The setting sun cast long shadows through the forest, the trees looking much taller because of them.
Kakashi Hatake had been wandering around the training grounds near the Forest of Death all day, hoping to find a certain person.
But unfortunately, he hadn't had any luck.
Yesterday felt like a beautiful illusion.
If his wounds hadn't completely healed, Kakashi would have started to doubt if he'd just imagined a girl who looked exactly like Rin.
But what exactly was going on?
Kakashi had even spoken to the ANBU who had cleaned up the scene, but they hadn't found any trace of anyone.
Chie, who was currently on a mission on the border of the Land of Lightning, definitely wouldn't be here. Could it be a Transformation Jutsu?
Kakashi hesitated. He had activated his Sharingan at the time, so a simple Transformation Technique shouldn't have fooled him. But now, he was completely clueless.
If he had known this would happen, he should have found an excuse to bring her to the Hokage's office with him to report for duty.
It was too late to say anything now.
He would take another look tomorrow, hoping she would come again.
Kakashi glanced at the large training ground one last time before silently leaving.
Naka Shrine seemed unusually lively today, with groups of Uchiha clan members arriving.
Naraku Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha also entered the shrine on time.
Naka Shrine was where the Uchiha clan enshrined the shikigami of the clan, and it didn't house any idiotic WWII war criminals.
So, Naraku wasn't particularly averse to this shrine. She looked around, hmm, she really wanted to go to the basement. That stone tablet, the one that propelled the entire Naruto storyline, was down there.
That tablet was quite interesting. It contained the Sage of Six Paths' warnings to the world, and only those with the Rinnegan could read all the information. Unfortunately, it was later tampered with by Black Zetsu.
But Black Zetsu's eyes were just two yellow circles, and they didn't look like they possessed the Rinnegan at all. How he managed to alter the inscription, Naraku still couldn't figure out even now.
Well, whatever, Kishimoto, you're the author, you decide.
Naraku snapped out of her thoughts, and the many members of the Uchiha clan had already gathered in the shrine.
Under the leadership of Fugaku Uchiha, everyone first paid their respects to the shikigami enshrined in the shrine before sitting down in the tatami room to begin today's agenda.
But before Fugaku could speak, a forceful voice rang out in the room.
"Fugaku-sama, at the last gathering, everyone disagreed with moving to this godforsaken place. They wanted to go and reason with the Konoha higher-ups."
"You were the one who insisted on the move, saying that the Konoha leadership would provide the clan with compensation. But now, I see no sign of compromise from them. Shouldn't you, as the clan head, give us an explanation?"
The first to speak was an old man, older than Fugaku, and he spoke very forcefully. He was sitting in the front row, slightly to the left.
Even though this old man hadn't appeared in the original story, Naraku could tell that his status within the Uchiha clan was not low.
But…
Naraku looked at the quiet Uchiha clan members around him, feeling puzzled.
Weren't the Uchiha supposed to be on the verge of rebellion? Why wasn't anyone echoing his sentiment?
"An explanation? Uncle Sui, what kind of explanation are you looking for? Do you want me to hand over the position of clan head to you?"
Fugaku Uchiha sat at the front of the traditional room, eyes closed, alone on the steps of the Naka Shrine.
He had anticipated someone bringing up this issue.
After all, at the last clan meeting, the entire Uchiha clan was furious about being pushed to the edges of the village.
If he hadn't worked hard to suppress them, there might have been a major incident.
"That's not what I mean, Clan Head Fugaku. I just want our clan to be treated normally in Konohagakure! But look at what the Uchiha clan has become!"
Sui Uchiha roared:
"This is absolutely the wrong choice! We must resist, we can't let the village elders persecute us like this, perhaps the way Madara-sama did…"
"Enough! Don't mention that name!"
Fugaku Uchiha suddenly opened his eyes, his crimson Three-Tomoe Sharingan scanning everyone.
"The village is indeed unfair to the clan, I know this better than anyone. I will continue to negotiate about compensation, but now is wartime with Kumogakure. We cannot, under any circumstances, escalate the conflict with the village!"
"But Captain, don't you think this is ridiculous? The Uchiha's contributions to Konohagakure are undeniable,"
"Your performance in the Third Shinobi World War was outstanding. You were feared by the ninjas of other villages, known as the 'Fierce-Eyed Fugaku'."
"That upstart, Minato Namikaze, how could he possibly compare to you? You should have been the one to become Hokage back then! But look at how Konohagakure treats you!"
"That's right!"
"Captain, you should have been the Hokage!"
"Captain…"
"Haha, that's more like it. Now we're finally talking about a coup."
Naraku Uchiha watched the Uchiha clan members, their emotions running high. It seemed Fugaku still held considerable sway over the clan.
The first person to speak, Naraku recognized as Hachiyo Uchiha.
In the anime, he'd caused trouble for Itachi after Shisui Uchiha's death. Yet, three Uchiha Jonin were defeated by an eleven-year-old Itachi with just three punches.
It was easy to imagine the current skill level of the Uchiha clan.
While there might be many Jonin, perhaps only Fugaku Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha were at the Elite Jonin level or above.
And yet, this group was still discussing a coup…
Don't think too highly of Jonin. They wouldn't stand a chance against Kage Level ninja.
It's possible to compare it to the fight between Mizuki-sensei (the Jonin of Itachi Uchiha's team) and Obito Uchiha. Basically, Obito was killed in the Kamui space with a single move.
If Konohagakure wasn't currently occupied with external wars, the hardliners, led by Danzo, would likely have already taken action.
And that's exactly what happened. In Konohagakure's 54th year, the second year after the truce with Kumogakure and Iwagakure, Danzo stole Shisui Uchiha's right eye.
Many people never thought about why they didn't act earlier or later, but chose that specific moment.
In the second year after the Third Great Ninja War, Konohagakure suffered heavy losses due to the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's attack. Then, they immediately went to war with Kumogakure, and after Orochimaru's defection, Iwagakure declared war on Konohagakure as well.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that those were Konohagakure's most difficult years.
Later in the story, a Kumogakure ninja even dared to come to Konohagakure and try to kidnap Hinata Hyuga, the White Eye princess.
In the end, Kumogakure didn't even apologize, and Hizashi Hyuga had to sacrifice his life in her place.
It's not hard to see from these stories just how difficult things were in Konohagakure back then.
During this period, it wasn't that Danzo didn't want to mess with the Uchiha; it was that Konohagakure still needed their strength.
.....
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(End of Chapter)