"A risk?" Uchiha Setsuna whipped his head around, his crimson eyes locking onto Yashiro. His voice spiked in volume.
"Yashiro! Are you still clinging to those naive delusions? Look at Konoha now! The leadership has withered, the people are panicking, and every major clan is waiting on the sidelines! This is the opportunity our Uchiha clan has waited decades for! The Senju have long since declined; now is the time to take back our rightful status! Are we really going to stay huddled in the corner of the Police Force, enduring the strange looks of those ants, just because of some brat with a mysterious background?"
His words were like poisoned kunai, stabbing deep into the hearts of the hardliners present and igniting a resonant fury.
The eyes of several young core members flashed with fanatical light, and their fists clenched instinctively.
Uchiha Yashiro felt his breath hitch under the pressure of those glaring Sharingan, but he persisted.
"I am not afraid, Elder Setsuna. But... our intelligence is insufficient! We know far too little about this Saiki Shiroya! Where is the upper limit of his ability? Does anyone here have a way to deal with a monster capable of erasing even Hiruzen Sarutobi?"
Regarding the battle that night, due to Tsunade's orders, the others standing on the perimeter remained ignorant of the details.
They only knew that Tsunade and Saiki were the ones who walked out victorious, and not a single soul from Hiruzen Sarutobi's faction survived.
Yashiro's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over the freshly ignited flames of the younger members, causing the temperature in the secret room to drop instantly.
The silence of that night and the fear of the unknown were far more heart-stopping than a clearly defined enemy.
"You—!" Uchiha Setsuna was pushed into a boiling rage by this pointed interrogation. His three-tomoe Sharingan spun violently, the crimson light almost piercing the gloom.
"Yashiro! You are inflating the enemy's reputation while destroying our own! How did that old fossil Hiruzen Sarutobi die? Was it a sneak attack? A siege? No one knows the details! Who knows if Tsunade used some forbidden jutsu, or if that brat used some despicable trick? To declare him invincible based solely on the result is the act of a coward!"
He stood up abruptly, glaring down at Uchiha Yashiro. His voice sounded like a blade scraping against rust.
"Our Uchiha Sharingan sees through all things and copies the universe! Are you saying we can't even probe the depth of a snot-nosed brat? Are we going to abandon this once-in-a-lifetime chance because of a bit of unknown fear? Are we going to watch the other clans rise in the chaos while the Uchiha remain excluded from the core of power?!"
"Elder Setsuna is right!" A young core member couldn't help but chime in, his face etched with the excitement of finally finding an outlet for his long-suppressed frustration.
"Konoha is currently leaderless! The Hyuga are restless, and clans like the Aburame and Inuzuka are all watching from the fence. If the Uchiha back down now, won't the Hyuga snatch the lead? How could we ever claim to be the number one clan in the Leaf after that?!"
"Exactly! The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is unstable; it's the perfect time for observation and testing! No matter how strong that brat is, can he protect her every single second? We have plenty of patience and methods!" Another young voice rang out, carrying absolute confidence in their power and extreme dissatisfaction with the status quo.
"Enough!" Uchiha Takeshi, sitting in the seat of honor, finally spoke. His voice wasn't loud, but it acted like a heavy stone, crushing all the bickering.
His aging but still razor-sharp Sharingan slowly swept across the excited Setsuna and the worried Yashiro, finally landing on the faces of the young radicals.
The secret room fell silent instantly, leaving only heavy breathing and the faint crackle of the oil lamp.
"Yashiro's concerns... are not without merit." Takeshi's voice was slow and raspy, every word carrying the weight of deliberate thought.
"An unknown enemy is the most dangerous enemy. That Saiki Shiroya was able to silently eliminate Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo, and numerous clan elites. His methods and abilities are indeed beyond common logic. To underestimate him is to gamble with the fate of the entire Uchiha clan."
His words made Setsuna's expression turn even uglier, but they slightly eased the tension in Yashiro's face.
