Yako swept his gaze behind Uchiha Kagen.
More than a dozen Uchiha stood there with their three-tomoe Sharingan activated.
'You people… still unwilling to submit. You can't hide anything. That pain, that hatred—it's written all over your faces.'
Just carrying back the corpse of an Uchiha shinobi had driven them to this state?
If you have the ability, awaken the Mangekyō. If you don't, endure it quietly.
If you lack the strength and refuse to endure…
Then you're simply courting death.
Look at Uchiha Kagen. As clan head, he didn't even activate his Sharingan in this situation. Eyes lowered, composed.
Cultured.
Yako spoke, his tone eerily reminiscent of Danzo:
"Anyone who dares to harm Konoha will die beneath Konoha's pursuit."
"Since the village was founded, it has suffered from the threat of Uchiha rogue shinobi."
"Konoha has stood for forty-one years. Yet Uchiha Madara still schemes to destroy it."
"He has made contact with certain members of your clan."
"To follow Uchiha Madara is to choose death."
"No matter who it is, a rogue shinobi's end will be the same as Uchiha Tōka."
"Uchiha Madara is not someone worth following. What he wants… is your Sharingan."
"The corpses of Uchiha Gogo and Uchiha Tōka are proof enough."
"Uchiha… you wouldn't want to die and not even have a complete body left behind, would you?"
The Uchiha's breathing grew ragged. Their gazes turned feral.
Yako quickly added:
"The village is watching you. Do not disappoint the Hokage."
A reminder. The message might come from Fox… but the order was issued by the Hokage.
Take care of yourselves.
With that, Yako turned and left with the Leaf Monkey squad.
Black gloves were hard to wear.
Deliver the message—then run.
—
After leaving the Uchiha compound, Leaf Monkey leaned in and whispered, "Sir… your tone just now sounded a lot like Lord Danzo."
"Did it?" Yako replied calmly. "Good. Studying your superiors is a required subject for ANBU. Learn it."
Leaf Monkey hesitated. "Sir… what if the Uchiha hold a grudge against ANBU?"
Yako snorted.
"Remember this, Leaf Monkey. The Uchiha who bare their fangs and glare with their Sharingan are useless. They can only shout and pose. They can't do anything."
"The dangerous Uchiha are the kind-hearted ones. Or the ones who place their families above all else."
As he spoke, a young boy returning from the academy passed by, holding the hand of a lost child and going door to door.
"Waaah—! My house has a little yellow dog! It's not here!"
The Uchiha boy scratched his head helplessly. "We just came from the Inuzuka clan. Your house isn't there."
"Big brother! I know my house number! It has a one, a two, a three, and a four!"
The boy looked utterly lost.
Leaf Monkey stared at the kind-hearted Uchiha child, then glanced back toward the Uchiha compound.
He couldn't understand why that child was supposedly more dangerous than the dozen three-tomoe Uchiha inside.
—
Before the assembly hall, the Uchiha watched the departing ANBU with complicated expressions.
Uchiha Fugaku's brows were deeply furrowed, the corners of his mouth pulled down. At sixteen or seventeen, deep nasolabial lines already marked his face.
The future of the Uchiha clan was worrying.
Rogue or not, the clan had just produced two Mangekyō users—only for both to die within a month.
The humiliation burned.
They called the Mangekyō the eye that reflects the soul. Each pair possessed unique abilities, unique ocular jutsu.
Yet the clan didn't even know what abilities Uchiha Gogo and Uchiha Tōka's Mangekyō had awakened.
How powerful were those four eyes? What were their techniques?
Only the ANBU and the higher-ups who fought them knew.
The village hadn't even allowed the Uchiha to see the mission reports.
In that moment, Fugaku understood his father's restraint.
Inside Konoha and beyond, hostility toward the Uchiha was overwhelming.
Uchiha Kagen spoke gravely.
"Handle Uchiha Tōka's body as per rogue shinobi protocol. Scatter his ashes into the Naka River."
Uchiha Tōka's remains were swiftly dealt with.
Fugaku followed his father into the study.
"Father," he asked quietly, "if others steal the Mangekyō Sharingan… can they use it?"
"There have been cases in history of outsiders using the Sharingan," Uchiha Kagen replied. "As for Uchiha Madara… he has no such obstacle. If he obtains a Mangekyō, he can use it at will."
"Then why weren't we afraid of others stealing our eyes before?"
"Because…" Kagen said slowly.
"In the Warring States era, the Uchiha fought in blood and fire."
"We grow stronger through battle. Death gives rise to new power."
"In the past thousand years, the clan has experienced several low tides. Each one meant massive casualties… and terrifying resurgence."
