Konoha
Uchiha Clan Compound
Grand Elder Setsuna sat in the patriarch's seat.
With Fugaku stationed at the Mist border, the weight of final authority had settled fully on him.
Every decision now passed through his hands.
Before him stood the remaining Uchiha jonin.
There were fewer than in most meetings.
Many were men whose prime had already passed —
their shoulders still broad, their presence still firm, but their movements no longer as sharp as before.
Some had scars that never faded.
Others were boys and girls barely fifteen to seventeen, uniforms still stiff with newness, eyes still carrying more fire than experience.
Most of the seasoned fighters were at the Mist border.
The hall felt wider than usual.
And quieter.
It waited.
"Grand Elder, why was this meeting called?" Raizen asked.
He had been training with his daughter when the summons arrived.
The interruption still lingered on his face.
After so many days, he had finally found time with Kageha.
He had not even shown her the fifth move of his Thunder Sword.
Across the hall, Shinka stood composed.
Most days, she trained the girl herself.
She had never said it directly —
But she did not believe Raizen was suited to teach properly.
She preferred discipline, Structure.
Today had been rare.
Now it was gone.
Setsuna's gaze moved slowly across the room, measuring each face.
"Yesterday's Hokage meeting involved several matters concerning the Uchiha," he said evenly.
"Our next step must be decided accordingly."
The murmurs slowly stilled.
"So that's how it is…"
"Did they say when reinforcements and supplies will depart?"
"After this long, they still send nothing."
Elder Kazuto observed the room.
Anger showed easily on younger faces.
The older ones were quieter —
But their silence carried weight.
"We pressed them," Kazuto said at last.
"They agreed to send supplies."
A brief pause followed.
"There is a condition."
The air tightened.
"What condition?" Shinka asked, her tone steady.
Kazuto weighed his words before speaking.
"The reinforcements escorting the supplies will mostly be civilian shinobi," Setsuna continued calmly.
"Few clan shinobi. Some Uchiha must join them to ensure safe delivery."
The hall fractured.
"More?"
"Half our clan is already at the border."
"Should we call back those in the Fire Capital?"
"No. They are merchants now. The clan depends on them."
"So who will be going then?"
The questions overlapped.
Silence stretched —
thin and uncomfortable.
"Do we old men step forward again?" an older jonin muttered, half to himself.
Those near him heard.
A dry laugh answered.
"What, your bones still remember how to fight?"
"What did you say?bast**d"
Voices rose quickly.
Pride surfaced as easily as it always did.
Setsuna did not raise his voice.
He did not interrupt.
He listened.
His hands rested calmly on the arm of the seat.
Inside, his thoughts moved steadily.
The number of Uchiha shinobi within Konoha was thinning.
The Mist border already held nearly half of their capable forces.
The rest were scattered —
protection missions, escort duties, and guarding Uchiha shops in the Fire Capital that could not be abandoned.
Those shops were no longer small ventures.
They supported the clan now.
Even a large clan like the Uchiha had limits.
Sending more would create weakness somewhere else.
And weakness will invite uninvited attention.
"Grand Elder," Shinka spoke again, drawing attention back to the front.
Her voice was firm.
"If we send more shinobi, the clan will be left exposed. We cannot reduce the Guard Force any further."
Her gaze did not waver.
"The higher-ups are making this difficult on purpose," she added quietly, though the edge in her tone was clear.
"They know we cannot send more elite jonin. We must protect our own territory. And if we send genin or chunin instead, the chances of them not returning increase."
The room grew quieter at that.
Kazuto looked at her for a long moment.
Shinka had never hidden her distrust of Konoha's leadership.
While others softened their words in public, she did not.
"Shinka," Kazuto said calmly, "we have prepared a strategy. The supplies will reach the border safely."
A short pause followed.
"But a decoy team will be required."
The hall stilled.
No one asked the question out loud.
But every mind moved in the same direction.
"There will be a unit heading toward the Mist border," Kazuto continued.
"Its leader will be—"
His eyes swept the room.
"Toyoma."
The name landed heavily.
A ripple passed through the hall.
"Elder!" Shinka's restraint broke immediately.
"Sending Toyoma to the Mist? What are you thinking?"
Her hand tightened at her side.
"The entire village is watching him like a hawk watches prey. If they learn he is moving toward the battlefield, they will act."
She did not say who.
She didn't need to.
Everyone understood.
Several gazes shifted toward the elders.
Elder Kohaku lowered his eyes briefly.
She wasn't wrong.
There was always a chance the village leadership might attempt something — directly or indirectly —
to remove Toyoma.
"Toyoma will travel with Raizen's squad," Setsuna said at last.
His tone did not rise.
It did not soften.
It simply concluded the matter.
Shinka held his gaze for a moment longer.
Then she stepped back.
Her eyes shifted toward Raizen — complicated, unreadable.
Raizen blinked when he heard his name.
He pointed lightly at himself.
"Ah — me?"
He caught Shinka's gaze and said nothing further.
After a brief pause, he nodded.
The discussion resumed.
But the unease did not fade.
Fire Capital
The difficulties were not limited to the border or the clan compound.
They had also reached the Fire Capital.
Koji stood beside a low table.
Reports were spread before him.
Letters from nobles lay stacked in uneven piles, each sealed with a different crest.
Eight months ago, no one in the capital had taken the Uchiha merchants seriously.
Shinobi started playing the trade.
That had been the joke.
But time changed perception.
As days became months, the numbers began to tell a different story.
Uchiha sales climbed steadily.
The largest credit went to their free medical camps.
