Konoha year 58
Uchiha Clan Meeting — The Night of Questions
Konoha was restless.
Emergency notices fluttered across the streets like scattered leaves, each carrying the same grim message: prepare for war.
The air was thick — heavy with tension, whispers, and the smell of rain that hadn't fallen yet. Merchants packed up early. Children were kept indoors. Every shinobi's gaze carried the same question — when will it begin?
The Third Shinobi War final battle was no longer a rumour; it was a shadow creeping closer each day.
Inside the Uchiha compound, that shadow felt even heavier.
Inside the Shrine
The Uchiha Clan Shrine — normally a place for ceremony and remembrance — now pulsed with unease. Lanterns flickered. The air buzzed with murmurs, filled with the crimson gleam of clan symbols and sharp whispers of divided opinions.
At the centre stood Uchiha Fugaku, newly risen as young clan head, five years into his leadership, forged through both family ties and political cunning. He had almost claimed the position after his father's death, with the backing of his father, Uchiha Iguchi and his father-in-law, the elder Uchiha Inoki.
The crowd before him — Hawks, Doves, and Neutrals, different members of the Uchiha clan — murmured about the same thing: the war.
Fugaku let the noise rise for a moment, then coughed once.
The sound cut through the air. Conversations faltered.
Fugaku Speaks
"Enough! What are you all making such a ruckus for in this meeting?"
His tone carried weight — the command of blood and authority. The hall fell silent; even the torches seemed to hold their breath.
"I called this meeting because the Third Hokage has agreed to our conditions for our clan joining the war," he said steadily, voice measured yet edged with excitement. "And," his gaze swept the room, "he has also told me that he expects an Uchiha candidate to stand for the Fourth Hokage position."
The words hit like fire.
Shouts and laughter filled the shrine.
"Finally! The Uchiha will fight under the Leaf banner again!"
"This time, no one will question our loyalty!"
"The Fourth Hokage will be an Uchiha — it's our time!"
Excitement surged — pride washing away years of resentment. For a moment, everyone believed their name would rise again, untarnished.
But then, amid the cheers, there was silence in one corner.
The Boy in the Corner
A young boy — twelve, maybe thirteen — sat quietly where no child should, during a council. Uchiha Toyama, son of a Hawk faction member.
He didn't join the cheer. Didn't even smile.
When the noise died down a little, he spoke.
"So… where does Sarutobi Hiruzen want us to die?"
The words landed like a stone in still water.
Every head turned.
The air froze.
Then — outrage.
"What do you mean by 'want us to die'?"
"Are you afraid of war?"
"No Uchiha is a coward!"
The hall erupted again, this time in fury.
Even Uchiha Setsuna, the Hawk leader and veteran of the Second Shinobi War, merely raised an eyebrow — watching the boy rather than stopping him.
The Doves flared.
"Are you Hawks afraid of blood?"
"We don't need termites like you!"
"How dare you speak the Hokage's name that way?"
Toyama only smiled — coldly, faintly. The noise around him seemed to shrink.
When silence finally returned, he looked directly at Fugaku.
The First Exchange
Fugaku's voice came, sharp and low.
"What do you want to say, boy?"
Toyama's eyes didn't waver.
"I can make it clear to everyone, once you answer some questions — and when they stop making noise and start listening to me using their brains, if they have any."
The insult cut the air.
Even the flames crackled softer, as if listening.
For a long moment, no one dared to breathe.
Fugaku stared, surprised at first — then angry.
"Uchiha Toyama," he said slowly, "you are here just because you have awakened the three-Tomoe Sharingan. you are the genius of the Uchiha. That is why I ignored your attitude. Ask what you want to ask. But if you make yourself unclear, you will suffer consequences."
Toyama tilted his head slightly, a faint smirk curving his lips.
"I also want them to be able to think — for only that reason I am making it clear; otherwise, I don't like explaining much in front of idiots."
A hum of chakra flared across the room — Sharingan eyes spinning in anger.
