Ever since Tsunade took office, the power held by Homura and Koharu had been steadily eroded. With the additional pressure exerted by the Uchiha, the two elders were now little more than ceremonial figures—holding titles in name only, with almost no real authority left.
Still, as the saying went, even a starving camel is bigger than a horse. Both had once been disciples of the Second Hokage, and with Hiruzen Sarutobi—an expert at extracting benefits—as a lifelong reference point, their clans had grown steadily over the years. If one compared sheer numbers alone, disregarding individual combat strength, even clans like the Inuzuka or Aburame might not surpass them.
Because of this, they still maintained private armed forces—and ones that were far from weak.
"The investigation is complete," Koharu said, slamming a stack of reports onto the table.
"Ever since the Uchiha crushed the combined forces of Kumogakure and Iwagakure, they've monopolized trade with those two great nations. In terms of income alone, they're now earning nearly as much as the village itself."
Homura picked up the documents and read through them carefully as Koharu continued explaining.
"Beyond business profits, the Uchiha seem to be actively expanding their population. Many of them have begun marrying outside the clan—especially male Uchiha. On average, each has at least three wives. Some of the more… energetic ones have reached double digits."
Homura's temper flared instantly.
As one of Konoha's famed F4, even counting both wives and mistresses, he only had nine.
And now mere Uchiha were surpassing him?
Unacceptable.
"They're all marrying multiple wives—what, does the Uchiha clan just hand out money?"
"You guessed right," Koharu replied grimly.
"According to my intelligence, the clan covers not only marriage expenses, but also childbirth and child-rearing costs. They call it Unified Support."
"Unified support?" Homura scoffed. "Are they so rich they don't know how to spend it?"
He was genuinely shocked. In his view, such a system would only lead to runaway population growth—people might even start treating childbirth as a profession.
Clearly, Koharu had thought the same.
"That's exactly what's happening. Some Uchiha—especially those without ninja talent—have stopped working altogether. They no longer run businesses or take jobs. Instead, they roam remote villages, bring women back to marry, and do nothing but produce children."
"Breeding stock…" she muttered coldly.
At first, Homura thought it absurd. If all the men became nothing but breeders, the clan would surely rot from within.
Then his expression changed.
Koharu spoke at the same moment.
"The Uchiha eye-awakening ninja tools…"
"They're planning to dominate the entire shinobi world through sheer population advantage?" Homura said hoarsely.
Koharu nodded, her expression grave.
"That's exactly it. Those talentless Uchiha are useless anyway—this is resource optimization. Say one man fathers ten children. Even if only two or three have ninja talent, with their eye-awakening tools, that's two or three new jōnin."
"In ten years, they'll have thousands of ninja—all jōnin. Thousands of three-tomoe Uchiha. Who could possibly stop that?"
The conclusion left Homura stunned.
At that moment, he no longer dismissed Unified Support as wasteful—it was terrifyingly brilliant.
"Damn those Uchiha… their bloodline is simply unfair!"
Koharu sighed.
"Yes. Awakening the Sharingan alone guarantees at least chūnin-level strength. Three tomoe means jōnin. And my estimate was conservative."
She paused.
"Have you considered this? If thousands of three-tomoe Uchiha emerge… how many Mangekyō awakenings will follow?"
Homura shot to his feet.
"That… that would be a lot!"
"Exactly. Right now, with only two or three hundred Uchiha jōnin, we already have two Mangekyō users—and Itachi may have awakened one as well. Increase the jōnin count tenfold, and suddenly we're talking about twenty or thirty Mangekyō users."
The image of twenty or thirty beings like Uchiha Rokuro crushed Homura's spirit entirely.
"No… this can't continue. We must stop the Uchiha plan. If this goes on, the entire shinobi world will kneel before them within ten years."
"Koharu, we need to contact every major clan—bring in Sunagakure and Kirigakure as well. Pool the entire shinobi world's strength and wipe out the Uchiha completely!"
Homura paced the room anxiously.
"What about Kumogakure and Iwagakure? Do they still have the strength to fight?"
Koharu nodded slightly.
"Kumo is now only a second-rate village—its numbers rival Kusagakure, though individual strength remains higher. Iwa still has the Four-Tails Jinchūriki. Their power has halved from their peak, but they're still viable. Add Suna and Kiri, and perhaps…"
She stopped mid-sentence.
A soft clap… clap… clap echoed from behind them.
Though old, both had once served as guards to the Second Hokage. Their strength was still firmly at jōnin level.
They turned instantly, kunai in hand.
"You—Uchiha Rokuro?! Why are you in my house? What are you planning?!"
Homura's face drained of color.
Uchiha Rokuro stood three to four meters away, scarlet eyes glowing—seven-pointed stars slowly rotating within.
"Uniting the shinobi nations to deal with the Uchiha," Uchiha Rokuro said coldly.
"If I hadn't heard it myself, I'd never have believed Konoha still harbored traitors who bite the hand that feeds them."
Koharu pointed at him, shouting, "You planted spies around us?!"
Uchiha Rokuro chuckled, gesturing around the room.
