The news of Sarutobi Hiruzen stepping down spread through Konoha like wildfire.
In an instant, nearly every other topic was buried.
Ironically, however, the rumors surrounding him did not die down—instead, they intensified. The more the news circulated, the more boldly people whispered.
Yet all of that seemed distant from the Uchiha.
The Uchiha had problems of their own.
Uchiha Clan Compound
"Damn it! The ANBU aren't even pretending anymore—they're openly blocking the entrance to our compound!"
"I heard it's not just ANBU. There's also some unit called Root. They're all under Shimura Danzō!"
"Danzō? I know him! He's the one who's always targeted us!"
"Hmph. They've started restricting our movement. Only Police Force members and shinobi with official missions are allowed outside now!"
"Why? What did we do?"
"They say it's to prevent us from causing more trouble. But when did we ever cause trouble? Aren't they the ones stirring things up?!"
"This is going too far! What do they take us for?! We have to push back!"
"Where's the Clan Head? Let Fugaku-sama give the order!"
"Calm down. I heard after tomorrow's memorial for the fallen, there'll be a full clan assembly. Every shinobi not on duty will attend. That's probably when this will be discussed."
"Yes. The Great Elder has already spoken—he says this meeting concerns the survival of the Uchiha. We must put clan honor first. No compromise with the village!"
"What? But I heard the Second Elder say the situation isn't so simple—that someone's manipulating things from the shadows. The village is investigating. He asked us to endure a little longer."
"Endure?!" someone barked a harsh laugh. "They've surrounded our home, and we're supposed to endure?"
"That's right! The Second Elder's gone soft. Endure, endure, endure—what are we, turtles hiding in shells? If you want to endure, do it yourself. I won't!"
"This time, I stand with the Great Elder. The village's crossed the line!"
Hiruzen's decision to allow Danzō's Root to assist the ANBU in surrounding the Uchiha compound had finally detonated the simmering resentment within the clan.
Moderates—who had once formed the majority—were shifting.
One by one, they began siding with Great Elder Uchiha Setsuna.
The wind had changed.
Outside the Compound
Returning from the Hokage Tower, Uchiha Jin walked slowly along the road with a small boy at his side.
The murmurs around them did not escape him.
"Public sentiment is ready," Jin said quietly, satisfied.
According to the original course of events, it would have taken years—years of open discrimination following the Nine-Tails Incident—for most of the clan to turn radical.
But now?
A few rumors.
A calculated tightening of pressure.
And the village had already pushed the Uchiha to the brink.
Even Jin hadn't expected results to manifest this cleanly.
Beside him, however, young Uchiha Itachi frowned deeply.
His dark eyes were filled with worry.
Jin noticed immediately.
"What's troubling you, Itachi?"
The boy hesitated.
He knew much of this unrest had been guided—carefully, deliberately.
But he could not understand the purpose.
From his perspective, tensions between clan and village were escalating toward disaster.
And disaster meant blood.
To Itachi, this felt wrong.
Yet his father, Uchiha Fugaku, stood with Jin.
So did Shisui.
If both of them supported this path…
Was he the one who was mistaken?
But if so—
Where was his error?
Jin reached out and ruffled Itachi's hair.
"I've told you before—don't bottle everything up. It does more harm than good."
"I remember," Itachi replied flatly. "You said it builds negative emotions. Bad for mental health."
His tone was indifferent.
Health clearly wasn't his primary concern.
When he'd learned about his own bloodline illness, what troubled him most wasn't the disease—
It was the thought of no longer being able to serve as a shinobi.
Jin's gaze softened slightly.
"There's more to it than health," he said.
"If you keep your thoughts sealed inside, you slowly become arrogant and biased."
Itachi blinked.
"Arrogant and… biased?"
Jin smiled faintly.
"A person's thoughts are shaped by their experience and perspective."
"But the world is multi-faceted."
"You've heard 'seeing is believing.'"
"Yet most of the time, what you see is just the tip of an iceberg."
He gestured lightly.
"Take a starfruit."
"From one angle, you see three ridges."
"From another, you see a five-pointed star."
"If you refuse to communicate, if you cling only to what you saw, you'll insist the fruit has three ridges."
"And you'll dismiss the person who saw five."
"That's arrogance."
"That's prejudice."
He paused.
"Arrogance and prejudice are twin sins."
"People fail to understand each other because they believe only in their own viewpoint."
"So don't bury your thoughts."
"And don't be quick to deny others."
"Seek more perspectives."
"Only then can you make the right choice when it truly matters."
Sasuke's arrogance, in another timeline, would have been loud and visible.
Itachi's—
It would run deep and silent.
That was the more dangerous kind.
The kind that believed it alone carried clarity.
The kind that believed it alone had the right to decide life and death.
Jin had no intention of watching another genius collapse under that weight.
Not if he could help it.
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