If he had spoken one more word, a Mangekyō might have been born that night — not from tragedy, but rage.
The Challenge
Toyama's tone, however, stayed light — almost teasing.
"Tell me and everyone something clear — why did Sarutobi Hiruzen not let us join the war at the beginning, and why did he let us join now? Please answer this, and then I will ask the next."
Fugaku glared. "You should call him Third Hokage-sama."
Toyama replied coolly, "Okay, don't be worried about your secret father's insult, and tell the answer."
A ripple went through the crowd.
Fugaku's face darkened; fury barely contained. But Setsuna spoke first, stepping up.
"Sharp-tongued kid," he warned, "if you don't make it clear, you will definitely suffer consequences — and no one will be able to stop it."
Toyama paused, watching both men.
Fugaku finally exhaled and spoke — voice full of restrained fury.
"In the start, Third Hokage-sama wanted us to join, but elder Danzō didn't trust us, and other elders were also wary of us. For that reason, he didn't let us join. But now, as the battle is tense, he forced the elders to decide to let us join and also promised me that he would personally give the position of a candidate to a Uchiha. He has done so much for us, Uchiha and wants us to prove ourselves. But you — because of fear of war — want to make things difficult. I am saying this to all people of the clan: I am not afraid of war.
A few members cheered — but Toyama only smiled faintly.
"Wow," he said, "you just glorified your secret father. Makes me believe that you are also without a brain."
Gasps. Chakra flared again.
Before Fugaku could move, Toyama continued — his voice steady, almost coldly logical.
The Uncomfortable Truth
"First thing, Hiruzen doesn't want us Uchiha to join the battle in the beginning, not because some elder distrusts or disagrees, as some idiot said" — he looked at Fugaku — "but because he himself was wary of Uchiha battlefield merit and fame that we get by war, or the sudden increase in strength if some member accidentally awakens the Mangekyō. As I know, many of you should have at least heard of it, right?"
He glanced around; no one spoke.
"In the beginning, he had many people — by 'people' I mean strong individuals who could fight for him without question. One of them, the most important one, should be known to all — the name Hatake Sakumo. As I know, many should know. But there was a single problem with this sword of the Hokage — he was extremely sharp, meaning he could cut the Hokage.
"And for some dead brains, I will make it easy to understand. In the Second Shinobi War till now, Hatake Sakumo had too much battle merit — so much that Sarutobi Hiruzen had to give him half of his Hokage sleeve. Meaning, if he achieved just a little more, he would be the Fourth Hokage, and other deadbrains who are now thinking about the Fourth position would be thinking about the Fifth. This much even children could expect.
"But the problem was, Sakumo was not his puppet who worked for him. He was also a captain in the ANBU, meaning he had power for himself. And whenever he would take the position of Hokage, the Sarutobi and his group would not have the power to control him, and he would only work for the village, not for any specific family — which was a good thing for us, as we would get a Hokage who was unbiased.
"And for that reason, I asked some idiots to help him find rumours or support him, but those with their pig brains couldn't think. And as we know, he failed the mission — which we don't know the details of — but we only know he failed because he protected his team.
"But this specific ANBU captain's mission accidentally leaked by his teammate — who I am sure should not be alive or easy to find — and our great hypocrite Third didn't want to clear the name of a man who had all successful missions, only one failure till his death, which I also found doubtful.
"As his son was there doing missions for this specific hypocrite, who came to him for showing Sakumo's subordinates that he is a caring man and doesn't worry about Sakumo.
"But something happened — as the war is happening and he needs people to die other than his and his three friends' clans. For this reason, they need a dog-like man who is ready to bury his clan for a bone, which happened.
"And now, before you say something about this answer of mine," Toyama finished coldly, "I need that dog… sorry… slip of the tongue — our Uchiha patriarch — to answer where he said our Uchiha should go to fight."
The silence that followed was sharper than steel.
Even the torches seemed afraid to flicker.