The uproar at the Hokage succession meeting was like a boulder tossed into the seemingly calm waters of Konoha, creating a tremendous upheaval. The daimyo's decision to "postpone" the succession ceremony cast a heavy shadow over Namikaze Minato's path to becoming the Fourth Hokage.
As the meeting broke up, everyone left with a jumble of emotions: anger, confusion, worry, and even deeper ambitions that stirred like venomous snakes.
Fugaku Uchiha, as the head of the Uchiha Clan, was conspicuously silent amid the noisy crowd. He walked steadily, his dark eyes occasionally flickering as he took in the reactions of every ninja around him.
He heard the whispers:
"How could Lord Danzo suddenly come out against him?"
"Lord Minato's strength is plain for all to see. He's the youngest serious contender for the position of Hokage in history."
"Could it really be because he's too young to keep those old-timers in check?"
"Uchiha Madara's return to the Ninja World is certainly unsettling. At a time like this, the village needs a more cautious Hokage with a firmer hand."
"Can Lord Minato really stabilize Konoha's current crisis under such intense pressure?"
Those words stabbed like knives into the hearts of Minato's supporters, while also stirring the thoughts of others.
Fugaku returned to the Uchiha Clan Compound and summoned several clan elders.
The atmosphere in the meeting room was equally somber.
"Clan Head, why would the daimyo believe that old bastard Danzo?" one elder complained, slapping the table. "If Namikaze Minato becomes Hokage, at least he won't keep suppressing us Uchiha the way Sarutobi Hiruzen does!"
"Our Uchiha Clan could finally get some breathing room, like we did when Lord Hashirama was alive. We might even get the Hokage Position someday!"
"Exactly. Namikaze Minato may not be an Uchiha, but he gets along with us pretty well. He's far better than that sly old fox, the Third Hokage," another elder chimed in.
Fugaku listened quietly without interrupting. He knew what the elders were thinking. The Uchiha Clan's exclusion and isolation were a source of pain for every clan member. They longed for change, for the village to trust them and restore their standing.
"Have you all finished?" Fugaku finally spoke, his voice steady and firm. "Now listen to me."
Everyone fell silent, their gazes fixed on him.
"The Hokage Position doesn't belong to Namikaze Minato alone. The Uchiha Clan helped build Konoha from the beginning. The First, Senju Hashirama, was able to establish Konoha with the help of our ancestor, Uchiha Madara."
He paused, each word landing with weight. "Our Uchiha Clan has never lacked capable people, nor have we ever lacked the resolve to protect Konoha."
The elders exchanged glances, unable to grasp the deeper meaning of their clan head's words.
"Clan Head, do you mean..." one elder asked cautiously.
Fugaku didn't answer directly. Instead, he looked out the window, in the direction of Kage Rock.
"Uchiha Madara's return is certainly an unexpected development," he said, his tone grave. "This development could bring a crisis, or it could... bring an opportunity."
Not long after the meeting at the Uchiha Clan Compound ended,
night fell, and a dark figure silently slipped into Fugaku's home.
Fugaku sensed something was amiss, but simply sat on the tatami without showing it. He picked up his teacup and took a gentle sip.
"Visiting in the middle of the night, Lord Danzo? What brings you here?"
A figure slowly emerged from the shadows. It was Shimura Danzo, the man who had stirred up trouble at the succession meeting. His right eye was wrapped in bandages, and his remaining eye fixed on Fugaku like a hawk's.
"Clan Head Fugaku is every bit as impressive as they say. Your senses are still sharp." "Danzo's" voice was hoarse, carrying its usual sinister edge. "I've come here tonight on someone else's behalf."
"On someone else's behalf?" Fugaku's eyes narrowed, his guard rising to its highest point. He knew what kind of man Danzo was. That old fox never made a deal at a loss.
He motioned for the others to leave, then continued the conversation alone with Danzo in a private room.
