Takayama Haru and Kushina attended Uchiha Mikoto's birthday banquet—something the major families of Konoha hadn't seen coming.
Everyone was wondering:
What exactly was the Uchiha clan trying to do?
What were the Senju and Uzumaki clans thinking?
All the families were paying close attention, trying to analyze and interpret the implications of today's event.
"I'll drink this cup first. Thank you both for attending my daughter's birthday banquet."
The speaker was none other than Mikoto's father, a high-ranking member of the Uchiha clan. Standing beside him was a dignified, elegant woman—Mikoto's mother.
Everyone present raised their glasses in unison, echoing his toast, then downed the wine in one gulp.
Aside from Mikoto and her parents, the only others present were Takayama Haru, Kushina, and a young prodigy of the Uchiha—Uchiha Fugaku.
It was clear now: the Uchiha clan was trying to pair Fugaku and Mikoto together.
Fugaku, though young, was already the captain of the Konoha Military Police Force. It was only a matter of time before he inherited the position of clan head.
Soon after the toast, Mikoto's parents quietly withdrew from the gathering.
Takayama Haru also successfully "pitched" a new game to everyone—Big Talk Dice—putting an end to the dull, monotonous drinking games of the shinobi world.
Before long, everyone was hooked.
Big Talk Dice required a mix of bluffing skills, sharp insight, and multi-layered strategies.
Even someone like Fugaku—detached from the common world and deeply serious—found it wildly entertaining.
"Six sixes, fly!"
"Twelve sixes!"
"Chop you!"
The atmosphere quickly became lively. Cheeks flushed with alcohol, everyone was drawn in by the fun.
As Fugaku casually chatted with Haru, he suddenly asked, "Haru-kun, that day you mentioned one of the ten Root operatives had a Sharingan—is that true?"
Takayama Haru nodded. "Yeah, I saw it clearly. Why?"
Fugaku spoke in a low voice. "Good thing you told us the truth. Otherwise, we'd still be in the dark."
"Huh?"
"It's no secret within the Uchiha clan. None of our members have ever joined Root. Even those involved in black ops are well documented in our clan records."
Haru's curiosity was piqued. "So you mean…"
Fugaku looked him straight in the eyes and said, "It means that person wasn't from the Uchiha clan."
"Interesting…"
Fugaku nodded, then it was his turn to roll the dice. "One, two, three!"
Suddenly, Mikoto grinned. "Split!"
"Reverse strike!"
She revealed five threes. Fugaku had five of his own. Everyone else? Bluffing.
Fugaku laughed it off and downed his drink without complaint. As he shook the dice for the next round, he spoke again.
"Yeah, this is turning out to be a meaningful night. Our clan leader went to negotiate directly with the Third Hokage. That thing—the monster—it was created using Uchiha blood."
"They say it's the only surviving test subject. It's been hidden in Root all this time."
"If Haru-kun hadn't exposed it, we never would've known. It's a disgrace—a violation of our clan!"
"So thank you, Haru-kun, for wiping that abomination from existence."
Takayama Haru's eyes widened.
There were still things even he didn't know.
A cloned Uchiha?
He immediately thought of Yamato—an experimental subject made from Hashirama's cells.
So the Sharingan user he killed… could it have been a clone of Madara Uchiha?
It made him reflect on the deeper, darker layers of the Naruto world—not everything was laid out explicitly in the anime or manga.
Even though Haru understood the grand currents of history, there were still countless hidden truths.
Like this one: if he hadn't killed that experiment, it might have been buried in secrecy forever.
Fugaku's gratitude wasn't just personal—it was a gesture of goodwill from the Uchiha clan.
Despite the arrogance many Uchiha displayed these days, Haru suspected their leader knew well that decline followed every peak.
Gaining an ally like Takayama Haru… that would be a major win.
As the night wore on and drinks continued to flow, Fugaku brought up another secret—his words slurred, whether from true drunkenness or pretend no one could say.
"That Uchiha clone… it was made by Danzo, funded by Orochimaru's research. But Orochimaru's labs have all been shut down now."
"And Danzo… well, after what he did—an atrocity against both humanity and the gods—he's been sent to infiltrate the Hidden Cloud Village. Unless he performs a miraculous deed… he's not coming back."
Fugaku was still smiling when he finished his sentence—then collapsed straight onto the floor.
Haru could tell: he was genuinely drunk. No wonder he had blabbed so much—these were classified secrets.
"Come on, drink!" Kushina's face was flushed, looking radiant under the lights.
Mikoto grabbed Haru's leg and joined in, laughing. "Drink! You owe us!"
"Drink for both of us!"
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