"Since it's settled… the reinforcement unit will depart in three days."
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag from his pipe before delivering the final decision, his tone calm, as though everything had already been set in motion long before this meeting began.
"No problem," Senju Suzuki replied without hesitation, nodding as if the matter required no further thought.
Ryujin glanced at him briefly, a faint, almost imperceptible thought crossing his mind.
Was this old man simply obedient… or something else entirely?
After all, Hiruzen's suppression had never been directed solely at the Uchiha. The Senju were not exempt from it either. And yet, instead of resentment, Suzuki displayed nothing but complete compliance.
It was excessive.
Almost unnatural.
What benefit was there in blind loyalty to Konoha?
History itself had already provided the answer.
The Senju Clan had declined even faster than the Uchiha. While the Uchiha would at least survive into a later era, the Senju would all but disappear. By the time the next great conflict arrived, only a single name would remain.
Tsunade.
An entire clan reduced to one survivor.
It was a quiet, inevitable tragedy.
Blind loyalty led nowhere.
Ryujin let the thought fade, no longer dwelling on it.
"If there's nothing else, I'll be taking my leave."
Without waiting for a response, he rose from his seat and walked out of the room.
There was no reason to stay.
Everyone gathered there—
Had already excluded the Uchiha.
But that was fine.
From the moment he was born into the Uchiha Clan, his path had already diverged from theirs. Their goals, their beliefs, their sense of justice… none of it aligned.
And perhaps, it was precisely that pressure—
That isolation—
That had pushed him this far.
Because whether it was Hiruzen…
Or Danzo…
Both stood firmly at the Kage level.
Ryujin's Mangekyō Sharingan was powerful—undeniably so—but it was not without limits. It had not yet reached perfection.
Until it evolved into the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan…
There would always be risk.
And if he intended to rebel—
Those two were obstacles he would inevitably have to overcome.
After returning to the Uchiha district, Ryujin immediately summoned the elders.
Orders were given, and a group of elite shinobi was selected to accompany him to the battlefield. The process moved quickly and efficiently—no hesitation, no wasted motion.
Everyone understood Hiruzen's intentions.
But they also understood something else.
The timing… was not yet right.
The Uchiha still had preparations to complete. There was a plan in motion—one that, when executed, would deal a devastating blow to Konoha's high command by eliminating a Kage-level force.
But such a plan required time.
Careful timing.
Absolute precision.
And until that moment arrived—
Rebellion had to wait.
So this order from the Hokage…
Had to be followed.
Even if it meant enduring it for now.
"Clan Head… please be careful on the battlefield."
The elders spoke with genuine concern, their voices carrying a sincerity that could not be faked.
They had watched him grow.
To them, Ryujin was not merely a leader.
He was family.
Without informing him directly, they had even arranged for several Jōnin to operate in the shadows—not for Konoha's sake, but to ensure his safety.
Ryujin smiled faintly.
"I'll be fine."
And that was precisely why—
He saw the Uchiha as his own.
Because they treated him the same way.
The discussion continued for some time, covering strategies, deployment routes, and battlefield coordination. Every detail was refined, every possibility considered.
When the elders finally departed—
Silence returned.
Ryujin trained for a while afterward, maintaining his routine before eventually resting.
Three days.
It wasn't long.
Time passed almost unnoticed.
And soon—
The night before departure arrived.
Mikoto came to see him.
She stood before him, her small hands clenched tightly, gathering all the courage she had before finally speaking.
"Clan Head… I want to go to the battlefield with you."
Her voice trembled slightly, but she did not look away.
She understood the danger.
She knew what war meant.
But even so—
She wanted to go.
Because she was afraid.
Not of the battlefield itself—
But of losing him.
Her parents had died in war.
She knew what it took.
And she could not bear to lose the last person she cared about.
Ryujin looked down at her, his expression softening just slightly.
"Mikoto… you've grown stronger."
He paused for a moment before continuing, his voice calm but firm.
"But the battlefield is not a place for you."
"As Clan Head, I cannot place my people in unnecessary danger."
"Especially you."
He reached out and gently patted her head.
"But…"
She hesitated, her voice trembling as she struggled to continue.
"Clan Head, I—"
He interrupted her softly.
"Keep training."
"When I return… I want to see you create fifty shadow clones."
"If you can do that…"
"I'll give you a special reward."
Mikoto froze for a moment, caught off guard by the condition.
Then slowly—
She nodded.
"…Okay."
Perhaps it was because they shared the same fate—orphans in a harsh, unforgiving world—that Ryujin treated her with a little more care than others.
And perhaps—
That was why she had grown up without losing herself.
Not far away, several Uchiha shinobi preparing for departure whispered quietly among themselves.
"Our Clan Head… is surprisingly gentle."
"Yeah. Strong, talented, and kind. Completely different from the previous leaders."
"He's perfect."
"…If I survive this war, I'm confessing to him."
"…If we survive."
Their voices gradually faded.
Among the gathered shinobi were both men and women. While male ninja were more common, female ninja were far from rare.
But on the battlefield—
None of that mattered.
Man or woman—
If you couldn't kill your enemy—
You died.
That was the only rule.
Even the Uchiha, with all their power and pride, were not immune to death.
Because beyond Konoha—
Other villages also had monsters.
And those monsters—
Would not show mercy.
This—
Was war.
The cruel reality of the Second Great Ninja War.