Fugaku, Please Step Down

"I've grown old. I can no longer see into people's hearts. But Danzo... you've grown old too. Don't blame me. We can't let the future of Konoha be ruined by decrepit old men like us."

"Minato... ah."

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned and drew deeply on his pipe.

"Someone!"

An ANBU ninja appeared in the office and knelt on one knee. "Lord Hokage!"

"Where is Jiraiya now?"

"According to a report from three days ago, Lord Jiraiya was near the Land of Grass!"

"The Land of Grass..."

Hiruzen's gaze grew distant, and he sighed.

"Very well. Have him return. And notify Tsunade to come back as well. Her vacation has gone on long enough. It's time she shouldered some of the village's burdens."

"Yes, sir!"

The ANBU ninja left.

Hiruzen leaned back in his Chair and stared at the ceiling. "Shinji Uchiha... seventeen years old. The next Madara Uchiha...?"

"No... perhaps he's even more frightening than Madara Uchiha!"

Clarity suddenly returned to Hiruzen Sarutobi's clouded eyes, sharpening his gaze.

Yesterday.

Big Brother Shinji's impassioned words about the Will of Fire had moved him, making him feel as though he had returned to the fervent days when he followed the Second Hokage.

But... that had been an illusion!

After a night of thought,

he suddenly realized that Shinji Uchiha, a mere seventeen-year-old, possessed unfathomable resolve and strength. He had shown leadership ability, too...

If Big Brother Shinji truly came to lead the Uchiha Clan, what unpredictable turn would its future take?

Hiruzen Sarutobi shot to his feet.

He swept his sleeve through the air.

"Someone! Tell Danzo I agree to half his proposal: watch, contain, and guide them, but under no circumstances are you to strike. For now, we wait and see!"

"Warn him! If anything unusual happens, he must report to me immediately. He is not to act on his own again!"

"Yes, sir!"

The ANBU ninja departed, leaving Hiruzen Sarutobi pacing alone in his office.

Suddenly, he stopped. "Kakashi, has Uchiha Itachi returned?"

Kakashi pushed the door open. "Yes, Lord Hokage! Uchiha Itachi just returned to ANBU headquarters and turned in his mission report!"

"Send him to see me!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Sorry to trouble you!"

Shisui bowed his head.

He took the cup of tea Mikoto offered him.

"Aunt Mikoto, please don't fuss over us. We're happy to sit and wait." Big Brother Shinji narrowed his eyes and glanced toward the stairs.

Uchiha Mikoto pouted. "Honestly! You boys have been waiting so long, and he's still dawdling. I'll go hurry him up."

"No need!"

Tap, tap, tap.

Uchiha Fugaku came down the stairs. He gave Shisui a surprised glance, then turned to Big Brother Shinji.

"Big Brother Shinji, did you need something?"

Mikoto rose to excuse herself. "I'll prepare some snacks for you."

Big Brother Shinji nodded and politely saw her off.

Only after Mikoto was out of sight did he turn to Uchiha Fugaku, seated at the head of the room. "Clan Head."

"Clan Head."

From this angle, Uchiha Fugaku really did cut an imposing figure.

His short black hair, square face, and stern, impassive features gave him an indescribable air of authority.

Fugaku smiled. "This is a rare occasion. The clan's two greatest young talents have come to visit me as soon as they returned from the border."

Shisui sipped his tea. He had come to back Big Brother Shinji up.

Though,

he didn't agree with Big Brother Shinji's claim that he needed backup. The man was far stronger than him... all that separated them was a so-called Mangekyo.

Big Brother Shinji dispensed with the pleasantries and came straight to the point. "Clan Head, please step down!"

Fugaku: "..."

Shisui: "...Pfft!"

Sasuke Uchiha, eavesdropping from the stairwell: "???"

Uchiha Mikoto, approaching the hallway with a tray of pastries: "..."

Uchiha Itachi, leaning against the wall outside: "!!!"

Not a soul made a sound.

Only the midwinter wind blowing through the corridor assured them that time had not stopped.

"Why?"

After a long silence,

Fugaku picked up his teacup and said evenly, "I need a reason."

The smile vanished from Big Brother Shinji's face. "Your incompetence is reason enough. There's no need to dress it up!"

"What gives you the right to say that about my dad?"

Sasuke sprang out and pointed down at Big Brother Shinji from above like an angry little lion.

