(Note: Sorry for the delay; university matters.)
The explosion alerted everyone in the village, as it was no small blast. Its epicenter destroyed the house where the incident occurred, along with the five surrounding buildings—not completely leveling them, but leaving them in ruins—to say nothing of the shockwave itself.
Smoke flooded the area, obscuring the aftermath of the blast, while the remaining Uchiha on guard duty were left severely injured.
In the Hokage's office, Miyu was finishing a document regarding the upcoming Chunin Exams—scheduled to be held in Kusa—when she stopped dead in her tracks upon hearing the explosion.
She remained there, gazing at the papers, before turning her chair to catch sight of the column of dark smoke rising from the lawless district.
She said nothing and summoned no one; there was no need. Thanks to protocols she had established for both the staff and the ANBU, they had independent duties to carry out in the event of an emergency—tasks that did not require direct orders from the Hokage. This was a necessary measure, as she herself might be the one involved in such an emergency, rendering her unable to coordinate their actions.
Back at the scene of the explosion, the Yakuza were the first to arrive, given that the catastrophe had occurred on their turf.
Daiki appeared with his hands in his pockets, surveying the chaos and destruction. He cast a sidelong glance at the Uchiha ninja but ignored them completely—treating them as if they were thin air—as he stepped to within centimeters of the smoke.
"Boss, what do we do?" one of the Yakuza asked. "There's not much to be done at the site of the explosion; I don't think anyone made it out alive. We'd better check the surrounding area for any injured civilians and get them somewhere for treatment," Daiki stated seriously.
"Understood, Boss," the subordinate replied, nodding as he moved off with the others, leaving the Yakuza leader alone.
"Good call," a voice said from not far away.
Daiki headed toward the source of the voice and spotted several Anbu; he recognized only one—an operative wearing a dog mask whom he had seen near his mentor on several occasions.
"Ninja business is for ninjas," the gang leader declared as the Anbu leaped up to his level and approached the smoke.
"Then you'd best step aside," Inu said, walking past him, only to be stopped when Daiki grabbed his arm.
"That doesn't change the fact that my people could have been in those adjacent buildings; I control this area, so I have to stay—at the very least—to see what happens here," he stated, looking the Anbu straight in the eye.
Inu remained silent for a few seconds before giving a nod, prompting Daiki to let go.
The grey-haired Anbu quickly rejoined his squad, who were waiting for orders.
"Are you just going to let it slide, Captain Inu?" one of the Anbu asked.
"The Hokage instructed us not to interfere with the work of the Yakuza or the Mafia; besides, he's just observing—nothing more. We'd better put out the fire and see if we can find any evidence of what happened here," Inu explained as he formed a series of hand signs. "Water Style: Water Bullet Jutsu."
...
Miyu gazed at Fugaku's corpse—a body missing a large portion of itself, alongside a skull wound that had caused instant death, leaving little room for intervention. That was what she discovered upon examining his mangled remains.
Instinctively, her attention was drawn to his Sharingan—the only one that remained. The question then arose: how had his body stayed so intact when the other Uchiha had to search for their scattered remains meters away from the blast site?
Without a second thought, she removed the eye and began channeling chakra into it.
It shifted from one *tomoe* to two, then three, before finally spinning to form a Mangekyō Sharingan. "Is that it?" asked Inu, who was standing beside her.
"It's nothing—nothing at all," Miyu declared, placing the eye into a jar and tucking it away. "Fugaku's body was found with both eyes destroyed."
The scarecrow-like Anbu stared at his leader for a few seconds and nodded.
"Fugaku was found with both eyes destroyed," he confirmed.
Kakashi was well aware of the situation regarding the Uchiha clan. He didn't know every detail, but he understood one thing: leaving a Mangekyo Sharingan for them—especially one that might fall into the hands of the most unstable among them—was a risk, so it was better to keep it locked away forever.
Personally, he felt it should be destroyed rather than stored, but he wouldn't question his leader's decisions; after all, just as there was a chance *they* might use it, Konoha could potentially use it too—albeit in secret.
At that thought, he instinctively touched his left eye.
"It's a shame; relations with the Uchiha will fall apart now, since Fugaku was the one keeping things from spiraling out of control," Miyu lamented, already accustomed to loss.
At that moment, the Hokage glanced behind her at Daiki, who had little to say.
"Did you know about the spy?" she asked him.
"There were no records of anything regarding that," the Yakuza leader replied, trying to sound like an ordinary civilian passing through.
Miyu rested one hand on her chin while idly fidgeting with the fingers of her other hand against her arm.
"It's strange," the Hokage remarked.
"What do you mean?" asked Inu.
"How could he have obtained enough explosive tags to cause this level of destruction without anyone noticing?"
This was the case because every explosive item in the village was accounted for. Arms dealers were permitted to sell explosive tags only to the village's own ninja—no one else.
The individual was a spy, not a traitor; civilians underwent quick searches upon entering the village, and he would have been discovered had he been carrying a stash of talismans.
"That could mean several things—for instance, that the spy had help from someone inside the village." The Hokage's words made Kakashi's eyes widen in horror, as they implied the presence of traitors within their ranks. "No... perhaps he wasn't a spy after all."
