"Why?!" Koharu Utatane's voice suddenly rose sharply. Her aged face flushed red with agitation, wrinkles twisting as long-suppressed resentment poured out.
She could no longer maintain her usual composure.
"Why are we being treated like this?"
"We've rendered great service to Konoha! Since the time of the Second Hokage, we've devoted ourselves heart and soul to this village!"
"The Third and Fourth Hokage both trusted and relied on us! So why Tsunade?!"
"Why does she get to return and strip us of our authority, toss us aside like garbage, and even assign people to watch us like criminals?"
"Does she have no respect for her elders? No sense of order or propriety?"
The more she spoke, the more worked up she became, stabbing a finger against the low table as if it were Tsunade's face.
Homura Mitokado listened quietly, his expression largely unchanged. At last, he said softly:
"Because… she is the Hokage."
The words fell like a bucket of ice water, extinguishing Koharu's rage in an instant.
Her mouth opened, then closed. Her shoulders slumped.
"Yes… she's the Hokage. The Fifth Hokage…"
But soon, that resentment flared again—mutated into stubborn indignation.
"I refuse to accept it!" she snapped, lifting her head. "Konoha doesn't belong to Tsunade alone! It belongs to all its clans and shinobi! What gives her the right to rule arbitrarily like this? If this continues, sooner or later… there will be no place left for us—or our clans!"
Homura's face darkened at last.
Her words had struck at the very anxiety buried deep within him.
But unlike Koharu's impulsive anger, Homura remained clear-headed.
"Let it go, Koharu."
"And stop making subtle moves. Those little tricks won't escape Hiruzen—nor Tsunade and Jiraiya. Especially not now."
He lifted his gaze, sharp and steady, his voice lowering with a chilling edge.
"Otherwise… we'll become the next Uchiha."
The name hit her like a thunderclap.
Koharu trembled. The color drained from her face, her lips quivering.
"The… the wicked Uchiha clan can't be compared to us! They brought it upon themselves. They planned to rebel—"
"Koharu!" Homura's voice rose sharply, rare impatience and sternness breaking through. "How long are you going to keep deceiving yourself?"
"Have you told that lie so many times that you've come to believe it yourself?"
She stared at him blankly.
Homura stepped closer, his voice low but cutting.
"You say we've rendered great service to Konoha. Fine. Then tell me—what clan's achievements surpass those of the Uchiha?"
"In merit, in sacrifice, in contribution—what do we have that can compare?"
He fixed his gaze on her increasingly pale, trembling face.
"The Uchiha clan was wiped out just like that. We both know the real reasons. 'Wicked'? That was nothing more than slander."
"If even a clan as brilliant and powerful as the Uchiha could be sacrificed without hesitation for the so-called 'greater good'…"
His voice softened, tinged with fatigue and bitter clarity.
"Then what are we? Two aging relics long past our prime, with clans already in decline."
"In Tsunade's eyes? In Jiraiya's? Even… in Hiruzen's?"
"Don't fool yourself, Koharu. The era has changed. And Konoha is no longer the Konoha we once knew."
Koharu stood frozen, blood drained from her face, lips trembling—but no words of defiance came.
If even the Uchiha could vanish overnight…
What were they, in comparison?
Seeing her despondent expression, Homura's tone softened slightly.
"What we must do now is remain cautious. Do nothing. Don't fight. Don't compete. There's no chance of victory."
"Retire quietly. Preserve what little dignity and vitality our clans still have."
He paused, voice low and certain.
"Otherwise… Tsunade and Jiraiya will not show mercy. And even Hiruzen—if it comes down to the village's stability and his version of the 'greater good'—will not hesitate to discard us."
Those final words left Koharu feeling as if she had fallen into an icy abyss.
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