The council chamber was hushed stone and heavy smoke. Braziers burned low along the walls, their flames wavering in the drafts that slipped down from the high, arched ceiling. The table was long and old, scarred by decades of arguments that had decided wars, treaties, and massacres.
At its head sat the Third Hokage. Hiruzen Sarutobi's lined face was cast in shadow, his pipe smoldering faintly as he drew in a breath and let the smoke curl toward the ceiling. His old eyes seemed half-lidded, tired. But those who knew him well could see the flicker of sharpness waiting beneath the weariness.
Around him sat the council. Clan heads to his left, the civilian leaders to his right. And opposite him, bandaged and unmoving, cane laid across his knees, sat Danzo Shimura.
In the center of the floor, ANBU knelt. Their masks gleamed in the dim light.
"Report," Hiruzen said quietly.
The ANBU captain bowed his head. "Wave Country. Assignment: observe smuggling operations of the merchant Gato. Result: Gato is dead. His mercenary company destroyed. His control over Wave ended."
The words rippled through the chamber. Civilian councilors leaned forward, muttering to one another. The clan heads glanced at each other sharply.
Hiruzen tapped the ash from his pipe into a tray. "And who," he asked, "brought this about?"
The captain hesitated. Then, carefully: "Villager testimony claims… three figures. First, a swordsman with a blade larger than a man. Second, a tall man in black, blindfolded. Untouchable in combat. Third, a boy. Young. Eyes red as blood. They called him Uchiha."
The silence that followed was deep and sudden.
And then it broke all at once.
"An Uchiha—?"
"Impossible, Itachi—"
"No survivors—"
Even the usually composed Hiashi Hyūga sat straighter, pale eyes narrowing in thought. Shikaku Nara sighed, rubbing at his temple. Civilian councilors began to whisper, their voices quick and fearful.
Only Danzo did not shift. His single eye gleamed. "There," he said at last. "Proof."
Hiruzen's pipe stilled. "Proof of what, Danzo?"
"Proof that Itachi's purge was not complete," Danzo said, voice calm, almost satisfied. "A rat survived the fire. The boy has red eyes—perhaps even the Sharingan already. And worse, he is not alone. He has allies."
The captain's voice cut in, respectful but strained. "The villagers were most adamant about the blindfolded one. They said he walked unharmed through steel and fire. That nothing could touch him."
Hiruzen's grip on his pipe faltered. Smoke filled his lungs too fast, and he coughed once, sharply. A blindfolded man. Untouchable. Memory hit like a kunai—reports from years ago, during that night of chaos. The Nine-Tails raging. Fire consuming streets. And in the confusion, ANBU swore they had seen a figure—white-haired, blindfolded, carrying a baby through the carnage. Kurama's claw halting inches from his body. A Tailed Beast Bomb wrenched off course into the wilderness. At the time, the Hokage had dismissed it. Impossible. Madness born of fear.
But here it was again.
The ANBU continued. "Villagers called him 'the phantom in black.' They say he saved them. He redirected attacks. Not a single civilian died while he stood."
A civilian councilor slammed his palm on the table. "I heard of him! That same phantom was seen the night of the Nine-Tails' attack! A man with a blindfold, walking through fire with a child in his arms! Everyone thought it was rumor—hysteria—but it was real!"
The chamber exploded into noise.
"The same man—?"
"Then he has been here all along—"
"He took the boy from the massacre—"
"Why hide him, unless—"
Danzo's cane struck the floor once, hard. Silence fell like a blade. "There can be no doubt. The phantom shields him. Raised him. Groomed him." His eye swept the council. "You see? This is not coincidence. This is conspiracy. The boy is Uchiha. The man is a power beyond any we control. Together, they move unseen, building in secret. You fear another Uchiha coup? It has already begun."
Fear thickened the chamber.
The civilian woman Narae whispered harshly, "If he is truly a survivor… and protected by such a monster… then Konoha is in danger."
Another councilor added, "He'll raise a new clan! He'll gather enemies! The people will not stand for it!"
Hiruzen slammed his pipe against the table, sparks scattering. "Enough!" His voice cracked like thunder. "You will not turn a frightened child into a criminal!"
Danzo's gaze turned sharp. "Frightened? This 'child' slaughtered mercenaries."
"We do not know that," Hiruzen said coldly.
"Red eyes. Two tomoe. At his age." Danzo's bandaged fingers flexed on the cane. "You know what that means. Power grows fast in Uchiha blood. Too fast. Left unchecked, he will surpass even Sasuke. And this phantom—he stood against the Nine-Tails itself! Sarutobi, if you do not act, you doom us."
Hiruzen's old eyes narrowed. "I remember that night well. Do you? I remember ANBU reporting a man who saved them. Civilians shielded by a barrier none could breach. A Tailed Beast Bomb dragged into empty fields. If that was the same phantom, then he did not strike at Konoha. He saved it."
The words silenced the council again. For a moment, the weight of it hung—the blindfolded phantom, not an enemy, but a savior.
But Danzo sneered. "And saviors demand payment. You think he shields this boy out of mercy? No. He is building something. And when he unveils it, it will be too late."
The civilians began to mutter again, torn between fear and confusion.
Shikaku finally cut in, voice calm but edged. "Troublesome. Let's not jump to conclusions. If the phantom did save civilians during the Nine-Tails, then he's not hostile. Not yet. If he raised the boy, maybe the boy's survival isn't rebellion—it's just… mercy."
Hiashi inclined his head slightly. "Still, another Uchiha surviving in secret cannot be ignored. If he wields the Sharingan already, then he is not harmless."
Danzo seized on it. "Root will move—"
"No." Hiruzen's voice boomed. He stood, robes heavy, pipe left forgotten. "Root will not move. Not without my order. This council will not sanction a hunt. We will not drive this boy into darkness. Not again."
"You tie our hands," Danzo hissed.
"I keep them clean," Hiruzen answered. "The Uchiha fell because we left them no path but rebellion. If this child walks with a phantom guardian, it is because we left him nothing else."
For a long moment, the two men stared at one another. The council hardly breathed.
Finally, Hiruzen turned away. "The matter is settled. We will monitor. Quietly. If the boy is found, he will be brought under my protection. Until then, rumors remain rumors."
The civilians protested, but his glare silenced them.
"Meeting adjourned."
Later, only two remained.
Danzo sat in shadow, unmoving. Hiruzen stood at the window, watching the lanterns of Konoha flicker in the night.
"You weaken us," Danzo said softly.
"You poison us," Hiruzen replied.
Danzo's one eye narrowed. "Do you think sentiment will shield us when another Uchiha warlord rises? When the phantom marches beside him? You gamble the village on a child's mercy."
Hiruzen's voice was low, but steady. "I gamble on humanity. Better that than murder."
"You'll regret it," Danzo said.
"Perhaps," Hiruzen admitted. "But better regret than blood."
They did not look at each other.
That night, deep below the village, in the Root compound, Danzo summoned his operatives. Masked figures knelt in rows.
"An Uchiha survives," he said. "Protected by the phantom in black. You will find them. Confirm. Capture if possible. Kill if not. Sarutobi will tie my hands, but he cannot tie yours."
The Root bowed as one. "Yes, Danzo-sama."
Above, in his office, Hiruzen exhaled smoke into the dark. His gaze drifted toward the horizon, toward the sea, toward Wave Country. He thought of Sasuke. He thought of Itachi. He thought of the blindfolded man in black, untouchable, walking through fire with a child in his arms.
"If another Uchiha walks this world…" Hiruzen whispered, "…Kami help us all, if he is not on our side."
The embers in his pipe glowed, then dimmed to ash.