"Aozora!"
Someone suddenly called his name from behind. Uchiha Aozora quickly turned around.
Two Uchiha clansmen he had encountered the day before were walking toward him side by side.
Ever since Uchiha Yūichi learned that Aozora was Shisui's younger brother, he had been distinctly cold toward him. Today was no different. Relying on the fact that he was taller, Yūichi looked down at Aozora with his nose practically in the air.
By contrast, although Uchiha Sōsuke wore a perpetually poker-faced expression, he stepped forward and greeted Aozora.
"First time attending a clan meeting?" Sōsuke asked.
Aozora nodded. "Yeah. I just graduated this year, after all."
"Don't worry," Sōsuke said. "There aren't many rules at clan meetings. If you're nervous later, you can sit next to me."
"..."
As the two were talking, a sudden murmur swept through the crowd, followed by abrupt silence.
Aozora followed everyone's gaze and saw a group of Uchiha shinobi wearing standard flak jackets walking toward the council hall in formation.
At the front was a man with short black hair, no forehead protector, and deep tear troughs at the corners of his eyes, giving him an imposing and authoritative appearance.
Aozora bowed along with the others."Clan Head!"
Uchiha Fugaku crossed his arms as he walked through the crowd and pushed open the doors of the council hall.
"Come in."
Only after Fugaku spoke did Aozora follow the rest of the clan inside.
Once inside, Aozora was surprised.
Despite the Uchiha being a great noble clan, the council hall was extraordinarily plain and austere. The spacious interior contained not a single piece of furniture.
Uchiha Fugaku sat alone against the wall, while everyone else sat cross-legged on the floor facing him.
Seating was loosely arranged according to strength—jōnin in the front, genin in the back.
At Sōsuke's signal, Aozora sat beside him, right around the center of the group.
Once everyone had settled, Fugaku got straight to the point.
"Everyone, it has been nearly a year since the Nine-Tails incident. Konoha has endured its most difficult period and is now on the brink of recovery. At such a critical moment, the village has decided to initiate a revitalization plan."
Some clan members murmured in confusion."A revitalization plan?"
"Yes," Fugaku continued. "Using the opportunity of revitalization, the village intends to further reorganize the layout of Konoha. The Police Force headquarters was attacked during the Nine-Tails incident. Although it was repaired, it remains partially damaged, so the village has decided to rebuild it for us."
At this point, Fugaku paused.
Among the crowd, reactions varied.
Some Uchiha were overjoyed, believing the village was finally seeking reconciliation.
Others sneered coldly, convinced this was merely poison wrapped in honey.
But everyone was mistaken.
In the next instant, Fugaku's words ignited uncontrollable fury throughout the hall.
"The new Police Force headquarters will be constructed near Mount Kōgan, along the banks of the Nanga River. After the Police Force relocates, the clan will also move nearby to support and guard it."
"What?!"
The moment Fugaku finished speaking, the hall erupted.
"How can the village do this?!"
"Does that even count as Konoha anymore? Is this relocation or exile?!"
"Clan Head, you didn't agree to this, did you?!"
"Why?!"
"..."
Beside Aozora, Uchiha Yūichi was the most agitated. Even with both Aozora and Sōsuke trying to restrain him, they couldn't hold him back. He stood up abruptly, rage burning in his eyes.
"This is a conspiracy by the higher-ups! They want to push us away from the center of Konoha!"
"Silence!"
Uchiha Fugaku had led the clan for many years. In both strength and prestige, he was unrivaled among the Uchiha.
Under his sharp rebuke, Yūichi unwillingly sat back down. The rest of the clan also fell quiet.
Yet the anger in their hearts had not cooled. Many had bloodshot eyes from rage, and no one could predict what might happen next.
Under the clan's searing stares, Fugaku said coldly, "This is a clan meeting, not a marketplace brawl. This is not a place where the loudest voice wins."
"I am not a dictator. If you have opinions, you may voice them."
He pointed at Yūichi. "Regarding the village's directive, what is your opinion?"
Yūichi spoke more softly now. "Clan Head, this is a plot by the higher-ups. They want us out of Konoha's center so we completely lose any influence over the village."
Listening to him, Aozora couldn't help but think sarcastically: Influence? Since when did the Uchiha ever control Konoha?
Other clan members quickly echoed Yūichi's words.
"That's right!"
"Yūichi's correct!"
"Konoha is afraid we'll seize power!"
"..."
With Yūichi taking the lead, more and more Uchiha joined in, and several radical members stood up, openly calling for refusal of the relocation.
Hearing their voices, Aozora gained a deeper understanding of the clan's inexplicable confidence.
What puzzled him even more was the absence of any moderate voices. Lowering his voice, he asked Sōsuke, "Sōsuke-san, didn't you say there were different factions in the clan? Why does everyone seem so radical?"
Sōsuke leaned closer and replied quietly, "Most of the clan members who support the village have been sent to reinforce the Kumogakure border. The remaining moderates are leaderless."
Aozora nodded in understanding. With the borders in crisis, it made sense that the Uchiha who were loyal to Konoha had gone to support them.
As Aozora and Sōsuke exchanged words, the atmosphere in the hall grew even more heated.
Two young captains from the Police Force seated in the front row spoke in succession.
Uchiha Yashiro said, "The reason we weren't deployed during the Nine-Tails incident was because they feared we would control it with the Sharingan!"
Uchiha Inabi added, "And it's not just that. There are even people in the village claiming that the Nine-Tails incident was caused by one of our own."
"They're driving us to the edge of the village to restrict our movements. Ever since the Second Hokage's era, we've been gathered on the outskirts, effectively isolated. Now they're pushing us even farther away. Clan Head—the village has always suspected us!"
With the statements of these two influential figures, the radicals grew even more fervent.
"That's right! The village has never trusted us!"
"Clan Head, you can't agree to this relocation!"
"We must firmly oppose it!"
"..."
Voices overlapped chaotically, and once again the council hall felt as though boiling water had been poured into it.
Aozora did not watch the clan's outburst. Instead, he fixed his gaze on Uchiha Fugaku.
While the clan debated fiercely below, Fugaku had closed his eyes.
Seeing him remain as unmoving as a mountain, Aozora knew the outcome of this meeting was already decided.
Momentum surges once, weakens the second time, and is exhausted the third.
Though Fugaku may never have heard that saying, he clearly understood its meaning.
The radicals' best chance had been immediately after Fugaku announced the "revitalization plan."
Unfortunately, Yūichi had been too impulsive, standing up first. With his low prestige, he had been shut down by Fugaku in a single sentence.
Once Fugaku suppressed the second wave of unrest, the clan's resolve would inevitably collapse.
As Aozora observed Fugaku, Fugaku was also observing the crowd.
Amid the sea of impassioned faces, he noticed an anomaly—Uchiha Aozora, who remained exceptionally calm.
At that moment, an idea formed in Fugaku's mind.