"That's right." "Danzo" slowly took a seat across from Fugaku. Skipping the pleasantries, he got straight to the point. "Lord Madara thinks highly of you."
The teacup in Fugaku's hand suddenly trembled, and a few drops of hot tea splashed onto his hand.
Uchiha Madara? The name struck like lightning, shattering Fugaku's composure.
He quickly calmed down, but suspicion filled his eyes. "Lord Danzo, you shouldn't joke about something like that. Hasn't Uchiha Madara been dead for decades?"
"Was what you said at the Hokage succession meeting true?"
"Danzo" gave a cold snort. "Do you think I'm joking? Aren't the upheaval at today's Hokage meeting and the fact that I know the secrets of your Uchiha Clan enough to explain things?"
Fugaku's heart gave a jolt. Danzo's behavior that day and his forceful opposition to Namikaze Minato becoming Hokage had indeed raised many questions. And in Amegakure, Danzo and the elite of Root had mysteriously disappeared. When they resurfaced, they seemed to have forged ties with some mysterious power.
He stared at "Danzo's" uncovered eye, trying to read something in it.
"Lord Madara has returned. That's a fact." "Danzo" lowered his voice, his words taking on a vaguely seductive tone. "He believes Konoha has long since rotted and needs a complete transformation. Naturally, that transformation should be led by the Uchiha Clan."
"Why should the Senju Clan and its followers monopolize the Hokage Position? Your Uchiha Clan also helped build Konoha."
"Lord Madara thinks very highly of you, Fugaku. He believes you have more than a talent for the Sharingan—you also have the resolve and ambition to lead a clan. The Hokage Position should belong to someone like you."
Every word struck like a chisel, hitting the deepest, most secret part of Fugaku's heart. The Hokage Position: it was the Uchiha Clan's age-old aspiration, and the greatest ambition he had kept buried within himself.
But Fugaku was no ordinary man. As the one who led the Uchiha Clan, he was far more discerning than most. He didn't give an answer right away. Instead, he picked up his teacup and took another sip, concealing the turmoil in his eyes.
"I'm honored that Lord Madara thinks so highly of me, but forgive my frankness, Lord Danzo." Fugaku set down his teacup and spoke calmly. "A man of Lord Madara's stature—if he really is still alive, why would he need you to speak for him? He could come and see me himself."
"Danzo's" eye narrowed slightly. He clearly hadn't expected Fugaku to remain so calm.
"Lord Madara has his reasons," "Danzo" replied unhurriedly. "Though he thinks highly of you, he also needs to see whether you're qualified to become his 'subordinate.' After all, the Uchiha Clan's current situation is far from ideal."
The words were merciless, but they were also true. Though the Uchiha Clan was one of Konoha's great clans, it had always been shut out of the power structure and even kept under close surveillance by the village leadership.
"Lord Madara said," "Danzo" continued, dangling another tempting offer, "that if you can claim the Hokage Position, he'll support you with everything he has. Then the Uchiha Clan will regain its former glory—and may even rise above Konoha, becoming its true rulers."
Fugaku fell silent. Waves crashed inside him. Uchiha Madara, a man said to have rivaled the First, would be an unimaginable force if he were truly alive and willing to support him.
But Fugaku wasn't a fool. What kind of man was Uchiha Madara? Would he support Fugaku for no reason? There had to be a tremendous price.
"I need time to think," Fugaku finally said.
"Danzo" stood up. A trace of disappointment flashed in his eye, but he quickly resumed his usual cold expression.
"Of course. Lord Madara has given you all the respect and time you need," he said in a low, drawn-out voice. "But time waits for no one. Konoha's power structure is changing rapidly. Namikaze Minato has his supporters, too. If you hesitate, the opportunity won't wait for you forever."
As he spoke, "Danzo" took a scroll from inside his robe and placed it in front of Fugaku.
"This is a 'gift' from Lord Madara. I hope it helps you make the right choice."
