Man proposes, but heaven disposes.
Even Hyuga Satoru himself could never have expected that revealing Uchiha Obito's identity would fail to make Konoha treat that man with the caution he deserved.
After all, neither Minato Namikaze nor Hiruzen Sarutobi were omniscient gods.
How could they possibly imagine the scale of chaos Uchiha Obito was capable of unleashing?
To Hyuga Satoru, Obito was a super-boss—a walking disaster.
But in Minato's and Hiruzen's eyes, Obito was still just a once-mediocre chunin.
Minato, who had met him face to face, might now regard him a bit more seriously—especially given that space-time ninjutsu—but that was the extent of it.
As for Hiruzen, he didn't give the matter a second thought.
What concerned the Third Hokage far more than Uchiha Obito as an individual…
was the Uchiha Clan itself.
That night, Minato Namikaze and Hiruzen Sarutobi paid an unexpected visit to the Uchiha compound.
Before the Nine-Tails' attack, the Uchiha were still one of Konoha's great noble clans, their estate located in the very heart of the village.
Behind it lay Konoha's Training Ground Number One—though in truth, that ground was the Uchiha's private training field.
Outsiders who stepped foot there would be swiftly driven out.
There had been grumblings about that before, of course—but the arrangement had been quietly approved by the Hokage and the other great clans.
So the sudden arrival of two Hokage—the current and the former—left Uchiha Fugaku and his family quite startled.
They had no time to prepare, yet had no choice but to welcome the two leaders into their home.
Only recently, Fugaku's wife Mikoto had given birth to their second son.
With Hiruzen's personal blessing, they had named the boy Sasuke—after Hiruzen's own father.
Among the clans, that naming was a gesture of deep respect and goodwill, a way of honoring the Third's lineage and expressing a wish that the newborn Sasuke would grow into an excellent shinobi like the elder Sarutobi.
It was Fugaku's way of extending friendship toward Hiruzen, not—as some jesters later joked—an attempt at some bizarre "your son is my father" relationship.
Given that, the Hokages' unannounced visit was not entirely out of bounds.
Unlike the Hyuga, the Uchiha's clan structure, though ancient, was far less rigid.
They valued strength and spirit more than hierarchy, and so their manners toward guests were relatively open and straightforward.
Once Hiruzen and Minato were seated in the guest hall, Mikoto served them tea and light refreshments before quietly withdrawing.
Young Itachi, holding the infant Sasuke, bowed politely to the two Hokage before also taking his leave.
Only three men remained in the wide, quiet room.
Fugaku, unsure of their intentions, invited them to drink but refrained from speaking further.
Hiruzen, here mainly as an observer, sipped his tea in silence.
It was Minato who broke the calm, his voice direct and serious.
"Clan Leader Fugaku," he began, "the Third and I have come tonight to ask about Uchiha Obito."
"Do you know that he's still alive?"
A name long buried in Fugaku's memory resurfaced, and his brows furrowed.
"Uchiha Obito?" he repeated.
"Alive? What do you mean, Lord Fourth?"
He remembered that boy.
It had been he who, as Uchiha patriarch, had approved allowing Kakashi to keep Obito's Sharingan.
The village had been bleeding men in the Third Great Ninja War; even the Uchiha Police Force had taken heavy losses.
To preserve unity, Fugaku had shown rare decisiveness and set aside clan pride.
So hearing that long-dead name now made his expression darken.
Was this some political ploy? Or something more?
Minato, pretending not to notice the shift in Fugaku's mood, began to recount how he had detected Obito's presence and set the trap that drew him out.
This time, however, he deliberately omitted any mention of Hyuga Satoru.
Fugaku, of course, didn't care about those details. What concerned him was simple:
If Uchiha Obito—long presumed dead—had secretly returned to Konoha wearing that black cloak and mask, then his intentions could not possibly be benign.
If it were just one rogue Uchiha, perhaps it could be dismissed.
But Fugaku knew too well how the village already eyed his clan with suspicion.
Another traitor in their ranks would be the perfect excuse for others to tighten the noose.
Such incidents had happened before.
"Lord Third, Lord Fourth," Fugaku finally said, setting down his cup.
"As for Uchiha Obito… I truly know nothing of his survival."
"However," he continued, his tone firm, "I would like to request permission for the Uchiha Clan to investigate this matter ourselves."
"I will mobilize our best men to track him down."
"Whatever his goals may be, we will never allow him to bring harm to the village!"
The best way to counter the Sharingan—was with another Sharingan.
Hearing Minato mention that Obito wielded some kind of high-level space-time ninjutsu, Fugaku's mind had already drawn its own conclusion.
Such an ability wasn't something that could be learned.
If Obito truly possessed it, he must have awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan.
After all, if that boy had had the aptitude for teleportation techniques, he would have mastered the Flying Thunder God long ago under Minato's tutelage.
For him to suddenly command such power now—there could only be one explanation.
Moreover, from the description of Obito's demeanor, Fugaku could sense the overwhelming emotion and obsession within him.
Such intense feelings were precisely what gave birth to the Mangekyo.
Unlike Minato or Hiruzen, Fugaku understood at once how dangerous that made the man.
But this was not something he intended to share.
The more the Hokage knew, the more closely they would watch the Uchiha—and that was the last thing Fugaku wanted.
Better to deal with this quietly, before Obito made a public move.
And in this, he had confidence.
Even if Obito had awakened the Mangekyo—Was he the only Uchiha who had done so?
Fugaku's calm, decisive attitude reassured both Hokages.
After a brief discussion, they agreed to leave the matter in his hands.
When the meeting ended, Hiruzen and Minato rose to take their leave. Fugaku personally saw them to the gate, bowing as their figures vanished into the dimly lit street.
Then, standing alone beneath the night sky, Fugaku's eyes changed—the tomoe of his Sharingan spun, linked, and blossomed into a whirling fan.
"Uchiha Obito…" he murmured.
"I won't allow you to endanger our clan's place in this village."
"The Uchiha… are already walking on thin ice."
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