The Choice

The Uchiha Clan meeting.

With the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, taking office, relations between the Uchiha and the village had eased, and their treatment had become fairer in every respect.

Namikaze Minato was an exceptionally approachable man, and he also had the strength to earn the Uchiha's trust.

Given time, once he had fully consolidated his power, the Uchiha would integrate into the village, and Konoha would grow even stronger than it had been during Hiruzen's prime.

This was the consensus among all the Uchiha.

Obito had chosen this moment to launch his attack, perhaps with this in mind as well.

He understood his teacher too well. If he didn't act while the Jinchūriki was giving birth, a strengthened Konoha would become the greatest obstacle to his Eye of the Moon Plan.

Fugaku sat at the head of the room with a deadpan expression, though compared to before, he looked considerably better.

Mikoto and Kushina were close, and their wives' diplomacy had yielded impressive results.

He had also given up on reclaiming the Sharingan from Kakashi, and named his own son Sasuke, sending a signal of reconciliation to the village.

Sasuke was the name of Sarutobi Hiruzen's father. People usually named their children after their ancestors to honor or remember them.

What Fugaku had done was practically a declaration of loyalty.

After taking office, Namikaze Minato had spoken with him. He would recruit some outstanding Uchiha youths into Anbu, and perhaps even the Hokage's Guard.

The implication was clear...

The Uchiha Clan would also have a chance to compete for the next Hokage!

It was a little pathetic.

One of the two great clans that had founded the village now had to fight just to earn the right to compete for the title of Hokage.

Fugaku looked toward Uchiha Sora and Uchiha Shisui, seated in the last row. After signaling for the clan members to quiet down, he said in a measured voice:

"Shisui, Sora, I'm planning to recommend you to the Fourth Hokage for Anbu. What do you think?"

Compared to Uchiha Shisui, who had already begun to shine on the battlefield, Uchiha Sora had only completed a few low-level missions.

But he was two years younger than Shisui and had already awakened his Sharingan, making him a prodigy. He was capable of joining the Konoha Military Police Force, had an excellent reputation, and was highly regarded by the clan.

Anbu, whose full name was the Special Assassination and Tactical Squad, was an armed force directly under the Hokage.

In other words, they were the Hokage's personal faction.

The clan members present looked pleased, sensing what this meant.

"Clan Leader, was this the Hokage's idea?"

Fugaku managed a smile and nodded. "Yes. Lord Hokage asked me to select a few outstanding clan members for Anbu."

"Shisui's strength speaks for itself. He's the strongest of the younger generation. Sora is a prodigy too, and he'll have plenty of room to grow in Anbu."

This was where the Uchiha differed from the Hyuga Clan.

Uchiha Itachi was already beginning to show his talent, but Fugaku wouldn't save this opportunity for his own son. Instead, he had chosen the candidates best suited for it right now.

The clan wasn't a dictatorship under its leader; its members were more or less equal.

Even Madara Uchiha, back in the day, hadn't forced the clan to leave the village with him.

Of course, every system had its pros and cons.

In peacetime, Fugaku's temperament could indeed make him a bridge between the village and the clan, helping the Uchiha integrate smoothly.

But after Nine-Tails Night, he would no longer be fit to lead the clan.

As clan leader, he lacked the resolve to make a decision. He wavered between the two factions, then sided with whichever one held more power.

Shisui blushed and bashfully touched his dumpling-shaped nose. "The strongest? Sora has more talent than I do. He'll definitely surpass me!"

"I'll follow the clan leader's arrangements. What about you, Sora?"

A typical Uchiha would probably hold his head high upon hearing someone call him the strongest and say, "You got that right."

Shisui was an oddity among the Uchiha, a variant of the saintly, self-sacrificing type.

Uchiha Sora glanced around at the clan members. Their eyes held bright hopes for the future.

It seemed that as long as the Uchiha joined Anbu, they could become members of the Hokage's Guard, then compete for the position of Hokage, and finally see an Uchiha become Hokage.

How naive.

From the day Madara Uchiha failed to become Hokage, the Uchiha had been shut out of the position.

Madara Uchiha had seen it clearly long ago. The village's clans and civilian-born ninja didn't accept the Uchiha.

Even if the Uchiha made it to the Hokage election, they wouldn't pass the jōnin's vote of confidence.

It didn't matter.

The Uchiha had never needed anyone else's approval.

Under the clan members' gazes, Uchiha Sora pushed himself to his feet.

He spoke calmly.

"You're all my clan elders. There are some things I'll say plainly."

"Our relationship with the village has improved because we've drawn close to the Fourth Hokage."

"The Fourth Hokage has only just taken office and needs our support too. It's mutually beneficial."

"But..."

"Have you considered what we'll do if, once the Fourth Hokage has secured his position, he changes his mind and, like Danzo and the others, decides we can't be controlled and revokes those policies?"

Fugaku frowned. "Sora, you're overthinking it. Minato isn't like that!"

Most of the clan members agreed with Fugaku. They had served alongside Namikaze Minato on missions. He was a trustworthy man who wouldn't keep changing his mind.

Uchiha Sora smiled faintly.

"Let's not worry about whether he might change. What if... he dies?"

!!

"Watch your tongue!"

Fugaku's brow furrowed even deeper. He said sharply, "Lord Fourth has made a name for himself on the battlefield and earned the title of Yellow Flash. How could he possibly die?"

"Keep words like that to yourself next time. You must never say them outside!"

Uchiha Sora looked at Fugaku with some disappointment.

In his view, the clan leader, who bore responsibility for the entire clan, should consider every possibility. At the very least, he should trust himself to handle anything that came their way.

Instead of placing all their hopes in an outsider.

"Anyone can die."

Uchiha Sora spoke slowly. "Even Lord Madara, as powerful as he was, died at the Valley of the End. The Fourth Hokage isn't invincible."

Fugaku was about to say more when an elder beside him spoke first.

"Sora, you're usually so quiet at clan meetings. Now that you've brought up that person... what are you trying to say?"

This was Shenlan Uchiha, the former clan leader.

As it happened, he and Uchiha Sora's grandfather were cousins.

They belonged to the same clan, after all. There was always some connection between them.

If you really wanted to count it, Fugaku was the son of the cousin of Uchiha Sora's second aunt.

If Uchiha Sora had said what he just said at a Konoha jōnin meeting, even the Fourth Hokage couldn't have protected him. He would have been locked up in Konoha's prison for a while.

But no one would snitch over a clan meeting.

Well, the one who would snitch hadn't arrived yet.

Influenced by his ancestor, Kagami Uchiha, Shisui was close to the village, but he loved his clan members too and would never stir up trouble.

Uchiha Sora shook his head. There was no point in saying more now.

Tomorrow, when the incident happened, would be the right time.

For now... all he could do was plant a seed.

After looking around at everyone, Uchiha Sora turned and walked toward the door.

At the end, he turned to look at Uchiha Fugaku.

"I hope you'll make the right choice."