After the chaos at the entrance, nobody had the mind to think about anything else.
The clan heads, village elders, and even ordinary villagers who had witnessed the confrontation all left with troubled expressions.
What had started as a routine welcome gathering had turned into a disaster.
And it couldn't have happened at a worse time.
The war had only recently ended.
The village was still recovering.
Yet now, another crisis had appeared.
One caused not by an enemy village, but by Konoha itself.
As people departed, countless thoughts filled their minds.
Who would answer to the Daimyo?
Who would bear the blame?
And perhaps most importantly...
Who had ordered all of this in the first place?
Inside the Uchiha Clan.
The members of Hawk returned alongside Toyoma and the Grand Elder.
The atmosphere within the group was noticeably different from when they had left.
Some looked thoughtful.
Others looked angry.
A few seemed almost amused.
The words spoken at the entrance continued to echo in their minds.
For years, they had heard rumours.
Suspicions.
Whispers.
But hearing everything laid out so openly was another matter entirely.
"I always thought the village only targeted us."
One of the Uchiha shinobi finally broke the silence.
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"But after hearing everything today..."
He hesitated.
"What exactly was the village trying to accomplish?"
Uzuku glanced at him.
"They were targeting us."
His voice was calm.
"But they were targeting others as well."
Several clan members looked toward him.
"The difference is that what happened to us was deliberate."
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
"They knew that even if we complained, very few people would believe us."
A few older Uchiha exchanged looks.
None of them argued.
Too many memories supported those words.
Uzuku sighed.
"But the Daimyo and the noble houses are different."
"If news of something like this spreads among the people of the Land of Fire..."
He shook his head.
"Konoha would quickly find itself standing against the very citizens it is sworn to protect."
The group fell into thought.
After a moment, Raizen spoke.
"Forget Konoha."
Everyone turned toward him.
"Any hidden village would be in trouble if it crossed that line."
His expression was serious.
"If villages begin manipulating nobles, infiltrating government officials, and spying on their Daimyo..."
He paused briefly.
"Then we aren't far from returning to the Warring States Era."
The words caused several younger clan members to stiffen.
That was not a comparison anyone wanted to hear.
Raizen continued.
"People often forget this."
"The villages weren't created overnight."
"Before Konoha existed, the Fire Daimyo and nobles placed their trust in both the First Hokage and Madara-sama."
"They believed their strength was enough to unite the clans and bring an end to the Warring States Era."
Raizen looked toward the distant village.
"That trust became the foundation upon which Konoha was built."
"The Daimyo granted legitimacy."
"Hashirama and Madara provided the strength to hold the clans together."
"Without both sides fulfilling their roles, the village system would never have survived."
His expression darkened slightly.
"And trust like that isn't built in a single generation."
"It comes from decades of sacrifice, cooperation, and hard work."
A brief silence followed.
Then one of the older Uchiha let out a dry laugh.
"No wonder the Hokage looked like he wanted to strangle someone."
Several people chuckled.
Even Uzuku's lips twitched.
The image of Hiruzen's dark expression was still fresh in everyone's mind.
Just then, a hawk landed on a nearby rooftop.
Several clan members immediately looked up.
The bird carried a message tube.
Raizen's eyes narrowed.
Toyoma looked up as the hawk descended from the sky.
The bird circled once before landing neatly on his outstretched arm.
A message tube was attached to its leg.
He removed the letter and began reading.
As his eyes moved across the contents, the corners of his mouth slowly rose.
The smile only grew wider.
The Grand Elder noticed immediately.
"What is it?" he asked curiously.
Toyoma folded the letter.
"Nothing much."
His grin said otherwise.
"The Daimyo is sending an envoy to Konoha regarding the surveillance conducted against him."
Several nearby clan members paused.
Toyoma looked toward the Grand Elder.
"They should arrive within a week."
For a moment, nobody spoke.
The Daimyo was moving faster than most of them had expected.
The matter had officially gone beyond rumors and suspicions.
Now Konoha would have to answer questions.
Uncomfortable questions.
The group eventually continued toward the clan compound.
By the time they arrived, dozens of Uchiha shinobi were already waiting.
Some stood in small groups talking quietly.
Others remained silent.
The atmosphere was noticeably heavier than usual.
Toyoma's eyes swept across the gathered crowd.
Then he frowned slightly.
The number felt... small.
Far too small.
"Uncle."
