Chapter 56:Unrest
"The wise fear not the great disaster, but the small cause from which it begins."
Early that same day, as the information continued spreading beyond the open streets and black markets, it naturally began reaching the major clans of Konoha one after another, and almost without exception the first reaction was shock. In the Hyuga compound, an elder nearly crushed the scroll in his hands after reading its contents twice over as if unable to believe what was written before him.
"An Uchiha… defected?" That in itself was not truly the strange part, after all every clan had bad apples and no lineage was so pure it had never produced dissent, what was unexpected was the village's stance itself. After the brief shock the elder gradually calmed down, but the more he calmed the uglier his expression became. "What is the village trying to do? What is their game here?" he thought internally, while beside him loud deductions were already taking place. Some believed this was pressure deliberately aimed at the Uchiha clan, others believed it was a warning directed at all clans, while a few even suggested something far uglier—that this was bait. That single word made several people go quiet, because if this was bait then who exactly was being lured? Kenzo? The Uchiha? Or the clans themselves? The more they thought about it the more dangerous it seemed, and what made it troubling was not even the news itself but the hand behind it.
In the Aburame clan, several elders immediately began discussing implications in low voices, their expressions hidden as always, yet their tones unusually grave. Even among those known for calm judgment unease had begun to spread.
The Inuzuka on the other hand reacted far more directly.
"What the hell is the village doing?"
Inuzuka Tsume shouted in a loud voice as she slammed the table before her while many elders hastily called upon hearing the news stood around her. Some looked furious, some suspicious, others strangely uneasy, but despite their different reactions the consensus remained the same as they all understood the implications clearly. If this spreads further the long held precepts of the shinobi world may begin to crack. Because the shinobi world was never about freedom, it was order, hierarchy, lineage, inheritance. The sons of nobles remained nobles, the sons of commoners remained commoners, clan members lived and died with their clans, this was not merely custom but structure itself, the invisible foundation upon which the shinobi world stood.
And now the village itself seemed to be placing a blade against that foundation. Even smaller clans had already begun asking themselves questions they should not be asking. If an Uchiha could leave… why not others? And that thought alone was dangerous enough to make the air turn heavy.
Elsewhere, within the Nara compound, things looked strangely calm, almost absurdly so. There was no clan meeting, no visible concern, no commotion, everything appeared as ordinary as ever. Nara Shikaku sat opposite a much younger Shikamaru as the two quietly played shogi beneath the morning light, the soft click of pieces moving across the board the only sound for some time. Then Shikaku finally spoke. "Shikamaru." The boy lazily looked up. "Yes?" Shikaku moved another piece and said, "If a man pushes a stone down a hill, and that stone starts an avalanche, who caused the avalanche?" Shikamaru frowned. "The man." Shikaku gave a faint smile. "Wrong. The mountain did." Another piece clicked into place and silence followed again, but after a long while Shikaku's eyes drifted slightly toward the distant village as he muttered in a low voice, "How troublesome… and what a drag." Whether he meant the game before him or something far larger was unclear.
Meanwhile, inside the Uchiha district, an emergency meeting had already been called after the rumors spread through the village. Ironically, though they were directly involved, they had been among the last major clans to receive the news. And this was now the third time they had gathered in the Naka Shrine directly or indirectly because of Kenzo, but unlike before the atmosphere this time was completely different. There was no calm, no restraint, no discipline, only fury. Raw fury. Voices rose one after another, curses flowed openly, accusations erupted. Some demanded answers, others demanded blood, yet strangely the ones who showed no anger at all were somehow even more terrifying, because their silence was not calm but hatred hardening. Fugaku still sat at the head of the chamber, and even in his eyes there was killing intent, real killing intent, yet even so he still attempted to hold things together. "Enough." His voice echoed through the chamber and for a brief moment the room quieted, but only briefly. Expressions remained murderous as if ready to devour someone alive. "We will find a solution soon. Trust me. We will make the higher-ups pay, but now is not the time." Fugaku continued speaking of timing, caution, endurance, but this time no one was truly listening. Some merely turned their faces away, some looked down in disgust, some did not even bother pretending, and before long several elders simply stood up and walked out of the hall directly, not even giving Fugaku face.
They were too tired. Always wait. Always endure. Always later. And yet nothing ever happened. That was the real poison.
Fugaku watched this unfold and fell silent, his heart sinking slightly. This was not good. He could hold things together for some time, but not forever. Eventually he would have to do something or the Uchiha would begin disintegrating from within.
"Itachi."
From a dark corner a shadow drifted in so silently many had not even realized he was there until he stepped into the dim torchlight. His expression was unreadable as ever.
"Give me the latest report."
Itachi lowered his head slightly. "The rumors have spread through all major clans. The outer district as well. And… some members of the clan have begun gathering privately outside official meetings."
That single line made the room grow colder.
Fugaku understood immediately. Private gatherings. Separate voices. Independent thought.
For a clan already standing at the edge…
That was more dangerous than enemy blades.
And for the first time, even Fugaku began to feel something he had long refused to acknowledge.
That the clan…
May already be slipping beyond his control.