While Uchiha Anlan and Uchiha Mikoto were quietly enjoying the sweetness of young love—
Elsewhere, Uchiha Shisui, walking behind Uchiha Fugaku, had his youthful brows tightly furrowed.
The conflicting ideals of loyalty to the village and loyalty to the clan were nearly turning his mind into a tangled mess.
Unable to hold back any longer, the young Uchiha asked the broad back walking silently ahead of him,
"Brother Fugaku… what do you think about what happened at the clan meeting?"
"My thoughts?"
Fugaku slowed his steps slightly.
Under the moonlight, his broad shoulders looked unusually heavy.
He took a deep breath, as though trying to release the frustration weighing on his chest.
"From the clan's perspective… Anlan is absolutely right."
He paused before continuing in a deeper voice.
"But from the perspective of Konoha's leadership…"
"Our entire Uchiha clan is guilty beyond redemption."
"Then what should we do?" Shisui hurried forward, pressing for an answer.
"Now that Sister Mikoto has also sided with Brother Anlan, their two factions control nearly three-quarters of the clan's strength."
"With Anlan's decisiveness… they might truly attempt to assassinate the Hokage."
Beside them, Uchiha Yakumi—Fugaku's capable aide—along with more than a dozen members of their faction all turned their attention toward Fugaku.
The words spoken by Uchiha Mikoto and Uchiha Anlan during the clan meeting had been nothing short of shocking.
From the perspective of ninja logic and strength, they had been forced to rethink the relationship between the Uchiha clan and Konoha's leadership.
In the past, the Dove faction and the Clan Head's faction had worked tirelessly for Konoha's leadership in exchange for small favors.
Now—
The more they thought about it, the more uncomfortable it felt.
Did the Uchiha really lack such petty benefits?
Did Konoha's leadership truly deserve the Uchiha's constant efforts to please them?
If what Anlan said was true—
Wouldn't it be better for the Uchiha to unite and confront Konoha's leadership openly?
At least that would feel more honest and satisfying.
The members of the Clan Head's faction now waited for an answer from the young man they served.
Fugaku was not a fool.
His thinking had merely been trapped within a certain mindset.
For years, the atmosphere within the clan had leaned toward compromise and closeness with the Hokage's faction.
Over time, that atmosphere had created a kind of habitual thinking.
It was similar to men in another world before and after marriage—
Most men instinctively shoulder the burden of the family.
Because throughout their lives they are taught to treat their partner well.
That a man must be the pillar of the household.
Of course, there are abusive men and scoundrels—
But which group is larger?
Irresponsible scoundrels?
Or honest men who shoulder responsibility?
Looking for those scoundrels among the Uchiha would be like searching for normal people in a sea of extremists.
You could just as easily say—
It was like searching for honest men among wolves.
"Do you all remember another thing Anlan said?"
Fugaku turned his head and looked at Shisui and the others.
Then he answered his own question.
"Konoha's leadership is not the same thing as Konoha Village."
"And the Uchiha's enemies are merely the remnants left behind by the Senju faction—not the entire village."
"Unite all forces that are worth uniting."
"And strike down the enemies that must be eliminated."
"In the end… we must recognize who our real enemies are."
Words that had once gone in one ear and out the other now echoed clearly in Fugaku's mind.
With the Hawk faction's influence becoming increasingly dominant, those words now seemed far more reasonable.
From the standpoint of the clan—
Anlan's ideas might be radical.
But they were not without logic.
Shisui frowned in confusion.
"But Brother Fugaku…"
"If Konoha's leadership cannot represent Konoha, then are they still its leaders?"
"If the Uchiha clan head cannot command the Uchiha…"
"Then is he still the clan head?"
Uchiha Yakumi suddenly spoke from the side.
"If conflicts exist even within the clan…"
"Then how could a village formed by ninja clans and civilians possibly be free of factional struggles?"
Everyone's eyes turned toward him.
At Fugaku's signal, Yakumi—who had the most dealings with the Hawk faction—continued his analysis calmly.
"Lord Anlan once said the primary internal contradiction within the village lies between the old ninja clans and the rapidly growing civilian ninja population."
"When the Senju clan fell, Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others devoured its legacy completely."
"Even the scraps that fell from their table were enough to make the civilian ninja grateful to the Hokage."
"But as civilian ninja gradually increase in number and grow stronger…"
"Once the Hokage faction's interests are secured, they must redirect their focus toward the ninja clans within the village."
"And our clan…"
Yakumi's voice grew more excited as realization dawned on him.
"We have deep conflicts with the leadership."
"We control the entire Konoha Police Force."
"And we possess enormous resources."
"So naturally—we became the perfect target."
His voice trembled with excitement.
"Under the guidance of Konoha's leadership…"
"The conflict between the Uchiha clan and Konoha has become the primary contradiction within the village."
Having finally spoken everything on his mind, Yakumi felt as though a great weight had lifted from his chest.
His thoughts had never felt clearer.
"They want to trample on the corpse of the Uchiha…"
"And take everything we have!"
His final conclusion echoed heavily in the night air.
Shisui, who still hadn't fully grasped everything, fell into deep thought.
Especially Yakumi's last sentence.
It continued to echo endlessly in his mind.
Whether in the clan compound or at the Ninja Academy—
Children were taught above all else how to kill.
Only afterward were they taught to love the clan and love the village.
But why should they love them?
And how should they love them?
As ninja whose lives revolved around taking lives—
How much could they truly understand?
So Shisui became lost in confusion.
"Wherever the leaves of Konoha dance…"
"The fire burns endlessly."
"The fire's light will illuminate the village and allow new leaves to grow."
He murmured quietly.
"Could that ideal really be wrong?"
"The words themselves are not wrong," Yakumi sneered.
"The problem lies with the people."
"The Senju brothers fought on the front lines with their own lives."
"But look at Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others."
"They've become the ones basking in the fire's warmth—the so-called 'new leaves.'"
"No wonder Lord Anlan despises them."
"Yakumi."
Fugaku shot him a warning glance.
"Regardless of everything, we should maintain the basic respect due to the Hokage."
He then placed a hand on Shisui's shoulder.
Fugaku valued this young prodigy greatly.
After all, Shisui was the descendant of Uchiha Kagami, one of the Second Hokage's personal guard members.
He was a bridge between the Uchiha and Konoha's leadership.
"Shisui."
"Don't think too much about it."
"The path the clan will take…"
"Let your older brothers and sisters decide that."
Those reassuring words finally calmed Shisui slightly.
He forced a faint smile.
"Brother Fugaku… I understand."
Fugaku nodded.
Then he turned to the other Uchiha present.
"Once you return home—rest if you need to rest."
"Prepare if you need to prepare."
"And remember what should and should not be said."
He looked at everyone solemnly.
"For the future of our clan…"
"For the Konoha that belongs to the Uchiha…"
"Let us unite as one."
"Defeat Kirigakure—"
"And return home with glory!"