"What do you mean?" Inu asked.
"The Uchiha who alerted me about the spy shortly before the explosion reported that a suspected spy had appeared here, but it was never confirmed whether he actually was one," Miyu replied. "There are many possibilities, but they remain mere speculation; we can't determine the truth."
The Hokage's words left Inu speechless; they could only look back at Fugaku's corpse.
"What should we do with the body?" Inu asked.
"We'll have to hand it over to Mikoto; I've already sent an ANBU to notify her." Miyu shook her head. "I'm just grateful Naruto and Hikari are with Sasuke so he doesn't have to see his mother completely devastated. Gather the bodies and clear the area; with this level of destruction, we can't salvage any evidence."
At those words, the Hokage glanced at Daiki, who simply nodded and left the scene.
Inu ignored this and looked back at his military commander.
"Hebi can handle the paperwork this time," Inu suggested.
"No," Miyu replied, causing Inu's shoulders to slump in resignation as he stared at the ground and kicked a charred piece of wood.
...
News of the tragic death of the current Uchiha clan leader had already spread throughout the Uchiha shrine, prompting a secret meeting to decide on his successor.
"I knew it would come to this; Fugaku was too weak. This was the ultimate proof," said one Uchiha, glaring angrily at another.
The speaker belonged to the extremist faction, while the other was a pacifist.
Unfortunately, such meetings were restricted to *jōnin* and elders. Since the Uchiha lacked a large number of ninja at that rank or higher, the extremist faction outnumbered the pacifists six to one in this situation.
Their leading figure, along with others from their camp, had perished; others had been severely injured—some even maimed—forcing them to retire from active duty, while others remained missing.
The pacifists had tried to address the broader situation, but the extremists skillfully steered the conversation away, taking the opportunity to insult and curse Fugaku—who had been dead for less than twenty-four hours.
Outnumbered, the pacifists had no choice but to remain silent; speaking up risked them being branded traitors to the clan.
"Order," Elder Setsuna declared, his expression grave. "There is no point in further disparaging the former clan leader; we must decide on our next leader—and do so now."
His words silenced the room, causing the old man to nod with satisfaction.
"As much as I would like to take the position, I am too old to defend the clan," he said in a somewhat plaintive voice. "Therefore, I propose that my son, Uchiha Matsuda, become the next leader of the Uchiha clan."
Murmurs instantly filled the shrine.
"That's not a bad choice," remarked one of the extremists. "Matsuda has proven he's up to the task," another remarked.
"He's an elite jōnin; leaving aside his ninjutsu and bukijutsu skills, he's not a bad choice," a third added.
The pacifists listened in silence, having little to say. At that moment, few members of their faction present at the shrine were particularly capable compared to the others—let alone capable of defeating Matsuda in one-on-one combat.
"It's decided, then, so..." Setsuna began, but suddenly, the shrine doors were flung open.
"I volunteer to lead the clan," a calm, cold voice rang out.
Standing at the entrance were Itachi and Shisui, who had been listening to the entire discussion while hidden.
At their appearance, everything came to a sudden halt; no one said a word.
"Itachi," Setsuna said, almost maliciously, upon seeing Fugaku's eldest son step in at the last moment.
Itachi walked slowly forward, accompanied by Shisui. Shisui found the whole situation unethical—especially the fact that they were already seeking a replacement before anything had even been resolved regarding the former clan leader, not to mention the things they had said about him.
"I, Uchiha Itachi, offer myself as the clan leader," Fugaku's son reiterated, fixing his gaze on Setsuna as his three *tomoe* spun.
The pacifists rejoiced at this new candidate, while some extremists hesitated.
Itachi had clearly proven himself to be an elite *jōnin*, a genius, and—potentially—a leader capable of commanding an ANBU squad.
But Setsuna wasn't about to stand by and watch Itachi resolve the entire situation.
"Heh, you think you're capable of being the clan leader? You're just a thirteen-year-old kid," the old man scoffed. "You lack the experience to lead a clan; it's not the same thing as leading a ninja team."
Several extremists nodded in agreement at his words.
"Besides, you're an ANBU operative answering directly to the Hokage—where do your loyalties lie? I imagine they aren't with the clan, are they?" Setsuna added fuel to the fire, causing Itachi to clench his fist in frustration.
"Who decides that—you? And based on what proof?" Fugaku's son countered.
"I'm simply stating facts, nothing more," the old man replied.
The situation reached a stalemate; neither side moved or spoke. That is, until the Uchiha stepped forward.
"How about we put it to a vote?" he suggested. Setsuna smiled at the idea, unsure if his son would actually win a fight to the death.
"Fine. Raise your hand if you want Matsuda to be the next clan leader," the old man said—prompting the majority of the Uchiha to raise their hands—"and now, those who want Itachi to be the next clan leader."
All the pacifists raised their hands, Shisui included. Itachi remained motionless and silent. This type of vote was not valid, yet there was nothing to be done, as practically everyone in the room voted for Matsuda to become the next clan leader. To speak up would be to go against the clan, and it would not serve his interests—nor would it help him carry out his mission as stipulated by the Hokage.
"Then it is decided: from this moment on, Uchiha Matsuda shall be the next leader of the Uchiha clan."