Uchiha meeting

In Konoha, Mito was the closest person to Kushina. Although they had spent only a short time together, Kushina felt a kind of love from Mito that could be described as pampering. Mito treated her like a granddaughter.

Now, with the departure of her only relative and clansman in Konoha looming, Kushina felt not only sadness but also deep disturbance and fear.

When she heard Kirito words, her tear-filled eyes widened, fixing on him, her senior brother who was around her age but far stronger.

She gazed at the familiar blue diamond mark on Kirito's forehead and into his confident, bright eyes. In that moment, she saw the shadow of Mito in Kirito.

"Don't be afraid. As your senior brother, I will always be by your side to support and protect you. Even if you become the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki in the future, don't worry. I will keep an eye on that monster and never let it harm you," Kirito promised solemnly, extending his hand to Kushina.

Kushina, upon hearing Kirito's heartfelt pledge, looked at him in astonishment. For some reason, her unease and fear melted away in that instant.

The strength and confidence that Kirito exuded made her feel secure.

Sniffling, Kushina wiped her tears with her hands, nodded, and then placed her hand on Kirito's extended one.

With this gesture, Kirito gained Kushina's trust, and a smile of relief spread across his face.

He led Kushina to an empty room, where he set up a sealing barrier, and began to impart to her some secret knowledge about sealing the Nine-Tails.

Meanwhile, within Konoha's Hokage Building, the Third Hokage and his advisors were issuing various orders, setting in motion a series of covert operations. The entire village was stirring with activity, and spies from other countries who had infiltrated Konoha began to sense that something significant was happening.

Despite their best efforts to conceal their movements, the vast mobilization of ninjas did not go unnoticed by these astute enemy spies. Although they dared not delve too deeply into the secrets, they swiftly transmitted the information through their covert channels.

Soon, the leaders of other ninja villages, including Sunagakure, iwagakure, Kumogakure, and kirigakure, received reports from their intelligence operatives. Realizing that Konoha was about to undertake a major operation, they convened emergency meetings to discuss the situation.

...

In the Uchiha clan's territory within Konoha, at Chizuru's house, a group of Jonin from the Uchiha clan had gathered secretly in an underground chamber illuminated by flickering lights.

Most of them wore expressions of anger and frustration as they voiced their grievances.

"Patriarch, what does Hokage-sama mean by this? Other ninjas have clearly received his secret orders and are quietly deploying large numbers of clansmen. Why haven't we Uchiha received any such orders?"

"That's right! Our Konoha is obviously gearing up for something big. Does Hokage-sama not trust us Uchiha?"

"Clan Leader, please inquire with the Third Hokage. We Uchiha cannot be left out of this operation..."

...

Each Uchiha Jonin present spoke with a mix of excitement and indignation, many of them activating their Sharingan in their agitation.

Qianhe was also present, seated in a back corner of the chamber. Despite her small stature, she watched the scene with a cold gaze.

She understood why the Uchiha clan had been excluded from the operation by the Third Hokage.

Through her clandestine communications with Kirito and her access to top-secret Konoha information from her grandfather, she had pieced together the puzzle.

It was likely that Konoha's forthcoming operation was related to the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. With the impending change in Jinchuriki, the Nine-Tails would inevitably resurface.

The Third Hokage, fearing a repeat of past events where the Uchiha used the power of the Sharingan to control the Nine-Tails, likely excluded the Uchiha from the operation.

This decision stemmed from the historical rift between the Uchiha and Konoha, exacerbated by the actions of one infamous Uchiha member who had betrayed the village.

The death of the first generation of Hokage has always been an enorme pain in the hearts of countless people in Konoha. If the first generation of Hokage was still there, the current Konoha will definitely not fall into the quagmire of war, resulting in countless tragedies in Konoha.

Countless people in Konoha grow up listening to the legend of the ninja god think so.

Even she thinks so.

Although that person left the Uchiha clan early, he is still a member of the Uchiha clan after all, and an important person of the clan.

It's good that he died, or else it would already be over.

the poor living Uchiha clan replaced him and was hated by Konoha's people, all the hatred against that person was transferred to the entire Uchiha clan because of that person's death.

Unless the Uchiha clan can be the heroes of Konoha once, make enough contributions to Konoha, and make enough sacrifices to resolve this hatred, or the Uchiha clan can exterminate the clan, otherwise this hatred will never be resolved.

