After the meeting, outside the Hokage building…
"Uchiha clan leader, I hope you keep your promise." Hiashi Hyuga said as he walked over and left afterwards. The Uchiha weren't strong enough to face the Hokage faction, but they were strong enough to ensure that other parties remained neutral, especially the Akamichi, Nara, and Yamanaka clans.
After leaving the meeting, Fugaku left for the Hatake clan.
Upon reaching there, "Lord Fugaku." The interim Hatake clan leader bowed slightly. The relationship between the two clans was cordial at best due to the Sakumo Hatake commanding the Sunagakure front line and the matter of Kakashi's sharingan eye."Yoshida-san, where is Kakashi Hatake?" Fugaku got directly to the point. "He is currently on deployment in the Anbu," Yoshida answered in bewilderment; he didn't know why the Uchiha could be looking for Kakashi.
"Tell him to come see me when he comes back. It's an important matter. If you ever need resources, just contact us as a favor to the White Fang of the leaf." Fugaku left, Yoshida suspected foul play, but immediately dropped that thought. The Uchiha were a proud clan, if not the proudest. They wouldn't do anything to dishonor the Uchiha name.The undercurrents of the meeting were not easy to dissipate, as the rumor of the Uchiha clan being behind the attack due to their dissatisfaction with the village leadership spread. The Uchiha clan responded with a dossier of all those who had sacrificed themselves for the village, sharingan bearing or not. As one of the oldest and largest clans of the village, they had made monumental sacrifices in all 3 wars to protect the leaf, and that was undeniable proof of the Uchiha's loyalty to the leaf. With proof of hundreds of dead clan members, the village populace's surging hatred fizzled out.
Uchiha clan compound…
Inside Fugaku's office, "Kakashi, it's been a while. How have you been?" Fugaku smiled slightly, easing the tense atmosphere. Kakashi stood in his Anbu uniform, his Sharingan locked onto the Uchiha clan leader, casting a tense atmosphere."I am fine," Kakashi answered, uncertain as to why they were having this conversation."Kakashi," Fugaku said softly, "I called you here regarding the situation in the Hatake clan. Your father, Sakumo, was a dear friend to the Uchiha, even if we had trouble showing it. It is undeniable that at the Suna front, the Sharingan was limited against the harsh desert storms and puppet techniques of Sunagakure ninjas. Your father's clan, your clan has fallen." Fugaku said solemnly.
Kakashi's heart fell at those words. While he had seen the situation, his self-loathing and sinking into the abyss of despair had led him to forsake his duties as the young master of the clan."Your Sharingan, on the other hand, is another matter. Frankly speaking, the current you is not worthy of that eye. Obito's Sharingan is wasted on you, and as you stand, the sacrifices of your friends Obito and Rin are meaningless." Fugaku's words struck deep into Kakashi's heart.
A wave of anger surged overwhelming him, flicking off his mask, "What do you mean their sacrifice is meaningless! I am here, aren't I?! The village is here, isn't it?! Uchiha clan leader, watch your words." Heavy breathing overcame Kakashi, his fists balled up.'Oh, Sakumo, what injustice indeed.' Fugaku calmly responded, "Is the current you someone they sacrificed their lives for? Is the current you their friend? A comrade? By your father's words, the current you is scum."
Like a hot blade of truth, those words seared themselves into Kakashi.'What's going on here? Why is he saying this? Is this an attempt to lure me away from the Hokage's side?' Kakashi's thoughts were a jumbled mess, but they zeroed in on the fact that Fugaku's words were true; the current him was not someone Rin and Obito would recognize and accept."Go home, Kakashi. Go back to your clan, your father's clan, and his family. As his successor, perhaps in leading the clan, can you become someone your father would acknowledge?" Kakashi left his steps heavy, unaware of the eyes of Anbu stalking his frame, but that was the least of his worries. Fugaku's words rang in his mind.
At 14 years of age, Kakashi's achievements set the standard of genius, but most had forgotten that under the mantle of genius was someone who had lost all he held dear, and he had become someone consumed by his grief and pain.
Fugaku saw himself in Kakashi, his eyes awoke in the darkness of the abyss, and he stood as the Uchiha clan leader because he had escaped the abyss, but his responsibilities were continuously pushing him back into it; he had held firm, or so he thought. In the wake of the nine-tails attack, the truth had been revealed; in his denial, he had been inching closer to the abyss the whole time.He accepted himself as the clan leader of the Uchiha, and he felt the burden of that more now, and he didn't wish for Kakashi, especially Sakumo's son, to ponder the depths of the abyss. While it's possible to find light in the abyss, it is not the only thing that lurks there.
In the Hokage building…
'What could the Uchiha possibly want with Kakashi?' Hiruzen read the report of Fugaku's movements, and he felt unsettled by it all. Something major had changed, but he hoped it was not one that tore Konohagakure apart.
In the Tanehiko household,
Murata lay in bed, admiring his wife as she slept. Murata did not like shinobi; he saw them as mass murderers under the guise of false ideologies. Recent events had highlighted the need for strength, which he, as a father and husband, could only hide while others fought for him. Turning his gaze onto his son, Murata decided. His son would be unlike him; he would have the strength to back his convictions and not rely on connections that faltered because someone was in a bad mood or greed had overtaken them. In the face of indomitable strength, ideals were merely thoughts.