In the Hokage's office, white smoke drifted through the air.
Before Sarutobi Hiruzen lay a top-secret dossier from the ANBU.
Uchiha Shinsuke.
This name had been appearing far too frequently of late.
The dossier described in detail that seismic exercise that had taken place on the Uchiha training ground.
Twelve against twenty elite guard unit members, including five experienced jonin.
The result was a crushing victory.
Flawless coordination, compound jutsu that surpassed conventional standards, and a clan member who broke through to a new level in the middle of combat.
All of it pointed to this Uchiha elder, Uchiha Shinsuke.
A second dossier had come from his old acquaintance, Shimura Danzō.
Danzō had raised his threat assessment of Uchiha Shinsuke directly to the highest level, with a recommendation to take immediate action and eliminate him.
Sarutobi Hiruzen raised his pipe to his lips and drew a long, slow breath.
He was worried, of course.
The power and the methods Uchiha Shinsuke had demonstrated had exceeded anyone's expectations.
But he, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was the Hokage.
What he considered was never merely the gain or loss of a single piece on the board, but the balance of the entire game.
The Uchiha were a force that had to be kept in check.
But Danzō's Root, was it not also a beast caged behind bars?
Over these years, Danzō's power had expanded far too rapidly.
Uchiha Shinsuke's forceful rise had caused new fractures to appear within the Uchiha internally.
Between Uchiha Shinsuke and Uchiha Fugaku, between the clan head and the elder, between the rising new and the established old.
This internal friction was precisely what Sarutobi Hiruzen was glad to see.
A united Uchiha was Konoha's greatest threat.
At the same time, Uchiha Shinsuke was also enough to make Danzō wary, enough to stop him from reaching out with impunity as he pleased.
"Hiruzen."
Advisors Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu walked in, their expressions equally grave.
"How do you intend to handle the Uchiha situation?"
"That young man called Uchiha Shinsuke is far too aggressive, the reform of the guard unit's training model is entirely built on wartime standards, and we can no longer afford to look the other way."
"Fugaku has been completely sidelined."
Mitokado Homura added.
"The Uchiha right now is essentially whatever Shinsuke says it is, and that is dangerous, Hiruzen."
Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly exhaled a ring of smoke.
"Then what do you two think should be done?"
"Direct suppression?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen countered with a question.
"On what pretext? By what means? Forcibly interfering in a clan's internal affairs will only make them band together against us with even greater unity."
The office fell into silence.
This was genuinely an impossible problem.
After a long while, Sarutobi Hiruzen at last spoke at an unhurried pace.
"Doesn't the guard unit want live combat training?"
"Then give them the opportunity."
"Recently, friction along the border with Iwagakure and Kumogakure has been unrelenting, and a considerable number of missions have also been piling up in the village."
Sarutobi Hiruzen turned his gaze toward the prosperous village visible through the window.
Mitokado Homura's eyes lit up briefly as he grasped the Hokage's intent in an instant.
"Have them go and complete border missions?"
"Exactly."
"You don't need me to tell you how dangerous border missions are!"
Utatane Koharu also caught on, and much of the worry on her face eased.
"This is indeed a sound approach."
"It both removes the Uchiha from the village's center of power, preventing them from continuing to build influence internally, and it drains the Uchiha's active combat strength."
Sarutobi Hiruzen gave a nod.
"Young people having drive and energy is a good thing."
"As their elders, we should give them a stage on which to perform."
"As long as they are fighting for the glory of Konoha, there is no problem."
As long as the Uchiha did not raise the banner of open rebellion and threaten the Hokage's rule, he would let them make their noise, let them contend, and let them go and do battle with enemies beyond the village's borders.
What Sarutobi Hiruzen was more interested in was this power struggle playing out within the Uchiha.
Uchiha Shinsuke and Uchiha Fugaku.
The new against the old.
This contest was the true key that would determine the Uchiha's ultimate fate.
He needed only to be a quiet observer.
The night grew deeper.
After seeing off the two advisors, Sarutobi Hiruzen did not rest.
He was waiting for someone else.
Knock, knock.
A faint tapping sounded at the door, and a figure appeared without a sound in the shadows of the office.
"Hokage-sama."
Uchiha Itachi knelt on one knee.
"Rise, Itachi."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice softened considerably.
"You have worked hard."
"Tell me about it, the outcome of your... exchange with Elder Shinsuke."
Uchiha Itachi's body shivered in a way that was barely perceptible.
Itachi was silent for a moment before he slowly spoke.
"I lost."
"A... complete loss."
Uchiha Itachi recounted the course of the battle, from the suppression in taijutsu to the clash of ninjutsu, and finally to that moment which had shattered his convictions.
"He was immune to my Tsukuyomi."
Itachi's voice carried a bewilderment he could not comprehend.
"Even the black flames of Amaterasu could not reach him through his Susano'o."
At the words "Tsukuyomi" and "Amaterasu," Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression grew heavy.
The thing he had feared most had still come to pass.
Itachi had also opened those eyes.
"Elder Shinsuke, he also possesses..."
"The Mangekyō Sharingan."
Yet another Mangekyō Sharingan.
Not Shisui, not Itachi.
Uchiha Shinsuke, an Uchiha completely outside anyone's control, possessing power of the very highest order.
This had thrown every plan Sarutobi Hiruzen had laid into complete disarray.
The threat level had risen beyond merely high, it was now lethal.
"You are certain?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen asked with urgency.
"I saw it with my own eyes."
"His ocular power is stronger than mine!"
"What is the ability of his Mangekyō?"
This was the most critical question.
An unknown Mangekyō represented an immense and unpredictable risk.
Itachi shook his head.
"I do not know."
"Elder Shinsuke simply opened his eyes to nullify my Tsukuyomi, and did not appear to use any ocular technique at all, it seemed more like a... natural gift."
"As for Amaterasu, it was effortlessly blocked by his Susano'o."
A natural gift?
The unease within Sarutobi Hiruzen grew even stronger.
"Itachi."
"I need you to find out, by any means necessary, what his Mangekyō's true abilities are."
"For the sake of the village, and for the sake of the Uchiha."
"This is a top-priority mission."
Uchiha Itachi lowered his head deeply.
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Uchiha Itachi's figure melted once more into the darkness and vanished.