"However," Takeshi continued, his tone shifting. A cold, stubborn glint flashed in his Sharingan, like a venomous snake lurking in the dark.
"Setsuna is also correct. Opportunity is fleeting! Konoha's power vacuum will not last long. Once that woman Tsunade stabilizes her footing, or if another clan moves first... the Uchiha will only continue to endure the humiliation of being marginalized!"
His wrinkled fingers began to tap rhythmically on the table again, a dull thump-thump-thump that seemed to drum against everyone's raw nerves.
"Therefore, we must secure the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki—Kushina Uzumaki. The Sharingan possesses the power to control Tailed Beasts. That legendary figure used his eyes to control the Nine-Tails and grind down Hashirama Senju during the battle at the Valley of the End. As long as the Nine-Tails is in our hands, the Uchiha will write the future of Konoha!"
Takeshi's voice rose sharply, carrying a nearly fanatical resolve. In the dim light, his crimson pupils were brimming with naked ambition.
Fortunately, Saiki wasn't there, or he would have given the man a massive eye-roll.
What the hell are you thinking? Madara Uchiha had the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. Can your basic three-tomoe eyes even compare? Even if the Sharingan counters Tailed Beasts, it depends on the user, you old fart. You think you're in Madara's league?
Of course, Saiki wasn't aware that a group of arrogant fools was confidently plotting.
However, he wouldn't mind using this opportunity to perform a cleanup of the Uchiha clan.
The Uchiha moderates and hardliners were always at odds; for the two factions to sit together without the Clan Head present meant things were about to get very interesting.
Back in Kushina's small house, Saiki spent quite a while pacifying her before her explosive temper finally settled.
During this, he secretly manifested a Shadow Clone and sent it to the Hokage Building to inform Tsunade.
Inside the Hokage's office, Tsunade stared at Saiki's clone with a grim expression.
"...The Uchiha. They truly can't help themselves." Tsunade's voice was low. She was habitually biting her thumb again—a nervous tick she developed under extreme pressure.
Finally, she slammed a palm onto the desk. The mountain of paperwork jumped, and the wood let out a groan of protest.
"Daring to release a 'Phantom Crow' to monitor the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki... it seems those old fossils in the hardline faction truly believe I, Tsunade, am soft, or that Konoha's blade is no longer sharp."
She stood up and walked to the massive window, overlooking the Hidden Leaf village which looked perfectly normal on the surface.
The sunlight filtered through the glass, outlining her tall, voluptuous silhouette while reflecting the cold light swirling in the depths of her eyes.
"Do they think because a few leaders died, Konoha has collapsed? That it's the Uchiha's turn?" Tsunade's voice carried a hint of blatant mockery.
"Naive! Stupid! The power of the Sharingan didn't just fail to let them see reality; it blinded their hearts."
She turned, looking directly at Saiki's Shadow Clone. For a moment, Saiki felt the suffocating pressure belonging to a Sannin wash over him.
"You did well, Saiki. Protecting Kushina is the top priority. Any eyes that dare to spy on her must pay the price. The next time you find one, don't bother with a warning—disable them immediately."
"Understood," the Shadow Clone replied concisely.
"As for the Uchiha..." Tsunade paced back to her desk. Her fingers grazed the stacks of files, finally stopping on a dossier marked 'Police Force'. Her fingertips pressed down slightly, leaving a faint indentation in the hard wood.
"A group of old reactionaries who can't read the situation. Since they want so badly to 'understand' Konoha's 'weakness', I'll make sure they understand it very thoroughly."
Her gaze turned incredibly sharp, like a blade ready to be unsheathed.
Inside Kushina's house, Saiki sat quietly at the small table, reading the memories fed back to him after the Shadow Clone dispelled.
The afternoon sunlight spilled across the floor, making everything look peaceful. Saiki cast a casual glance at Kushina, who was sleeping soundly on the sofa.
After the morning's exhaustion, Kushina had fallen asleep the moment Saiki went into the kitchen to wash the dishes.