"Please come in."
Uchiha Fugaku's voice carried through the doorway before the office door opened.
He entered carefully, posture respectful—then stepped aside and pulled two small figures forward.
Ryuji looked up from his desk.
Fugaku's hands rested briefly on the boys' shoulders, steadying them.
"Hokage-sama," Fugaku said, "these are Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi."
The two children stood straight, trying their best to look composed… but their eyes betrayed them—bright, eager, burning with anticipation.
Ryuji studied them quietly.
Shisui.
Itachi.
In another history, these names would become legends—and tragedies.
Here, they were still just boys.
But Ryuji could already see it: with the right path, the two could become the sharpest blades Konoha had ever forged—loyal, disciplined, and dangerous in the right way.
Ryuji rose slowly.
His gaze fixed on the boys' eyes, one after the other.
"From today on," he said, voice calm and absolute, "I'm your teacher."
"I won't coddle you. I won't praise you for talent. I'll train you properly."
He paused—letting the weight sink in.
"If you want to regret it, do it now. Once you step forward… you don't step back."
Shisui and Itachi froze for a heartbeat.
Then both bowed so quickly it was almost synchronized.
"Yes, Teacher!"
Their excitement finally spilled out, their voices overlapping.
"We want to learn from you!"
"Nice to meet you, Teacher!"
Fugaku's shoulders loosened—just slightly.
For the first time in a long time, his pride wasn't defensive.
It was hopeful.
Ryuji nodded, satisfied, then turned toward Fugaku.
"Good. Starting tomorrow, they follow my schedule. Every day."
Fugaku didn't hesitate.
"Understood. The Uchiha will cooperate fully."
The message was unspoken but clear:
The Uchiha were tied directly to the Hokage now—not through speeches, not through promises, but through bloodline and future.
Ryuji's eyes dipped briefly to the scroll Fugaku had brought—a ninjutsu scroll offered as proof of sincerity.
Ryuji accepted it without ceremony.
It was useful.
And it was symbolic.
Fugaku's purpose here was complete.
He bowed again and withdrew.
A Different Lesson
Shisui and Itachi were still buzzing, walking like they were floating.
Ryuji chuckled.
"All right. Enough celebrating."
They snapped to attention instantly.
"We're not training today," Ryuji said.
The boys blinked, confused.
"Today, we study."
Their confusion turned into determination.
"Yes, Teacher!"
Ryuji left the Hokage Tower with the two prodigies at his side.
A quiet statement to the entire village: the Uchiha were no longer at the edge of Konoha.
They were being pulled into the center—under Ryuji's hand.
Meanwhile — The Hyūga Compound
Inside the Hyūga district, the air was thick with blood and fury.
Several elders were shouting at Hyūga Hiashi, faces twisted with outrage.
"You've violated ancestral law!"
"You're unfit to be patriarch!"
"You brought outsiders into Hyūga affairs!"
On the ground nearby—
bodies lay motionless.
Headless.
The message was brutal and unmistakable.
White Fang's presence had turned "debate" into "finality."
Branch House members gathered in tense clusters, the Caged Bird Seal visible on their foreheads like a brand.
Whispers spread among them.
"Why did the patriarch involve White Fang?"
"Is this… finally the end?"
"This will change everything."
Some feared it.
Most hoped for it.
Hiashi stood still under the accusations, expression cold but controlled.
Then he spoke.
And his words were a blade.
"For the Hyūga to survive, this old system must end."
He looked over the elders—one by one.
"We've existed since Konoha was founded. Yet tell me—have we truly been worthy of competing with the Uchiha?"
Silence flickered.
Hiashi's voice hardened.
"Some among the Main House live off our name, contribute nothing, and still claim authority."
Then he turned slightly, acknowledging the Branch House behind him.
"And those who've worked the hardest—who've kept our missions running, our finances stable, our strength sharp—have been treated like tools… simply because they were born seconds later."
The Branch House trembled.
Then—
their posture changed.
Spines straightened.
Eyes lifted.
Anger sharpened into resolve.
Even timid Hyūga who had been too frightened to speak began to shift, looking at the elders with something new in their gaze:
Why have we accepted this?
The elders' faces faltered.
For the first time, doubt hit them—not from an enemy, but from their own people.
And then a youthful voice cut into the dead silence.
"Are you done?"
Every head turned.
At the entrance stood Ryuji.
The Fourth Hokage.
Instantly, everyone stiffened and saluted.
In that moment, the Hyūga elders understood something terrifying:
This wasn't just Hiashi's decision anymore.
This was Konoha's decision.
And the Hokage had arrived to see it through.
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