Clan and Village

Because the Land of Wind had adopted a turtle strategy, Orochimaru, unable to break the deadlock for so long, could only withdraw to his own defensive line.

On the other side of the western battlefield, Ōnoki and the Third Raikage, A, were duking it out in the royal capital.

For the time being, fighting on the western front had come to a halt.

As a result, Minato, who had originally been about to rush back to the western battlefield, was granted a brief leave. They would decide where to send him after assessing the situation in each region.

At the same time, Kagami Uchiha's fame gradually spread.

The Iwagakure Propaganda Department had contributed to this, but the main force behind it was the Uchiha Clan.

What was Konoha's Military Police Force?

They protected Konoha, maintained public order, and punished criminals. They were part city management, part police, and part defense force.

Under Shen Huo Elder's instruction, every Uchiha from his faction spared no effort in praising Kagami Uchiha's reputation.

The details were as follows.

Sweet shop: "Mr. Tie Xin, you're leading the patrol today!"

Uchiha Tie Xin: "So you've heard that Kagami Uchiha of our clan defeated the Four-Tails and forced back the Tsuchikage too!"

Flower shop owner: "Brother Xiao Ren, would you like to look at the newly arrived chrysanthemums?"

Uchiha Xiao Ren: "That's right. Kagami nearly killed Ōnoki. We could have sent funeral flowers to Iwagakure."

Ramen shop: "Four customers, four bowls of noodles?"

Uchiha: "Yes. The one Kagami killed was the Four-Tails. I heard they've already replaced its Jinchuriki."

In summary, the tense situation on the western front had eased only because of Kagami Uchiha's godlike performance.

One warm, sunny afternoon.

Uchiha Mikoto came to visit, carrying a child in her arms.

"Shisui, take Itachi to play by the entrance."

In the courtyard, Kagami Uchiha reclined in a lounge chair, studying Orochimaru's chakra activation technique.

"Forgive me. My grandmother has trouble moving around, and so do I, so I won't be serving Lady Mikoto any tea."

Mikoto glanced at the quiet child in Shisui's arms, then turned and smiled. "Kagami-kun, you're being too formal. I was the one who came uninvited."

Without looking away from his notes, Kagami Uchiha said flatly, "What do you want from me?"

He harbored nothing but malice toward Fugaku and Itachi. If not for the fact that Mikoto was Sasuke's mother, he would not even have let her through the door.

"Kagami-kun needs to rest peacefully, so I'll get straight to the point."

Mikoto looked troubled, but she still spoke. "You've heard the rumors going around the village recently, haven't you..."

"Fugaku sent word back, hoping that Kagami-kun and Shen Huo Elder would step forward and restrain the clan members."

"Restrain them?"

Kagami Uchiha set down his notes and tilted his head slightly toward Uchiha Mikoto.

Before marrying Fugaku, Mikoto had also been a Three-Tomoe Uchiha jonin, an elite among elites.

But...

The gaze resting on her made her unable to meet his eyes. Instinctively, she looked away.

"You know why Fugaku said that, don't you?"

Taking a deep breath, Mikoto felt as though she were facing not a junior, but an elder of the clan whose authority had long been deeply ingrained.

"There has always been a divide between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha's upper ranks. Fugaku has been working to eliminate it, and in recent years, things have finally begun to improve."

"Didn't the Third Hokage having Jiraiya take Kagami-kun as his disciple signal reconciliation from the village?"

"Fugaku and the Hokage are both working toward that end. As someone who has benefited from it, why must Kagami-kun take the initiative to distance himself from the villagers?"

"You are a member of the Uchiha, but you are also a ninja of Konoha Ninja Village. You shouldn't cling to the narrow-minded notion of the clan!"

"Compared to the village, even the Uchiha Clan has no chance of resisting. Don't you understand that yet?!"

Mikoto poured out everything she wanted to say in one breath, afraid that if she paused, she would lose the courage to continue.

Kagami Uchiha's eyes were as calm as an ancient well—not stagnant water, but a deep, icy pool.