Unfortunately,

a little lion was still little.

Big Brother Shinji kept his eyes on Fugaku.

"Go back." Fugaku frowned.

"Dad!" Sasuke looked at him in disbelief.

Mikoto hurried in, set down the tray, then rushed upstairs and carried Sasuke away into the stairwell.

Fugaku looked back at Big Brother Shinji and gave a short laugh. "Incompetence?"

Big Brother Shinji's expression was earnest. "Yes. Incompetence."

"Then tell me. Where, exactly, have I failed as clan leader so badly that you'd call me something as harsh as incompetent?"

Big Brother Shinji shook his head. "I recall that after the Nine-Tails attack, you seemed to express an interest in staging a coup and claiming the Hokage Position."

"That's right."

Though Fugaku had been swept along by his clansmen's wishes and had agreed only reluctantly, he was a man who took responsibility for his actions. He would not deny it.

"The Fourth Hokage's death was a tremendous blow to the Uchiha Clan. He wasn't just my friend; he was the hope of our future. But after that night, that hope vanished completely. The Hokage Building surrounded the clan and relocated our compound. Our clansmen were furious and demanded that I take a stand. I had no choice but to agree..."

Outside, Uchiha Itachi tensed.

"Then, Clan Head, if you'll permit me to ask: after all these years, how far have preparations for the coup progressed?"

Fugaku shook his head. "I'm still undecided about it."

"What are you undecided about?"

"You brat... A coup requires the entire clan to stand together. Konoha's strength isn't as simple as you think. There's Hyuga, Aburame, Yamanaka, Nara, Akimichi, Kurama, and the Inuzuka Clan. Not to mention the Senju Clan hidden among the civilians, or the Sarutobi Clan, the most powerful of them all."

"You're too young."

"Oh?"

Big Brother Shinji looked astonished. "So you do know a coup requires the entire clan to stand together. You know the Uchiha Clan alone can hardly stand against all of Konoha. You know that even if fighting breaks out, both sides will suffer devastating losses, and that the worst outcome would be the complete destruction of the Uchiha Clan? So you knew all along!"

Fugaku fixed Big Brother Shinji with an icy stare. "Brat! Enough with the sarcasm. Say what you mean!"

"Hah."

Big Brother Shinji shook his head. "If you know all that, surely you know the clan split into factions long ago? One wants peace, and one wants war. No, that's not all. There's even a faction willing to betray its own people and surrender!"

"Leaving the surrender faction aside, the pro-peace and pro-war factions are roughly equal in number. Their conflict is nearing the breaking point. They can barely stand each other! Did you know that?"

"I did, but..."

"But you did nothing about it!"

Big Brother Shinji gave no ground, pressing on relentlessly. "Before the Night of the Nine-Tails, you dreamed that the Fourth Hokage would give the Uchiha Clan the fair place it deserved. But he died, and that dream died with him!"

"After the Nine-Tails attack, whether you were forced into it or acted of your own will, you signaled your 'dissatisfaction' to the village, even the possibility of a coup. Whatever the village's response, you set the clan on the path to a coup, yet you wavered and could never make a decision. You dragged it out until now, tearing a once-united clan apart!"

Big Brother Shinji's words grew fiercer. "Perhaps you never truly wanted a coup. Perhaps you just dreamed that the will of the entire Uchiha Clan would put pressure on the village and frighten the Third Hokage. But threats don't solve anything. They only make the other side more wary, more afraid of you, and more determined to wipe you off the face of the earth!"

Big Brother Shinji stared into Fugaku's eyes. "Clan Leader Fugaku, your dream has failed again. And you've left the Uchiha Clan weaker, with no power to deter anyone!"

"Last night's assassination attempt is proof!"

A flicker of shock crossed Fugaku's stern face.

Several times, he reached for his teacup, only to pull back. "But... you're too young. At seventeen, you won't win the clan's support."

Big Brother Shinji exhaled. "Clan Head, I thought you counted as one of the younger generation. Now I see you're rather old-fashioned."

"Heh."

Fugaku chuckled.

At last, he picked up his teacup and said lightly, "In that case, if you want to do it, go ahead. The clan meeting is coming up."

"I'll be right here, waiting for you!"

Outside,

Uchiha Itachi let out a long breath, his expression conflicted.

"Big Brother Shinji..."