That person is really a sinner of the Uchiha clan.

There is also a huge problem with the arrogance of the clansmen. This is a common problem of the Uchiha clan for a long time. There are very few clansmen who can realize this, and it is even more difficult to reverse this bad personality.

Thinking of the above problems, Chizuru, the Uchiha who wanted to change the embarrassing position of the Uchiha clan in Konoha, felt extremely heavy pressure, which made her a little out of breath.

Fortunately, she doesn't need to bear this pressure alone, she now has a very reliable helper by her side.

As long as they grow up, they have the strength and confidence to change all this.

But before changing all this, they must first grow up smoothly, and then gain a sufficient position in Konoha.

And her current goal is to use absolute strength to become the patriarch of the Uchiha clan. Only by becoming the patriarch can she control the Uchiha, a giant beast that doesn't fit in, and slowly tame it with time.

Qianhe knew that the only way to mend this divide was for the Uchiha to prove their loyalty and make significant contributions to Konoha's welfare.

As she pondered these matters, Qianhe's gaze drifted to a boy a few years older than her: Uchiha Fugaku, a genius second only to her in the clan. possessed the three tomoe Sharingan at the age of 12, graduated at the age of ten, and then went to the Land of Rain to participate in the war. When he came back, he was already Konoha chuunin.

There is no doubt that this person will be her rival for the Uchiha patriarch throne in the future.

Within the Uchiha clan, regardless of branch, the position of patriarch can only be inherited by the strongest member.

It's a strict hierarchy where the strong rise and the mediocre fall.

This has always been an unyielding rule within the Uchiha clan.

No exceptions are made for anyone.

Uchiha Fugaku was feeling rather disheartened at this moment. He had planned to spend the day with his pseudo younger sister, Uchiha Mikoto, whom he hadn't seen in a long time. However, he was abruptly halted by his clan just as he was about to leave, and now he found himself here.

To be honest, he had no interest in this tedious impromptu gathering.

Having recently returned from the battlefield in the Land of Rain with Master Tsunade and others, Fugaku had lost all appetite for fighting.

Uchiha Fugaku was feeling rather disheartened at this moment. He had planned to spend the day with his younger cousin, Uchiha Mikoto, whom he hadn't seen in a long time. However, he was abruptly halted by his clan just as he was about to leave, and now he found himself here.

To be honest, he had no interest in this tedious impromptu gathering.

Having recently returned from the battlefield in the Land of Rain with Master Tsunade and others, Fugaku had lost all appetite for fighting. He detested killing and strife, and had no interest in the strange sense of honor that his people held.

Wasn't it for the best that the third generation hadn't allowed their Uchiha clan to participate in the action? At least their clansmen wouldn't have to fight or die. Wouldn't it be satisfying to wait for the dead?

The day-to-day fighting on the battlefield had left him deeply tired of combat, and the deaths of familiar comrades-in-arms had filled him with sadness and fear. War was not a good thing; it was like a beast, devouring all good things.

And those eyes on his body, the deep darkness stored in them, weighed heavily on him. They were the eyes of evil, born from the deaths of those he knew and loved.

If he could, he would never want to open those evil eyes again in his life, never step onto the battlefield again, nor would he send his descendants to fight.

However, upon returning to Konoha as a hero, everything couldn't go as he wished.

Whether it was family members or other clansmen, they all had high hopes for him. They hoped he would be promising in the future, continue to make contributions on the battlefield, bring more glory to the Uchiha clan, and perhaps even become Hokage one day.

Upon returning to the clan, it felt as though an invisible force was pushing him forward, forcing him to choose a path he didn't want to take.

He had thought about resisting. But when he considered his family members and other familiar clansmen, their deep expectations for him and the selfless support they had given him, he had to accept the reality. He forced himself to become what they expected and continued to walk the path laid out by his family and clan.

But was this really for the best? Fugaku asked himself again and again, but he remained hesitant, unsure of what was truly right.

Suddenly, he sensed someone watching him.

It was a hostile gaze.

On the battlefield, he had encountered countless hostile stares. The source of these gazes wasn't only the enemy but also some people in Konoha who were hostile to the Uchiha.

