Konoha — Year 18
Shinka's POV
After Raizen left with his parents and her father, Shinka remained standing in the yard.
They had not even looked back.
Her fists tightened at her sides.
I am a genin too.
I can go on missions.
It wasn't fair.
Raizen was allowed to leave with his parents' squad. While her father would not even consider taking her.
"Hmph."
She turned sharply and went inside.
As she sat there for some minutes, she looked at the wall.
Her shinobi vest lay folded near the wall.
Her weapons were placed neatly beside it.
She stared at them for a moment.
Then she moved.
She tied her vest on.
Secured her pouch.
Slid two kunai into place.
Took several detonating tags.
Her hands were steady, but her breathing was not.
If they wouldn't take her—
She would follow.
She slipped out quietly and moved along the rooftops.
She had heard them mention the shrine before departure.
When she arrived, the shrine stood empty.
No chakra traces. No voices. No sign of departure.
She frowned.
Where did they go?
Then she understood.
The village gate.
If they were leaving on an important mission, they would pass through there.
She didn't hesitate.
She vanished from the shrine roof and ran toward the village entrance at full speed.
The wind pressed against her face as she moved.
I'll meet them there.
Just as she reached the outer path leading to the gate, she slowed.
Something was wrong.
There were too many people.
Too many bodies.
Uchiha.
On the ground.
Some restrained. Some pushed down.
Several shinobi wearing masks stood over them.
ANBU masks.
Her heart skipped.
And then—
She saw him.
A familiar figure on the ground.
Blood on his sleeve.
"Father!"
She didn't think.
She moved.
A kunai left her hand before she even registered throwing it.
The masked shinobi holding her father down reacted instantly, deflecting it aside.
Metal rang sharply.
Shinka landed in front of her father, breathing hard.
The masked jonin looked at her.
Setsuna's POV
Some time prior
After giving the order for the selected members to gather outside the village, Setsuna moved first.
Several Uchiha shinobi followed him without question.
They did not speak at the start.
Only the sound of sandals striking the ground broke the silence.
"Elder… do we really have to do this?"
Kazuto's voice came from behind.
Setsuna did not slow immediately.
Kazuto continued carefully, "If we speak directly to the Hokage once more… perhaps there is still a way to resolve this."
The words hung between them.
Setsuna's steps did not stop.
"We don't have a choice, Kazuto," he replied.
His voice was steady.
But beneath it—
There was anger.
"That Senju bastard has been targeting us since the beginning."
They moved past the outer streets of the compound.
"When the First Hokage was alive, we endured it. We tolerated it."
Setsuna slowed slightly and looked back at Kazuto.
"But after Hashirama died…"
His eyes hardened.
"He became free."
The words were quiet.
"Like a mad bull."
Kazuto remained silent.
Setsuna's jaw tightened.
"Mission after mission. Poor intelligence. Disappearances of shinobies. Uchiha Graves without answers."
"He is reducing our clan's strength slowly."
" And if we do nothing, he will not stop."
Kazuto lowered his gaze.
He followed.
But his steps grew heavier.
They approached the outer road leading toward the village gate.
Kazuto slowed further, drifting toward the back of the formation.
His thoughts moved differently from Setsuna's.
Sorry, Elder.
You are angry.
You are not thinking clearly anymore.
I cannot follow you into this.
His eyes shifted briefly to the side.
In the shadows beyond the trees—
He noticed something.
Masked figures.
Watching.
Setsuna and the others had not noticed.
Kazuto's breathing slowed.
He said nothing.
They continued forward.
As Setsuna neared the final stretch before the gate, something in the air changed.
Too quiet.
Too controlled.
His instincts reacted first.
He stopped suddenly.
"Trap."
The word was sharp.
The squad immediately spread out, weapons half-drawn.
A ripple of movement broke the stillness.
From above—
From the sides—
Masked figures dropped into the road ahead of them.
ANBU.
More appeared behind.
Coordinated.
Prepared.
Setsuna's eyes narrowed.
"So."
The word was cold.
"They were waiting."
Steel flashed.
The first clash echoed against stone.
The fight began.
ANBU moved in teams.
Uchiha answered with fire.
The first clash exploded without warning.
Kunai met steel.
Sparks scattered across the stone.
An ANBU lunged low toward Kagen's flank—
A burst of fire forced him back.
"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!"
Multiple fireballs curved sharply, forcing the masked shinobi to scatter.
ANBU responded instantly.
"Suiton!"
A wall of water rose, crashing forward and swallowing the flames in steam.
Vision blurred.
That was enough.
Two ANBU slipped through the mist—
But an Uchiha's eyes turned red.