"In what capacity are you speaking to me?"

"...Naturally, as the Uchiha Clan Head and captain of Konoha's Military Police Force!"

"We represent the Hokage, the villagers, and even the Uchiha clansmen in speaking with you!"

Kagami Uchiha let out a silent chuckle.

"Let me make one thing clear."

"The only reason Fugaku is still clan head is because I have temporarily allowed him to keep the title."

"You have no right to represent the Uchiha."

"And I don't care what the villagers or the Hokage think."

Kagami Uchiha rose slightly. Like a greedy dragon lowering its head, an utterly chilling aura enveloped Mikoto.

"You should be grateful that you are a member of the Uchiha."

"Otherwise, I would have already killed you."

Kagami Uchiha's tone was not forceful, but the bone-piercing killing intent was utterly real.

Mikoto felt as though a sudden icy wind had struck her. Her body began trembling uncontrollably.

Those words were like sharp blades stabbing straight into her heart. Her body would not stop shaking, like a fallen leaf tossed in a gale—fragile and helpless.

Kagami Uchiha turned around and picked up his notes again.

The terrifying pressure receded like floodwaters. Other than the badly shaken Uchiha Mikoto, no one could have sensed that anything had happened.

"If you want to be rats that wag your tails and beg for favor, that is your business. From now on..."

"Don't let me hear such words again."

"This is the only mercy I will show you."

At worst, he could find Indra's reincarnation again. Kagami Uchiha would not allow someone as weak-willed as Fugaku to retain power.

If Fugaku could have firmly stood with the Hokage, Kagami Uchiha might have regarded him more highly.

Even if he became a dog, at least the Uchiha Clan could have continued.

Instead, he had been swept along by his clansmen into rebellion, only to surrender without resistance on the eve of the coup.

The greatness of fatherly love? Ridiculous.

Why should thousands of Uchiha clansmen use their lives to fulfill the wishes of your family?

"Brother! Itachi is crying!"

Shisui ran in with Itachi wrapped in swaddling clothes in his arms.

Kagami Uchiha glanced indifferently at the pale-faced Mikoto. "Lady Mikoto, take your son and leave."

"I understand... Farewell, Kagami-kun."

Shisui keenly noticed that something was off about Mikoto. Once she had gone far enough away, he leaned his little face closer and asked,

"Brother, did you quarrel with Aunt Mikoto?"

Rustle.

Kagami Uchiha turned a few pages and said flatly, "Shisui, what do you think of the relationship between the Uchiha Clan and the village's upper ranks?"

Children in the ninja world matured early, and Shisui was a genius. He should already have his own thoughts on the matter.

To Kagami Uchiha, the Shisui of the original timeline was not even as good as Uchiha Itachi.

At least Itachi had made a choice, regardless of whether it was right or wrong.

But what about Shisui?

Danzo had stolen his Mangekyo, yet he had not wanted to expose it, fearing that it would worsen the conflict between the village and the Uchiha.

Unable to make a choice, he entrusted his eyes to Itachi before taking his own life.

Until his death, he had never understood that the upper ranks led by the Third Hokage had never wanted to resolve their problem with the Uchiha. They only wanted to resolve the Uchiha.

It was not because the Uchiha wanted to rebel, nor was it because they were difficult to control or any other nonsense.

It was very simple.

This was discrimination against the Uchiha Clan from the Second Hokage onward, ingrained within Konoha's upper ranks!

The establishment of Konoha's Military Police Force had been meant to isolate the Uchiha from Konoha's villagers.

Perhaps the Second Hokage had eventually wanted to try accepting the Uchiha, which was why he had taken an Uchiha as his subordinate.

Kagami Uchiha would not resent Tobirama Senju. Several of Tobirama's younger brothers had been brutally killed by the Uchiha.

Of course, he would not feel guilty either, because the Senju had killed quite a few Uchiha children as well.

There was no right or wrong. At its core, it was a matter of position.

The Uchiha Clan had chosen Kagami, so Kagami would naturally stand firmly with the clan.

"Brother, I..."