Second Hand

The seeds of betrayal have already been sown; there is no fear that they will not sprout.

The second move: a diagonal attachment at the corner, creating eyes.

The Third Hokage has always held what the Uchiha desire most in his hands, so naturally, he has no fear that the Uchiha will not take the bait.

Their status plummeted following Madara's departure. Thus, returning to the political center of Konoha is the one thing the entire Uchiha clan craves above all else.

Since there will be no Uchiha clan in the future, holding onto this card indefinitely is meaningless.

When a lion hunts a rabbit, it must use its full strength; it is time to play this card.

Let Uchiha Kei taste the bitterness of being betrayed, and then let the betrayal itself follow close behind.

The Hokage's second move has been played.

The Anbu operative delivering the order seemed terrified that the Uchiha clansmen might not know about it, making a grand spectacle of the delivery all the way to Fugaku's main hall.

The content of the order stated that Konoha would establish a new department, with administrative authority ranking above the six departments of Konoha—the Anbu, Root, Intelligence, Medical, Barrier, and Uchiha Police Force.

It would rank only below the Administration Department, composed of elders, and the Mission Department, which is firmly controlled by the Hokage.

This new department is called the United Front Department, tasked with coordinating the strength of the ninja clans for Konoha. It is to be composed of one representative each from the Akimichi, Yamanaka, Nara, Uchiha, Hyuga, Kurama, and Aburame clans, with the position of Minister currently left vacant.

The implications are self-evident.

Before Fugaku could even react, the elders of the entire Uchiha clan were in an uproar.

Without waiting for Fugaku, the clan head, to issue a notice, an unofficial clan meeting was held at his home. Those who had already been whispering in their respective courtyards gathered in the clan head's main hall as if by tacit agreement.

The Hokage has already given us a sufficient excuse; it would be truly foolish not to understand.

Everyone understands what must be done: sacrifice one person to obtain what the entire clan desires. Those clansmen who were looked after by Kei should be able to understand this as well.

"Fugaku, you must understand what this order from the Hokage represents for us, the Uchiha."

Fugaku, still preoccupied with how to discuss the recent events with Uchiha Kei, had not yet spoken when the impatient elders chimed in.

"That's right, Fugaku. The Uchiha have been detached from the political center of Konoha for too long. No matter the cost, we cannot let this opportunity slip by!"

The elders' words were pointed. They hoped the idea of sacrificing Kei would come from the clan head's own mouth, providing them with a justification to give to those in their own families who had previously been favored by Kei.

"As long as we return to the political center of Konoha, we can take back everything we lost because of Madara."

"Indeed, for the sake of the Uchiha, everything is worth it."

Fugaku remained silent.

The elders were so anxious they were nearly ready to speak for him, yet every time the words reached their lips, some unknown hesitation held them back.

In truth, Fugaku was thinking, What on earth should I talk about when I meet Kei? Would it be rude to ask how he managed to beat Danzo?

The elders were thinking, We have hinted so clearly, why hasn't the clan head issued the order according to our wishes? With our support, what is the clan head hesitating about?

The two groups were simply not on the same wavelength.

The atmosphere remained deadlocked.

Since this was not a meeting called by the clan head, and the clan head refused to preside over it, the proceedings could not continue.

If they could not get a clear answer from the clan head, none of the elders were willing to stick their necks out first.

Seeing that things were at a standstill, Kaku suddenly noticed that among the growing crowd were orphans left behind by Uchiha Kei, and he began to cast hostile glares at those whom Kei had abandoned.

From the moment Uchiha Kei rose to prominence, the elders of the Uchiha clan had never been respected again.

An orphan who had lost both parents was actually riding roughshod over everyone, and even those other orphans were emboldened enough to question others with a sense of self-righteousness.

They were the ones living in the homes they had occupied when their parents were still alive, places now taken over by the relatives of the elders.

"By what right do you live in my house!"

Could this be tolerated? It could not.

These damned mongrels, like maggots, should stay in the corners of the Uchiha compound and die silently on a snowy night. That is their place. How dare they argue with us?

And they even dared to argue while using the Hokage's name.

Yet Uchiha Kei offered them no restraint.

Did this guy from the bottom of the social ladder not know that the status of an Uchiha elder was passed down through generations?

From the moment Lord Madara and that man from the Senju clan founded Konoha, the ancestors of every elder had already secured the merits for their descendants.

Enjoying the shade of our predecessors' achievements is a privilege granted to us by our bloodline.

What merits do your ancestors have, Uchiha Kei, that you could walk alongside us?

Thinking of this, Kaku's face twisted into a snarl.

He had once followed Madara and was a man of merit; he wanted to pass this privilege down to his descendants so they could rightfully remain high above others.

Instead of being ordinary Uchiha who could be pointed at by a group of orphans.

From the moment Kei favored the Uchiha in front of outsiders while acting fairly within the clan, Kaku and Kei had become irreconcilable.

Without class and hierarchy, who are we supposed to oppress?

Uchiha Zhaoming, the representative of the orphans being stared at in such a way, trembled. Why was everything before his eyes so completely different from what he had imagined?

It was promised that when we embraced the Will of Fire, Konoha would accept the Uchiha, the villagers would no longer target us, and as the heroes who brought the Uchiha back into the fold, we would be respected by the entire clan.

Everything had been going so well; we went to Konoha with Obito to perform good deeds, and we even made friends with ninjas who came from ordinary villager backgrounds.

We could even rebuke those clansmen who had encroached upon our homes until they were so ashamed they avoided meeting our eyes.

Although we didn't get back the houses that originally belonged to us.

Still, everything was progressing in a positive direction.

How could everything change in the span of a single day?

No one treats us as friends anymore; accusing others leads to beatings and being thrown out, and the respect we imagined never arrived.

A ten-year-old child cannot understand why the adults' behavior shifted so rapidly, but he can clearly feel their malice.

The young boy gripped Obito's hand tightly, seeking a shred of security.

With Shisui absent, Obito is the oldest male of their lineage. The foolish Obito simply treats this as a chance to join the crowd, having no idea what is actually happening today.

Since everyone else came, the people of Shisui's lineage naturally let Obito come along.

Yet, he hears nothing of what is said, knowing only how to be happy for the Hokage's orders.

The Uchiha are finally going to integrate into Konoha.

This is Obito's ambition.

Having experienced the death of his parents, being driven out of his family home, enduring days of starvation, and then finally finding a life of plenty and being embraced by Konoha, Uchiha Zhaoming is far more sensitive than Obito.

He supports the goal of the Uchiha returning to Konoha, but not at the cost of sacrificing them.

This is not how it was supposed to be.

Grandpa Hokage clearly said he would protect us, protect everyone in Konoha.

But why did life change the moment Lord Qi left?

Lord Qi, where are you? Are you going to abandon us?

Zhaoming screamed in his heart, that same helplessness and rage he felt when fighting wild dogs for scraps surging up within him once more.

Fate, why must you toy with us yet again?

The self-pitying Uchiha Zhaoming suddenly felt a sharp pain in his shoulders, and immediately after, a hideous, looming face appeared before him. Those bone-chilling hands seemed ready to tear his shoulders apart, yet the words spoken were strangely gentle.

"Little brat of Qi's lineage, can you go back to your master? As long as you find a way to return and have your master come back here alone, Old Man Setsuna has plenty of rewards for you."

With a single glance from Kaku, the hawk-faction's Setsuna took action.

Fear left Zhaoming unable to make a sound; he was so terrified he couldn't even control his bladder.

Fugaku remained trapped in his own thoughts, having no energy to pay attention to what was happening before him, while the other Uchiha watched with interest as the old man bullied the child.