Among clansmen who haven't awakened their eyes and those who have, the weight they carry isn't the same. And between two-tomoe and three-tomoe, that weight is obviously different too.
Even though, at the moment, the Uchiha have two sneaky Mangekyō users lurking in the shadows, the strongest you can openly claim is still the three-tomoe.
So when Yorin spoke, even Clan Head Uchiha Fugaku had to listen—at least pretend to. "Spell it out. What's your take?"
"The Third Great Ninja War is over, but a new crisis is right in front of us. Our Uchiha clan is already in danger, isn't it?"
Uchiha Yorin said calmly, "The Senju clan has already been wiped out. Next in line is the Uchiha."
"Hey, hey, Yorin—don't say that!"
Before Fugaku could respond, Uchiha Tekka's face changed and he tried to stop Yorin from going on.
Then the clan head stopped him.
Fugaku waved a hand. "Tekka, step outside for a moment. Yorin, continue."
Tekka let out a breath but still hesitated—clearly wanted to stay and listen, but didn't dare. He left, glancing back every few steps.
Yorin nodded. "Yes, Clan Head. Although the war's ended, the situation for the Uchiha has actually grown more perilous.
The Uchiha are too strong, too high-profile, too defiant.
During wartime, the village leadership could tolerate us in order to coax us into contributing. But now that peace has arrived, Uchiha power looks painfully conspicuous."
He shook his head. "From Madara-sama's era, to the Second Hokage's era, and then the Third's—our standing has only gone down.
In the First Hokage's time, we were founders of Konoha alongside the Senju, shoulder to shoulder.
In the Second's era, we still had Kagami as a bridge to the Hokage's inner circle, earning trust and a voice.
But after Kagami died, under the Third, we lost everything.
When the higher-ups look at the Uchiha now, all they have are vigilance, scrutiny, and suspicion.
I have no doubt that if they get the chance to weaken—or even dismantle—the Uchiha, they'll do it without hesitation."
"You're being unfair, Yorin," Fugaku interjected. "The Third is still quite friendly toward the Uchiha. The Second, on the other hand…"
Yorin smiled. "Right. The supposedly hostile Second Hokage recruited Uchiha Kagami as a trusted bodyguard, gave him full confidence, and promised him a future.
The supposedly friendly Third Hokage stuck us in the Police Force—a job that offends people by nature—widening the rift between the Uchiha and the village.
If he truly favored us, you wouldn't be Police Chief right now—you'd be a Hokage advisor.
At the very least, he should've taken a bodyguard from the Uchiha like the Second did, or simply accepted a Uchiha student.
Did he?
He didn't.
To judge a person, don't listen to what he says—watch what he does. Am I right, Clan Head?"
"You have a point. But the Third's era has passed," Fugaku said after a pause.
"It's the Fourth's era now.
The Fourth is different—he's willing to get close to the Uchiha, to trust the Uchiha.
He even has a student from our clan… though sadly, his luck was bad."
"Obito, Obito… the Uchiha's luck always falls a bit short. Madara, then Kagami, then Obito." Yorin raised his hand and made a little "universe at your fingertips" gesture. "So who's next to be the unlucky Uchiha?"
"That's enough, Yorin. What exactly are you proposing?!" Fugaku's face hardened. As a father, Yorin's words hit close to home.
"I'm saying, don't pin all our hopes on others, Clan Head.
If you want to be Hokage, you can only rely on yourself."
"—You're talking about a coup?!"
"Why jump to that?" Yorin pulled a face.
"Then you—"
"Of course we do it by legitimate means," Yorin said with a smile. "Rack up war merit, court the other ninja clans, win the jōnin vote, gain popular support, sling some mud at your rivals, and—ideally—work your way into the Senju inner circle. Then you become Hokage legally~"
"Uh…" Fugaku's composure cracked.
He'd seen plenty of Uchiha shouting for blood and for a coup. But what Yorin was describing—he'd not only never seen it, he'd never even heard of it.
While Fugaku was at a loss for words, Yorin kept going:
"Your thinking is dangerous, Clan Head. How could you even consider a coup?
That said, if I had to make a call, the Fifth would probably still fall to 'them.' The Uchiha are just too far behind."
"'Them'?"
"The Senju."
"The Senju… aren't they all dead?"
