After stopping Kakashi from digging out his left eye,
Duan turned to face the gathered Uchiha and spoke with a calm, heavy tone:
"Kakashi is a pitiful man. His father was Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo—a hero stronger than even the Sannin. Yet because of this strength, he was envied, slandered, and excluded by the village's higher-ups. When one mission failed, those same elders spread malicious rumors, forcing him into despair until at last… he took his own life.
Isn't Hatake Sakumo's fate the very same crisis we Uchiha now face?"
The words struck like a blade.
Both the Uchiha and Kakashi himself froze at the statement.
Setsuna was the first to seize the opening. His sharp gaze flickered, and he quickly added fuel to the fire:
"You're right. I too know something of Sakumo Hatake. He, like Shisui, once believed in the so-called Will of Fire. Yet when he witnessed the hypocrisy of the village's leadership, when the Will of Fire proved to be nothing but a convenient lie… his spirit collapsed.
Hatake Sakumo could not endure the shattering of his ideals. In the end, he abandoned everything, even his son, and chose death."
He spoke with such gravity that one might mistake him for Sakumo's confidant. Yet even so, his explanation fit—the White Fang's end was indeed as tragic as Uchiha's present plight.
Murmurs spread through the Uchiha crowd. Sympathy, regret, but most of all—anger.
Anger at the village.
"We cannot blindly endure oppression like Sakumo, only to be forced into despair. We must defend the honor and rights of Uchiha with our own strength!" Daohuo shouted, raising his fist.
"That's right!" Many voices joined him, stirred with emotion.
But Duan, after glancing once at Kakashi, spoke evenly:
"Since this Sharingan was entrusted to Kakashi by one of our own, let him keep it. Perhaps through this eye, he will find the strength not to walk the tragic path of his father. Let this stand as Uchiha's magnanimity."
Fugaku, listening carefully, realized Duan's intention: to turn Kakashi from enemy into potential ally.
"As Duan says," Fugaku followed, voice steady. "Kakashi was once Konoha's number one genius, a jōnin at twelve—unprecedented. Sharingan on him does not shame us; in fact, his fame only amplifies its power."
This much was true.
The Copy Ninja's renown echoed across nations. Though his fame was his own, the Sharingan's power was what the world remembered. In the eyes of the shinobi world, Kakashi's achievements reflected back on the Uchiha name.
Thus, many among the clan, though reluctant, acknowledged this truth.
Faced with this unexpected mercy, Kakashi stood silent for a long moment. At last, he spoke:
"…I'm sorry. I am only an ordinary Konoha shinobi."
The implication was clear—if the Uchiha sought to draw him into their ranks through this eye, he would refuse.
Duan chuckled softly, shaking his head.
"No one asks you to betray Hokage-sama, nor to stand openly with us. Just… use that Sharingan well."
He released Kakashi's wrist.
"Go."
Kakashi gave a bitter smile. Am I only imagining connections where none exist? He cast one last look at Duan and the clan before turning away into the night.
Duan's eyes lingered on Kakashi's retreating back, thoughtful.
He remembered: when Orochimaru later trapped Hiruzen during the Konoha Crush, Kakashi—though Anbu—did not rush to his rescue. Instead, he restrained Guy, urging him not to intervene. That hesitation betrayed a truth: Kakashi harbored resentment toward the Third Hokage.
At heart, Kakashi belonged to the Fourth, Namikaze Minato—not Hiruzen Sarutobi.
And later, as leader of Team 7, Kakashi poured his energy into Uchiha Sasuke, teaching him everything he could, while leaving Naruto—the Fourth's own son—far behind.
This man might never stand with Uchiha, but neither would he firmly stand with the village. Kakashi was an outsider, watching coldly from the margins.
In that way, he resembled Duan. Which is why tonight, Duan spared him.
Still…
Duan's thoughts turned darker. Kakashi's left eye was no ordinary Sharingan. When Rin's death shocked Obito into awakening his Mangekyō, Kakashi's transplanted eye had awakened in tandem.
That eye was Kamui.
Kakashi was blind to its true power, but its potential was undeniable.
Perhaps, Duan mused, instead of reclaiming it now, he should wait. Wait for the right time to secretly replace Kakashi's Mangekyō with a regular three-tomoe eye. Then, when the day came, he could present Kamui to Obito as bait… and reap the harvest.
The thought made him smile faintly.
Fugaku's voice pulled him back.
"From this night onward, the Uchiha will maintain second-level alert at all times. Twenty-four hours, no lapses. The clan assembly will now be held weekly instead of monthly. Any objections?"
"No!" The voices of agreement rang out.
Satisfied, Fugaku dismissed the clan to their posts and their homes.
When only he and Duan remained, Fugaku spoke again, low and solemn:
"Duan. Tomorrow night, come to the council chamber's secret room. There is something you must hear."
"…Very well." Duan did not press further and departed.
The two men went their separate ways, vanishing into the night.
Meanwhile, at the clan's gate, another figure moved swiftly.
Uchiha Jun, a reclusive chūnin bearing the twin-tomoe Sharingan, had also attended tonight's assembly. But rather than return home, he slipped down a shadowed alley.
There, his body warped—and shifted into the pale, grinning form of White Zetsu.
The real Uchiha Jun had been ambushed and possessed a day ago, his chakra absorbed until nothing remained.
In his place, White Zetsu had infiltrated the clan meeting flawlessly. His transformation technique was unparalleled, mimicking not just form but chakra and memory, making even kin or sensory ninja blind to the deception.
Jun's isolation in life made the disguise effortless—none suspected the quiet man among them.
Now, slipping underground, Zetsu muttered to himself:
"I must report everything to Obito at once. Three pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan… astonishing. And that Uchiha Duan—what a terrifying monster…"
He remembered vividly the moment Duan's Shinra Tensei had blasted away the clan, nearly exposing Zetsu's disguise. The sheer pressure had left him trembling.
Merging into the roots and soil, he activated the Mayfly technique, erasing his presence completely.
Shua!
His pale body streamed northward beneath the earth, leaving the Uchiha grounds behind, headed straight for the mountain graveyard—where Obito waited.
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