"Is it really over?"
Uchiha Kazuto… so you were the one hiding the deepest all along. What are you planning?
I can't figure it out. I really can't figure it out.
But what if, what if everything Uchiha Kazuto said is true?
What if it's all true?
Could this entire mess have been a conspiracy woven by Danzo Shimura and Fugaku Uchiha?
Uchiha Shisui clutched his head, feeling like it was about to explode. Kazuto's words had sounded unbelievable, yet when he thought about Danzo… somehow, they fit perfectly.
Because Danzo Shimura was that kind of man, a born schemer. No matter how respectfully Shisui had once called him "Danzo-sama," he had always known what kind of serpent the man really was.
And just moments ago, Danzo had truly attacked him, he had actually tried to take his eyes.
What if Danzo's reason wasn't suspicion, but ambition? What if his true goal was to control the Hokage… or to become hokage himself?
Shisui's gaze turned distant. None of this made sense. It was too tangled, too sudden.
He couldn't figure it out. He really couldn't.
"Shisui," Kazuto said quietly, "I know you don't completely believe me yet. That's fine. Let's return to the clan. It's time to expose Uchiha Fugaku's conspiracy."
Then, without hesitation, Uchiha Kazuto lifted Shimura Danzo's corpse and, with Shisui in tow, darted toward the Uchiha compound.
Snap! Bang!
"Ah! what's going on!?"
Clay vessel shattered across the tatami floor. The teacup rolled away as Uchiha Fugaku collapsed, drained of strength.
Around him, other dovish clan members fell too, slumping one after another, their limbs heavy and breaths shallow.
Before anyone could make sense of it, the hawkish faction rose to their feet.
"Fugaku," Uchiha Setsuna said, his tone grave, "you didn't expect the conspiracy between you and Shimura Danzo to be uncovered, did you?"
Fugaku struggled to lift his head. "W–what conspiracy? Elder Setsuna, what are you doing? Why?"
His mind reeled. Poison? The realization hit him like a kunai to the gut. The Hawks… they had poisoned the tea! But why? What kind of shinobi poisons his own clanmates?
He could barely form the thought, why poison him? What conspiracy? What was this about Danzo? He hadn't schemed with that man at all!
"Heh… Fugaku," Setsuna sneered, "even now, you refuse to admit it?"
He gestured sharply, and several hawkish Uchiha stepped forward, binding Fugaku's body in heavy chains.
"Admit what?" Fugaku gasped, shaking his head, struggling to keep his voice steady. "Elder Setsuna, there's a misunderstanding here!"
But even as he spoke, he realized what Setsuna must have believed.
The Elder thought he had some secret connection with Shimura Danzo, a conspiracy against the Uchiha itself.
But Fugaku had never had any such ties. The only thing he had done was send his son into the Anbu… because he wanted to ease tensions, not inflame them.
"Haha… Misunderstanding?" Setsuna's eyes flashed coldly. "You colluded with Shimura Danzo! You used us, your own clan as pawns, feeding the village just enough concessions to keep them calm while stoking our resentment behind closed doors! You and Danzo planned to stage a coup, let us bear the brunt of it, then claim innocence once the Hokage fell. Danzo would rise to power, and you would crawl to him as his ally, his pawn! Don't deny it, Fugaku! Your conspiracy has been exposed!"
Setsuna's words trembled with both fury and conviction. Deep down, he knew this was Kazuto's story… but the more he thought about it, the more plausible it sounded.
Wait, what if it wasn't a lie?
He thought back to Fugaku's past behavior: the endless compromises, the willingness to bow to the village's every demand, even sending his own son to work for the very people who oppressed them.
And Danzo, he had always coveted the Hokage's seat.
If the coup succeeded and Sarutobi died, wouldn't Danzo emerge as Hokage? And wouldn't Fugaku, ever the pragmatist, conveniently "defect" to save face?
A chill ran down Setsuna's spine.
If that was true… if that was their plan…
Then the Hawks' rebellion would have destroyed the clan completely, just as Kazuto warned. Danzo and Fugaku would have used them all as stepping stones.
Silence fell.
The room grew thick with tension.
The dovish Uchiha members stared at Fugaku and Setsuna in stunned disbelief.
They hadn't wanted a coup in the first place. They had been trapped, pressured by the Hawks on one side and scorned by the village on the other.
But now everything was upside down.
Could it be that the Hawks weren't actually the ones who wanted a coup? That the true conspirators were Fugaku and Danzo?
If someone had said that earlier, they would've laughed it off. The clan head colluding with Danzo? Impossible!
But now…
The Hawks had no reason to poison them and invent such an elaborate lie. If they didn't want a coup, that meant they were acting out of loyalty to the clan, not rebellion.
Which could only mean one thing, what Uchiha Setsuna said might actually be true.
Fugaku was completely stunned.
"No… Elder Setsuna… what are you saying?" His voice cracked with disbelief. "Did I hear that right? Is this some kind of genjutsu? When did I ever collude with Danzo? When did I ever plot a conspiracy?"
He shook his head violently.
"This… this isn't right. None of this is right!"
…
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