"Those who dared take our eyes could not withstand our retaliation."
"Within three hundred kilometers of Uchiha territory, not a single ninja clan once remained."
"Any clan that bore enmity with us was annihilated."
"Back then, we did not fear losing our Sharingan."
"But…"
He exhaled.
"The Second Hokage understood us too well."
"He bound us to the Police Force. The most dangerous enemy in daily patrol duties… is a thief."
"At most, a nimble one with some taijutsu."
"Without the stimulus of death, the Uchiha grow weaker."
"In another decade, perhaps even our three-tomoe users will lose to ordinary jonin."
"The legend that one must flee when facing an Uchiha one-on-one… will become nothing more than a distant myth."
—
Fugaku left home in a low mood.
Outside the clan grounds, the Senju compound stood across the street.
If the Uchiha risked decline, the Senju had already fallen.
Once over three thousand strong, they were reduced to barely two hundred after two great wars.
He thought of Senju Nawaki.
Back in their academy days, Nawaki had stood across the central street and declared they would become lifelong rivals.
Nawaki died in the Second Shinobi War.
Fugaku walked west, lost in thought—until he felt a surge of chakra.
He followed it.
Two girls were sparring with a blond boy.
One was Uchiha Mikoto.
The blond boy was Namikaze Minato, the prodigy promoted to chunin and disciple of Hatake Sakumo.
The red-haired girl was Princess Kushina.
Minato moved with effortless speed, parrying both girls' attacks with one hand.
Fugaku's eyes sharpened.
'That's not just chunin level…'
He challenged them.
Soon the intensity escalated.
Minato's Body Flicker Technique was astonishingly fast.
Fugaku activated his three-tomoe Sharingan and matched him evenly.
Blows carried momentum from one exchange to the next, forcing Kushina and Mikoto to struggle.
It felt… good.
Yet also unsettling.
Minato was three years younger.
Soon, he might surpass him.
If he wished to save his clan, he was still too weak.
—
Then—
A presence appeared beside him.
Faster than Minato's Body Flicker.
A familiar voice whispered behind him.
"Fugaku, young clan head…"
His hair stood on end.
"Princess Kushina's status is special. I'll warn you only once—do not use genjutsu on her. Otherwise… neither your father nor the Uchiha clan can save you."
He spun around.
No one.
The ANBU Vice Captain had vanished.
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
Who was Princess Kushina, truly?
—
Later, Uchiha Kagen quietly speculated.
Perhaps, like Uzumaki Mito before her… she was the village's Jinchūriki.
—
That night, Fugaku trained alone.
If awakening the Mangekyō required fate… then he would sharpen his fundamentals.
—
Jonin Assembly Hall.
Yako sat in the front row for the first time as ANBU Vice Captain.
His seat, placed there by Nara Meika.
Front row—reserved for clan heads and elites like Orochimaru.
He should have felt honored.
Instead, his gaze drifted to the dais.
Yellow Dog sat above.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was elevating his son.
Yako felt a flicker of dissatisfaction.
First row was good.
But the seat of ANBU Commander…
More enticing.
—
The Third Hokage rose.
The room fell silent.
"This meeting concerns two matters," he began.
"First—this concerns your lives."
"Uchiha Madara is alive."
"And he has cultivated many subordinates."
"Among them, Sarutobi Kanosuke."
Gasps.
"Ten days ago, he nearly recruited Uchiha Tōka."
"Tōka awakened the Mangekyō, killed his brother Uchiha Gogo, and stole his eyes."
"But under Advisor Danzo and ANBU suppression, he was killed."
"However, Uchiha Gogo's Mangekyō was bestowed upon a subordinate named Spiral Zetsu."
"All jonin may review intelligence on this organization."
"If you encounter Uchiha Madara on a mission—do not engage him."
A murmur spread.
Hiruzen added:
"ANBU Vice Commander Fox has withdrawn before Uchiha Madara multiple times."
Yako froze.
What did that mean?!
Danzo got beaten too—why mention only him?
The jonin, however, looked impressed.
'Fox survived multiple encounters with Madara?'
Incredible.
—
"Second matter," Hiruzen continued.
"The Land of Hot Water mission share is at risk."
Silence.
"The daimyo's trust is wavering."
"We must dispatch a unit to secure our position."
Hatake Sakumo stood.
"I volunteer."
The room stilled.
Yako's thoughts raced.
If he failed…
Konoha's total revenue would drop by ten percent.
That was equivalent to losing a war.
Grass bordered Iwa and Ame.
Explosive territory.
And—
Yako's heart sank.
'Is this the mission that drives the White Fang to his death?'