What had originally been nothing more than a drunken disturbance was a trivial matter.
But the Security Force, whose duty was to maintain order, had actually attacked someone—and had beaten the man half to death.
That made it no longer a trivial matter.
The ANBU agents secretly monitoring the situation quickly intervened before things could deteriorate any further.
In the end, both sides were taken into custody.
After receiving the report, Tsunade, whose term in office had already entered its final countdown, propped her cheek up with one hand, squeezing her smooth skin into layer upon layer of folds.
"The Uchiha have been making quite a fuss lately."
She was practically about to retire, yet they were still creating so many troublesome problems.
It was obvious that Minato becoming the Fifth Hokage had dealt a far greater blow to the Uchiha than anyone had expected.
"Sis, do you think the Uchiha really intend to..."
Although Nawaki was confident that the Uchiha could not stir up any serious trouble, with the inauguration ceremony drawing closer, he could not help but feel nervous.
The siblings had done everything they could to ease the relationship between the Uchiha and the villagers.
Yet in the end, things had still turned out this way.
"The Security Force was always a job that easily earned people’s resentment. Just like Renji said, the conflict between the village and the Uchiha was already planted from the very beginning."
Tsunade let out a long sigh, her head aching terribly.
"I have no solution left. I can only do everything I can to minimize the damage."
With that, Tsunade weakly collapsed onto her desk.
She glanced sideways at the calendar hanging on the wall.
There were only five days left until she stepped down.
"It’s a Shadow Clone."
Across the street from the Security Force headquarters, Shisui and Itachi were carrying out another surveillance operation.
With his Sharingan activated, Shisui stared directly at the back of Fugaku as he entered the Security Force headquarters.
"Impossible!?"
Itachi was shocked.
A three-tomoe Sharingan appeared in his eyes, filled with disbelief.
"I couldn’t tell either?"
That meant his father had already discovered his surveillance all these days and had been using Shadow Clones to divert his attention the entire time.
"If you precisely distribute more chakra into the Shadow Clone, you can make its chakra flow almost indistinguishable from the original."
Shisui’s expression grew increasingly grim.
"Your Sharingan has only recently awakened its third tomoe. Not being able to see through it is normal."
"The clan head must have discovered your surveillance long ago. We’re running out of time."
Halfway through his sentence, Shisui suddenly turned his head and asked Itachi,
"Itachi, where do you think the clan head might have gone?"
Itachi clenched his teeth so hard that blood seeped from his gums.
He couldn’t think of anywhere.
He genuinely couldn’t think of anywhere.
At that moment, they spotted a familiar figure.
Uchiha Tekka.
One of the senior members of the Uchiha Security Force and an Uchiha jonin belonging to the radical faction.
Within the Security Force, his position was comparable to Fugaku’s right-hand man.
"Perhaps we can get something out of that man."
Itachi spoke in a low voice.
"Itachi, you’re going to act against one of your own clan members!?"
Shisui was startled by Itachi’s suggestion.
"This is... to prevent even more people from dying."
Itachi bit down so hard that blood flowed from his mouth.
Shisui clenched his fists.
Several seconds later, he shouted,
"Do it!!"
Several hours later.
At the Naka Shrine in the outskirts of Konoha, inside the underground chamber hidden beneath the shrine’s floorboards—
BOOM!!
The ceiling was violently smashed open.
The ceiling connecting to the entrance was blasted into pieces, and a figure leaped down from above.
Uchiha Fugaku, who had been silently staring at the stone tablet alone, suddenly changed expression and turned his head.
It was his son, Itachi.
His three-tomoe Sharingan reflected countless complicated emotions—sorrow, reluctance, and many others.
"How did you find this place, Itachi?"
Fugaku regained his composure after barely two seconds and asked with a frown.
"Uchiha Tekka. We got it out of his mouth."
Itachi did not conceal anything and answered directly.
"...So you’ve reached the point where you’re willing to act against your own clansmen, Itachi."
There was disappointment in Fugaku’s voice, along with the same sorrow that filled Itachi’s heart.
"It is you who are going to get our clansmen killed, Father!"
Itachi shouted.
"Launching a coup is the path that will lead the Uchiha into an absolute dead end!"
"Don’t you understand, Father?!"
"If the Uchiha go to war against the village now, it will be meaningless! And we have no chance of winning!!"
The more Itachi spoke, the louder and more forceful his voice became.
By the end, he was practically shouting himself hoarse.
After several seconds, Fugaku slowly turned back toward the stone tablet.
"You’re right. Our chances of victory are less than ten percent..."
"They may even be lower than that..."
"But!"
Fugaku’s tone suddenly changed.
"But even so, I—no, the Uchiha—must do this."
"It has been too long. The anger of our clansmen has already reached its limit."
"We have decided that five days from now, on the day Minato takes office as the Fifth Hokage, we will launch the coup."
"Rather than continuing to live like this, existing under someone else’s roof like walking corpses, we would rather die with the final glory that belongs to us."
"When you return, think about it carefully."
"I’ll give you a chance to choose your side."
"Will you stand with us and reclaim the glory that should belong to the Uchiha?"
"Or will you stand with Konoha and become an enemy of your own clan?"
Itachi’s pupils suddenly contracted.
After a long silence, he slowly spoke.
"There is no such thing as glory."
"Father, what you’re doing will only make the Uchiha’s identity as criminals undeniable."
"The mastermind behind the Nine-Tails’ attack eight years ago was Uchiha Obito, a dead man who should have remained buried!"
"The Uchiha were falsely accused!"
"I know this sounds unbelievable, but this is the truth!"
Itachi clung to his final trace of hope.
"Stop, Father!"
"There is still time to turn things around!"
When he heard the name "Uchiha Obito," Fugaku’s body suddenly trembled.
After several seconds of dead silence, Fugaku spoke again in a low, distant voice.
"It’s too late, Itachi."
"Too late..."
"We..."
"Can no longer turn back."
Fugaku slowly turned his head again.
For the first time, in front of someone else, he activated his Mangekyo Sharingan.