"Too slow."
Genjutsu.
One ANBU froze mid-step, vision distorted—
He saw allies where enemies stood.
His blade cut toward his own teammate.
Confusion broke formation.
Setsuna moved through the chaos like a blade itself.
His Sharingan spun steadily.
He parried once—
Twice—
Then struck.
An ANBU was thrown back, shoulder torn open by a precise cut.
Behind him, Kagen roared—
"Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu!"
A massive dragon-shaped flame surged down the road, forcing three masked shinobi into retreat.
The air burned.
Smoke swallowed the battlefield.
ANBU countered again.
"Doton!"
The earth beneath the Uchiha squad cracked.
Stone pillars erupted upward, splitting their formation.
One Uchiha lost footing—
An ANBU seized the opening.
Blade thrust forward—
Stopped inches from his throat.
Genjutsu.
The masked shinobi staggered.
He suddenly felt as if invisible chains bound his arms.
Setsuna stepped forward and struck him down.
"Push forward," Setsuna ordered coldly.
They advanced.
ANBU were elite.
But their opponent was Uchiha.
Anger.
The momentum began shifting.
Another ANBU fell.
Then another.
A masked captain gave a sharp signal.
Formation tightened.
But they were losing ground.
Kagen broke through their line, flames surging around him.
"You thought you could stop us?" he shouted.
An ANBU attempted lightning release—
But was caught mid-cast by Sharingan prediction.
He went down hard.
The road was scorched.
The smell of burning cloth and blood mixed in the air.
ANBU numbers were thinning.
They stepped back.
Setsuna saw it.
Victory.
He stepped forward.
"Is this the village's strength?" he said quietly.
And then—
The air changed.
Heavy.
Water droplets gathered unnaturally along the ground.
The steam lingering in the air condensed.
Every Uchiha felt it at once.
Setsuna's eyes snapped upward.
A figure stood ahead on the road.
White hair.
Blue armour.
Calm expression.
Senju Tobirama.
He had not arrived in haste.
He had been observing.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"So," Tobirama said evenly, "this is how you choose to resolve grievances, Setsuna."
Setsuna's jaw tightened as he looked at Tobirama.
Behind him, fresh ANBU reinforcements appeared.
The momentum flipped instantly.
Setsuna's anger sharpened.
"You planned this, you evil senju bastard," he said coldly.
"I just prevented civil war in advance."
Tobirama corrected him.
Water surged.
Without hand seals visible—
"Suiton: Suidanha."
A compressed blade of water shot forward.
Setsuna barely twisted aside—
It sliced through the tree behind him like paper.
Two Uchiha were forced back by the pressure alone.
Tobirama moved next—
He appeared in front of Kagen in a flicker—
Hiraishin.
The ground marker glowed faintly for a split second.
Kagen barely raised his guard before being struck down by the blunt end of Tobirama's blade.
No killing strike.
Disabling.
Calculated.
Setsuna's rage broke its restraint.
His Sharingan spun violently.
"Katon!"
A massive fire erupted toward Tobirama.
The Second Hokage did not retreat.
He countered instantly.
A tidal surge of water crashed against the flames.
Steam exploded outward, obscuring everything.
Within the mist—
Tobirama's voice came calmly.
"You are making a mistake, Setsuna."
A hand seal formed.
"Suiton: Suirō."
Water coiled upward like a serpent.
Setsuna shattered the first wave with brute force—
But Tobirama was already behind him.
A precise strike landed against Setsuna's side.
which setsuna barely dodged, but his cut appeared on his shoulder
ANBU moved in immediately.
Sealing tags snapped onto wrists.
Bindings activated.
Kagen attempted to rise—
Three ANBU forced him down at once.
Tobirama stood at the centre of it all.
Setsuna knelt, restrained, breathing heavy but still glaring upward.
"You think this ends here?" Setsuna asked.
Tobirama looked at him without emotion.
"It ends when the Uchiha clan remembers it is part of the village."
Behind them, ANBU secured the remaining Uchiha.
The fight had been fierce.
But it had never been equal.
Tobirama had waited until the moment of imbalance—
Then, it was crushed completely.
Setsuna's anger did not fade.
It deepened.
Footsteps were approaching the gate.
Setsuna lifted his head.
Through the smoke and scattered ANBU, he saw them.
Uchiha figures.
The Patriarch.
His squad is behind him.
And beside him—
Kagami.
For a brief moment, Setsuna's eyes searched the line.
Then he saw him.
Kazuto.
Standing near Kagami.
Not restrained.
Not wounded.
Free.
Something inside Setsuna dropped.
"Kazuto."
His voice was low at first.