Once a month, they treated commoners without charge.
It had started small.
A simple idea.
But word spread quickly.
Commoners lined up early in the mornings: the sick, the elderly, and labourers who could not afford private healers.
Even though it happened only once a month, the name "Uchiha" began spreading across the capital.
And as their name spread, their shops began attracting more customers.
Other businesses felt the shift.
Merchants who had once ignored them began losing customers.
Complaints travelled upward —
to nobles affiliated with those merchants.
At first, the warnings were quiet.
Attempts were made to stop the medical camps using different excuses — regulations, permits, fabricated concerns.
But the opposition did not come from the Uchiha.
It came from the commoners.
Rumours spread quickly.
Noble names were dragged through public whispers.
Their reputations suffered.
The backlash caught them off guard.
Some nobles now saw the Uchiha as a growing threat —
too visible, too popular among commoners.
Others saw opportunity.
If they allied with the Uchiha, perhaps their other businesses would flourish alongside them.
Partnership proposals arrived almost daily.
Refusing a noble was dangerous.
Accepting too many was worse.
Koji exhaled slowly.
This was not a battlefield.
They could not strike directly.
In the capital, power moved differently.
Through favour.
Through influence.
Through quiet retaliation.
And the Uchiha were beginning to stand in the way of that balance.
Koji looked at the letter in his hand again.
The paper had already creased at the edges from being folded and unfolded too many times.
"Now things are becoming difficult," he muttered quietly.
"I can't ignore these letters for much longer. I have to contact the elders."
He turned his gaze toward Akira.
The cat was sitting on the table, tail curled neatly around her paws, watching him with lazy interest.
"Take this letter to the elders," Koji said, holding it out.
"Tell them the situation here. We need instructions on how to handle this."
Akira stepped forward lightly and took the letter in her mouth.
"Meow."
She did not move.
Instead, she lifted one paw toward him.
Koji stared at her.
"…My treat," she seemed to insist, her golden eyes fixed on him.
Koji exhaled sharply.
"Ahh…"
With visible frustration, he reached into his robe and pulled out his wallet.
He removed several notes and handed them over.
"Take this and buy yourself something," he said flatly.
Akira's tail swayed once in satisfaction.
Without further delay, she performed the reverse summoning jutsu.
A small puff of smoke filled the room.
Then she was gone.
Koji watched the smoke fade.
"It would be better if the reply comes quickly," he murmured.
His gaze dropped back to the letter.
The seal carried the mark of the Land of Snow daimyo.
That alone was enough to make his expression turn solemn.
The capital's situation was already unstable.
He let out a slow breath.
For a moment, he stood there in silence.
Then, unexpectedly, a faint smile appeared on his face.
But thoughtful.
Uchiha Clan Compound
After the meeting ended, people began filing out of the shrine hall.
The wooden doors slid open one after another.
Footsteps echoed along the stone path outside.
Small groups formed naturally as the jonin walked out, voices low but tense.
Conversations began immediately.
"From Grand Elder's expression, it doesn't seem like he will send more Uchiha shinobi apart from Raizen's squad," an old Uchiha jonin said quietly.
The men walking beside him heard and nodded.
"Well, think about it," another older jonin replied with a solemn expression.
"If more of us leave, who will protect the clan?"
He lowered his voice slightly.
"The village is not kind enough to let us live peacefully. If our numbers decrease further, who knows how many theft cases will suddenly start happening inside Uchiha territory?"
The first jonin gave a faint, humourless smile.
"That wouldn't be the first time strange things happened when our attention was elsewhere."
A third man, who had been silent until now, spoke with a frown.
"We can't forget what happened when Shishu destroyed the shrine. Many records were lost that day. Good thing we had copies… but still."
His voice trailed off.
"The situation inside Konoha is already difficult for us."
The younger shinobi walking behind them overheard the discussion.
Their expressions slowly changed.
What had happened in the past was not forgotten.
Every incident had left a mark.
Suspicion had grown quietly over time —
The clan members were no longer as relaxed inside the village as they once were.
Even within walls, they remained alert.
Careful.
Because experience had already taught them—
Peace inside the village was just a display and illusion.
Raizen was walking with Shinka and his squad members when he overheard the older jonin speaking.
He glanced in their direction for a moment, then looked ahead again.
"Well, someone has to go," he said casually.
"And it will be good for me to go to the Mist once again… especially with Toyoma."
Shinka turned her head toward him.
There was a faint concern in her eyes.
"Your old injuries… have they really healed completely?" she asked quietly.
Her tone was not sharp.
It was careful.
For a long time, Raizen had avoided frontline missions.
Years ago, a leaked mission had nearly cost him his life.
The ambush had been brutal.
By the time help arrived, he had already lost too much blood.
If Uzuku had not been there to drag him back—
He might not have survived.
Even after he recovered, the injuries left their mark.
His body no longer endured long battles the way it once had.
He was assigned mostly to guard missions after that.
Safer work.
Necessary work.
But not the battlefield.
Raizen looked at Shinka for a moment.
Then he smiled.
Without saying anything at first, he flexed his arm lightly, showing the firm muscle beneath his sleeve.
"That pill Toyoma made," he said with a small grin, "has basically healed me more than enough."
He rolled his shoulder once, testing it.
"He said one more week… and I'll be back to my peak."
A brief pause.
"Maybe even better."
He said it lightly.
But there was a quiet confidence behind it.
Shinka heard him and gave a small smile.
But it did not last.
Her expression slowly fell as she looked at him again, concern returning to her eyes.
"They definitely won't let this chance go," she said quietly.
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