Uchiha Setsuna

"Our clan has never been short of people who are good at fighting, but when it comes to planning, even I wouldn't dare say I'm much better than you, Naoki. What if..."

Watching Uchiha Yashiro chatter on, Naoki felt a warmth rise in his heart.

Although Uchiha Yashiro had practical reasons for urging him not to go, he had fulfilled the responsibilities of an elder, both toward Naoki's predecessor and toward him now.

For Naoki, this was a sweet kind of trouble.

But establishing a name for himself was something he absolutely had to do!

Though the Uchiha Clan had a thousand-year history, most of its members still believed in strength and revered battle.

Naoki might have been treated with great respect by Uchiha Fugaku and Yashiro, but in the Police Force, he was nowhere near as influential as he should have been. It was all because he was only a Chunin with a Two-Tomoe Sharingan, and had made barely a name for himself in the Third Shinobi World War.

Without strength or battle honors, the Uchiha would see him only as a clansman and comrade. They would never rally behind him as their leader.

If Naoki couldn't lead the Uchiha, then no matter how brilliant his schemes were, he would ultimately meet the same fate as a stray dog driven from its home.

So he had no choice but to make this trip. He had to hone himself and earn battle honors if he was to lead the Uchiha Clan out of its predicament...

Seeing that Uchiha Yashiro wouldn't stop talking, Naoki could only turn his gaze to Uchiha Fugaku.

He had known all along that Uchiha Yashiro would try to stop him from going to the Southern Border Battlefield, so he had asked Fugaku in advance to help...

Uchiha Fugaku smiled and stopped Uchiha Yashiro.

"Now, now. Everyone knows the battlefield is dangerous, but there's no denying that young people want to earn honors."

"Truthfully, I don't want Naoki to go either. But the Uchiha shouldn't cower in the rear..."

"I know." Uchiha Yashiro cut Uchiha Fugaku off. "But..."

Uchiha Fugaku raised a hand.

"I've made my decision. Naoki can go, and not only Naoki—Itachi will go too!"

Uchiha Yashiro had been about to say something else, but his mouth hung open. For a long while, he couldn't get a word out.

"Come to think of it, Itachi has been to the battlefield, but he's always made it through one battle after another safely under the protection of the clan. It's time he got some proper training."

Seeing that Uchiha Fugaku had even brought up his own eldest son, Naoki couldn't help scratching his head.

"Sir, isn't Itachi a little too young...?"

"He's old enough. Didn't Kakashi travel from battlefield to battlefield with Namikaze Minato when he was seven or eight?"

"If Hatake Sakumo's son can do it, so can mine!"

"Besides, the fighting on the Southern Border Battlefield is nothing compared to the previous Shinobi World War."

"But wouldn't that still be dangerous? Karatachi Yagura isn't an ordinary shinobi. What if something really happens..." Naoki trailed off.

"Don't worry." Uchiha Fugaku waved a hand. "I've already thought of that. I'll ask Senior Setsuna, who lives in seclusion near the Naka River, to go with you."

Naoki knew a little about the "Senior Setsuna" Uchiha Fugaku had mentioned.

Decades ago, when the Second Hokage was still in power, Uchiha Setsuna had conspired with the clan's hawkish faction to overthrow his rule.

But before they could act, the Second Hokage found out. Setsuna was arrested and thrown into Anbu Prison, where he remained for decades.

If Uchiha Fugaku hadn't given his all during the Third Shinobi World War, and the Third Hokage hadn't repaid the favor by releasing Uchiha Setsuna, perhaps he would have died of old age in Anbu Prison.

When he was arrested, Uchiha Setsuna had been a spirited young man. After decades of hardship, he emerged as an old man nearing sixty.

No one in the Uchiha Clan knew what Uchiha Setsuna had gone through during those years in prison, or whether all that time had changed his views. But everyone knew one thing: despite decades of hardship, the old man with his graying hair had grown even stronger.

During the Battle of Kikyo Pass, he had killed four Iwagakure Jonin with his peerless Lightning Release and Taijutsu. His name had spread far and wide, and no one dared underestimate the old man Senju Tobirama had imprisoned for decades.

Uchiha Yashiro asked curiously, "You think you can get him to come? Didn't he say he wanted nothing more to do with worldly affairs?"

Uchiha Fugaku shook his head lightly but didn't answer right away. He picked up his teacup, his gaze resting on the faint ripples in the tea.

"I'll do my best. I'd also like to use this opportunity to see what that once most radical member of the clan thinks now..."

There was no doubt that in his youth, Uchiha Setsuna had been a hardline hawk, a proponent of armed conflict. That was precisely why Uchiha Fugaku wanted to sound him out.

Naoki understood Fugaku's thinking well, and he also knew why Uchiha Fugaku wanted to test Uchiha Setsuna...

As a former figurehead of the Uchiha Clan's hawkish faction and possibly the clan's strongest fighter now, Uchiha Setsuna was someone Uchiha Fugaku needed to watch carefully.

After all, unlike later on, Fugaku hadn't yet been swept along by his clansmen and forced onto the path of a coup. For now, he was still willing to coexist peacefully with Konoha.

If he wanted to coexist peacefully with Konoha, then he naturally needed to sound out Uchiha Setsuna and find out where he stood...

Naoki followed Uchiha Fugaku out of the Police Force and all the way to the secluded Naka River.

The Naka River was a small stream beside Naka Shrine. Whether the river or the shrine had existed longer was no longer possible to determine. Naoki only remembered that the black stone tablet hidden in the chamber beneath Naka Shrine seemed to be older...

They followed a narrow path into the forest. In the distance, Naoki could already see a wooden house.

"That's the place, sir?"

Uchiha Fugaku nodded, then turned to Naoki. "The old man Setsuna has a strange temper. Just listen while I speak later. Don't butt in."

"Yes."

With that, the two of them walked over.

In front of the wooden house, an old man sat on a tree root, carefully wiping the long sword in his hands.

He was lean, but his back was ramrod straight. His long gray-white hair fell loosely around him, giving him an almost otherworldly air.

Deep furrows marked his face, but his sharply arched eyebrows were still as fierce as ever.

Hearing their footsteps, the old man didn't look up. The cloth in his hand continued to pass unhurriedly over the blade.

"You've come."

His voice was hoarse and low, like sandpaper scraping against wood.

"Senior Setsuna." Uchiha Fugaku walked up and stopped before him, inclining his head slightly.

Naoki stood half a step behind Uchiha Fugaku and copied the gesture, while sizing up the legendary figure from the corner of his eye.