hidden any longer.
When a lion hunts a rabbit, it still uses its full strength.
It was time to play this trump card.
First, Kei would taste betrayal.
Then, betrayal itself would come crashing down upon him.
The Hokage’s second move had been made.
The ANBU charged with delivering the Hokage’s order seemed determined to make sure every Uchiha heard it.
They announced it loudly all the way through the Uchiha compound, spreading the news from one person to the next before finally delivering the official order to Fugaku’s residence.
The contents of the order were simple.
Konoha would establish a brand-new department.
Its administrative authority would rank above the village’s six existing divisions:
ANBURootIntelligence DivisionMedical DivisionBarrier DivisionKonoha Military Police Force
Only the Council of Elders and the Hokage’s own Mission Department would stand above it.
The new organization would be called the United Clans Affairs Department.
Its purpose would be to coordinate the strength of Konoha’s major clans.
One representative would be selected from each of the following:
Akimichi ClanYamanaka ClanNara ClanUchiha ClanHyūga ClanKurama ClanAburame ClanInuzuka Clan
The position of department head...
Would remain vacant.
The implication couldn’t have been more obvious.
Before Fugaku had time to react...
The Uchiha elders exploded with excitement.
Without even waiting for the clan head to summon them, an informal clan meeting convened inside Fugaku’s home.
Those who had already been secretly meeting throughout the compound naturally gathered in the main hall.
The Hokage had handed them the perfect excuse.
Ignoring such an opportunity would be foolish.
Sacrifice one man...
In exchange for everything the clan had dreamed of reclaiming.
Everyone knew exactly what choice should be made.
Surely even those whom Kei had helped would understand.
"Fugaku..."
"You understand what this order means for the Uchiha Clan, don’t you?"
Before Fugaku could even begin speaking, the impatient elders spoke first.
"Exactly."
"The Uchiha have been excluded from Konoha’s political center for far too long."
"No matter the cost..."
"We cannot let this opportunity slip away."
Their meaning was unmistakable.
They wanted the proposal to sacrifice Kei to come from the clan head himself.
That way, they could justify it to the members of their own families who had once benefited from Kei’s protection.
"If we return to Konoha’s political center..."
"Everything we lost because of Madara can finally be reclaimed."
"That’s right."
"For the sake of the Uchiha..."
"Any sacrifice is worthwhile."
Fugaku remained silent.
The elders grew increasingly anxious.
More than once, the words nearly left their mouths.
Yet somehow...
None of them dared say them outright.
The problem was...
Fugaku’s thoughts were somewhere else entirely.
If I meet Kei...
What exactly am I supposed to ask him?
Would it be rude to ask how he managed to beat Danzō?
Meanwhile, the elders were thinking something completely different.
We’ve hinted at it this clearly already.
Why hasn’t the clan head given the order?
With all of us supporting him, what’s there to hesitate about?
The two sides weren’t even having the same conversation.
An awkward silence filled the hall.
This wasn’t a clan meeting called by the clan head.
And the clan head wasn’t presiding over it.
Without his leadership...
The discussion couldn’t continue.
Unless Fugaku made his position clear...
None of the elders wanted to become the first to stick their neck out.
Seeing the stalemate, Uchiha Hokaku glanced through the growing crowd.
His eyes eventually settled on several children.
The orphans Kei had left behind.
His gaze immediately turned cold.
Ever since Kei’s rise...
The elders had never again received the respect they believed they deserved.
An orphan with no parents...
Had climbed onto their heads and barked orders at them.
Worse still...
The other orphans had begun questioning everyone around them with complete confidence.
Especially the relatives of the elders...
The very people now living in houses that had once belonged to those children’s deceased parents.
"What gives you the right to live in my house?"
Could anyone tolerate such insolence?
Absolutely not.
These little bastards...
Like maggots...
They should have remained hidden in the darkest corners of the Uchiha compound.
They should have quietly frozen to death on some snowy night.
That was the only place they belonged.
How dare they argue with us?
And they even dared invoke the Hokage’s name while doing so.
