Chapter 22:
After handing the scroll to Naoki Asakawa, Hiruzen Sarutobi turned to the Uchiha ninja and said coldly,
"Since he's one of yours, I'll leave his punishment to the Uchiha Clan. But I don't want to see anything like this again."
"Yes, Lord Hokage!" the Uchiha responded in unison, their voices respectful but heavy. With those words, Sarutobi had essentially sealed Uchiha Setsuna's fate. Whether he lived or not, it was certain he would never step outside the clan compound again.
Everyone present from the Uchiha clan was reminded of the long history between Hiruzen and Madara—how both had survived the bloody Warring States era. That history weighed heavily in moments like this.
"In that case, this meeting is over. Return to your duties," Hiruzen said, waving them off before vanishing with the Body Flicker Technique.
"Understood, Lord Hokage!"
The Anbu accompanying Hiruzen disappeared first. The Konoha Police soon resumed their patrols. Only a few doves among the Uchiha remained—Mikoto, Naoki, and a few others.
"Miss, we should return. The elders will be worried," one female Uchiha ninja said.
A few of the others had already tied up the unconscious Setsuna. The mission was considered a success—Mikoto was unharmed, and the traitor was captured.
"I understand," Mikoto replied, then turned to Naoki. There was a spark of something in her eyes—curiosity, maybe interest. She extended a soft hand.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Uchiha Mikoto, but just call me Mikoto."
Naoki smiled and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you too. I'm Asakawa Naoki. Just Naoki is fine."
They exchanged a brief smile. Despite not even knowing each other's names until now, their teamwork during the pursuit had felt strangely natural.
"I'm heading home. See you tomorrow," Mikoto said with a wave.
"See you," Naoki replied.
A moment later, one of the Uchiha kunoichi carried Mikoto away using the Body Flicker Technique.
With the scene now quiet, Naoki also left—but not for home. He headed toward the commercial district. The recent events, though brief, had drained him. He needed food before refining his essence for the night.
---
Back in the Hokage's Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't looking over paperwork. He was lost in thought.
Incidents like today's weren't rare in Konoha. The village was made up of various ninja clans—not just the Uchiha, but the Sarutobi, Shimura, and even remnants of the Senju. Internal strife wasn't uncommon, and an attitude of superiority toward civilian shinobi was nearly universal within these clans.
Though Konoha had tried to promote civilian ninjas over the decades, clan-born shinobi still held most of the power. Their strength came not just from Kekkei Genkai, but from centuries of carefully preserved jutsu and secret arts.
And so, each clan had become like a village within the village—mini-kingdoms within Konoha. It was inefficient and dangerous.
To Hiruzen, it reminded him of the Three Kingdoms period from Naoki's previous life. Each ninja clan was like a powerful family in that era—necessary to maintain strength, but ultimately limiting the growth of the central government.
Most troubling was the fact that many clan shinobi valued their clan leader more than the Hokage. Today's case with Uchiha Setsuna was a perfect example. If Setsuna had been a civilian ninja, Hiruzen wouldn't have hesitated to throw him into the Konoha Sky Prison.
But because he was Uchiha—because he had a three-tomoe Sharingan and clan secrets in his head—Hiruzen had to tread carefully. Imprisoning him could cause the Uchiha to demand his release, and with reason. From their view, Setsuna was clan property. His bloodline and his knowledge weren't Konoha's to claim.
This wasn't unique to the Uchiha. Even the Hyuga, who rivaled them in terms of dojutsu, would side with them on this issue. Because the moment the village broke that boundary, every other clan would be vulnerable.
No matter how much Hiruzen wanted to weaken the clan system, he couldn't afford to alienate them. Not yet.
"That boy... Asakawa Naoki. He has potential."
Anbu had already delivered Naoki's file. Hiruzen flipped through it quickly. Naoki was a civilian-born ninja. Both of his parents had been shinobi from Konoha, killed in a B-rank mission. A clean record. No clan ties.
Exactly the kind of ninja Hiruzen favored—someone the Hokage's office could trust and support without resistance from a clan council.
"But his connection with that Uchiha girl... it's not nothing," Hiruzen mused.
The exchange had been brief, but he had noticed Mikoto's behavior. Her interest in Naoki wasn't just professional.
"If we encourage that bond... maybe it could be a crack in the Uchiha armor."
Most clans only married within their own bloodline, to preserve Kekkei Genkai and unique traits. But if Mikoto—a highborn Uchiha—were to marry a civilian, it would dilute the purity of the bloodline, perhaps even soften the clan's isolation.
It could open the door for future reforms.
Still, Hiruzen frowned.
"They're too young right now. And Mikoto isn't just any Uchiha. The elders will resist this."
He sighed and leaned back.
"One step at a time... Maybe that boy can truly become Hokage one day."
He set the file aside and picked up another scroll. As his eyes scanned the contents, his expression hardened.
If the divide between clan and civilian was Konoha's internal issue, what was written in this scroll was a growing external threat.
"Unusual activity in the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Stone... Rain is preparing for war... even the Wind Country is unstable..."
It had only been eighteen years since the end of the First Great Ninja War, but already the pieces were shifting again.
Smaller villages were retreating and fortifying, clearly sensing a storm on the horizon. The great nations were beginning to prepare for a second war.
If that war came, Konoha would need every ounce of strength it had—including the clans. That's why Hiruzen had let Setsuna go with only a warning.
He didn't like it. But the civilian forces weren't yet strong enough to stand on their own.
In the silence of the office, Hiruzen whispered,
"If only the First Hokage and Madara had truly unified the nations..."
Distributing the tailed beasts had been a temporary solution. It had maintained balance. But now, those same beasts had become tools of aggression.
And the fires of war were beginning to smolder once more.
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