Dusk in Konohagakure gilded the former Senju compound with a rim of gold.
Tsunade slid the door wide with a hurried clatter, rushing into the inner room without even removing her geta.
Uzumaki Mito sat serenely with a cup of tea. Used to Tsunade's bluster, she looked up and asked, "Charging in like this, do not tell me it is gambling debts again. Planning to leave the village?"
"This is far more important!" Tsunade had not caught her breath yet. She launched straight into what Uchiha Jin had done. "Today, Uchiha Jin, he..."
She described every detail she had witnessed, lingering on how a wound made by his own kunai sealed in the blink of an eye.
Mito's raised teacup halted midair. Her dark eyes narrowed.
What Tsunade described, in her memory, only Senju Hashirama had ever done.
After a beat of hesitation, Tsunade lowered her voice and murmured by Mito's ear.
"So I am wondering, could Grandpa have... with an Uchiha..."
"Mind your thoughts. Your grandfather was not that sort of man."
Mito tapped Tsunade's forehead with a tea scoop. The clink rang sharp and clean.
Rubbing her brow, Tsunade still would not let it go. "Then how do we explain Jin's constitution."
"Have you checked his lineage. Any record of intermarriage with the Senju."
Mito set down her cup and thought a moment.
Tsunade shook her head and drew a yellowed register from her robe. "I checked everything. Even at the village's founding, Senju and Uchiha were never that close. Look here."
She pointed to several entries made after the Senju's dissolution. "Even after the clan disbanded, there is no record of Senju marrying into the Uchiha. And Jin's parents are both Uchiha, no outside blood."
Though the Senju had dissolved, the fates of most clansmen were carefully recorded, bloodlines largely traceable. Even allowing for gaps, the timeline made a Senju link to Jin's parents extremely unlikely.
But Tsunade's doubt only grew. Jin's traits were too much like Hashirama's: shocking strength, chakra far above his peers, and that self-healing without a seal.
Minus Mokuton, Jin resembled Hashirama's direct descendant more than she did.
"That is why I came to you."
"By your account it is a close match, in fact closer than you, his real granddaughter."
Mito's face grew grave. Anything touching Hashirama's bloodline was no small matter.
She thought in silence, then added, "Find a time and bring him to me. Some things must be confirmed in person."
"All right. I will bring him as soon as I can."
Tsunade nodded, firm and quick.
...
Night fell in full.
Lamps lit across the Uchiha compound.
Uchiha Jin walked toward Naka Shrine, where the clan assemblies were held. From afar, the vermilion gate glowed under the moon, but up close the wood's fading left mottled scars.
By the time he reached the steps, a crowd had already gathered. He blended in, followed the clan through the hidden passage, and entered the underground chamber.
It was spacious, and even when the numbers swelled it did not feel cramped. Braziers ringed the walls, painting the room in warm firelight.
Elder Hikaku stood at the center. Once the last clansman entered, the stone door rumbled shut.
He lifted a hand for quiet, then spoke aloud.
"Today we meet for two matters. First, the return of a clansman recently released by the Third: Uchiha Setsuna."
He looked toward a corner of the crowd. A man there rose slowly, his lone eye gleaming red in the firelight, a cold, hawkish face set in stone.
Murmurs rippled. Many recognized him. To be freed after an order by the Second had put him away was no small thing. Some faces brightened. Once, Setsuna had led the clan's hardliners and held real prestige.
When the noise ebbed, Hikaku cleared his throat and continued.
"Setsuna's release is the Third's concession to the Uchiha. In addition, the Third's student, Tsunade-hime, will take Uchiha Jin as her disciple."
He stepped aside. Jin walked forward with an easy composure, dark eyes sweeping every face.
Hikaku's tone carried elder pride. "You have all heard of him. A true genius of our clan, who at six years old defeated Uchiha Fugaku."
Freshly healed, Fugaku's face went iron-blue. After a visible struggle, he held his tongue.
"Much has changed for the Uchiha of late," Hikaku went on. "You have all sensed it. Most crucial is our accord with Adviser Shimura Danzō that allows our people into the Anbu."
He paused, gaze circling the chamber.
"I know some of you doubt cooperating with Danzō. But I say this: we cannot cling to the Police alone."
He raised Jin's arm high. His voice rang strong.
"As the First once promised, the Uchiha have a rightful chance to stand as Hokage."
As he spoke, three tomoe unfurled in Jin's eyes. With Hikaku's stirring words, Jin's ocular power surged, an unseen pressure washing across the room.
Heads bowed one by one before that gaze.
From the crowd, Uchiha Setsuna dropped to one knee. His voice struck the stone like a gong.
"Young Clan Head."
"Young Clan Head."
His followers echoed at once. The tide spread, more and more voices joining until the chamber swelled with the chant. Only after a long while did it fade.
When quiet returned, Hikaku's announcement landed with solemn weight.
"The clan head's seat will remain vacant for now. Uchiha Jin is the people's choice. As of today, I declare Uchiha Jin the official Young Clan Head of the Uchiha."