Elder! This Is All For the Uchiha! - Naruto: The Uchiha Manifesto

"What is this!?"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow as she looked at the intelligence scroll Uchiha Ye had handed over. It felt painfully familiar — the same sort of scroll that had nearly cost Nawaki his life. Her expression hardened.

Ye's face was grave as he presented the scroll. "Captain Tsunade, after I returned from the Naka Shrine, Elder Setsuna secretly gave me this intelligence scroll."

Tsunade unrolled it and read. Her brow tightened, then she slammed her fist down on the table in fury.

Crack. The table is split.

"Damn it!"

Tsunade's light-brown eyes blazed. Someone had even plotted against me. The anger rose like a white-hot flare.

The content of the scroll was simple: Ye had written down parts of future intelligence on it. The gist was this — with Nawaki's death leaving Tsunade weakened and grief-stricken, this was the moment to exploit her; when Tsunade presented her medical report at the jōnin meeting, the timing would be perfect. Nawaki's death would harden Tsunade's resolve in a certain direction.

The plan had been tailored to Tsunade's character: analyze her temperament and strike while she was emotionally vulnerable. Whoever prepared this plot knew Tsunade very well — just how well became Tsunade's new source of fury. After all, very few people knew the medical report she had been preparing.

Ye watched her rage with a serious look and quietly said, "Captain Tsunade, Elder Setsuna's health is poor — I estimate he has only two or three years left."

Ye's earlier intel could be dismissed as ill intent, he argued, but Nawaki's death had already proven that some of that information was painfully real. So what of this scroll? He put on a heavy expression and counseled Tsunade:

"Tsunade Captain, in wartime, even if Elder Setsuna uncovered some of this, it doesn't necessarily exclude enemy infiltration. I believe this could be the work of a foreign spy trying to drive a wedge between the Senju and the village."

He spoke with such conviction that he began to sound as if he himself believed it.

Tsunade sneered. "No wonder the Uchiha want you to approach Kushina — you're likely influenced by this intel." She didn't hesitate; she flung the scroll back at him with a cold laugh.

Ye scrambled to catch it and, seeing his own forged document in his hands, widened his eyes and put on an expression of shock. "This! This!"

The contents of this scroll were — to put it bluntly — almost identical to the task he had just confessed: approach a target under the pretense of friendship. The only difference was who the target was. Ye's mission from his clan was to get close to Uzumaki Kushina, the future Nine-Tails host. This scroll, however, outlined a plan in which someone would take advantage of Tsunade, the Senju princess of the Fire Country. Different target, same method.

Tsunade eyed him coldly. "So, why are you suddenly quiet?"

Ye looked increasingly embarrassed and dropped his head. Tsunade couldn't help but smirk inwardly: where had that lofty rhetoric gone? He'd been so full of righteous fury earlier. Now he looked sheepish.

But Tsunade's mind reassessed the situation. People in different positions saw different things; her perspective was broader. Whoever had access to this level of targeted manipulation must have extremely deep channels for intel.

After all, the elder had once dared to rebel — he was not a man without resources. And with the elder's life only lasting a few more years, Ye — impulsive, radical, ready to die for the village at the drop of a hat — might be exactly the sort of asset she could use.

His personality was clear: responsible, fanatically loyal to both clan and village, and guilt-driven into awakening his Sharingan. Once the elder passed away, this brat could be molded to step into the gap. The elder's channel of information could be kept, whether in the elder's hands or in Tsunade's.

Tsunade's expression softened into a smile. "You're too naive, brat."

She snorted. She had begun to put up defenses — if the Uchiha already knew to be wary of the Third, could the Senju be oblivious? Ye thought it was enemy sabotage, but Tsunade's wider view made her suspicious that there was more at play. If this really was a spy network, Konoha would already be riddled with leaks.

And the fact that this intel came from a Uchiha elder — that alone had meaning. Perhaps this was the Uchiha's token of goodwill: a way to patch relations and show their sincerity.

Ye had been taught to believe Konoha was founded by the Senju and Uchiha together; his instinct was to make peace with the Senju. Without meaning to, Tsunade found herself starting to equate the Senju with "the village." After all, the Senju had founded the village; Hashirama and Tobirama had been her elders. Who could blame her for such thinking?

Ye stammered, cheeks flushed. He'd been given a family task that he couldn't speak of aloud. He'd rather be sent to the Rain front than accept such a mission. Tsunade watched the Uchiha crest on his back and thought: indeed, the Uchiha were radical.

"Captain Tsunade," he continued, "the elder and the clan head ordered me to secretly approach Kushina — saying she's a bridge between the clan and the village, a way to enter the higher ranks."

Tsunade grew more serious. "You mean they want you to secretly contact Kushina?"

Her anger remained, but on reflection, she admitted this sounded like a Uchiha plan. The clan was single-mindedly trying to break into the village's upper echelons and win trust by any means.

Ye took great pains to reveal every detail from the shrine meeting — even that Mikoto had arranged for the contact with Kushina to be a mere formality. He disclosed it all: there was no reason to lie, and he wanted to gain Tsunade's trust.

From the original timeline, Mikoto's contact with Kushina did work — sincerity for sincerity. Yet in the end, it was the Third Hokage's faction (and the Fourth's legacy) that gained the prize. The contest for the Nine-Tails host was ultimately won by the Hokage's camp; the Senju suffered a political defeat. Tsunade's voice cut through:

"You really would sell your clan's secrets like this, and not feel anything?"

Ye straightened and said solemnly, "Captain Tsunade, I did not betray my clan. The village was built by Senju and Uchiha together — I hold that truth in my heart. Everything I do is for the clan and for the village! The Uchiha's love for the village is no less than the Senju's or anyone else's."

His voice rose with passion as the tomoe in his Sharingan spun faintly.

"Look at this world — war. Powerful shinobi, but impoverished villages. Elderly shinobi were left to a life of suffering. War wounds the village anew each day — Captain, can't you see? The Uchiha have always fought to end war. Our fire-users have no hesitation standing on the Rain frontlines!"

Ye's words grew fervent, and Tsunade felt a twinge of unease — the boy's zeal was intense.

"We are not maniacs! The Uchiha have spilled blood to protect this village. We fight for peace!"

The Sharingan in his eyes rotated; Tsunade's skepticism softened. For the first time, she saw not just an arrogant clan member but someone who truly loved the village in his own way.

"Captain Tsunade! The real enemies are those who spread division and discord!"

Tsunade's gaze held his. After a long moment, she finally spoke, voice low and steady: "I understand. I withdraw my earlier words, and I apologize."

Tsunade apologized. Ye blinked, surprised, then understood: she was someone who would own her mistakes. He'd misjudged her.

A new seriousness came over her — pride and a warrior's clarity in her brown eyes. Ye drew a breath, and the Sharingan faded from his gaze. He took a scroll from his pouch and, with solemn intent, prepared the next step: to steadily win Tsunade over, one move at a time.

Chapter 15 - Elder! This Is All For the Uchiha!