A Storm Was Brewing

After serving Danzo for many years, Aburame Ryoma knew this man's methods inside and out. Even so, he was still a little shocked this time and couldn't help advising him:

"Lord Danzo, even among the Uchiha Clan, Setsuna Uchiha is one of the most extreme and dangerous people."

"Letting him out now will throw all of Konoha into turmoil!"

Danzo's expression remained unchanged as he replied coolly:

"Relax."

"I know the man. He's vicious and ruthless, but he cares deeply about his fellow Uchiha."

"Kirigakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure are all making suspicious moves, and there are now more than ten times as many scouts infiltrating Konoha's borders!"

"War is coming."

"Even Setsuna Uchiha wouldn't dare make trouble at a time like this. But with him around, Hiruzen and Fugaku Uchiha trying to join forces..."

"Dream on!"

Danzo sneered and turned to Aburame Ryoma.

"Find an excuse to reduce his sentence. Better yet, get him out within the month."

"It's time to turn up the pressure on Hiruzen!"

"Yes, sir!"

Whoosh!

The others dispersed, and the torches in Root's hall went out.

Danzo stood alone in the darkness.

His gaze flickered.

Konoha.

The southern district.

Autumn had arrived, and today, Konoha was treated to a rare light rain.

It pattered down, soaking people's clothes and leaving a bone-deep chill.

Fugaku Uchiha stood in the rain beneath an umbrella, gazing in the direction of Uchiha Shingen.

"I heard Shingen recently became Jiraiya's student?!"

"I only heard about it myself recently."

Uchiha Yakumi stood beside Fugaku and nodded gently.

"But..."

"This is good news for us, too."

"You've been waiting for a chance to build a bridge between the Uchiha and Konoha."

"That boy Shingen may be a bit of a scatterbrain most of the time, and he likes to hide when trouble comes, but he knows what's important when it matters."

"After what happened with Danzo, he should change, too."

"In this world..."

"Even if all you want is peace, it's incredibly hard to find, no matter how badly you seek it."

"In the end, everything is decided by the strength in your hands."

Fugaku Uchiha offered no comment.

Shingen Uchiha had become Jiraiya's student without the Uchiha Clan's approval, and the Third Hokage hadn't taken a position on the matter, either.

But the significance of it was clear enough.

The long infighting had exhausted both the village's leadership and the Uchiha.

Uchiha Shingen's presence offered the best chance to break the deadlock.

If nothing else changed, it was only a matter of time before the rift between the village and the Uchiha healed completely.

As the Uchiha Patriarch—and one of the clan's few leaders who longed for peace—Fugaku Uchiha should have been happy at this turning point.

Yet he felt an inexplicable unease.

In silence, Fugaku Uchiha held his hand out into the rain.

Scattered raindrops landed in his palm. The chill seeped into his flesh and blood, reaching all the way to his bones.

That unease, that inexplicable premonition, grew even stronger in that moment...

"Something's coming!"

"War?!"

Uchiha Yakumi froze, his brow furrowing.

He had followed Fugaku for a long time and had lived through the Second Shinobi World War himself. He knew all too well how brutal and bloody it had been.

And once war began, no one knew when it would end.

At least in the first two Ninja World Wars, the final contest hadn't been about who could fight harder, but who could endure more!

"No."

Fugaku Uchiha shook his head. The expression on his face didn't ease; if anything, it grew even more grave.

"War would only bring Konoha and the Uchiha closer together."

"The White Fang was driven to take his own life a few years ago, and Tsunade suffers from hemophobia. Konoha is weaker now than it has ever been."

"Even Danzo has to admit that Konoha needs the Uchiha's strength now more than ever."

"What I'm worried about is..."

Fugaku Uchiha's voice suddenly stopped.

His gaze pierced the curtain of rain and fell on the distant Konoha Military Police Force headquarters. The red Gunbai crest seemed blindingly vivid in that moment!

A figure he'd nearly forgotten slowly appeared before his eyes!

"Setsuna Uchiha...?!"

"Isn't his sentence almost up?!"

Uchiha Yakumi froze. After a quick calculation, his expression turned grim.

"He still has a few months left, but the Konoha High Command probably won't let him out so easily."

"After all, he led his clan in an attempted coup during the Second Hokage's rule. The village won't tolerate such a destabilizing influence resurfacing."

"They'll probably find a way to extend his sentence."

"Let's hope so."

Fugaku Uchiha sighed. His gaze fell on the clansmen moving through the rain, softening.

He simply couldn't understand those who, even in this day and age, still clung to the so-called glory of the clan and stubbornly resisted change by upholding the Uchiha's rules.

When Uchiha Madara wanted to leave Konoha and establish his own village, not a single clansman chose to follow him. That alone showed that the clan had never wanted power; all they wanted was a peaceful, stable life.

They didn't want to risk their lives just to get a bite to eat, or to be used as a blade that could be tossed aside as soon as it was spent.

That was what a real life should be.

Crack!

Fugaku Uchiha clenched his fist.

Rainwater sprayed into the downpour.

His gaze hardened.

"Anyone who stands in the Uchiha's way will pay with their life. Anyone at all—even a former Uchiha Elder."

"Come on, Yakumi."

"Let's go see that boy."

Fugaku beckoned to Uchiha Yakumi, then stepped into the rain and turned toward South District 4.

"Yes, Lord Patriarch!"

Konoha.

The deepest level of the underground High-Security Prison.

Darkness surrounded them, without a trace of light. Only the sound of prisoners' breathing occasionally broke the silence before quickly fading away.

Everyone locked up here was a vicious criminal.

Massacring civilians, attacking comrades, selling the village's classified intelligence...

The grave offenses that could earn someone the gallows weren't even worth a hair on the heads of the prisoners here.

The fact that they were alive and locked away in this High-Security Prison wasn't because the Konoha High Command was merciful.

Quite the opposite. Their permanent imprisonment in a lightless cell made time the cruelest punishment of all!

At one moment—

Bang!

The lights in the cells suddenly came on.

The death-row inmates, who hadn't seen the light in ages, felt a sharp pain in their eyes.

It took them a long time to adjust enough to make out what was happening.

Several figures led by Danzo passed cell after cell, stopping only when they reached the deepest one.

"Sometimes..."

"Hope is the most terrifying thing of all, isn't it?!"

"Setsuna Uchiha!"