With that, "Danzo's" figure melted back into the shadows and disappeared without a sound.
Fugaku stared at the scroll in front of him, motionless for a long time. It bore no seal and gave off no trace of Chakra. It looked utterly ordinary.
He reached out and picked up the scroll. The moment he opened it, his pupils contracted.
There were no words on the scroll, only a lifelike drawing: a pair of eyes.
A pair of purple eyes covered in strange ripples.
The Rinnegan!
Fugaku's breathing grew ragged. He had seen those eyes only in ancient clan records. This was a supreme ocular technique, one that surpassed the Mangekyō Sharingan. According to legend, it was the God's Eye possessed only by the Sage of Six Paths!
In the lower-right corner of the scroll was a tiny clan crest, like a drop of fresh blood: the Uchiha.
This "gift" had thrown Fugaku's heart into complete turmoil.
In a distant cave, Lin Feng watched Fugaku's shocked expression in the Water Mirror, a playful smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
"Good. The fish has finally taken the bait." He leaned lazily against a stone chair.
Black Zetsu poked his head up from the ground and chuckled darkly. "Lord Madara, that was a brilliant move. Using Danzo to turn Fugaku against Konoha will make them fight among themselves and weaken the village."
"The Uchiha Clan is Konoha's greatest source of instability," Lin Feng said coolly. "They crave power, yet the village keeps them on the outside. Once that conflict boils over, it'll be enough to plunge Konoha into a civil war from which it can never recover."
"What's more," Lin Feng's Rinnegan flickered faintly, "Uchiha Fugaku isn't as simple as he seems. He has more than an ordinary Mangekyō Sharingan."
Black Zetsu looked puzzled. "Oh? What other secrets does Fugaku have?"
Lin Feng didn't answer directly, teasing him instead. "You'll find out in time. Now that things are getting 'lively' in Konoha, we should see how that brat Nagato is doing in Amegakure."
He closed his eyes, and his consciousness instantly linked with the distant perception of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
The scene in the Water Mirror changed once more. This time, it showed Amegakure.
Nagato stood out starkly among the ruins in the center of the village. His Black Red-Cloud Robe looked even more sinister in the rain. Bodies lay sprawled at his feet.
Yahiko knelt on the ground, soaked through, his eyes numb and vacant. Konan huddled close to him, trying to comfort him, but her eyes were just as filled with despair.
And Kakuzu, that greedy old man, stood beside Nagato, counting the money and ninja tools he had looted from the corpses. Every so often, he looked up at Nagato, and a hint of reverence had entered his green eyes.
"Nagato..." Yahiko's voice was hoarse and weak. "Do we really have to go this far?"
Nagato didn't turn around. He simply said calmly, "This is Lord Madara's order. Only when the rebels feel pain will they learn to fear us. True order can be established only through power."
"Order..." Yahiko closed his eyes in pain. His dream had once been to establish order through dialogue and understanding. Now, everything before him was being suppressed through bloodshed and violence.
Lin Feng watched it all in the Water Mirror, satisfied. Nagato had begun to adapt to his role as a "god" and was learning to use power to create the "peace" he understood.
He opened his eyes and looked at Black Zetsu. "Tell Nagato that now's the time to make those troublemakers in Amegakure submit completely."
Black Zetsu gave a sinister laugh and sank back underground.
Lin Feng closed his eyes again, continuing to sense in his mind the "Chakra Network" in Amegakure, woven from pain and fear.
He knew this was only the beginning. Konoha and Amegakure were merely stages for his "dance." He would make the entire Ninja World boil over because of his presence.
And Uchiha Fugaku would be another important piece he had planted in Konoha.
Lin Feng smiled again. In his Rinnegan, the turbulent future of the Ninja World was reflected, its waters muddied by his hand.
Tomorrow, he would go see Fugaku in person and find out just how many surprises this new "Hokage candidate" could bring him.
Before you continue