A Clan and a Village

Because the Land of Wind had adopted a turtle-shell defensive strategy, Orochimaru, unable to break the deadlock for a long time, could only choose to pull back his own front lines.

On the other side of the Western Front, Ōnoki and the Third Raikage, A, were duking it out in the Imperial City.

The Western Front was temporarily stalled.

As a result, Minato, who had been about to rush back to the Western Front immediately, was granted a brief leave, with his next deployment to be decided based on the situation in various regions.

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

Part of it was thanks to Iwagakure's propaganda department, but the main force was the Uchiha Clan themselves.

What was the Konoha Security Force?

Protecting Konoha, maintaining order, punishing criminals—it was a mix of city patrol, police, and defense corps.

Under Elder Shenhuo's direction, all Uchiha of his faction spared no effort in promoting Kagami Uchiha's fame.

The specifics went like this.

Sweet Shop: "Mr. Tekkō, you're leading the patrol today!"

Uchiha Tekkō: "You've heard too, right? Our clan's Kagami Uchiha defeated the Four-Tails and forced the Tsuchikage to retreat!"

Flower Shop Owner: "Brother Fukurō, how about these newly arrived chrysanthemums?"

Uchiha Fukurō: "That's right, Kagami almost killed Ōnoki—we could've sent funeral flowers to Iwagakure."

Ramen Shop: "Four bowls, is it?"

Uchiha: "Yes, the one Kagami killed was the Four-Tails. I hear they've already switched Jinchuriki."

To sum it up, the current easing of tension on the Western Front all depended on Kagami Uchiha's godlike performance.

One sunny afternoon.

Mikoto Uchiha, holding her child, came to visit.

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

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

"Forgive my rudeness. Grandmother can't move well, and neither can I, so I won't offer Lady Mikoto any tea."

Mikoto glanced at the child quietly held by Shisui, then turned her head with a light smile: "Jing-kun is being too formal. I'm the one intruding."

Kagami Uchiha didn't look up, speaking flatly: "What do you want from me."

He harbored deep hostility toward both Fugaku and Itachi; if it weren't for Mikoto being Sasuke's mother, he wouldn't have let her in the door.

"Jing-kun needs to rest and recover, so I'll speak plainly."

Mikoto's expression showed reluctance, but she still spoke: "You must have heard the rumors going around the village lately..."

"Fugaku sent word back, hoping that Jing-kun and Elder Shenhuo would step in to restrain the clan members."

"Restrain?"

Kagami Uchiha put down his notes and turned his head slightly to look at Mikoto Uchiha.

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

But...

That gaze cast upon her made her unable to meet his eyes; she instinctively looked away.

"You know the reason Fugaku said that, don't you."

Taking a deep breath, Mikoto felt as if she weren't facing a junior, but a clan elder with deep-seated authority.

"The Uchiha Clan and Konoha's higher-ups have a rift. Fugaku has been working hard to close it, and in recent years, there's finally been some change."

"Lord Third having Jiraiya take Jing-kun as a disciple—wasn't that a signal of reconciliation between the village and the clan?"

"Fugaku and the Hokage are both striving for this. As a beneficiary, why would Jing-kun actively distance himself from the villagers?"

"You are a member of the Uchiha, and even more so, a ninja of Konoha. You shouldn't cling to narrow clan-centric thinking!"

"Compared to the village, even the Uchiha Clan can't stand against it. Don't you understand yet!"

Mikoto said everything she wanted in one breath, afraid that if she paused, she wouldn't be able to continue.

Kagami Uchiha's gaze was as still as an ancient well—not stagnant water, but a deep, cold pool.

"In what capacity are you speaking to me?"

"...Naturally, as the Uchiha Clan Head and the Captain of the Konoha Guard Team!"

"Speaking to you on behalf of the Hokage, the villagers, and even the Uchiha clan members!"

Kagami Uchiha let out a silent, faint laugh.

"I'll say one thing now."

"The only reason Fugaku is still the Clan Head is that I'm temporarily leaving the title with him."

"You have no right to speak for the Uchiha."

"I don't care about the villagers' or the Hokage's opinions either."

Kagami Uchiha rose slightly, like a dragon baring its fangs, an utterly frigid aura enveloping Mikoto.

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

"Otherwise, I'd have killed you already."

Kagami's tone wasn't harsh, but the bone-deep killing intent was unmistakably real.

Mikoto felt as if struck by a sudden gust of icy wind, her body trembling uncontrollably.

Those words pierced her heart like sharp blades, her frame shaking incessantly, like a fragile, helpless leaf tossed in a gale.

Kagami turned around and lifted his notes again.

That terrifying aura receded like a flood, leaving no trace of what had happened except for the battered Mikoto Uchiha.

"If you want to be groveling rats, that's your business. From now on..."

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

"This is the only mercy I'll show you."

At worst, he'd find Indra's reincarnation again. Kagami wouldn't allow Fugaku, that weak-willed man, to hold power any longer.

If Fugaku had firmly stood by the Hokage's side, Kagami might have thought better of him.

Even as a dog, at least the Uchiha Clan could survive.

But instead, he let himself be swept up by the clan's rebellion and surrendered on the eve of the coup.

The greatness of fatherly love?

Ridiculous.

Why should thousands of Uchiha clan members sacrifice their lives for your family!

"Brother! Itachi's crying!"

Shisui ran in, holding the swaddled Itachi.

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

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

Shisui keenly sensed something off about Mikoto. Once she was far away, he leaned in with a small face and asked.

"Brother, did you and Aunt Mikoto have a fight?"

Rustle, rustle.

Kagami flipped a few pages and said flatly, "Shisui, what do you think of the relationship between the Uchiha Clan and the village's higher-ups."

Children in the shinobi world matured early, and Shisui was a genius; he should have formed his own thoughts by now.

In Kagami's view, the Shisui of the original timeline was even worse than Itachi Uchiha.

At least Itachi made a choice, right or wrong.

But Shisui?

He had his Mangekyo stolen by Danzo and didn't even want to speak out, afraid of deepening the rift between the village and the Uchiha.

He dared not make a choice, entrusted his eyes to Itachi, and then took his own life.

To his dying breath, he never saw that the higher-ups, led by the Third Hokage, had no intention of solving the problem with the Uchiha—only of solving the Uchiha themselves.

It wasn't because the Uchiha wanted to rebel, or because of some vague reason about being hard to control.

It was simple.

This stemmed from the Second Hokage's and Konoha's higher-ups' discrimination against the Uchiha Clan!

The establishment of the Konoha Guard Team was meant to isolate the Uchiha from the villagers.

Perhaps the Second Hokage intended to try accepting the Uchiha in the end, taking on one Uchiha subordinate.

But in truth, even when he was reincarnated by the Impure World Reincarnation during the Fourth Shinobi World War, he still believed the Uchiha were an inherently evil clan.

Kagami wouldn't resent Senju Tobirama; several of the man's younger brothers were brutally killed by the Uchiha.

Nor would he feel ashamed, because the Senju had also killed many Uchiha children.

There was no right or wrong—it was fundamentally a matter of standing.

The Uchiha Clan had chosen Kagami, and Kagami would firmly stand by the clan.

"Brother, I..."