What had Uchiha Fugaku endured for, throughout his entire life?
For the survival of the clan, he had willingly suffered the suspicion of the village's leadership and the misunderstanding of his own clansmen.
He had forcibly suppressed the Hawks' aggression and sought to find a fragile line of balance between Konoha and the Uchiha.
Uchiha Fugaku had even placed upon his own son, Uchiha Itachi, that unrealistic dream of peace.
And the result?
Everything he had done was, in Shinsuke's eyes, nothing more than the cowardice of a man walking his clan toward annihilation.
And the facts seemed to be confirming exactly that.
Uchiha Fugaku closed the door of his study.
Alone, he walked into the ancestral hall deep within the estate.
Enshrined here were the memorial tablets of every generation of Uchiha ancestors.
Curling wisps of incense smoke drifted through the dim hall, lending the names inscribed on each tablet a solemn and reverent air.
"Forebears..."
"I, Uchiha Fugaku, who have governed the Uchiha Clan, may have been irresolute, and may have missed my moment."
"But never, not for a single instant, did I harbor the thought of betraying this clan."
"Perhaps Shinsuke is right."
"Power is everything."
"Without power enough to make the world tremble, any peace or dignity is nothing more than a reflection in the water, a flower in the mirror."
Three days hence, the clan assembly.
Step aside willingly?
No.
That was not the dignified end befitting Uchiha Fugaku.
He would stand before all his clansmen and meet his conclusion in the manner of a clan head.
Even if it meant dying in battle.
Shinsuke walked out of Fugaku's estate and into the afternoon sunlight.
He could feel it: Uchiha Fugaku would not surrender without a fight.
This was something Shinsuke had anticipated all along.
After all, this was the man known as the Fearsome Eye.
And a man capable of awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan could never be without his own pride.
"Lord Shinsuke."
The figures of Kenji and Shunichi appeared silently behind Uchiha Shinsuke.
"How are the preparations coming along?"
Shinsuke asked without turning his head.
"Everything is in order."
Kenji answered in a low, steady voice.
"The elder guard is on full standby, and for the clan assembly three days from now, we will have complete control of both the interior and exterior of the venue, ensuring that no unexpected developments arise."
"Good."
Shinsuke stopped and turned to look at the two of them.
"Remember, our objective is a smooth takeover of the entire Uchiha, not the creation of internal strife."
"Fugaku is the clan head, and even as he is about to step down, he is to be given the respect he is owed."
"However..."
A cold gleam flickered through Shinsuke's eyes.
"If certain insects from outside the clan dare to stir during the Uchiha's transfer of power, wipe every last one of them out without leaving a single one behind."
"Yes!"
Kenji and Shunichi dropped to one knee.
Shinsuke waved a hand to dismiss them.
He raised his head and looked in the direction of the Hokage Rock.
Removing Fugaku was only the first step.
What Shinsuke would face next was the immense system carved into that mountainside, the system that bore the name "Hokage."
"Sarutobi Hiruzen, Danzō..."
"Your turn will come soon enough."
The moment he became clan head, Shinsuke's power was certain to surge dramatically, and when that time came, whether it was Sarutobi Hiruzen or Shimura Danzō, no scheme or conspiracy would be of any use against absolute strength.
At the training ground, countless kunai and shuriken hammered into the targets like a downpour, filling the air with a rapid, dense drumming.
Uchiha Itachi stopped, his chest heaving.
Itachi was fully aware of the conflict between his father and Elder Shinsuke.
Shinsuke's dominance had already sealed the outcome.
And Shinsuke's strength was formidable, compounded by a Mangekyō ocular technique that the world had yet to fully learn of, all of which filled Itachi with deep unease.
If Shinsuke rose to power and became clan head, the Uchiha Clan and the village would lose all possibility of peace entirely.
On one side was the clan that had raised him, and on the other was the village to which he had sworn his loyalty.
Caught between the two, Itachi found himself unable to make a choice.
"Itachi."
A gentle voice rang out.
Uchiha Mikoto walked over with a tray of rice balls, smiling softly.
"Don't push yourself too hard."
"Mother."
Itachi took the rice balls but had not the slightest appetite.
Mikoto looked at the anguish in her son's eyes and let out a quiet sigh.
She reached out and smoothed the loose strands of hair across Itachi's forehead.
"Whatever happens."
"Your father, he only wants to protect this family in his own way."
"To protect all of us."
Itachi's body trembled, so faintly it was almost imperceptible.
His father was like that, and so what of himself, what choice should he make?
Would he choose the clan or the village?
Itachi thought of his younger brother Sasuke, and deep within his heart, a resolute conviction took hold once more: even for Sasuke's sake, he had to hold on.
On the final night of the three-day deadline, moonlight lay like still water, spreading quietly across Uchiha Fugaku's courtyard.
Fugaku had dressed in the black formal haori bearing the Uchiha fan crest on its back, a garment he wore only at the most solemn of ceremonies.
He sat quietly beneath the eaves, gazing at the waning moon on the horizon.
"Have you decided?"
Mikoto appeared behind him without a sound and draped an outer garment over his shoulders.
"Yes."
Fugaku did not turn his head, only giving a quiet murmur in reply.
"I have governed the Uchiha for over a decade, and there must be a proper ending to it all."
Fugaku's voice was calm, carrying the composure of one who watches an era draw to its close.
Mikoto said no more to dissuade him.
She simply sat quietly beside her husband and rested her head gently on his shoulder, just as she had on every night of the past decade and more.
The night grew ever deeper.
The next day, at dawn, when the first ray of light pierced the clouds and fell upon the ancient eaves of the Naka Shrine, the entire Uchiha clan district stirred and woke.
Countless Uchiha clansmen, dressed in formal attire with grave expressions, gathered from every direction toward the shrine that would decide the clan's fate.
The atmosphere was heavy.
Shinsuke, dressed all in black, advanced at a measured pace surrounded by the elder guard.
At nearly the same moment, on the far side of the shrine, the figure of Uchiha Fugaku appeared as well.
Fugaku came alone, which lent him a certain solitude, yet his steps were steady and his bearing powerful, still carrying the dignity of a clan head.
The gazes of the two men met in the morning air.
No sparks, no killing intent.
Yet every Uchiha clansman present felt an invisible storm quietly gathering.
The end of one era, and the dawn of another.
It was today.