He turned toward Uzuku.
"How many of us are left?"
Uzuku followed his gaze.
"There are sixty-seven shinobi in our faction."
He answered without hesitation.
"Seventeen elite jonin."
"Twenty jonin."
"The rest are chunin and genin."
Toyoma fell silent.
Only sixty-seven.
Out of three hundred and eighty-six.
Even knowing the losses beforehand, hearing the number aloud was jarring.
For a brief moment, the compound seemed much emptier than before.
Many familiar faces were gone.
Some had died.
Some had retired.
Others had simply drifted away over the years.
Toyoma looked at Uzuku.
A trace of confusion appeared on his face.
"How?"
He had spent two years on the battlefield himself.
From what he remembered, there should have been far more survivors.
Uzuku immediately understood what he meant.
A strange expression crossed his face.
"Well..."
He scratched his cheek.
"What can I say?"
"The Kiri shinobi were especially barbaric."
Several nearby Uchiha nodded.
"They blew up entire areas during the fighting."
"They didn't even care about their own people."
Uzuku shrugged.
His tone was casual.
As though he were merely stating a fact.
And technically...
There was evidence supporting that explanation.
Plenty of evidence.
Enough that neither the clan leadership nor the village could easily question it.
Toyoma stared at him for several seconds.
Then slowly raised a thumbs-up.
"Good answer."
For the first time since returning to the clan, a few Uchiha couldn't help but laugh.
Even Uzuku's lips twitched.
The tension hanging over the compound eased slightly.
As the laughter faded, the atmosphere gradually became serious once more.
The sixty-seven Uchiha shinobi stood quietly in the compound.
None of them spoke.
None of them needed to.
Unlike the rest of the clan, every person standing here knew the truth.
They knew where their missing comrades had gone.
They knew why so many Uchiha had vanished during the war.
And they knew what the clan had been building in secret.
The Grand Elder slowly stepped forward.
His gaze swept across the gathered shinobi.
Many of them had followed him through battlefields.
Many carried scars from the war.
Some had lost friends.
Others had lost family.
Yet none of them had abandoned their mission.
"You have all fought through a bloody war."
His voice was calm but firm.
"And every one of you knows why we entered that war in the first place."
The shinobi nodded.
No further explanation was necessary.
The war had never been only about Kiri.
It had never been only about victory.
The real objective had always been something else.
Setsuna folded his hands behind his back.
"Our mission is not over."
The compound grew even quieter.
"It has merely changed."
Several shinobi straightened instinctively.
"From today onward, a new phase begins."
His eyes hardened.
"And this phase is even more important than the last."
A brief silence followed.
"This mission concerns the survival of our people."
The weight behind those words was obvious.
"There will be no room for carelessness."
"No room for mistakes."
His gaze moved from one face to another.
"You were chosen because you proved yourselves."
"Do not forget that."
The gathered shinobi remained silent.
Yet the determination in their eyes only grew stronger.
Toyoma stood beside the Grand Elder and observed them.
These were not ordinary shinobi.
Every person present had been carefully selected.
Some excelled at combat.
Some at intelligence gathering.
Others at leadership, logistics, or administration.
Together, they formed the foundation of the clan's future.
The first stage of the plan had already succeeded.
The clan's branches had begun taking root across multiple lands.
Resources had been secured.
Safe locations had been established.
The foundation existed.
Now came the difficult part.
Separating those whose loyalty belonged to the clan...
From those whose loyalty belonged to Konoha.
"Grandpa."
Toyoma broke the silence.
The Grand Elder turned toward him.
"Inform the two elders."
Toyoma's voice was calm.
"The third phase of the plan is beginning."
Several eyes narrowed.
Even among these trusted shinobi, only a handful knew the details of every phase.
The Grand Elder simply nodded.
He had expected this moment for a long time.
Toyoma looked across the compound once more.
More than six hundred Uchiha shinobi still remained inside the village.
Add their families, children, and civilians...
And the clan's population easily exceeded a thousand.
A lot of lives.
A lot of futures.
And a lot of people who would pay the price if they failed.
His eyes drifted toward the distant Hokage Monument.
The war was over.
But another conflict was quietly beginning.
And this one would decide the future of both sides.
A faint smile appeared on Toyoma's face.
The countdown had begun.
For Konoha.
And for the Uchiha.
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P@treon - Hear_tteeth [18 +]
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