After a round of questioning, Tahara Rokuro finally pieced together what had happened.
Originally, the Uchiha clan had been ordered by Root not to leave their compound — forbidden from aiding the village, and especially from going near the Nine-Tails' rampage. Logically speaking, none of the Uchiha should have died that night. At worst, they'd suffer a few injuries from flying debris. Compared to other clans, their casualties were minimal.
Unfortunately, Uchiha Kei's parents were terribly unlucky. When the Nine-Tails appeared, they were just returning from a mission — and ran headfirst into the chaos.
Both of them belonged to the "dove faction" within the clan, the same group aligned with Uchiha Shisui, and neither served in the Konoha Police Force.
When they saw the Nine-Tails wreaking havoc, they didn't hesitate or consider their own limits. They simply charged forward.
At that time, Rokuro had been busy sneaking into Sarutobi Hiruzen's home to steal the Scroll of Seals. He never saw Kei's parents on the battlefield.
By the time he succeeded and activated his sealing array to absorb the Nine-Tails' chakra, he was entirely focused on his own task — unaware that, at that very moment, Kei's parents had fallen to the beast. In the end, they became two of the only Uchiha to die during the entire Nine-Tails incident.
Watching the tear-streaked Kei before him, Rokuro turned toward his mother.
"Mom… since that's how it is, Kei can live with us from now on."
"Of course. Kei, don't worry — from now on, this will be your home."
Truthfully, in this timeline, Kei's first thought after hearing the tragic news had been to come here — because she liked Rokuro more than that other good son.
"Thank you, Aunt Ashikaga… and you too, Rokuro."
"Alright, you haven't had dinner yet, have you? Come eat with me first. Tomorrow, Auntie will go with you to pack your things."
As Ashikaga led Kei away to wash up, Rokuro stepped outside, heading toward the site where the Uchiha and Root were still at a standoff. Root operatives hadn't withdrawn; their vigilance toward the Uchiha remained high.
Uchiha Fugaku stood there, his face frozen in a mask of restrained anger — the picture of impotent frustration. Rokuro couldn't help but sneer.
"To think this is the man they chose as clan head. The Uchiha must've gone blind. Then again… maybe it makes sense. They're just terrified of another Uchiha Madara."
In Rokuro's view, Fugaku's rise to leadership had little to do with strength or charisma. Quite the opposite — he had become clan head because of his mild, compromising nature.
The previous patriarch had been none other than Uchiha Madara himself — a man who could literally ride the Nine-Tails into battle against the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama. Overbearing, indomitable, and absolute in authority — no one dared defy him.
But when Madara lost his struggle for the Hokage's seat, his failure gave the clan the excuse they needed to rebel. So when Madara proposed leaving Konoha, not a single Uchiha followed.
It was understandable, really. After so many years of war, people craved peace. Konoha was the greatest power of the age — who would willingly abandon such comfort and status?
After Madara's departure, the clan's standards for leadership swung to the opposite extreme: moderation, meekness, and agreeableness became virtues. They wanted someone who could keep the clan unified — and Fugaku fit that description perfectly.
"In peaceful times, Fugaku would've been a fine leader," Rokuro mused. "But in an era of turmoil — with Madara's stray pawn Uchiha Obito sowing chaos outside, and schemers like Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō cutting their own throats for power — a soft leader like him is utterly useless."
He didn't linger; watching any longer would only make him angry. Rokuro turned back home for dinner.
For the next five days, Konoha remained under martial law. When it finally lifted, a mass funeral was held for all who'd died in the Nine-Tails' attack.
At the same time, Sarutobi Hiruzen officially returned to power as the Third Hokage once more.
Shimura Danzō, having lost again to his old rival — and with his secret weapon, Yamato, seized — was so furious he didn't eat for three days.
In the original timeline, he might still have fought back, perhaps sending Yamato to assassinate Hiruzen. The odds of success would've been less than one percent — after all, even during the Fourth War, Yamato was merely an elite jōnin. As a youth, he'd stand no chance against a still-vigorous Hiruzen.
But now, with Yamato gone, Root's power alone was far from enough. Danzō could only swallow his pride and go into hiding.
As for Rokuro — he couldn't care less about Konoha's political drama. These days, he was busy training with Kei in the Forest of Death.
He used to train alone; Kei had always preferred to play rather than practice. But after losing her parents, she had matured overnight — and was now determined to grow stronger.
"Huff… huff… don't stop— keep going…"
Kei's breath came in ragged gasps. The phrasing made Rokuro nearly choke on his water.
He reached out, pulling her to her feet, and tossed her a bottle.
"Training has limits. Pushing your body too hard won't make you stronger — it'll just get you hurt. Stick to the plan I made for you. Don't overdo it."
"I know," she said, wiping her sweat, "but I want to get stronger — fast! I don't ever want to see someone I love die again!"
As she spoke, her eyes suddenly flared red — and a single tomoe appeared in each.
"A one-tomoe Sharingan?! Kei, when did you awaken it?"
"What? I… I awakened it?"
She ran to the nearby river, staring into her reflection — and froze when she saw the single crimson tomoe spinning in her eyes. Shock, sorrow, and disbelief washed over her face.
Rokuro, meanwhile, was stunned speechless.
"No way… awakening at six years old? Has any Uchiha in history ever done that?"
He thought hard. None came to mind. Even this generation's so-called prodigy, Uchiha Itachi, had awakened his Sharingan at eight. The troublemaker, Uchiha Obito, was twelve. Even Madara himself had been twelve.
"Opening the eye early doesn't guarantee greatness," Rokuro murmured, "but it's definitely a sign of exceptional talent."
He realized then that Kei had probably awakened her Sharingan the moment she learned of her parents' deaths — but her chakra control had been too weak to sustain it.
Only now, after several days of hard training, had she built the strength to manifest it naturally.
"I'd planned to study the secret behind Sharingan awakening through her," Rokuro thought, "but I didn't expect it to happen this soon. In that case, there's no reason to keep wasting time in the Academy…"