The latest Clan Assembly concluded precisely as Jin predicted: with absolutely zero actionable decisions made.
Unlike the previous meetings where the Radicals would storm out in anger, Jin and Setsuna remained until the very end. They watched Fugaku and Shisui flounder with a cold, amused detachment before finally leaving the Naka Shrine.
When the hall was completely empty, Shisui turned to Fugaku. His voice, usually steady, was tight with anxiety.
"Clan Head," Shisui rasped. "We must find a way to counter Jin. We cannot allow him to continue running rampant!"
For the first time in his life, Shisui felt a creeping sense of fear. It wasn't physical fear, but the psychological terror of being trapped in Jin's Open Scheme. He saw the trap clearly, yet he was powerless to stop it.
Fugaku remained seated, staring blankly at the empty rows. In his mind's eye, he saw the inevitable outcome of his own appeasement strategy. He saw Danzo's Root operatives picking off the Uchiha one by one, emboldened by the village's silent approval. In the past, the clansmen had no alternative but to endure. Now, Jin offered them a heavily fortified sanctuary. Defection was only a matter of time.
"Shisui," Fugaku sighed, his voice heavy with defeat. "Go to the Hokage. Plead with him to restrain Danzo. I will stay here and attempt to pacify the clan. If these disappearances continue, the Moderate and Neutral factions will cease to exist. The Uchiha will belong entirely to the Radicals."
Fugaku had exhausted all his options. His only remaining hope was that Hiruzen would intervene and enforce the peace.
Shisui frowned, his idealistic programming kicking in. "Clan Head, you cannot let Jin's lies manipulate you. Danzo is a senior village elder. He would never slaughter his own comrades! He possesses my grandfather's eye, yes, but that was a willing gift on the battlefield."
Fugaku looked at Shisui with a mixture of pity and exhaustion. 'You foolish child,' Fugaku thought. 'I have known Danzo for decades. I know exactly what that butcher is capable of.' However, Fugaku knew it was pointless to argue. Shisui was thoroughly brainwashed by the Hokage's 'Will of Fire.'
"Just deliver the message to the Hokage, Shisui," Fugaku said wearily, waving him off. "Leave the clan politics to me." Without another word, Fugaku stood up and walked heavily out of the shrine.
Shisui watched his Clan Head leave, shaking his head in frustration. 'The clan's prejudice against the village is too deep,' Shisui thought. 'Even the Moderates refuse to trust the Hokage. I must work harder to bridge this gap.'
His resolve hardened, Shisui immediately departed for the Hokage's office. He faithfully reported the events of the assembly, including Jin's ultimatum and the clan's rising panic.
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a long drag from his pipe, his face adopting a perfectly crafted mask of sorrow.
"These are difficult times, Shisui," Hiruzen sighed. "I understand the situation. Tell Fugaku I will do my utmost to restrain Danzo. But you must not blame your Clan Head for his doubts. The Uchiha have harbored misunderstandings for years. Healing those wounds takes time and patience."
Shisui was deeply moved by the old man's apparent exhaustion and empathy. "Thank you, Lord Third. I know how heavy your burdens are."
"It is my duty as Hokage," Hiruzen smiled kindly. "You are a good boy, Shisui. Keep working for the village."
The moment the door clicked shut behind Shisui, the warmth vanished from Hiruzen's face, replaced by a calculating chill.
"Anbu," Hiruzen commanded the empty room.
A masked operative immediately materialized from the shadows.
"Inform Danzo to tighten his surveillance on the Uchiha district," Hiruzen ordered flatly. "Deploy the Third Anbu Squadron to assist him. All operations regarding the Uchiha are now under Danzo's direct command."
The Anbu vanished to deliver the orders.
Hiruzen sneered around his pipe. 'Restrain Danzo? Impossible.' Hiruzen knew the truth: Danzo was rapidly losing control of the volatile Hashirama cells grafted into his arm. Danzo desperately needed three-tomoe Sharingan to cast Izanagi and stabilize his body. If Hiruzen stopped the harvest, Danzo would die. And Hiruzen needed Danzo alive to do his dirty work.
As for Jin's Open Scheme? Hiruzen didn't care. It was an internal Uchiha civil war. If the Uchiha bled themselves dry fighting over ideology, it only made them easier to exterminate later. Let Jin take control. A unified but crippled Uchiha clan posed no real threat to the village's standing army.
***
Ten days passed.
The situation deteriorated exactly as Jin had designed. Fugaku remained paralyzed by indecision. Hiruzen gave Danzo free rein. The Radical Faction remained safely barricaded behind their barrier, ignoring the outside world. And Danzo, desperate to suppress the First Hokage's cells, relentlessly hunted the vulnerable Moderates and Neutrals.
Panic consumed the unprotected Uchiha.
Many families broke under the pressure and defected to the Radical zone. However, a significant portion remained fiercely loyal to the Moderate ideology and refused to join Jin. Desperate for survival, these loyalists decided to copy the Radicals' tactics. They gathered their weapons and began organizing their own defensive patrols.
Before they could even begin, Shisui intervened.
"Stop this at once!" Shisui demanded, blocking the organized patrol. "You must trust the Hokage! Danzo is not behind these attacks; that is Jin's propaganda! The Hokage is investigating foreign spies right now. If we arm ourselves, we will only prove the rumors of our rebellion! Believe in the village!"
Shisui genuinely believed every word he spoke. The Uchiha were an extreme clan; their emotions were absolute. Once Shisui committed to the Hokage's narrative, his Mangekyou-enhanced stubbornness made it impossible for him to see reality.
He patrolled the district alone every night, exhausting himself, but one man could not secure a massive compound against an army of Root assassins. The disappearances continued.
Driven to absolute despair, the remaining Moderates and Neutrals cornered Fugaku, begging him to officially authorize a defensive perimeter.
Fugaku hesitated.
He was a man who planned endlessly but lacked the courage to execute. He saw the trap clearly, but his fear of provoking a full-scale war with Konoha kept him paralyzed. He believed that if he just waited a little longer, a diplomatic solution would magically present itself. He was terrified of making a decision that might make things worse.
As days turned into weeks, Fugaku's endless stalling broke the final threads of loyalty.
One by one, the terrified families abandoned him. They realized Fugaku would rather let them die than fight the village. They packed their bags and crossed into the Radical zone, bowing their heads to Jin.
By the end of the month, Fugaku's support base had completely evaporated.
He, the official Clan Head of the Uchiha, was left a general without an army. Aside from his immediate family, Shisui, and a handful of stubborn faction elders, he commanded no one. Less than fifteen people remained outside the Radical Faction's fortified walls.