Year 47 of Konoha, autumn.
Uchiha Clan Compound, the secret meeting room at Naka River Shrine.
Unlike the oppressive, stifling atmosphere of days past, today the meeting room was charged with restless excitement.
"Clan Head! Captain Xuan Shi!"
Yashiro Uchiha shot to his feet, waving a freshly compiled training report. He couldn't hide his excitement.
"This is a miracle! After half a month of intensive training, the Police Force's overall chakra levels have risen by a full thirty percent! And those thirty jōnin who received the secret medicine have grown so powerful in taijutsu and ninjutsu that they've even surpassed the elite Anbu squads!"
Yashiro's voice rose higher and higher, and the ambition in his eyes swelled.
"Each of us can take on three opponents we couldn't handle before! How much longer are we going to put up with that old blind bastard, Danzo? If you ask me, we should strike tonight and wipe out those rats in Root! Then we can storm the Hokage Building and take back the power we deserve!"
"I agree!"
"Right! We're sick of pretending!"
"The Uchiha are powerful enough to crush anyone!"
Several hardline elders chimed in. With power in their hands, their desire for revenge was growing like a weed. They didn't want to keep playing the submissive fool anymore. They wanted Konoha to see who the true foremost clan was.
Fugaku sat at the head of the table without a word, turning only to look at Xuan Shi, seated on his left.
Xuan Shi held a teacup and gently blew the floating tea leaves aside.
"Clack."
The cup made little noise as it touched the table, but the meeting room fell instantly silent.
Everyone looked toward the young commander.
Xuan Shi rose and walked to the blackboard. He didn't argue with Yashiro. Instead, he picked up a piece of chalk and drew a large circle to represent Konoha.
"Uncle Yashiro is right. The Uchiha are indeed powerful now."
Xuan Shi turned and looked around the room.
"System... ahem. By my assessment, our current forces include four Mangekyo Sharingan, thirty quasi-Kage-level jōnin as our core strength, and three hundred elite troops who have awakened the Sharingan."
"Anywhere in the Shinobi World, this force would be enough to wipe out a small country, or even deal a heavy blow to the vanguard of one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages."
Pride showed on everyone's faces.
"But."
Xuan Shi changed course, tapping the chalk sharply against the blackboard twice.
"Our opponents aren't just that useless Danzo."
Beside the large circle representing Konoha, he sketched a figure in a spiral mask, then drew a black pitcher plant.
"Uchiha Obito. He has Hashirama Cells, wields Kamui, an utterly broken Space-Time Ninjutsu, and can control the Nine-Tails."
"Black Zetsu. A schemer who has lived for over a thousand years, lurking in the shadows with a thorough grasp of our intelligence."
"And..."
Farther away, Xuan Shi drew four circles to represent the other four great shinobi villages.
"If we start a civil war now, Konoha will inevitably be gravely weakened. Will Cloud Village, Iwagakure, and Mist Village pass up this opportunity?"
"Even if we defeat Danzo, all we'll gain is a pile of ruins. Do we want to rule over that?"
The meeting room fell deathly silent.
The fervor on Yashiro's face gradually faded, replaced by a cold sweat.
"What we need to do is not destroy Konoha."
Xuan Shi's voice was calm and clear.
"What we need to do is appear as saviors on the night of the Nine-Tails' Attack. We'll stand atop the Nine-Tails' corpse and crush Obito's ambitions, until everyone willingly hands power over to us."
"We're not going to be tyrants ruling over ruins. We're going to be the ones who rule over an age of prosperity."
Fugaku nodded and set the tone. "Xuan Shi is right. A moment's patience can prevent a great calamity. We're enduring this now so we can strike a fatal blow when the time comes."
"Pass down the orders."
Fugaku stood, the authority of the clan head returning to him.
"Continue with the 'relaxed on the surface, vigilant beneath' strategy. The Police Force must keep up its image of decadence. Eat, drink, and make merry, so Danzo thinks we're still lost in a life of drunken pleasure."
"In secret, conduct specialized tactical drills against Obito's Kamui and the Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb."
"Yes!" the elders replied in unison, their restlessness replaced by unwavering conviction.
Xuan Shi looked toward Shisui and Itachi.
"You two, continue to stay active in public. As Konoha's twin prodigies, the more you shine, the more you'll draw the higher-ups' attention and help cover the clan's covert operations."
"Understood." Shisui and Itachi nodded.
After the meeting, Xuan Shi left the shrine alone.
The autumn wind stirred the fallen leaves.
Time flowed swiftly beneath a tranquil surface, just like the river.
Winter passed in Konoha in Year 47.
Heavy snow blanketed the village, hiding every trace. Through the snowy nights, the Uchiha Clan quietly honed their claws and fangs.
Spring came to Konoha in Year 48.
The cherry blossoms bloomed. Itachi graduated early at the top of his class, while Shisui distinguished himself repeatedly in Anbu and became the bona fide "Body Flicker Shisui."
And at the Hokage Building, Kushina Uzumaki's belly grew larger by the day.
The child foretold by prophecy, the life that would bear the burden of sealing the Nine-Tails, was growing within her.
Konoha, Year 48, August.
The cicadas' midsummer cries were somewhat grating.
Xuan Shi stood on the highest rooftop in the Uchiha Clan Compound, gazing into the distance.
In that direction, at the park near Konoha Hospital, a heavily pregnant Kushina walked beneath the shade of the trees with her arm linked through Minato's. Their faces were bright with happiness, and they had no idea what storm was about to descend.
Or perhaps Minato had sensed something, but he believed he was prepared.
Xuan Shi narrowed his eyes.
A blood-red countdown appeared on the system interface before him.
[Critical time point approaching.] [Current time: August 10, Year 48 of Konoha.] [Time until the Nine-Tails' Attack (October 10): 60 days.]
Two months.
The final two months.
Xuan Shi drew in a deep breath of the sweltering air, as though he could smell a faint trace of blood in it.
"The storm is coming."
He turned and leapt from the rooftop, vanishing into the shadows.
This time, the long-hidden Asura of the Ninja World—the Uchiha—would tear this cursed fate to shreds once and for all.
Before you continue