Inside the Uchiha, a mass relocation began.
After Jhin's words at the Naka Shrine spread, the clansmen who believed him started moving into radical territory in waves.
The logic was simple.
Whether Konoha's upper ranks would retaliate or not, it was safer to assume they would. And relocating cost them little.
Especially when people really had been vanishing from the Uchiha District lately. That fact alone made "shelter" worth it—no matter which faction someone claimed to stand with.
The radicals, of course, were delighted.
To them, this wasn't just migration—it was proof that people's hearts were turning toward the radicals.
As time passed, more and more of the fence-sitters followed.
Fugaku's weakness—his hesitation, his decision to let it happen—only pushed them faster.
And so, the Uchiha District was cut cleanly in two.
…
Shisui did go to see Hiruzen Sarutobi.
And he got dismissed with ease.
In Hiruzen's version of events, Danzō and Kagami had been close friends, and the Sharingan had been a gift given at the moment of death.
And just like that—Shisui believed it.
After all, hadn't there already been a precedent with Obito and Kakashi?
One more "exception" almost sounded plausible.
If it had been Jhin, he would've treated that explanation like sewage. Danzō is trying to claim the same moral standing as Kakashi? Did he even have the courage?
But Shisui wasn't Jhin.
He was convinced far too easily.
As for the arm full of Sharingan, it was brushed aside with a single sentence:
"It's all for Konoha."
Years ago, Danzō had lost an arm for the village. So if he wanted to "serve Konoha better," what was wrong with using a few Uchiha Sharingan?
Somewhere along the way, Shisui forgot what should have been unforgivable.
The Sharingan was the clan's bloodline.
And bloodline was the root of every great clan—something no clan could ever tolerate being stolen.
…
Ten days later, the relocation ended.
Radical territory had become bustling and crowded. Open sentries and hidden posts webbed the perimeter, and a new barrier covered the entire area.
On the other side, the softliners and moderates—under Fugaku's leadership and with Shisui's Mangekyō backing—chose to believe Konoha's upper ranks.
But reality didn't reward faith.
Danzō, having an arm full of Sharingan, needed to stabilize the Hashirama Cells in his right arm again.
So he grew even more frenzied—capturing three-tomoe Uchiha whenever he could.
He had no choice.
This wasn't yet the night of the massacre, so his stockpile of three-tomoe Sharingan was limited. Jhin had destroyed ten of them in one blow. For Danzō's body—and Danzō's survival—he had to replenish.
Even more aggressively than before.
But with the radicals' defenses sealed tight, he could only prey on the softliners and moderates.
And all at once, that side of the clan became a place of constant fear.
Fugaku: "Believe in the village. Believe in the Hokage. These are coincidences!"
Shisui: "Don't panic. The Hokage will investigate!"
A Clan Head. A Mangekyō user. Two voices trying to hold the line.
They were terrified, too; pressure was crushing their ribs.
But they didn't dare follow the radicals' example.
They didn't dare reinforce their barrier.
They didn't dare add open posts and hidden sentries.
Because doing that would mean distrust.
And for people like them, even if the fear grew unbearable… distrust was a line they wouldn't cross.
Three days later, they had no time left to worry about disappearances.
Because the village started whispering again.
Rumors—stronger than before—spread through Konoha:
The Uchiha were preparing to rebel.
Fugaku and Shisui panicked. But they had no way to solve it.
Even going to Hiruzen only brought the same stale comforts:
"Trust the villagers. Trust the village."
"Rumors end with the wise."
"Don't worry. Don't be afraid. Leave it to me."
"As Hokage, I will handle it."
Fugaku and Shisui swallowed their frustration and forced themselves to believe.
But the truth was cruel.
Hiruzen never stopped it.
If anything, his silence enabled it—because rumors of that scale couldn't spread without someone like Root letting it happen.
Yet Fugaku and Shisui—those two fools—couldn't see something that simple. They could only anxiously watch it grow.
…
Compared to them, the radicals were eerily quiet.
Uchiha Jhin vanished completely.
He kept to himself almost every day, focusing on recovering his Mangekyō's ocular power. Without a system or any cheat, he must stay in peak condition.
That was the reason he hadn't simply flipped the table—hadn't slaughtered the other factions and Konoha's upper ranks outright.
Strength was his limitation.
Until he could obtain Hashirama Cells… or find a way to awaken the Eternal Mangekyō… he had to keep playing inside the rules.
"Jhin-kun… are we really doing nothing?" Setsuna's smile was bitter.
"Last night, the moderates and softliners lost another one. A three-tomoe user."
"Different factions or not, they're still Uchiha. Watching that… it hurts."
"If rebellion really happens, that's fighting strength."
Even Setsuna—radical to the bone—was restless. This kind of loss still cut into him.
Jhin, meanwhile, brewed tea with calm hands, as if none of it touched him.
"Setsuna-dono, it hurts for me too."
"But the Uchiha have been trained into house dogs. They've lost the blood that was in our ancestors."
"The only method I see is destruction before rebuilding."
"In my eyes, these losses still aren't enough. Only when more shinobi die—only when their fantasies are shattered completely—will we have any chance of unifying the clan… and gaining the right to wrestle with Konoha's upper ranks."
"And that's why I haven't torn the mask off completely."
"With the radicals alone, forget rebellion—we don't even have the right to drag Konoha's upper ranks down to the grave with us."
"Only by unifying the entire Uchiha do we barely gain that right."
He didn't soften it.
"Yes. You heard correctly."
"Even if we unify the entire Uchiha, all we gain is the right to die together with Konoha."
"Rebellion… is still too difficult."
Jhin's voice was low, the words heavy.
As a reincarnator, he understood Konoha too well to act recklessly.
Setsuna froze.
Then he frowned, confusion and disbelief mixing in his eyes. "Jhin… why are you so wary of Konoha's upper ranks?"
"Just those old men—do they really have that kind of power?"
"Aren't you being too cautious?"
"Hiruzen might've been formidable when he was young, but now he's old and declining. And the other clans' top fighters aren't better than the Uchiha."
"I think if we rebel… the odds are actually pretty good."