A cunning rabbit has three burrows

Konoha Year Seven, spring.

The weather remained cold and overcast. The sunlight seemed locked beyond the horizon by thick clouds, rarely revealing even a few unbroken rays. Wind swept past the eaves of the Uchiha Clan Compound, lifting the lingering snow from the ground and turning into a damp chill that slipped into every crack.

The secret chamber where Elder Xuan was recovering had grown much quieter than it had been a few days earlier.

The smell of medicine had faded somewhat, but the oppressive air of injury and illness remained. The window stood open a crack. Outside, the sky was gloomy, with little sunlight, and the breeze carried the distinctive damp chill of melting snow.

Elder Xuan sat propped on the couch, three thick cushions behind his back barely supporting his frail body. His face was still pale and bloodless, but his eyes were much clearer, no longer unfocused as they had been before. The Fake Immortality Pill had kept him alive, but the damage to his constitution could not heal in a few days. He held a dossier in his hands, reading slowly with his brows slightly furrowed.

Yinglang entered with a bowl of freshly brewed medicine and gently set it on the low table beside the couch.

"Father-in-law, it's time for your medicine."

Elder Xuan set down the dossier and glanced at the bowl of pitch-black medicine. Without a word, he picked it up and drank it slowly. He did not so much as frown. Only after finishing did he ask, "How are things outside?"

"Yuanguang's people are still making trouble, though they've quieted down a little. As for the council of elders..." Yinglang sat beside the couch, his tone calm. "Elder Yan and Elder Wen want to hold a formal trial once you've recovered a little more. Tobirama, though, hasn't been keeping quiet."

Elder Xuan raised his eyelids slightly. "He approached you again?"

"Yes. The same old line, whether he said it outright or not." Yinglang's lips twitched. "He thinks I'm 'unstable' and the Uchiha cause too much trouble. Kagami is an honored guest of his now. He visits often."

Silence settled over them for several seconds. Only the faint sound of wind passing over the eaves could be heard outside.

Elder Xuan did not respond. His gaze rested on Yinglang's face for a long while. This child... he's changed again. The steadiness in his expression remained, but something deeper seemed to lie beneath it. His eyes were darker than before, stiller, so still they were hard to read. And there were those vague reports from the Hokage Office that day...

"Your eyes," Elder Xuan suddenly said, his voice quiet. "What happened?"

Yinglang did not evade the question. He looked up at him. "When I was talking to Tobirama in the Hokage Office, I couldn't quite hold my temper. They awakened."

"How many tomoe?"

"Three-Tomoe."

The hand holding Elder Xuan's empty medicine bowl paused almost imperceptibly. Three-Tomoe. Three-Tomoe before the age of six. And they had awakened in a surge of emotion while facing someone like Tobirama Senju. He knew better than anyone what that meant.

"What brought it on?" he asked.

Yinglang fell silent for a moment before slowly replying, "Because I felt... stifled."

He raised his eyes to Elder Xuan, and something showed clearly through their dark depths. "Father-in-law, don't you feel stifled?"

"We Uchiha fought alongside the Senju even before the village was founded. How many of us died? How much blood did we shed? Which brick in Konoha doesn't have Uchiha bones buried beneath it? But what came of it? What did we get?"

"Yes, we have a clan compound now. We no longer have to wander from place to place fighting wars. But Konoha High Command watches us as if we were thieves! Mission assignments, resource allocations, promotion quotas... when have any of those ever favored us? And we're branded 'inherently evil' and 'emotionally unstable' on top of it! Why?"

His voice was not loud, but every word landed with the weight of a stone striking the ground.

"Was what happened to you really an accident? Yuanguang was nothing more than a dog pushed to the front! Who was handing out the knives and promising rewards behind him? Did a small clan like the Tsuchigumo simply go mad on its own, or did someone hint that attacking an Uchiha elder would not only go unpunished, but earn them benefits?"

Elder Xuan's expression remained composed, and he said nothing. Some things did not need to be spelled out.

"And then there's Tobirama." Yinglang's tone grew colder. "You should know better than I do how he looks at us. He doesn't see comrades. He sees tools, potential threats, a... sleeping lion that needs constant watching and would preferably never wake up. He'd love to pull out the Uchiha's claws one by one, knock out every tooth, then collar us and chain us at the Konoha Gate as watchdogs that can do nothing but wag their tails."

"But we aren't dogs." Yinglang stared into Elder Xuan's eyes, enunciating every word. "We are Uchiha. The Uchiha who built all this alongside Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha!"

He drew a deep breath, as if trying to suppress what churned inside his chest. His voice lowered, yet became even clearer:

"Father-in-law, Konoha... has no place for us Uchiha at all. At least, nowhere we can live openly and hold our heads high. Tobirama Senju's desire to destroy the Uchiha Clan has never died. He simply lacked an opportunity before. Now... that opportunity is coming."

Elder Xuan remained silent, his world-weary eyes fixed deeply on Yinglang, as though trying to see into his very bones.

"So," Yinglang met his gaze, no longer concealing anything, "we need to leave ourselves a way out."

"A way out?" Elder Xuan finally spoke, his voice somewhat hoarse.

"Yes, a way out." Yinglang leaned forward slightly, his tone earnest and his manner that of a junior seeking an elder's guidance, yet his words were startling. "Find a place outside the Land of Fire and build a secret base. It doesn't need to be large, but it must be hidden and safe. Somewhere we can shelter people, stockpile supplies, and... as a last resort, give some of our clansmen, especially the children and promising young people, a chance to survive."

