Madara Uchiha—a forbidden name.
One of the two founders of Konoha, he was the best friend of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. Love turned to hate, and he drew his sword against his beloved. After the climactic battle at the Valley of the End, he vanished without a trace and was declared dead.
Hiruzen Sarutobi understood him fairly well. After all, he had been trained by both the First and Second Hokage.
"That's impossible... He's dead."
"That battle back then..."
Minato Namikaze's expression was just as grim. As the Fourth Hokage, he had deliberately studied various materials concerning the Uchiha Clan. He was no stranger to the former Uchiha Clan Head—the man who had once sought to overthrow Konohagakure.
If it really was him, then today's events suddenly made perfect sense.
After all, during his previous assault on the village, Madara had used the Dōjutsu of the Sharingan to control the Nine-Tails and launch his attack. The similarity to today's events was uncanny.
"Think about it— even the legendary Rinnegan showed up."
"The Uchiha Clan has always been far more mysterious than any other. Aren't those Sharingan eyes enough to prove something?"
"Even if it isn't Madara Uchiha, it's definitely someone tied to him."
Kazuyama Gekkō bluntly pushed their suspicions toward Madara Uchiha. He had no intention of exposing himself. To protect himself better, he needed the village leadership to know about this.
After all, even if he didn't say anything, once Madara Uchiha bared his fangs, both the Nine-Tails and Konohagakure would be in his sights. The sooner the village woke up to that reality, the sooner they could prepare.
Hiruzen and Minato exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with unease.
If it really was Madara Uchiha, the implications for the village would be catastrophic. Even by himself, he posed a threat greater than tens of thousands of soldiers.
After a long pause, Hiruzen finally spoke.
"Whether or not it's really Madara Uchiha, we have to prepare. Minato, go inform the ANBU to increase patrols—especially around the Uchiha Clan's residential area."
"The Nine-Tails' rampage… and the Uchiha Clan…"
The moment the Uchiha were mentioned, both Minato and Hiruzen looked troubled.
It seemed excessive to drag the entire clan into it because of one man. But if that man was Madara Uchiha, it suddenly made sense.
The Sharingan awakened through intense emotional stimuli. In other words, without being pushed, Uchiha couldn't even be considered Uchiha.
To put it bluntly, they were a passionate and volatile clan. If Madara Uchiha truly was their enemy, what if the current Uchiha Clan ended up aiding him?
"Come on now, aren't you two overthinking this?"
"The Uchiha Clan abandoned Madara back then. Otherwise, why would he have gone off on his own?"
"Minato, what's up with you? I expect this kind of paranoia from Sarutobi the geezer, but you too?"
"Fugaku is the current Clan Head, and wasn't Kagami Uchiha one of the Second Hokage's six bodyguards?"
"Just work a little harder and make Fugaku your Kagami Uchiha. Problem solved."
Kazuyama curled his lip. The Uchiha could be valuable allies—show them love, and they'd return it.
It was a sure deal. With his own ties to Minato and Fugaku, as long as things didn't completely fall apart, there wouldn't be a problem.
Of course, he was well aware there would be dissenters among the Uchiha, but they were just a few troublemakers. At worst, they could be dealt with.
"We'll talk about this later."
"It's been a long night. Let's rest."
Minato thought for a while but offered no conclusion. Instead, he simply told everyone to get some rest.
Kazuyama understood too. It was unrealistic to push this issue immediately. No need to rush—just plant the seed and water it over time.
"I'm heading out. I'm dead tired."
"How about a midnight snack? Hopefully the barbecue place didn't get crushed by the Nine-Tails… Eh, shouldn't be. It's in the opposite direction."
With a flash of Flying Thunder God, Kazuyama vanished in front of them.
...
He reappeared in front of his three disciples.
"Sensei?"
"Let's go eat. I'm starving."
Before the three could react, they were already on their way with Kazuyama.
Due to the Nine-Tails' rampage, the entire village was in chaos. Although plenty of shinobi were working to keep things under control, many shops had shut down—barbecue place included.
Seeing the pitch-black storefront, Kazuyama's face twitched.
Without hesitation, he grabbed the three and disappeared again using Flying Thunder God.
This time, he warped them outside the village—to a commercial street in the Land of Fire.
Who cared? Eating was top priority.
...
At the table, the three kids had countless questions, but since Kazuyama said nothing, they didn't know how to ask.
"Obito, your eyes—don't use them unless absolutely necessary."
"You've felt the changes, haven't you?"
Obito Uchiha shuddered, then nodded. His eyes had indeed changed—he could feel it clearly.
It was the awakening of a new power. A completely different experience.
"Sensei, you knew?"
"Obviously. I just got done fighting an Uchiha."
Kazuyama hadn't expected that his little act of faking death would directly trigger Obito Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan.
Tsk tsk, this kid's got it bad. Was this love? He'd have to watch carefully. Love turning into hate—that was a slippery slope. That familiar pattern… while it hadn't been confirmed, he was nearly certain—it had to be Kamui.
Uchiha?
All three of them were full of curiosity and confusion.
Wasn't the Uchiha Clan part of the village? Wasn't the current Clan Head close friends with Kazuyama?
"There are some things you don't need to know. The Uchiha I was talking about isn't from the village."
"Anyway, Obito, unless it's absolutely necessary, don't use your eyes. That kind of Dōjutsu puts immense strain on your body. It'll cause permanent damage."
"As for mastering the Sharingan, you can learn from Shisui. Look at him—that's a proper Uchiha. Now look at you—you're practically Might Obito at this point."
Hearing the jab, Obito gave an embarrassed laugh.
After all, he really did love Taijutsu and had put a lot of energy into it.
"Kakashi, Rin, you've both found your own paths, so there's not much else to say."
"Let's eat. Starting tomorrow, the village is going to be busy."
Thinking about how much destruction the Nine-Tails had caused, the three nodded in agreement. The village would definitely enter a reconstruction phase.
And as shinobi, they'd all be kept busy.