Then it rose.
"You betrayed us."
Kazuto heard it.
He did not look up.
He kept his head lowered.
He said nothing.
Kagami stepped forward before the tension could break further.
"Elder Setsuna," Kagami said quietly, "this is not betrayal."
His tone was controlled.
"But planning an assassination on the Hokage is not something that can be called betrayal."
Behind him, several ANBU shifted slightly.
Tobirama remained still.
Setsuna's eyes moved to him.
"So this is how it is," Setsuna said coldly.
"You fed them with fear, and brainwashed them."
Kagami's jaw tightened.
"No one was brainwashed," he said. "We are protecting the village."
"The village?" Setsuna laughed once.
His voice was rough, angry.
"This Senju bastard has been killing our people slowly under the name of missions."
His gaze locked onto Tobirama.
"What do you say?" Setsuna demanded.
"Is it not true? Or am I lying?"
The word bastard lingered in the air.
Several Uchiha shifted uncomfortably.
Tobirama's faint expression faded.
His eyes sharpened.
"Setsuna," Tobirama said calmly, "you are a shinobi."
"Missions carry risk. I also regret your son's death, but Faulty intelligence is not uncommon."
His gaze moved briefly to the Uchiha behind Setsuna.
"You know this."
A murmur spread quietly.
Some eyes turned toward Setsuna.
The Patriarch stepped forward.
"Setsuna," he said firmly, "for your son's death, you cannot endanger the entire clan."
His voice carried anger now.
"How can you call yourself an elder while acting like this?"
Setsuna did not look at him immediately.
His eyes remained on Tobirama.
"You are cunning to the core," Setsuna said quietly.
His voice lowered.
"Tell me—did you play the same game with Madara?"
For the first time, Tobirama's gaze froze.
Only for a second.
Then it returned to normal.
The Patriarch's face darkened instantly.
"How dare you speak of a traitor here?" he shouted.
His voice echoed sharply against the gate walls.
He glanced toward Tobirama briefly—
There was concern in that glance.
Setsuna caught it.
"Traitor?" Setsuna said harshly.
"This man twisted everything."
He struggled slightly against the restraints.
"He made this look like my personal revenge."
His voice rose.
"Do you not have eyes?"
"How many Uchiha have died under the same excuse?"
"Wrong intelligence. Unavoidable circumstances."
He turned toward the Uchiha standing with the Patriarch.
"And you stand here calling me reckless?"
His voice cracked with anger.
"If we do nothing—"
He looked back at Tobirama.
"This evil Senju will consume our entire clan."
Silence followed.
Heavy.
The line between Uchiha was no longer invisible.
It was standing in the open.
As the argument continued—
A sharp sound cut through the air.
A kunai flew toward one of the jonin.
He reacted instantly, deflecting it aside.
Metal rang once against stone.
Everyone turned.
A young kunoichi had rushed forward.
She moved without hesitation and dropped beside one of the restrained Uchiha on the ground.
"Father—"
Her voice was tight.
Kagami saw her clearly now.
For a brief moment, his expression changed.
Sadness replaced firmness.
"Elder…" he muttered quietly, almost to himself.
"How far do you want to take this?"
His eyes remained on the child standing between Mask Anbu and her father.
"If this hatred continues into the next generation…"
He did not finish the sentence.
"What will be the meaning of the village then?"
Tobirama heard him.
His gaze shifted toward the girl.
Small hands clenched.
Breathing uneven.
Standing in front of restrained shinobi without fear.
For a second, another voice echoed in his mind.
"We are building a village so children will not have to stand on battlefields, Tobirama."
His brother's voice.
Hashirama's.
Tobirama exhaled slowly.
He looked at Setsuna.
Then at the bound Uchiha shinobis.
Then, at the divided clan behind him.
The gate of Konoha stood open behind them.
But the distance between them had already grown far wider than the road beyond it.
The division began here.
.
.
.
*****************************************************************************************
Hey everyone,
Thanks for your patience. I know I didn't upload for the last five days, and I really appreciate you guys sticking around.
From now on, I'll be following a proper schedule. Chapters will come from Monday to Friday, and I'll take a break on weekends.
You guys can still suggest ideas for the story. I do read them, but the story will move forward in my own style, like the previous chapters, since that's what most of you are enjoying.
There were a lot of different opinions recently, and honestly, it got a bit confusing for me, which is why things felt a little messy.
Also, just to be clear, this story is about making the Uchiha a strong clan, both in ideology and strength. It's not just about Toyoma.
You can support me on Patreon — hear_tteeth [ 18+ ] and unlock 15+ chapters ahead.
Thanks again for the support.