"And precisely because they're all dead, we can't compete. How do you beat a dead paragon?
Powerful, proud, and bearing Madara-sama's original sin—the Uchiha can't outshine the Senju, who gave everything to Konoha.
How hard did the Senju go?
Literally to the death. The Second gave his life, and so did the rest.
They were a clan as large as the Uchiha.
They bled out for Konoha; in return, Konoha chose the Senju as Hokage, and the people cannot accept anyone but a Senju holding that title.
Now that the Senju bloodline has ended, that massive political inheritance passes to the Senju's students.
First the Third, then the Fourth…
Guess who's the most likely Fifth?"
"…"
"Hatake… Kakashi?" Fugaku wasn't a fool. Following Yorin's logic, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense—and the more disappointed, even despairing, he felt.
Yes—no matter how well the living do, they can't compete with the memory of the "pure white moonlight" of the dead.
No matter how hard the living Uchiha work, in the hearts of Konoha's ninja, they still can't beat the Senju.
And if the price of becoming Hokage is for the entire Uchiha clan to bleed out for Konoha—what's the point of that Hokage?
But if they don't go that far, how could the Uchiha ever persuade Konoha to accept them replacing the Senju as Hokage?
"Right. If nothing unexpected happens, the Sixth should be Hatake Kakashi," Yorin nodded.
"If I'm not mistaken, the Third, the Fourth, and the rest of the Senju-student faction will arrange for their sons and grandsons to study under Kakashi, to ensure the Hokage's seat stays within the Senju-student lineage.
Most likely, the Third—the old fox—will orchestrate it.
If he wants to save face, the pick will be the Fourth's son, a boy with the surname Uzumaki.
If he doesn't care about face at all, it'll be his own grandson—or a Sarutobi clansman.
Either way, it won't be us Uchiha."
Fugaku ground his teeth. "Shameless bastards!"
Then he looked at Yorin with hope. "You've laid this out so clearly—you must have a solution, right? Oh—your relationship with Kakashi is pretty good. Did you see all this coming and start laying groundwork early?"
"Don't say it like that—Kakashi is my brother, my closest friend," Yorin said. "And I do have a method. Since we know Kakashi's potential, we arrange for our Uchiha youths to apprentice under him as well.
We might not get the Hokage seat, but becoming Hokage advisors with real clout—like Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane—should be no problem."
"That's too slow. Anything faster?"
Yorin did have a plan, but waiting for Kakashi to become Hokage and then for his students to grow up—by then it'd be ancient history. Fugaku couldn't wait.
"There is a faster way.
We find a chance to take out Uzumaki Kushina. While the Fourth is drowning in grief, we slip in a good Uchiha girl to become the Hokage's wife, then squeeze the Fourth for all he's worth.
In under a year, we'll happily have a Hokage-candidate belonging to the Uchiha."
"That's… fast, alright—but way too outrageous!
And the Red-Hot Habanero isn't someone you mess with— I mean, how could we lay hands on a comrade from the village? No way. Absolutely not."
Seeing his reaction, Yorin secretly curled his lip. He'd clearly seen that glint in Fugaku's eyes—tempted, but scared of exposure, afraid the Fourth would find out and he'd get nothing but trouble—so he rejected it.
Hesitate like that and how do you achieve anything big?
Still, because he's the type to hesitate, this clan head is exactly the one who'll support Yorin's real plan.
Like any strategist, Uchiha Yorin liked to offer an upper, middle, and lower plan for people to "choose" from. It looks like three options, but only one is actually viable—and that's the real plan.
Only this time, Fugaku didn't play along.
He shook his head helplessly. "Forget it. You look tired—go rest. Let's pretend none of this conversation happened—"
"—Hold up! I actually have PLAN C!"
Seeing Fugaku about to bail, Yorin jumped in. He stopped playing coy and laid it out: "The Senju-student line rose to power by inheriting the Senju's political legacy.
But what people truly recognize is the Senju, not the Sarutobi.
The Senju's blessing—if the Sarutobi can eat it, the Uchiha can eat it too!
Don't forget—there's still one Senju alive."
Fugaku: "Oh—Tsunade-sama."
Yorin: "Yes, Tsunade-sama."
Fugaku: "So you plan to become her student?"
Yorin: "No. I plan to marry her."
Fugaku: "…"
Fugaku: "… Stop messing around—"