The night had swallowed the village whole.
Cold winds swept through the streets and alleys, rattling the vermilion torii gate standing before the Uchiha Shrine.
Inside, dim candlelight flickered against the walls.
Shadows overlapped and twisted, drowning most of the shrine hall in thick darkness.
Then a cold, mocking laugh broke the silence.
“Tobirama, you foolish old fool…”
“Did he really think that simply appointing one of his disciples would be enough to secure the Hokage’s seat?”
Uchiha Setsuna, leader of the clan’s hawkish faction, sat comfortably in a chair.
In his hand was a report detailing everything that had happened during today’s Jōnin Council.
A black cloak draped over his shoulders.
His thin, aged right hand rested upon a polished ebony cane.
Most of his body remained hidden within the shadows, leaving only half of his stern, weathered face illuminated by the candlelight.
A vicious gleam flickered within his eyes.
His voice was filled with ridicule and amusement.
Clearly…
Watching Danzō struggle as the newly appointed Third Hokage had put him in an excellent mood.
The longer the military mobilization remained stalled, the more Danzō’s authority would erode.
If he failed to resolve the situation, everyone would soon realize the truth:
He was nothing more than a hastily appointed figurehead chosen by Tobirama Senju.
And once that happened…
The old powers within the village would inevitably push further.
Step by step, they would strip away his authority and reduce him to a puppet.
After all, the desire to seize the Hokage’s power wasn’t unique to the Uchiha.
Many people coveted that position.
And when the struggle began, the Uchiha could easily muddy the waters and advance their own interests.
Perhaps…
They might even seize the throne themselves.
If Danzō could become Hokage—
Why couldn’t an Uchiha?
The thought caused Setsuna’s smile to widen.
Over the past several days, his efforts had already gathered a considerable number of powerful radicals around him.
Everything was progressing according to plan.
All he needed now…
Was the right opportunity.
The old hawk slowly withdrew his smile.
His eyelids lowered.
Once more, he sank into the darkness.
Like a venomous serpent coiled in the shadows, patiently waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Then another thought crossed his mind.
“…Where’s Kagami?”
Setsuna turned toward one of the clan members standing nearby.
“Why didn’t I see him at today’s clan assembly?”
His tone grew noticeably colder.
This meeting had not been optional.
He had personally ordered every Uchiha jōnin to attend.
The purpose had been twofold:
To humiliate Danzō publicly.
And to prepare the clan for the next phase of his plans.
The clan member’s expression darkened immediately.
“Kagami ignored the assembly.”
“He secretly attended Danzō’s Jōnin Council instead.”
“…What?”
Setsuna’s eyes narrowed sharply.
The temperature within the room seemed to drop.
His voice became icy.
“That idiot.”
The ebony cane struck the floor with a heavy thud.
“Even now…”
“Does he still believe in Hashirama’s ridiculous Will of Fire?”
Setsuna snorted in disdain.
To him, the Will of Fire was nothing more than a political tool.
A convenient slogan Hashirama had used to manipulate others into obedience.
The Uchiha had fallen for that lie once already.
That was why they had abandoned Lord Madara.
And what had they received in return?
Nothing.
After Madara’s departure, Tobirama had continued to distrust them.
To watch them.
To suppress them.
To push them further and further toward the edge of the village.
The so-called Will of Fire had never protected the Uchiha.
It had only shackled them.
The Uchiha carried the title of Konoha’s Police Force.
Yet the work they did inevitably offended people.
As a result, their reputation among the villagers worsened year after year.
At this rate, they were practically becoming public enemies.
This was exactly what Tobirama’s policies had intended—
A slow, deliberate knife carving away at them bit by bit.
In short…
There wasn’t a single decent person in the Senju clan.
The more Setsuna thought about it, the more regret he felt.
Back then, he’d encouraged Kagami to become Tobirama’s disciple for a reason.
The plan had been simple:
Infiltrate the Senju faction.
Build connections.
Prepare Kagami to one day inherit the position of Third Hokage.
Who could have guessed that Tobirama’s brainwashing would be this effective?
After years under his guidance, Kagami had become the perfect embodiment of the Will of Fire.
Damn it!
No…
He had to find a way to bring that child back to the right path.
Just as Setsuna was deep in thought, steady footsteps echoed from outside the shrine.
The door slid open.
Uchiha Kagami walked inside.
The moment he entered the main hall, he noticed the atmosphere.
Every clan member present looked agitated.
Their eyes burned with hostility and barely restrained aggression.
His heart sank.
As expected…
Many of them had already been influenced by Elder Setsuna’s rhetoric.
So it had come to this after all.
Tobirama-sensei had barely disappeared, and the ambitions buried deep within the Uchiha were already swelling once more.
Kagami silently sighed.
A trace of helplessness flashed across his face.
Still, he suppressed his emotions and bowed respectfully toward the elder seated at the head of the hall.
“My apologies, Elder Setsuna.”
“I arrived late.”
Setsuna slowly raised his eyes.
His sharp gaze locked onto Kagami.
When he spoke, his voice carried unmistakable accusation.
“You attended Danzō’s Jōnin Council, didn’t you?”
The Jōnin Council was far too important to escape Setsuna’s intelligence network.
There was no point denying it.
Kagami nodded immediately.
“Yes.”
Seeing that, Setsuna rose to his feet.
His expression turned cold.
“So…”
“You chose to obey Danzō rather than attend the clan assembly?”
His voice grew sharper with every word.
“Or perhaps…”
“In your eyes, the future of the Uchiha clan is less important than that brat Danzō?”
Bang!
His cane slammed heavily against the floor.
A neatly prepared accusation was thrown straight at Kagami.
The surrounding clan members immediately began scrutinizing him.
Countless eyes fixed themselves upon him.
One wrong answer—
And he would become a sinner in the eyes of the entire clan.
Kagami felt an overwhelming sense of sadness.
To these people, a clan meeting held greater importance than decisions that would shape the future of the entire village.
Tobirama-sensei and Danzō were right.
The Uchiha’s vision was simply too narrow.
Too narrow to hold both the village and the clan at the same time.
That was why they repeatedly drifted further away from the Will of Fire.
But…
What could he accomplish alone?
Suppressing a sigh, Kagami answered,
“That’s not it.
I simply don’t want the divide between the clan and the village to grow any wider.
The Third Hokage—”
Before he could finish, Setsuna cut him off.
“Village, village, village…”
His face darkened with irritation as he strode forward.
Stopping directly before Kagami, he stared into his eyes and demanded,
“Tell me something.”
“Do you still have the Uchiha clan in your heart?”
The moment those words fell, the surrounding clan members erupted in agreement.
They glared at Kagami and began shouting accusations.
“Kagami’s been completely brainwashed by the Will of Fire!”
“He’s Tobirama’s disciple!
Sooner or later he’ll sell out the Uchiha!”
“His heart doesn’t belong to the clan anymore!”
“He’s a traitor to the Uchiha!”
The accusations came one after another.
Kagami’s expression grew increasingly ugly.
He wanted to defend himself.
Wanted to explain.
But he didn’t even know where to begin.
The voices around him multiplied.
The hall seemed to blur.
His head throbbed painfully.
The world spun.
Just as dizziness threatened to overwhelm him—
BOOM!
A thunderous crash echoed through the shrine.
The doors burst open with a single kick.
A figure appeared in the entrance.
A calm voice filled the hall.
“Elder Setsuna…”
The newcomer swept his gaze across the gathering.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
“Your clan meeting seems quite lively tonight.”
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