"Ugh…"
Sakura Haruno glanced at the man beside her, Tobirama Senju, feeling a bit puzzled. Wasn't he just in high spirits a moment ago? Why was he sighing now?
"As expected, the Uchiha are all like this," Tobirama muttered, his tone tinged with disinterest.
Though he genuinely harbored no fondness for the Uchiha, once his initial amusement faded, he began to ponder the consequences of their annihilation. It was undeniable—the Uchiha, as the Senju clan's greatest rival over a millennium, possessed unparalleled martial prowess. That very strength was why someone like Uchiha Kagami existed among Tobirama's disciples.
Unlike other Uchiha, Kagami was different. In Tobirama's vision, Kagami was meant to rise under his guidance to become the Uchiha clan's leader. But, alas… not only did Tobirama himself perish, but Kagami, too, fell in battle soon after. Now, the Uchiha clan itself had faded into history, rendering such thoughts somewhat pointless.
With the Uchiha's extinction, Konohagakure's strength had plummeted to a historic low.
"Sakura," Tobirama said, turning to her.
"Hm?" she responded, meeting his gaze.
"Given the trust Hiruzen places in you, you must know the reasons behind the Uchiha's downfall. If you were the Hokage—or the Uchiha clan leader—what would you have done?"
Tobirama studied the young girl who had summoned him with the Reanimation Jutsu. She wielded Tsunade's monstrous strength, Hiruzen's summoning techniques, and the legacy of the Slug Sage from Shikkotsu Forest. Now, Hiruzen had even entrusted her with the Reanimation Jutsu itself. She was not just his confidante but his potential successor.
Sakura tilted her head to look at the man beside her, pondering for a moment before speaking deliberately, "That's an easy problem to solve."
"If I were the Hokage, I'd win over some and suppress others. Those who stir the most trouble would be framed with some charge and publicly executed in the streets of Konoha as a warning to others. Those who stay in line would be granted prestige and real authority to pacify their hearts."
Tobirama nodded at her response. Kill the chicken to scare the monkey, then offer substantial rewards. But this approach hinged on having enough personal strength to keep the remaining Uchiha in check indefinitely.
Sakura wasn't finished. A sharp glint flashed in her eyes as she continued, "If I were the Uchiha clan leader, facing constant suppression from Konoha's higher-ups and a clan riled up for rebellion…"
Tobirama's gaze grew colder. Was she implying the Uchiha had been plotting a coup?
Unbeknownst to them, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya had appeared behind them, accompanied by another figure… Uchiha Itachi.
Seven hours earlier…
"Look what I found!" Jiraiya's voice rang out, catching Uchiha Itachi off guard. "Didn't expect to run into someone like you while gathering materials."
Itachi's mind reeled, teetering on the edge of collapse. "S-stop!" he stammered. "I'm one of you! I'm an undercover agent. I need to see Hiruzen Sarutobi! I'm the Hokage's spy in the Akatsuki!"
Itachi knew Jiraiya was different from others. As Hiruzen's disciple, he was worlds apart from his fellow student, Orochimaru. In his current state, escaping Jiraiya was a pipe dream. Rather than being dragged to the Torture and Interrogation Department and suffering needlessly, it was better to go straight to the Hokage through him.
Jiraiya eyed the barely standing Itachi, unmoved by his claims. "If you're telling the truth, seal your chakra now, and I'll take you to the Hokage."
Itachi gave a bitter smile. Seal his chakra? Did he even have any left?
Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and Itachi's arrival didn't go unnoticed by Tobirama and Sakura, though Sakura was slightly surprised to see Itachi among them. Still, she didn't pause her words.
"If I were the Uchiha clan leader, facing such internal strife and external threats…" A chilling smile curved Sakura's lips. "I'd immediately send people to the other ninja villages—Earth, Cloud, Sand, any of them."
Tobirama's brow furrowed. Was she planning to flee with her clan?
Hiruzen, on the other hand, rubbed his temples. He knew this pink-haired girl too well. Fleeing? That wasn't Sakura's style. If she were contacting other villages, it wouldn't be to escape.
"What for?" Tobirama asked, his face expressionless.
"What for?" Sakura shot him a look as if he were an idiot. "To use the Sharingan to unleash their tailed beasts and spark a tailed beast rampage!"
Tobirama froze, momentarily confused, but realization quickly dawned. So that's her plan.
Hiruzen sighed inwardly. My little ancestor, saying this in front of me is one thing, but in front of the Second Hokage? And with Uchiha Itachi, that madman, standing right there?
"Why unleash their tailed beasts?" Jiraiya asked, completely baffled, unlike Tobirama and Hiruzen, who had already grasped Sakura's intentions.
Itachi, meanwhile, listened in silence, his body trembling faintly.
"When internal conflicts can't be resolved, the best solution is to introduce an external one," Sakura explained. "Since the Uchiha and the higher-ups can't reconcile, as the Uchiha clan leader, why would I sit and wait for death? I'd trigger tailed beast chaos in the other villages and 'accidentally' leave traces pointing to Konoha. The higher-ups would be too preoccupied to deal with the Uchiha, giving the clan breathing room."
Her words left Jiraiya stunned. "But Sakura, have you considered the consequences? That could start a war!"
"And what?" she retorted sharply. "Without this, you think war wouldn't break out?"
Her words left Jiraiya speechless.
Sakura didn't care for Jiraiya's idealism. She respected him as a teacher, but sometimes he was too naive. "Unleashing their tailed beasts not only weakens their forces but also suppresses internal conflicts to a minimum. Then, I'd send people to stir up border skirmishes, sparking a war. Under the threat of an external enemy, unless the higher-ups and the Uchiha are brain-dead, they'd set aside their differences. That way, the Uchiha's crisis would be resolved, and no matter how heavy the war's toll, it wouldn't lead to the clan's total annihilation like it did."
She turned to Hiruzen, her tone pointed. "If the Hokage has sharp enough instincts, they'd see through everything I, as the Uchiha clan leader, am doing. They'd send their own political enemies—those clowns stirring trouble between the higher-ups and the Uchiha—to the battlefield to 'heroically sacrifice.' Even if it doesn't fully resolve the conflict, it'd stabilize things for a decade. After that, we'd adapt as needed."
Sakura raised an eyebrow at the pensive Tobirama. "That's how I'd handle it as the Uchiha clan leader."
Tobirama stroked his chin, reassessing the pink-haired girl beside him. He'd thought her talent lay solely in ninja skills, but her grasp of strategy and politics was equally impressive. This girl truly delighted him.
"To unleash tailed beasts in other villages would require a master. Back then, besides the clan leader, who else among the Uchiha could handle such a task?" Tobirama mused, analyzing the plan's feasibility despite it being hypothetical.
"There are others—two, in fact. Isn't one of them right here?" Sakura glanced at Itachi, who stood silently, trembling faintly.
So that's it… Itachi thought, his mind spiraling. That's how it could've been… Father, Mother, Izumi… I… I…
He clenched his teeth, head bowed. Why did he have to hear this? Did it prove everything he'd done was wrong? That he was nothing but a clown? Why tell him? Why not let him die quietly at Sasuke's hands?
Tobirama followed Sakura's gaze to Itachi. So this is the one who destroyed the Uchiha?
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