"Clan Head! The village held emergency talks all night. I heard all the major clans were called in. Do you know what happened?"
Emergency talks overnight?
All the major clans?
Early in the morning, Fugaku glanced at the speaker, a strange look flickering in his eyes.
It was a young member of the clan, currently serving in the Police Force.
But—he was notably close to the Hokage faction.
One of the very few dove-group moderates within the Uchiha.
So why would a dove be passing this kind of information to him?
Had the Hokage—or Danzo—deliberately leaked it?
But wouldn't that only intensify conflict…?
Or was the point precisely to increase tension, to push the Uchiha into losing patience?
In an instant, Fugaku's expression darkened.
He finally sensed something was wrong.
He turned sharply and barked, "Notify all the clan elders. Council hall—meeting, now!"
As for Sasuke on the rooftop tree, Fugaku glanced once and decisively gave up.
A mischievous child? ✗
A useless second son? ✓
Before long, the Uchiha council hall was filled with elders.
Some looked half-asleep, but most wore fierce, excited expressions.
The most militant Third Elder couldn't hold back when he saw Fugaku.
"Clan Head! Calling us together this early—are we finally launching the coup?"
"Yes, the coup! It's finally time! We have 32 three-tomoe members, 168 two-tomoe, and 398 one-tomoe warriors ready to move!"
"Clan Head, let's do it! Konoha hasn't been the village we fought for long ago!"
"Exactly! If the Sarutobi clan can sit on the Hokage's seat, why can't the Uchiha?!"
Whoosh!
That single sentence ignited the room.
Elders slammed tables, voices overlapping, already acting as if they could storm the Hokage Tower the next second.
"Cough… I think we should hear what the Clan Head says first."
One of the few moderate elders cleared his throat, directing attention back to Fugaku.
In an instant, more than twenty pairs of eyes locked onto him.
Expectation.
Pressure crashed down on Fugaku—so much that he felt briefly stunned.
Wasn't this meeting supposed to discuss countermeasures?
How had it suddenly turned into planning an assault on Konoha?
Something felt… very wrong.
Yet it also reflected one truth:
The resentment inside the Uchiha had already reached the surface.
They only needed a spark to explode.
And now… that spark seemed to have arrived.
"N… no…"
After a long hesitation, Fugaku finally shook his head.
"Shisui is seriously injured. Itachi is tied up with missions. Our strength is still insufficient."
The Third Elder immediately shot back:
"Insufficient?"
"Clan Head, do you really not know how the Sarutobi clan grew from a minor family into one of the great clans of the ninja world?"
That one line struck Fugaku silent.
How?
Of course—by draining the blood of great clans like theirs.
"…Sigh."
Fugaku closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.
When he opened them again, hesitation was gone—only resolve remained.
He tapped the table and said firmly:
"Then three days from now—at night."
"In the meantime, recall every clan member on external missions."
"All assignments are canceled. Everyone returns."
"Yes!"
The shout echoed through the entire Uchiha district.
The clan was instantly boiling with excitement.
And it didn't take long for other families in Konoha to sense something off.
"What's going on? Have you noticed there are way more Uchiha on the streets lately?"
"More than that—I've heard wild laughter in the middle of the night. A bunch of lunatics."
"You think they're all losing it?"
"Maybe… but ANBU patrols have increased too…"
Those rumors naturally reached the upper levels of Konoha.
Bang!
Bang bang bang!
Inside the Hokage's office, Danzo slammed his cane against the floor repeatedly.
The cramped room was packed.
Akimichi Torifu, Koharu, Homura, Hiashi Hyūga—many clan heads were present.
Aside from a few more emotional ones, most simply watched the Third Hokage in silence.
Especially Hiashi.
As the head of a great clan, he sensed trouble—but had no intention of involving the Hyūga.
Whoever won, they would still need the Byakugan.
The same logic applied to several smaller clan leaders.
They couldn't influence the outcome anyway—might as well watch.
Bang!
Seeing Hiruzen still silent, Danzo smashed his cane hard enough to crack the floor, snorted, and turned away.
At the doorway, he paused and said coldly, back turned:
"Some things you can't do—but I can."
"As Hokage advisor, it's my duty to eliminate threats for you."
With that, he left.
Behind him, Hiruzen stared at his retreating back.
For once, he didn't stop him.
After a moment of silence, Hiruzen lifted his eyes, calmly knocked his pipe, and said:
"You may all return. Please help maintain order in the village."
"The Uchiha are part of Konoha. I will not abandon them."
"Where the leaves dance, the fire shall continue to burn."
Many small-clan leaders left deeply moved.
Soon, only Sarutobi Hiruzen remained in the office—
And a crow by the window.
"Itachi… have you decided?"
"Yes. They plan to launch the coup three days from now, at dusk."
"…Sigh. I'm sorry. I still couldn't satisfy them."
"No. This isn't the Third Hokage's fault. It's the inherent flaw rooted deep in the Uchiha blood."
The crow turned its head sharply.
"I will eliminate that flaw. But Hokage-sama…"
"Yes?"
"Can you spare Sasuke and Ren?"
"They're still just children."
Silence filled the room.
White smoke drifted thickly from the pipe until the air blurred.
At last, Hiruzen nodded.
"Sasuke can live. As for Ren… I need to observe him further."
He stepped out of the tower.
As he raised his head, he saw Ren nearby, cheerfully dragging an ANBU into conversation.
"…That child really is as talkative as ever," Hiruzen muttered, the corner of his mouth twitching.
Just as he turned to leave—
Ren's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Oh! Old—uh, Third Hokage-sama, don't go! How about chatting for ten minutes?"
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