Yet Uchiha Kei had done absolutely nothing to restrain them.
Did that upstart from the bottom truly not understand?
The position of Uchiha elder had been passed down through generations.
From the very day Lord Madara and the Senju founded Konoha...
Their ancestors had already earned enough merit for all their descendants.
Enjoying the legacy left by one’s forefathers...
Was the privilege of noble blood.
What had Kei’s ancestors ever accomplished?
What right did he have to stand alongside them?
Hokaku’s face twisted with resentment.
He had once served Madara himself.
He had earned genuine distinction.
Naturally...
He wished to pass that privilege on to his descendants.
He wanted them to stand above others by birthright.
Not become ordinary Uchiha...
Who could be criticized by a pack of orphans.
The moment Kei treated all Uchiha fairly within the clan while defending them equally against outsiders...
He and Hokaku had become irreconcilable enemies.
Without hierarchy...
Who exactly were they supposed to oppress?
Among the orphans, Uchiha Shōmei trembled uncontrollably.
Why...
Why is everything completely different from what I imagined?
They had been told...
That if they embraced the Will of Fire, Konoha would eventually accept the Uchiha.
The villagers would stop discriminating against them.
And as the heroes who helped reunite the Uchiha with Konoha...
They would earn the respect of the entire clan.
Everything had seemed to be progressing exactly that way.
Together with Obito...
They had performed good deeds throughout Konoha.
They had even made friends with young shinobi born to ordinary villagers.
They could openly confront the relatives who had occupied their parents’ homes.
Those people would lower their heads in shame.
Hide from them.
Although...
The houses had never actually been returned.
Still...
Everything had seemed to be moving in the right direction.
So why...
Had everything changed overnight?
No one treated them as friends anymore.
Speaking up only earned them beatings.
Or being thrown out.
The respect they had dreamed of...
Never arrived.
Only ten years old...
Shōmei couldn’t understand why adults changed so suddenly.
But he could clearly feel their malice.
The frightened boy tightly gripped Obito’s hand, desperately searching for a sense of security.
Shisui wasn’t here.
Among their group...
Obito was now the oldest male.
Obito himself remained completely oblivious.
He simply thought everyone had gathered because something exciting was happening.
He had no idea what today’s meeting was really about.
Since everyone else had come...
The members of Shisui’s faction naturally brought him along as well.
He barely listened to anything being said.
Instead...
He was simply delighted by the Hokage’s announcement.
The Uchiha are finally going to become part of Konoha again.
That was Obito’s dream.
Shōmei, however...
Had experienced too much.
He had watched his parents die.
He had been driven from his own home.
He had fought stray dogs for scraps of food.
Only recently had he finally begun living a stable life.
He truly wished to see the Uchiha accepted back into Konoha.
But...
Not at the cost of sacrificing people like them.
This wasn’t what they had been promised.
Grandpa Hokage...
Didn’t you promise to protect us?
To protect everyone in Konoha?
Then why...
Why did everything change after Lord Kei left?
Lord Kei...
Where are you?
Have you abandoned us?
Shōmei cried out silently.
The same helplessness and anger he had once felt while fighting wild dogs for food surged back into his heart.
Fate...
Why are you tormenting us again?
Suddenly...
A pair of icy hands gripped his shoulders.
Pain shot through his body.
A grotesque face filled his vision.
The fingers dug into him so hard they felt as though they might tear his shoulders apart.
Yet the voice that followed was strangely gentle.
"So..."
"You’re one of Kei’s little followers."
"How about going back to your people?"
"If you can find a way to return..."
"And persuade your Lord Kei to come back here alone..."
"Old Man Setsuna has plenty of rewards waiting for you."
At a single glance from Hokaku...
Setsuna acted.
Terror overwhelmed Shōmei.
He couldn’t utter a sound.
His fear had grown so intense that he could no longer control his own bladder.
Fugaku remained lost in his own thoughts, paying no attention whatsoever to the scene unfolding before him.
As for the other Uchiha...
They watched with amusement.
To them...
An old man bullying a frightened child was simply another spectacle to enjoy.
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