Yinglang was thinking to himself. Rōran, the Land of Demons, the Land of Ghosts... all good options. The dragon vein, the priestess, remote little countries, each has its advantages. Of course, the best option would be discovering a new, unclaimed continent! That would be the best starting point!

Elder Xuan's breathing quickened almost imperceptibly for an instant. He stared at Yinglang, seemingly searching that still-childish face for even a trace of humor or impulsiveness. But all he saw was composure, careful consideration, and an almost ruthless clarity.

"You..." Elder Xuan said slowly. "You want the Uchiha... to split apart?"

"Not split apart." Yinglang shook his head, his tone firm. "Preserve a seed, keep a spark alive. Even a cunning rabbit has three burrows. Shouldn't a clan have as much? Putting all our eggs in Konoha's basket is too dangerous. If... I'm saying if, one day Konoha can no longer tolerate us, or some internal upheaval occurs that we can't withstand, are we supposed to let the entire clan, young and old, wait to die together?"

He paused, looking into Elder Xuan's eyes. "Father-in-law, you lived through the Warring States period. You know what it means for a bloodline to be wiped out. We can't stake the Uchiha's entire future on Konoha's 'mercy' or its 'need' for us. We need cards of our own to play, somewhere to retreat to. This way... at least if we can no longer stay in Konoha someday, the clan's children will still have somewhere to catch their breath, still have some hope."

"Hope..." Elder Xuan repeated the word softly, his gaze drifting, as though recalling events from long ago, remembering the faces of clansmen who had died before the village was founded, on missions, or without a sound.

The secret chamber fell silent again. Only their quiet breathing remained.

A long time passed, long enough that the sky outside the window seemed to darken further, before Elder Xuan slowly spoke. "Do you know... how great a risk this is? If Konoha discovers it, it will be the grave crime of betraying the village. Then we won't need to wait for any 'if.' Tobirama will immediately have a reason to act against the Uchiha."

"I know." Yinglang nodded. "That's why it must be absolutely secret. The fewer people who know, the better. Selecting the site, building the base, screening the personnel... every step must be taken with the utmost caution. We can use another pretext-opening new trade routes, exploring unknown regions, establishing overseas intelligence posts. We could even use certain clandestine businesses the clan runs privately as cover."

He looked at Elder Xuan. "This needs your approval, or at least your tacit consent. We'll also need capable people you trust to handle it in secret. I stand out too much. Tobirama watches me closely. But there must be some people in the clan who are inconspicuous yet reliable enough."

Elder Xuan did not answer immediately. He closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling slightly with his breathing, his face looking even paler in the dim light. He was weighing it, struggling with it. He understood every point Yinglang had made and might even have considered them himself. But thinking and actually doing were two different things. This was tantamount to secretly building a lifeboat for themselves aboard the great ship of Konoha. Discovery would mean utter ruin.

But... if we don't build this lifeboat, what if the ship sinks? Can the entire Uchiha Clan swim ashore?

He remembered the cold and helplessness of lying gravely wounded and dying. He remembered the weight and resolve beyond Yinglang's years that he had seen in the boy's eyes upon waking. He remembered Tobirama Senju's eyes, forever calm, forever calculating...

After a long while, Elder Xuan slowly opened his eyes and looked at Yinglang again, weary, but with the sharpness of someone who had made his decision.

"The people... I have them." His voice was very soft, but clear. "The location... do you have anything in mind?"

Yinglang felt relief wash through him. He knew the most crucial step had succeeded. He showed little joy on his face, merely nodding with greater solemnity.

"I have a few general directions in mind, but we'll need to send people to investigate them in person, check the terrain and surroundings, and see whether anyone is paying attention to them. Those we send must be absolutely reliable and tight-lipped. They must leave no traces. We could use... people who are already 'dead.' They're less likely to attract the attention of Konoha's Anbu."

Elder Xuan nodded almost imperceptibly. "I'll make the arrangements. You..." He paused, looking at Yinglang. "You've gone further and thought more deeply than I imagined. But this won't be an easy path. One wrong step, and you fall into the abyss. At best, you'll lose your standing and reputation. At worst... you'll bring disaster upon yourself and the entire clan."

"I understand," Yinglang said gravely. "I also know this path is covered in thorns and fraught with danger. But some paths must be taken, even when we know how difficult they are. We can't simply... sit and wait to die."

Elder Xuan said nothing more. He merely waved a hand to indicate that he understood and was tired.

Yinglang rose, bowed, picked up the empty medicine bowl, and quietly withdrew.

Elder Xuan was alone in the secret chamber once more. He leaned against the cushions, looking at the patch of gloomy sky outside the window. After a long while, he let out an almost inaudible sigh and closed his eyes.

Outside the Land of Fire... a secret base...

The Uchiha's escape route was also the first brick this son-in-law he could not see through had laid for himself on a road leading into the unknown distance.

Meanwhile, Yinglang had left the secret chamber and stood beneath the eaves, closing his eyes to the cool spring breeze.

When he opened them again, three dark-red tomoe quietly appeared deep within his pupils, slowly rotating with a sharpness that could see through everything.

An instant later, they vanished without a trace.

Rōran's dragon vein, the priestess's legacy in the Land of Demons, the remoteness and isolation of the Land of Ghosts... all are options. But the best will always be new land where no one has set foot.

The foundation of the future Toyotomi House would be built up little by little, beginning with this step of "a cunning rabbit has three burrows."