In terms of pure looks and figure, Tsunade undeniably outshone Yakushi Nonō.
But beautiful faces were everywhere.
A rare soul—that was one in ten thousand.
And to Uchiha Jin, Nonō was rarer still.
Perhaps because he was not native to this world, Jin's perspective had never been confined to Konoha's viewpoint. When he judged right and wrong, he did not stand with "the village." He stood with the world.
To him, a civilian in Konoha and a civilian in Amegakure were no different.
That was why he could see what many Konoha shinobi could not—the pride buried deep in their bones. The quiet certainty that they were different. Superior.
Nonō, on the other hand, had spent half her life walking in darkness.
She understood the cruelty of war. The chill of human indifference. The price of loyalty and the cost of abandonment.
And yet—
She had not been corroded by it.
Instead, she bloomed like a flower facing the sun.
She stopped fighting for "Konoha's security" and left Root to establish an orphanage. She crossed battlefields, gathering children who had lost everything—regardless of which village they came from.
War was cruel everywhere. Children were innocent everywhere.
The only reason she built her orphanage within Konoha's borders was practical: shelter beneath a large tree was easier to come by.
She was one of the very few in this world who had stepped beyond the cage of "village identity" and chosen to see the whole world—without turning into some self-righteous revolutionary bent on burning it down.
That quiet kindness—unpretentious, unshaken—was what moved Jin most.
With her, he found resonance.
If he had to put it simply—
She was the only one who could reach the deepest part of his soul.
Shisui noticed Jin's unshaken confidence and chose not to press further. Instead, he changed the subject.
"On my way back, I found something unusual," he said quietly. "Three kilometers southeast across the river, in a valley—there are at least a thousand shinobi lying in ambush."
He had discovered them while returning from the Daimyō's court and had come straight here for the clan rites.
He hadn't mentioned it immediately because he trusted Jin wouldn't overlook something so obvious. Even so, he felt it necessary to confirm.
Jin did not disappoint.
"That's just Hiruzen's contingency plan," he said calmly. "But Minato is leading them. Whether that 'contingency' can actually function is another matter."
Shisui smiled faintly in understanding.
"Still… with the Third's orders in place, will Lord Minato be able to restrain them?"
Jin shook his head slightly.
"Most of those shinobi just returned from the front with Minato. His prestige among them speaks for itself."
"And we don't need him to suppress them."
"If it truly comes to blades drawn, we only need Minato to stall them for a short while."
His gaze drifted toward the river's surface, as though seeing beyond it—into the village itself.
"The real issue isn't those outside the village. It's the clans inside that haven't moved."
The ambush across the river was already beyond Konoha's formal boundaries. If the Uchiha and the village truly clashed, the Uchiha would push inward—not outward. Those shinobi would not be the primary obstacle.
But inside the village—
If ANBU and Root stalled them even briefly, the major clans could assemble several thousand combatants in minutes.
That was the real threat.
Of course, how many would truly risk their lives for Hiruzen Sarutobi personally was another question.
"Sarutobi, Shimura, Utatane, Mitokado," Jin murmured. "Add Ino–Shika–Chō."
"Those seven are absolutely within Hiruzen's control."
"I'm sure they're already prepared."
Though members of the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans were quietly aligned with them, the majority of those clans remained loyal—to Hiruzen and to the Hokage's authority.
Their bond ran deep. Since the Warring States era, those three clans had fought side by side. Each generation reaffirmed their alliance through the ceremonial exchange of earrings—witnessed by the Sarutobi clan.
That tie was not something easily severed.
"And as for the smaller clans—Inuzuka, Aburame, Gekkō, Mitarashi, Shiranui, Haruno…" Jin continued. "Most will side with Hiruzen."
"But not because of him."
"They're loyal to the Hokage's seat. Whoever sits in it, they'll support."
"Only clans like the Hyūga or Kurama—those heavily suppressed or already declining—might remain neutral."
Konoha had never been just a handful of great clans. It was built by several major houses, over a dozen mid-sized ones, and countless smaller families. True civilians—those without surnames—had only arrived once the village stabilized.
Years of war had erased many minor clans from history. Some dwindled to a single heir.
Like the Hatake clan.
Reduced to one: Kakashi Hatake.
Shisui's expression grew solemn.
"If the situation is this severe, how can you still sit here fishing?"
Jin did not even glance up from his rod.
"That's only in the worst-case scenario."
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
"The rougher the storm, the pricier the fish."
"This is the perfect chance to see the village's true shape."
"No matter how many ants gather, they cannot kill an elephant."
His voice remained steady.
"I have my own cards to play."
The rain intensified.
The sky darkened.
And the atmosphere over Konoha tightened, like a bowstring drawn to its limit.
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