The sky had just broken into dawn.
A thin layer of morning mist blanketed the entire Uchiha clan district.
"Did you hear... Lord Shisui, he..."
"The village announcement... says he attacked Danzō-sama and took his own life out of guilt..."
"How is that possible! There is no way Lord Shisui would do something like that!"
Uchiha Shisui was dead.
This news struck every Uchiha clan member like a hammer blow to the heart.
For the Hawks, it was fury, yet another proof of the higher-ups' shamelessness.
For the Doves, it was nothing less than the sky caving in and the earth splitting apart.
Inside the estate of Dove faction elder Uchiha En, the atmosphere was heavy.
Several elders of high standing within the clan, those who had always advocated for peaceful coexistence with the village, now sat with faces dark as still water.
Not a trace of their former gentleness and composure could be seen on their faces.
In its place was deep exhaustion, undisguisable despair, and a thread of fury at having been made fools of.
"Took his own life out of guilt..."
Uchiha En's withered lips trembled faintly as he repeated those four words.
"What a laughable charge!"
"That child Shisui, we watched him grow up, he loved this village more than anyone, he wanted to protect peace more than anyone!"
Another elder slammed his fist into the tatami mat with a dull thud.
"We trusted the Third Hokage, we trusted the so-called Will of Fire, and what did we get in return?"
"What we got was surveillance, suspicion, and isolation!"
"And now, they have mercilessly eliminated even our most outstanding genius, the only one who could serve as a bridge between us, Shisui himself!"
"Peace... the path of peace was a joke from the very beginning!"
They had placed every last hope upon Uchiha Shisui.
These Dove faction elders had naively believed that as long as Shisui was there, as long as that genius known as "Shisui of the Body Flicker," so highly valued by the Third Hokage, still lived, there would always remain some room for negotiation between the Uchiha and the village.
But reality had delivered them the most resounding slap across the face.
Shisui's death was clearly no accident, but a premeditated murder.
The village's higher-ups had used the most ruthless and cold-blooded means to completely sever every last one of their illusions.
Silence.
A long, deathly silence.
"What should we... do now?"
At last, one elder voiced the question that everyone wanted to ask but none had dared to.
What else could they do.
The road ahead was gone.
Before them lay the blade of the village's higher-ups, and behind them lay the long-smoldering fury of the Hawk faction within the clan.
They, the Doves, were trapped with no way forward and no way back.
"Perhaps... there is still one path."
Uchiha En slowly raised his eyes and swept his gaze across every person present.
"Elder Shinsuke."
He forced out that name with great difficulty.
Uchiha Shinsuke.
The young man who had risen to power with thunderous force.
The new leader of the Hawks who had unified every faction within that camp, and before whom even clan head Fugaku held a measure of wariness.
Upon hearing this, the expressions of every elder present became indescribably complicated.
They had once sneered at Uchiha Shinsuke's aggression and domineering ways, convinced he would drag the Uchiha down into an abyss from which there was no return.
But looking back now, the facts had proven that they were the fools.
For a drowning man, even a red-hot brand is the only lifeline available.
"Go to him?"
"Would he even accept us... us old ones?"
"Elder En, considering Shinsuke's methods... do we truly want to place the clan's future in his hands?"
Uchiha En slowly rose to his feet, his gaze taking on a firmer quality.
"We have no other choice."
"Either we end up like Shisui, mercilessly abandoned by the higher-ups, dying with a false charge against our names."
"Or we set aside our laughable illusions and pride, and seize the last remaining chance."
"At the very least, he, Uchiha Shinsuke, is fighting for the survival of the Uchiha."
In the end, the Dove faction elders decided that Uchiha En would lead several of the core Dove elders to Uchiha Shinsuke's estate.
Shinsuke seemed to have anticipated their arrival long in advance, and stood alone in the courtyard.
Uchiha En's gaze fell upon the large crater blasted out by last night's Great Fireball, and on the cracked fractures in the wall not far away.