"Why are you yelling? Think reinforcements will hear you? Don't waste the effort. This entire room has been isolated from the outside world. Sound, chakra, even explosions won't escape. Try it if you like."
Homura didn't hesitate.
"Fire Release!"
The blast was strong enough to level a small villa—but when it struck the wall, sparks flew wildly, nearly igniting the room's furniture.
The wall itself remained completely untouched.
Not even a scorch mark.
"This isn't possible…"
"Water Release: Severing Wave!"
Koharu's attack sliced through burning furniture like paper—yet the wall remained unchanged.
"A space barrier?!"
Homura reached out.
The wall looked inches away—yet felt galaxies distant.
"Believe me now?" Uchiha Rokuro said lightly.
"And spies? That's unfair. To track your movements, I don't even need to leave my house."
He raised a hand.
A spherical holographic projection appeared—Konoha, rendered in full.
With a flick of his fingers, the image zoomed in until the three of them appeared—viewed from above.
"The village sensory barrier?!" Homura roared. "You stole control of it?!"
Uchiha Rokuro laughed.
"Careful with your words. That system only works this well because of me. Enough talk. Time to send you on your way."
"If you kill us," Homura shouted desperately, "you declare war on the Hokage! The entire village will turn against the Uchiha!"
"Yes," Koharu added sharply. "And don't think you can fake it—Konoha has too many experts. They'll know it was the Uchiha!"
Uchiha Rokuro smiled.
"Relax. I won't fake anything. I'll even kill you using Uchiha methods."
"After all… the shinobi world already has the perfect scapegoat."
With that, he activated his Mangekyō.
Late at night, Tsunade was still awake.
Alone in her room, she studied medical ninjutsu—trying to restore Jiraiya's arm through pure healing techniques.
But medicine had limits.
Accelerating healing? Possible.
Reconstructing muscle? Barely manageable.
Regrowing a severed limb?
Impossible.
Especially since the arm was lost during the battle with Pain—likely destroyed long ago.
"Do I really have to disturb Grandpa's remains…?"
"No… I can't do that."
Her heart twisted.
"But if Jiraiya doesn't recover his full strength… how can we oppose the ever-growing Uchiha?"
She understood clan politics better than anyone.
No clan wanted a single dominant power—hence her smooth ascent to Hokage.
She was meant to be the balancing force.
But if even she couldn't restrain the Uchiha, then eventually every clan would surrender.
Better to live wounded than die whole.
And when that happened, the so-called leader would become expendable—offered up as tribute.
That was unacceptable.
Her gaze drifted to the top shelf of her bookcase.
There lay several sealed scrolls.
Breaking those seals would cost immense chakra and time.
Inside them
Orochimaru's research on Hashirama Cells.
Sealed away by Hiruzen.
Yamato was proof they worked.
If researched further…
Perhaps the God of Shinobi could be reborn.
She hesitated.
Then—urgent knocking.
"Lady Tsunade! Something terrible has happened!"
Every clan head in Konoha was summoned that night.
Upon entering the Hokage's office, they saw the bodies of Homura and Koharu.
Dead.
Murdered.
Shock rippled through the room.
Instinctively, gazes shifted toward Uchiha Setsuna—and then to Uchiha Rokuro, who arrived last.
Uchiha Rokuro froze in shock.
"The two elders… assassinated? What a vicious scheme. Fifth Hokage—do we have any leads?"
Tsunade met his eyes.
"They were killed by overwhelming ocular power—their souls destroyed. No external injuries. Someone capable of this…"
"…Would have to be an Uchiha," Uchiha Rokuro finished calmly.
He knelt beside the bodies.
"No wounds. Definitely ocular power or supreme genjutsu. Only the Uchiha could pull this off."
He sighed.
"A flawless frame-up."
"Fifth Hokage," he said softly, "I think you already know who did this."
Tsunade watched him for a long moment.
"…You're saying this was done by the one impersonating Uchiha Madara—Uchiha Obito?"
"Who else could it be?" Uchiha Rokuro replied smoothly.
"He's a traitor to both the clan and the village. Weakening Konoha serves his survival."
"He has Mangekyō. He once controlled the Fourth Mizukage. And now that Akatsuki has been exposed, war with Amegakure is inevitable."
"When that happens, Akatsuki will scatter. So the smartest move is to ignite internal chaos in Konoha—to buy time."
Every word made sense.
And yet
Everyone knew Uchiha Rokuro's history with Konoha's F4.
Hiruzen.
Danzo.
Now Homura and Koharu.
Motive was undeniable.
But
Uchiha Obito was the perfect scapegoat.
Unable to defend himself.
Unable to appear.
And killing Jiraiya would've made more sense—yet he lived.
In the end, Tsunade made her decision.
"This was the work of Uchiha Obito."
Uchiha Rokuro bowed.
"We, the Uchiha, will bring that traitor to justice."
That night, Tsunade dismissed everyone.
Returning home, she no longer hesitated.
She reached out—and unsealed the research on Hashirama Cells.
END OF CHAPTER
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