You wouldn't want to sink any further, would you?

At night in the Hatake Clan Compound, Sōkyū Hatake sat in the courtyard corridor. A small square tea tray rested on the floor, with a charcoal stove beside it bubbling away and giving off steam.

At that moment, Sōkyū Hatake was gazing up into the night sky, his eyes utterly unfocused, no one knowing what was on his mind.

Tap, tap, tap.

Just then, footsteps sounded in the Hatake Clan's courtyard.

The visitor had not entered through the main gate, however. The Hatake Clan's gate had remained tightly shut all this time, without anyone knocking.

"What a leisurely life. If I didn't know your age, I'd find it hard to imagine a mere five-year-old being so mature." With a flash of red in the darkness, a figure appeared before Sōkyū Hatake.

"Clan Leader Fugaku, doesn't this count as trespassing on our Hatake Clan's property? If I shouted, surely someone would come to investigate soon enough?" Sōkyū Hatake said leisurely, his eyes never even leaving the night sky.

"Weren't you the one who invited me? Besides... even if you shouted, the only people you'd summon would be members of our Uchiha Clan's Konoha Military Police Force, wouldn't they?"

Uchiha Fugaku glanced at Sōkyū Hatake in amusement. This kid really did have some interesting ideas.

"The Konoha Military Police Force... that's quite a lot of authority." Sōkyū Hatake finally focused his gaze on Uchiha Fugaku.

Looking into Uchiha Fugaku's eyes, Sōkyū Hatake froze for a moment.

Those large, pinwheel-shaped pupils-there was no mistaking that pattern. This was the Uchiha Clan's Mangekyō Sharingan!

Moreover, judging by the arrangement of the tomoe, it should have been a genjutsu-type Mangekyō Sharingan like Uchiha Itachi's.

"What, did the sight frighten you?" Uchiha Fugaku watched Sōkyū Hatake's eyes and quickly concealed his Mangekyō Sharingan.

Now, all that remained in Uchiha Fugaku's eyes were ordinary black pupils.

"Not really. I just didn't expect you to reveal your Mangekyō Sharingan outright, Clan Leader Fugaku." Sōkyū Hatake chuckled twice. He hadn't expected Uchiha Fugaku to be so direct.

"I only revealed it to show you my sincerity. Now, where is yours?" Uchiha Fugaku walked over to Sōkyū Hatake and sat down on the other side of the tea table.

"My sincerity?"

"Yes, your sincerity. Or perhaps I should say your Hatake Clan's sincerity. As you said today, a way to lead the Uchiha Clan out of this predicament." Uchiha Fugaku made no attempt to hide anything and stated his purpose outright.

Indeed, during their meeting that day, Sōkyū Hatake had passed a few words to Uchiha Fugaku.

[Clan leader, you wouldn't want the Uchiha Clan to keep sinking like this, would you?]

[What if I said I had a way to pull the Uchiha Clan out of this predicament?]

[Come to my home tonight. I'll show you what a... solution looks like.]

Yes, those three sentences alone had made Uchiha Fugaku leave Uchiha Mikoto behind late at night and come straight to the Hatake Clan Compound.

This was not some display of dazzling personal charisma. Rather, Uchiha Fugaku had long wanted to know how to break out of this situation.

Though he was very reluctant to admit it, Uchiha Fugaku still knew exactly what his Uchiha Clan faced.

"You'll see my sincerity, of course. Have some tea first. The night is long." Sōkyū Hatake picked up the kettle that had been bubbling beside him, brewed two cups of tea, and set one before Uchiha Fugaku.

"Fine tea." Uchiha Fugaku picked up the cup, and its lingering fragrance filled his nostrils.

"The finest tea leaves from the Land of Tea. These were part of my father's treasured collection," Sōkyū Hatake said outright. They were indeed something Hatake Sakumo had left behind.

"Something Senior White Fang left behind?" Uchiha Fugaku stared at the teacup in his hand.

Even though he had no particularly close ties with the Hatake Clan, Uchiha Fugaku still greatly admired Hatake Sakumo.

Konoha White Fang was not merely a title earned by beating outside ninja into submission. Part of it also came from the help he had given within Konoha.

After all, the helpful Hatake Sakumo had privately assisted quite a few people, including some ninja from the Uchiha Clan whom he had looked after.

In Uchiha Fugaku's eyes, someone like that was also well worth admiring.

For a moment, Uchiha Fugaku remained silent, seemingly reminded of something.

"Pika-pi~" As though finding the two of them a little boring, Pikachu jumped straight into a tree in the courtyard and began gnawing on an apple held in his arms.

"Clan Leader Fugaku, what do you think is the most important aspect of the Uchiha Clan's current predicament?" Sōkyū Hatake broke the impasse first.

"Our predicament? Naturally, it's the prejudice Konoha's higher-ups hold against our Uchiha Clan," Uchiha Fugaku answered without a second thought.

For their Uchiha Clan, having lived through the rule of Tobirama Senju and Hiruzen Sarutobi, they could already be said to have been pushed far from the circles of power.

"Prejudice? Your Uchiha Clan was one of the two great clans that founded the village. Why has the Senju Clan produced two Hokage, while your Uchiha Clan hasn't produced a single one? If we're talking about prejudice, the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, wasn't prejudiced against you at the beginning, was he?"

Sōkyū Hatake scoffed. He really did find this talk of prejudice a little amusing.

"The First Hokage indeed held no prejudice against the Uchiha Clan, but... after Tobirama Senju took office, he moved the Uchiha Clan straight to Konoha's most remote outskirts," Uchiha Fugaku replied.

"That's true. And what about one other matter?"

"What matter?" Uchiha Fugaku looked up at the sky. It seemed some things might be brought to light today.

"The Konoha Military Police Force. That was something the Second Hokage promised you back then, and all these years, you've kept it firmly in your hands, haven't you?"

Sōkyū Hatake toyed with his teacup. There was something he was curious about: had no one in the Uchiha Clan thought of this?

To prevent another Madara Uchiha from emerging, Tobirama Senju had decided to consolidate and guide the Uchiha's strength. He had built the Konoha Military Police Force headquarters together with the prison and put the Uchiha Clan in charge of maintaining public order in the village, making them contribute to it.

However, being responsible for public order also meant being the people most likely to offend others. This was one of Tobirama Senju's maneuvers.