Konoha.
The Uchiha Compound.
Cold moonlight spilled over the silent streets.
Shisui Uchiha walked along the flagstone road, his steps heavy.
Everything that had happened tonight had shaken him to his core.
In the face of those bloody truths...
The Will of Fire he believed in seemed so hollow, so laughable.
After a long while...
Shisui Uchiha stopped.
He raised his head and looked toward Fugaku Uchiha's residence.
The gate was unlocked, standing slightly ajar.
Only after a long struggle with himself...
Did Shisui Uchiha push it open and slowly walk inside.
In the courtyard of the residence...
Fugaku Uchiha sat on a stone stool, gazing up at the moon.
After a serious conversation with his eldest son...
He had discovered, to his horror, just how thoroughly Itachi Uchiha had been brainwashed.
Even as his father, he could not change Itachi Uchiha's views overnight.
It left Fugaku Uchiha feeling utterly helpless!
Just then...
Footsteps sounded.
Fugaku Uchiha turned toward the sound.
"Shisui?"
"What brings you here so late?"
At the sight of Shisui Uchiha...
A look of surprise crossed Fugaku Uchiha's face.
He held this young genius of the clan in high regard.
"Clan Head."
Shisui Uchiha stepped forward.
He gave Fugaku Uchiha a formal salute in accordance with the clan's customs.
"Sit down. Let's talk."
Fugaku Uchiha gestured toward the stone stool opposite him.
"I went to see Lord Chiba!"
"And I wasn't the only one."
"The Nara Clan Head and the Aburame Clan Head went as well."
After sitting down on the stone stool...
Shisui Uchiha fell silent for a moment before speaking.
At his words...
A subtle gleam flickered in Fugaku Uchiha's eyes.
The Ino-Shika-Cho and the Aburame Clan?
Those opportunists certainly moved fast.
"What did you discuss?"
Fugaku Uchiha's voice betrayed neither pleasure nor anger.
He did not blame Shisui.
He knew perfectly well that Konoha was about to undergo a tremendous upheaval.
He only wanted to know what had happened tonight so he could make a better judgment.
"Lord Chiba intends to overthrow Sarutobi Hiruzen's rule."
"I... I've decided to stand with Lord Chiba."
Shisui Uchiha clenched his fists, his knuckles turning slightly white.
He braced himself for Fugaku's anger.
After all, the Uchiha Clan had always been proud and found it hard to submit to anyone else.
A long, deathly silence settled over the courtyard.
One second.
Two seconds.
"I understand."
"I'll call a clan-wide meeting first thing tomorrow morning."
"I'll do everything I can to persuade those stubborn elders and get the entire Uchiha Clan behind Chiba."
Only after a full minute...
Did Fugaku Uchiha speak again, his voice carrying an unprecedented weariness.
"Clan Head... you agree?"
Shisui Uchiha's head snapped up, disbelief written all over his face.
He had thought...
That persuading Fugaku Uchiha would take a tremendous amount of effort.
He might even have to reveal his Kotoamatsukami.
He had never expected...
Fugaku Uchiha to agree so readily!
"Shisui."
"Did you think..."
"That I, as clan head, would fight Chiba to the bitter end for the sake of power?"
Seeing Shisui Uchiha's stunned expression...
Fugaku Uchiha's lips twisted into a bitter smile.
At those words...
Shisui Uchiha opened his mouth.
He truly did not know how to answer.
"The Uchiha Clan is proud, yes."
"But we aren't mindless fools."
"Ever since Konoha was founded, we've had to struggle to survive between opposing forces."
Fugaku Uchiha sighed.
He began to speak slowly about the past.
"During the First's time..."
"The Uchiha were kept in check, but we weren't subjected to unfair prejudice."
"Hashirama Senju had a heart broad enough to embrace the entire Ninja World."
"Back then, the Uchiha truly considered Konoha our home."
"That changed during the Second Hokage's time!"
"..."
At this point...
Fugaku Uchiha's gaze turned cold.
"Tobirama Senju established the Konoha Military Police Force."
"He dumped all the work that would earn people's resentment onto us."
"That was how he shut the Uchiha out of the village's center of power."
"Still..."
"Although Tobirama Senju was wary of us..."
"He was at least a man who respected the rules."
"He wouldn't use underhanded tricks to strike at the Uchiha of his own village."
"But the generation of Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō?"
"..."
Perhaps overcome by emotion...
Fugaku Uchiha slammed his palm onto the stone table.
A dense web of cracks instantly spread across the marble tabletop.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō..."
"They hide behind the Will of Fire while carrying out one filthy, shameful deed after another!"
"They squeeze us into an ever-smaller corner, keep our clansmen under surveillance, and even covet our eyes!"
"I've endured all this for years, and what has it gotten us?"
"That old beast Danzo implanted the pride of our Uchiha Clan into his arm!"
"..."
Disgust crossed Fugaku Uchiha's face.
The day's events had shattered his last remaining illusions about Konoha High Command.
They did not even see the Uchiha as people, only as a living supply of organs.
A Konoha High Command like that...
Was something Fugaku Uchiha could never accept.
"Shisui."
"Things have changed."
"You and I both saw the power Chiba displayed."
"That Wood Golem, hundreds of meters tall, was like a god of war descending into this world."
"Chiba's strength is undoubtedly on par with the First in his prime."
"And perhaps... when it comes to ruthlessness and decisiveness, he's even more terrifying than the First."
"Opposing a monster like that would mean certain death for the Uchiha."
"Besides..."
"If Chiba hadn't saved me today..."
"That old bastard Danzo would have dragged me down to hell with him."
"So there's nothing strange about my supporting Chiba!"
"..."
Only after a long while...
Did Fugaku Uchiha calm down.
He laid out his thoughts in full.
As far as the clan was concerned...
Chiba had eliminated Danzo for the Uchiha.
Nor could the Uchiha match Chiba's strength.
On a personal level...
Chiba had saved Fugaku Uchiha's life.
And Fugaku Uchiha was no ingrate.
Under these circumstances...
Supporting Chiba's rise to power was the Uchiha Clan's only way forward—and its best.
"A wise decision, Clan Head."
Shisui Uchiha understood completely.
At last, the anxiety weighing on him eased entirely.
As long as the Uchiha could reach an internal consensus...
And cooperate with Lord Chiba's plan, Konoha's cancer would surely be cut out for good.
Fugaku Uchiha raised his head again, looking at the moon hanging in the sky.
Once Chiba becomes the new Hokage...
Will things truly improve for us Uchiha?
They should!
A Hokage from the Senju Clan wouldn't be so narrow-minded!
Even if Chiba becomes another Tobirama Senju after taking office...
The Uchiha Clan will still be far, far better off than we are now!
Before you continue