Izumi didn't speak up the moment she returned from the Namikaze residence.
She stayed silent for a whole day, chewing Shinju's words over and over until every syllable etched itself into her mind—and until she was sure what she wanted.
The next day, she sought out a few peers she was close to—clanmates who, like her, felt uneasy about the hawks' radical rhetoric.
She didn't bring it up in public. Instead, during a break after a joint mission, she let pieces of her talk with Namikaze Shinju slip out casually, like idle chatter—carefully chosen pieces.
She left out Shinju's warning about a "catastrophic crisis." That phrasing was too alarming; most wouldn't accept it quickly. She only stressed the Namikaze family's willingness to extend a hand, and the larger premise: set aside empty pride and truly integrate into Konoha.
Reactions varied.
Some scoffed, calling it sugar-coated bait to win hearts—charity from winners to losers.
They refused to believe the Namikaze would be so kind, or insisted there must be a hidden agenda.
"Lay down our pride? Why? We Uchiha are the strongest clan in Konoha!" a hot-blooded hawk supporter shot back.
But some fell into thought.
"The Namikaze… really want to help us?" a chunin from the Police Force frowned. "But why would they?"
"Maybe…" Izumi looked at him and answered seriously, "because they believe a Konoha divided from within is at its weakest."
The small, private discussion reached no conclusion, but a seed had been planted.
Like a stone tossed into still water, Izumi's words sent unseen ripples through the Uchiha's younger generation.
Inevitably, these hushed talks reached the ears of the clan's upper ranks.
In Fugaku's study.
A detailed report on "Uchiha Izumi's visit to the Namikaze residence" lay on his desk, sourced from a trusted retainer embedded among the clan.
Fugaku sat alone in the dark room, holding the same posture for over an hour.
Namikaze Shinju.
For years, that name had hung over every Konoha leader like an immovable mountain.
Now the mountain had begun exerting direct pressure on the Uchiha. Fugaku just hadn't expected it so soon.
His mind replayed everything since Minato's return.
The Fourth Hokage had roared back to power: at home, he executed Danzo, stripped the elders, and sidelined the Third, nearly consolidating Konoha under one will. Abroad, he forced the Raikage to admit fault, offer reparations, and bow—crushing an entire era's pride.
Even if the Uchiha possessed seemingly greater secret arts—did they truly stand tall before a monster like that?
The Hyuga, famed equals in ocular power, had all but pledged fealty to the Namikaze after the Cloud affair.
The Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka had been steadfast allies of the Namikaze from the start.
Today's Konoha was no longer the village under the Third that needed delicate balance and compromise to hold.
It wore the Namikaze name.
Could the Uchiha win against such a colossus?
The more he thought, the more it felt like a dead end. No matter how he pushed, there was no solution.
Fugaku's fingertips tapped the desk relentlessly. He knew what the hawks wanted: stage a coup, seize the Hokage's seat with Sharingan might in one stroke.
Naïve to the point of absurdity—if it were so easy, the Uchiha wouldn't have been suppressed since Madara's age.
They had no idea how overwhelming the Namikaze truly were now.
Just yesterday, another report on Team Seven had arrived.
Under Hatake Kakashi, his three young students had completed a B-rank mission. The report mentioned that Naruto could now wield a Rasengan laced with wind-nature transformation, while Sasuke displayed battle prediction far beyond his age.
Fugaku knew: that wasn't Sasuke's own epiphany. Without outside guidance, he couldn't have reached it.
The Sharingan application bore another's fingerprints.
Namikaze Shinju.
The boy wasn't just influencing the Uchiha with words—he was actively cultivating the next generation's strength.
Shinju's brother, his teammates, even Fugaku's own son were growing at a terrifying pace under that influence.
This was a new era.
An era of rampant genius, guided by the Namikaze.
If the Uchiha clung to stale, self-satisfied glory, the end would be exactly what Shinju foretold: destruction.
Better to surrender old pride than to rot—there might even be profit in it. He didn't mind bearing a clan leader's infamy if it meant survival.
Fugaku closed his eyes.
He could not hesitate any longer.
As clan head, he had to carve a new path for their future.
Dialogue with the Namikaze—perhaps even cooperation—was the only choice.
The Namikaze were now the only family in Konoha who could speak to the Uchiha as equals… if not from above. He had to seize that sliver of goodwill.
The fatigue and struggle faded from his eyes, replaced by a leader's resolve.
He would visit Minato personally and speak frankly about the Uchiha's future.
At the storm's eye—the source of it all—
Namikaze Shinju stood atop his clan residence, on the roof of a pavilion level with the Hokage Tower.
Night wind teased his black hair as he gazed down at Konoha—bright, bustling, full of hope.
A figure appeared behind him without a sound and dropped to one knee.
"Lord Shinju," came Hatake Kakashi's voice. "The seeds you planted have sprouted. Uchiha Izumi is sounding out the moderates, and Uchiha Fugaku intends to seek an audience with the lord."
"But," Kakashi's tone shifted, "the hawks are more active, and quieter. They seem to sense something and are accelerating their plans."
Shinju didn't turn. He kept his eyes on the distant Uchiha district.
Everything was proceeding, steady and precise, as he had planned.
Fugaku's change and Izumi's efforts were only anesthetics—delaying pain, not curing the disease.
To excise the Uchiha's illness, he needed a drastic medicine—one strong enough to shatter their pride at the root and make them feel true awe.
The Uchiha tragedy would not—could not—repeat itself. Not on his timeline.
Shinju looked to a system panel only he could see.
A name pulsed there in eerie crimson, stark against the dark interface.
[Uchiha Shisui]
He murmured, almost to himself.
"The timing's finally perfect. You've waited a long time too, haven't you? I'm looking forward to it."
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For 20+ Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!] [[email protected]/Draumel]
[Thank You For Your Support!]