Upon seeing these startling signs of destruction, the pupils of several elders involuntarily contracted.
They were all experienced jonin, and could naturally tell that no ordinary jutsu could have produced this level of damage.
"Elders, what brings you here?"
Uchiha Shinsuke asked.
Uchiha En drew a deep breath, suppressed the complicated emotions churning within him, stepped forward, and bowed deeply toward Uchiha Shinsuke.
"Elder Shinsuke."
The elders behind him, however unwilling in their hearts, had no choice but to follow and pay their respects.
This was respect for the strong, and submission to reality.
"We have... come to our senses."
"Shisui's death has shown us the true face of the village."
"The so-called peaceful coexistence is nothing but self-deception."
"From this day forward, we of the Dove faction are willing to acknowledge Elder Shinsuke as our leader and follow your every command."
Uchiha En raised his head and looked at Uchiha Shinsuke with burning eyes, his voice carrying a final trace of entreaty.
"We only ask that Elder Shinsuke find a path to survival for the Uchiha, and give us a guarantee of... peace."
"Peace?"
Uchiha Shinsuke shook his head and spoke without any mercy.
"Elders, you still do not understand."
"True peace has never been obtained through verbal promises, and certainly not through begging."
"Shisui is the best example of that."
"His compromises, his concessions, what did they bring him? They brought him his own death, and a greater crisis for the clan."
"Peace is an equality built upon absolute power."
"It is something you only earn the right to speak of when your fist is hard enough, hard enough that your enemy does not dare harbor any designs against you."
Shinsuke did not say another word.
He simply looked quietly at the old men standing before him.
As they fell into contemplation and inner conflict over these words, Uchiha Shinsuke's eyes slowly closed, then snapped open.
Hummm!
A terrifying pressure of ocular power instantly blanketed the entire courtyard.
They raised their heads in shock and looked toward Uchiha Shinsuke's eyes.
Those were no longer the three-tomoe Sharingan they were familiar with.
Those were.
Mangekyō Sharingan.
Contained within those eyes was a terrifying ocular power that far surpassed anything within the bounds of their comprehension.
Before this force, the three-tomoe Sharingan they had always taken pride in was like the difference between a firefly and the bright moon.
They finally understood.
What Uchiha Shinsuke had meant by "absolute power."
This was the guarantee.
[Ding! The core members of the Uchiha Dove faction have been detected pledging loyalty en masse, and clan cohesion has increased dramatically!]
[Clan Honor Points +....!] (TN: nothing in chinese text!!!!)
[Congratulations to the host for completing the hidden mission "Hawks and Doves United," bringing internal clan integration to 70%!]
[Reward: Clan Honor Points +..! Maximum number of loyal clan members increased!]
[Uchiha Shinsuke's Attribute Panel]
[Power Level: Kage-level (Early Entry)]
[Mastered Skills:
Ninjutsu: Complete mastery of all Fire Style jutsu, Lightning Style: Chidori (Mastered), Lightning Style Chakra Mode (Refined), Thunder-Fire Dragon Breath, Thunder-Fire Spiraling Sphere.]
[Taijutsu: Uchiha-style Taijutsu (Mastered)]
[Genjutsu: Sharingan Basic Genjutsu, Advanced Genjutsu Release, Genjutsu Reflection.]
[Kekkei Genkai: Mangekyō Sharingan.]
[Ocular Techniques: Mangekyō Sharingan (Left Eye: "Temporal Reversion," Right Eye: "Technique Amplification").]
[Clan Status: Uchiha Elder (Shared Leader of both Hawks and Doves).]
[Number of Loyal Clan Members: approximately 250 (core inner circle loyalty 100%, guard unit loyalty 100%, loyalty of the majority of both Hawks and Doves significantly increased).]
[Overall Clan Strength Assessment: Peak Near-Kage Level.]