Having encountered this kind of gaze so often, Fugaku had grown accustomed to it. He had developed a keen intuition, able to spot hostile stares immediately. This instinct had helped him evade danger many times on the battlefield.

Thus, he was certain that someone was watching him now.

He didn't need to turn his head to know where the gaze was coming from; he quickly identified the source: miss Chizuru, who stood nearby.

Of course, Fugaku knew this girl, the patriarch's granddaughter, the most outstanding genius of the Uchiha clan. She was often used as an example by family members and many clansmen to motivate him and the other younger generation.

For a moment, he couldn't understand why Chizuru was hostile towards him.

As far as he could recall, he hadn't had much contact with her in recent years. He had graduated and gone to the battlefield with some clansmen. Over the past two years or so, he hadn't had the chance to clash with her. Why had he incurred the wrath of the patriarch's granddaughter?

Of course, Fugaku wasn't afraid of Chizuru.

He had narrowly escaped death's grasp many times and had acquired strength through the training of iron and blood. In fact, he felt nothing but disdain when family members and clansmen used Qianhe to motivate him.

However, being the patriarch's granddaughter, he knew he had to be patient for the time being. As a senior, he had to show magnanimity.

Thus, Fugaku turned his head slightly and flashed a friendly smile at Chizuru, akin to that of a big brother next door.

"Hmph, hypocritical stupid dog," Chizuru muttered under her breath, feeling repulsed by Fugaku's smile. She glared at him with colder eyes, labeling him a hypocrite.

Having seen this kind of smile many times before, she couldn't understand why it made her feel so disgusted this time. Even though he was showing hostility, he still wore that sickening smile. What a hypocrite.

Observing Chizuru icy glare, Fugaku's smile froze immediately. He quickly turned his head away, avoiding her gaze. Yet, he couldn't help but think of Mikoto, who always smiled shyly at him. He couldn't help but muse to himself, "As expected, Mikoto is much cuter."

Chizuru and Fugaku's subtle interactions went unnoticed by the other Uchiha jonin, as the atmosphere had become more charged than before.

Many hawkish Uchiha jonin had begun clamoring to go to the Hokage Building to demand an explanation from the Hokage.

A small faction of Uchiha jonin, known as the doves, were worried. They were among the few who understood the Uchiha clan's situation in Konoha clearly. They knew that if the hawks went to the Hokage Building, it would only worsen the Uchiha clan's standing in Konoha.

Unfortunately, they were outnumbered, lacked support within the Uchiha clan, and had no external allies. Despite their efforts to calm their brethren, they faced only cold stares and cynicism from the hawks, unable to deter their behavior.

Now, the only one who could potentially stop the hawks was the patriarch on stage.

They hoped that the patriarch remained as composed as ever.

Uchiha Homura, seated firmly on the stage, observed the clamoring clansmen below with an emotionless expression. He met their demands for him to speak with cold silence, his gaze piercing through them.

The hawkish Uchiha jonin, seeing Uchiha Homura's stoic response, felt a discomfort creeping in. Despite being met with his cold gaze, they couldn't help but lower their heads submissively, unable to meet his eyes directly.

Though Uchiha Homura was old, in his seventies, and vulnerable to illness or recurring injuries, they dared not disrespect him. His strength remained unfathomable, and the power contained within his Sharingan, far surpassing the ordinary 3 tomoe Sharingan, instilled fear in them.

Only the Uchiha could comprehend the dread inspired by Uchiha Homura's eyes.

With a sudden gesture, Homura signaled for silence, and the scene fell quiet instantly.

In a cold tone, he spoke, "Enough of this quarreling. I have listened to most of your demands. Those who wish to participate in the action may do so, but you are strictly forbidden from acting without authorization. Any unauthorized actions that damage Uchiha's reputation will not be tolerated."

As he finished speaking, he activated his Sharingan, casting an illusion upon the Uchiha jonin before him. They found themselves ensnared within a massive three tomoe Sharingan, its crimson light rendering them immobilized and unable to channel chakra to dispel the illusion.

Their surroundings twisted, time and space seeming to warp around them.

When the illusion finally released them, the Uchiha jonin were pale and drenched in sweat, their arrogance from earlier completely evaporated.

Observing this, Chizuru, who had avoided meeting her grandfather's eyes earlier, wore a pensive expression on her small face.