"We didn't force you; you chose to go yourselves." Hiruzen Sarutobi's casual remark at the Council of Elders years ago was still deeply etched in Nara Shikagen's mind.
That light-hearted indifference was like a thorn, making even him, a bystander, feel a chill in his heart—Uchiha's passion and sacrifice were, in the eyes of Konoha High Command, nothing more than useful tools and pawns to be consumed in a war of attrition.
Yet even so, the Uchiha Clan's warlike spirit had never been extinguished; they always held a breath of determination, wanting to prove through the battlefield that they were not "Konoha's hidden danger," but true contributors.
Nara Shikagen never imagined that Setsuna, who had always been the most radical, would actually choose to "slack off" at a time like this and refuse to support the front lines—this was completely inconsistent with the Uchiha's way of doing things!
"Fearful of battle? How dare they be fearful of battle!" Fugaku's roar continued, his voice carrying an uncontrollable tremble of both anger and a hint of aggrieved betrayal. "When has my Uchiha Clan ever been afraid of war? We didn't flinch even against the Senju coalition back then, and now it's just a bunch of trash from Kirigakure, yet they dare to retreat in the face of the enemy!"
He slammed a fist into the stone wall of the command tower; stone chips fell rustling, and the back of his hand became red and swollen.
His Sharingan stared fixedly in the direction of the Clan Compound, his eyes filled with resentment and confusion: "That old thing Setsuna must have been bewitched! What do they want to do? Do they want to watch the Moderate Faction be wiped out and then take the opportunity to seize power?!"
Nara Shikagen remained silent, merely tightening his grip on the crumpled paper.
Looking at Fugaku's furious state, a strange premonition welled up in his heart—the rift within the Uchiha seemed even deeper than he had imagined.
Setsuna's refusal appeared to be cowardice, but it was more like a silent rebellion—a rebellion against Konoha's years of exploitation and against Fugaku's long-standing "moderate compromise."
The wind of the battlefield blew through the command tower again, carrying a damp, bloody scent. Fugaku's anger gradually faded, replaced by a deep sense of powerlessness.
Casualties on the front line were getting heavier, the Clan Compound refused to send reinforcements, and Konoha High Command only gave the absurd suggestion of "sending teenage Ninjas." He felt as if he were being roasted over a fire, caught in a dilemma.
"Find a way on your own..." Fugaku whispered the words from the letter, his voice full of bitterness and despair.
He looked at the broken defensive line below, at those exhausted and wounded Clan Members, and suddenly felt that the "moderate stance" he had always upheld and the "peace between Konoha and Uchiha" he had desperately maintained were nothing more than a self-deceiving joke.
Nara Shikagen looked at his dejected back and sighed inwardly.
He knew that Fugaku's conviction was collapsing, and the Uchiha Clan was about to face an unavoidable storm—a storm coming not only from the blood mist of Kirigakure but also from internal division and the cold calculations of Konoha High Command.
In the office of the Hokage Building, the smoke had not yet dissipated. Hiruzen Sarutobi had just put down his pipe, preparing to discuss how to further "guide" Fugaku into sending teenage Ninjas to the front, when a messenger Ninja burst in stumbling, his face as pale as paper: "Hokage-sama! News from the front—the Uchiha Clan Compound has refused to send reinforcements! They say the Police Force must guard the compound and cannot spare any personnel!"
"What did you say?" Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand jerked, and the teacup he had just picked up slammed onto the desk with a "clatter," splashing tea everywhere.
He almost thought he had misheard. His cloudy eyes widened instantly, staring at the messenger Ninja in disbelief. "Say it again! How did the Uchiha respond?"
"Message from the compound: The Village is on wartime alert, and the Konoha Military Police Force must guard against foreign enemies and spies. They are unable to mobilize personnel for support and told Clan Chief Fugaku to find a way himself!" The messenger Ninja repeated tremulously, his voice shaking—he had never seen Hokage-sama lose his composure like this, nor had he seen the four high-ranking officials all show such "as if they'd seen a ghost" expressions at the same time.
The office instantly fell into a deathly silence, leaving only the rustling of wind blowing through the leaves outside the window.
Mitokado Homura suddenly sprang up from her rattan chair and shrieked, "Impossible! This is absolutely impossible! Those Uchiha warmongers were willing to rush to their deaths during the Second War, and now that the front lines are heating up, they're actually hiding in the Village and slacking off?!"
Her voice was sharp and piercing, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "Are they kidding?! They were the ones crying and shouting to go to the Kirigakure Battlefield before, and now that their clansmen are fighting for their lives at the front, they're fine with shrinking back like cowards?!"
Homura Mitokado's fingers gripped the edge of the table tightly, his knuckles turning white. The calmness on his face vanished, replaced by deep shock and suspicion: "Something's wrong... something is very wrong. Setsuna is the head of the Radical Faction and values 'Uchiha honor' the most. How could he be afraid of battle? Does he not fear that if the Moderate Faction is wiped out, he will be purged by Konoha?"
He paced back and forth, his mind in a mess—the Uchiha's behavior had completely jumped out of all their predictions, like a game of chess where someone suddenly flipped the table halfway through, leaving them at a loss.
"Fearful of battle? I think they have other designs!" A flash of malice crossed Danzo Shimura's single eye, though it could not hide the panic deep within.
He slammed his hand on the table, his black cloak sweeping across the floor. "Fugaku's main force of the Moderate Faction is all at the front. Third Elder Yakushi only has fewer than fifty old, weak, sick, or disabled people left. The neutral faction originally followed Fugaku, but now that Fugaku is far away on the battlefield, who else can restrain Setsuna?!"
These words were like a thunderclap, jolting everyone present awake.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face instantly turned ashen, his previous bewilderment replaced by deep dread.
He suddenly remembered that nearly two hundred Radical Faction Ninjas remained at the Uchiha Clan Compound, all elites accumulated by Setsuna over the years—if Setsuna really wanted to rebel, with this combat power, it wouldn't even be impossible to storm the Hokage Building!
"What did Yakushi say? Didn't he try to stop them?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked hurriedly, his voice carrying an undetectable tremble. He had previously calculated that Yakushi's Moderate Faction could restrain Setsuna, but now it seemed Yakushi didn't have that power at all!
"The report says... the Ninjas Elder Yakushi sent to negotiate were driven back directly by Setsuna's people; they couldn't even enter the compound gate." The messenger Ninja lowered his head, not daring to look at the faces of the four high-ranking officials. "Elder Yakushi only has about thirty Ninjas capable of fighting now, and they're all below Chunin level. He doesn't dare to go head-to-head with Setsuna at all."
"Useless! A bunch of useless people!" Mitokado Homura cursed exasperatedly, but she lacked her previous biting confidence.
She looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, her voice even carrying a hint of a sob. "Hiruzen, what do we do now? If Setsuna really rebels, the troops we have on hand aren't enough! Most of the Root Organization's people are at the Kumogakure border, and most of the Police Force in the Village are Uchiha. We... we can't stop them at all!"
...
Advance chapter available on pãtrêon Got1808