Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo, and Uchiha

Time turned back to one day ago. Inside the Hokage Building, Hiruzen Sarutobi gazed at the crystal ball before him and spoke to his subordinate at his side.

"Is that so? I understand. You may return for now."

The masked ninja kneeling on the floor acknowledged the order, rose to his feet, and vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a sharp drag from his pipe, savored the sensation, and exhaled.

"Uchiha. Fugaku, is it you? What kind of game are you playing this time?" Hiruzen Sarutobi muttered to himself, head bowed.

Suddenly, the door was pushed open without ceremony, and a man with half his face wrapped in bandages strode inside. The visitor was none other than Shimura Danzō.

"Hiruzen, why is the Demon Fox Brat so closely linked to two wicked Uchiha? They are even practicing ninjutsu together!"

"Do you have any idea what the consequences will be if other clans see this? I told you long ago to hand him over to me; I would cultivate a perfect ninja for Konoha, one loyal to the village," Danzō droned on incessantly at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took another deep draw from his pipe, savoring it for a long moment before exhaling. The entire room was soon shrouded in smoke.

"He is the child of the Fourth, the descendant of a hero, not some Demon Fox Brat," Hiruzen Sarutobi said in a deep voice.

"Hiruzen, you are still as soft-hearted as ever. Have you forgotten the words of our teacher? The Uchiha are a clan of evil. They must have a premeditated motive for doing this. If I had known, I would have..." Danzō continued, his speaking pace not slowing in the slightest.

But his words were cut short.

"Enough, Danzō. Remember, I am the Hokage."

"Hmph, Hiruzen, you will regret this!"

With that, Danzō slammed the door and left.

Hiruzen Sarutobi remained alone in the room, still smoking his pipe as if relishing its flavor.

Uchiha, oh Uchiha. When exactly did this all begin?

Two years before the Nine-Tails Rebellion, that Chuanhe moved into the Uchiha Compound with the woman named Yuki, and he had never stepped out since.

He hid himself truly well. How had I failed to notice his talent for developing ninjutsu before?

If I had known sooner, I would never have let him leave.

Danzō, it is not that I do not want to act, but now is not the time.

Flame Explosion Technique... how could such a monster appear in Konoha?

At first glance, this technique appears to have an extremely high difficulty—S-rank, requiring a sequence of 64 hand seals. Heh, if I were to believe that, I would truly be falling into your trap. I never imagined you, Fugaku, had such a deep and calculating side.

Even if we assume it is as it appears, this technique could turn every Uchiha with Three Tomoe into a human Tailed Beast weapon. If even one Uchiha with Three Tomoe survives, it would spell endless trouble for all of Konoha.

Danzō, oh Danzō. Why can you not understand this?

Very well, go ahead and test the waters. Let us see what other tricks the Uchiha clan is hiding up their sleeves.

Shimura Danzō returned to his Root Base.

Hokage, every single time, you use your position as Hokage to suppress me, Hiruzen. Just wait, Hiruzen. Once this Uchiha internal strife is over, I will be the Hokage!

Danzō commanded the group to his side: "Shin, come here."

"Lord Danzō."

The man wore an animal mask, had short hair, and his eyes were hollow. He carried a scroll half his height on his back. This was Shin, and he had a younger brother by non-blood relation named Sai.

"You will lead the team. Go and kill the man named Chuanhe, and while you are at it, kill his son, Uchiha Hui, as well. Do not leave a single survivor," Danzō said viciously.

"Before you kill him, you must ensure you obtain the ninjutsu scroll for the Flame Explosion Talisman. If you cannot find it, use his son to threaten him." Danzō exercised his clever little brain for a rare moment, conceiving what he considered a perfect plan.

"Understood." After receiving the order, Shin left with two other Root ninjas.

Danzō returned to his private quarters, fantasizing about his future.

Flame Explosion Technique? What use could such a long casting time have? That is not important. What he needs is the Flame Explosion Talisman, even if the power is not as great as when released by the user himself. Once the quantity is sufficient, the power will not be diminished by much.

Those detestable Uchiha only release fewer than 300 Flame Explosion Talismans each year. They claim it is difficult to manufacture and that only Chuanhe can produce them, providing only that many to look after the other ninjas in the village.

The amount allocated to his Root was even smaller. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Once he obtains the ninjutsu scroll for the Flame Explosion Talisman, he can order his men to produce them day and night.

Looking after the ninjas of the village? As a ninja of Konoha, one must have the resolve to sacrifice everything for the village. Ninjas who lack such resolve might as well just die.

Uchiha Residence.

Fugaku frowned as he listened to the report from Itachi at his side.

"You are saying that Sasuke and Hui have become friends with the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki and are training together? Do other clans know about this?"

"The students in their class are all aware of it. The Third Hokage and the three advisors are also already informed," Itachi replied truthfully.

Fugaku had sent his son into the Anbu to serve as a spy and provide timely intelligence for the clan.

Fugaku himself understood that secret intelligence was difficult for Itachi to obtain. But why had he not stopped such an obvious issue beforehand? No matter, it must have been for Sasuke's sake. Hiruzen Sarutobi should not be so petty-minded yet.

Mentioning Hui reminded Fugaku of Chuanhe.

When Chuanhe and Yuki had come to him to propose the marriage, they had presented a ninjutsu scroll: Fire Style - Flame Explosion Technique, along with a strategy. He had been extremely shocked after reading the Flame Explosion Technique, but what made him applaud even more was the strategy itself.

They would make the existence of the Flame Explosion Technique public, but except for a very select few Uchiha, others would only be able to learn the A-rank difficulty version of the Flame Explosion Technique. They would also inform the high-ranking officials of Konoha, providing them with the S-rank difficulty version.

This strategy was called information asymmetry, ensuring both sides knew the Uchiha possessed a trump card known as the Flame Explosion Technique, while the opposition remained unaware that the number of people who had mastered it was extremely limited.

On their side, however, they could ensure that every clansman with chakra learned this technique in a short amount of time should the need arise. After all, the original difficulty rating of this technique was merely D-rank.

It provided a deterrent to the Konoha high command without being excessively overwhelming, while simultaneously ensuring that the technique could serve as a trump card should they ever need to turn against the village.

Although he did not understand why Chuanhe was so confident that this technique could not be countered, he had not immediately agreed to the plan at the time. After all, the Uchiha clan and the village's high command—the Fourth Hokage—were in a honeymoon period. He had, however, consented to the marriage between Chuanhe and Yuki.

It was not until after the Nine-Tails Rebellion that Fugaku suddenly wondered if Chuanhe had known some inside information. But by then, Yuki had already passed away, and watching his grief, which was undeniably genuine, Fugaku knew that any Uchiha who had awakened their Sharingan could not mistake such an emotion. Thus, he set aside his wariness and adopted the suggestion.

The Konoha high command, just as Chuanhe had predicted, stopped making things difficult for the Uchiha clan. Fugaku did not care about minor frictions; as long as his clansmen could continue to live in peace, he, as their patriarch, could rest a little easier.

The Nine-Tails Rebellion—if not for this Nine-Tails Rebellion, perhaps the Uchiha would not have reached their current predicament.

Although Chuanhe was a commoner, his talent for developing ninjutsu was truly astonishing, reminding him of the stories his father had "detailed" to him about the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.

He decided to fully support his research in order to gamble on a future for the Uchiha.