"What do you think of the hardliners?" Fugaku asked quietly. His expression was unreadable, but his tone carried weight. "Be honest, Lance. I think you've been too harsh on Shisui. Everything he's done has been for the good of the clan."
Lance Shen exhaled softly and shook his head. "If it's truly for the good of the clan, then we shouldn't be living with our tails between our legs."
He didn't bother to hide his disapproval. He already knew that Shisui's double-agent role had been arranged with Fugaku's consent and in the future, Itachi would walk the same path. But Fugaku had overestimated their loyalty. Both Shisui and Itachi would eventually turn their backs on the Uchiha.
"If he truly wanted to serve the clan," Lance continued, "then he should abandon these unrealistic ideals. As for the hardliners, you already know what I think, Clan Leader."
"I have no intention of joining the hardliners," Fugaku replied, his voice firm but weary. "And I won't support anyone who tries to start a coup. I've said it before we're already part of Konoha. Even if conflict arises, it doesn't have to reach that extreme."
"Believe it or not, those are my honest words. I'll pursue my goals, but never at the cost of our clan's destruction."
Lance's tone was calm but resolute. It wasn't just a statement it was a declaration.
Fugaku's brows eased slightly, the tension in his shoulders softening. He finally allowed himself a small nod.
Lance's actions had caused a stir, but his intentions were, at least on the surface, for the good of the clan. As long as he stayed out of the hardliners' circle and avoided destabilizing the balance, Fugaku could tolerate his methods.
"The rift between our clan and the village isn't easy to mend," Fugaku admitted after a pause. "The distrust runs deep."
Lance smiled calm, confident, and almost defiant. "I know. But that doesn't have to be a bad thing."
Fugaku blinked. "What do you mean?"
"At least it keeps us united," Lance said simply. "Before, the Uchiha were divided too many factions, too many rivalries. But now, people are beginning to stand together. As long as we don't cross the line, as long as we don't do anything the village can't tolerate, no one can touch us."
His voice gained strength as he spoke. "They can play their little games all they want. In the end, only a united and powerful Uchiha can earn a place in this village's council. The title of 'Clan of the Sharingan' wasn't given for nothing. We've earned it."
Fugaku sighed softly. If only things were as simple as you make them sound.
Since the day he became clan leader, he had tried everything to improve relations with the village, only to see the situation worsen year by year. After the Nine-Tails incident, the suspicion and isolation reached their peak.
He didn't voice his despair, but Lance understood it anyway.
"As long as you don't side with the hardliners or start a rebellion," Fugaku said at last, "I won't stand in your way."
Lance smiled faintly. "That's all I needed to hear."
I'd never harm the clan, he thought. But the village? That depends on what they do first.
If Hiruzen or Danzo decided to play their shadow games again, Lance had no problem making things difficult for them. He'd learned that constant submission only invited further oppression. Every inch you gave, your enemies would take a mile.
Meanwhile, chaos was spreading through the Uchiha compound.
News of the Sixth Elder's collapse spread like wildfire, and before long, the entire clan was buzzing with gossip. When the hardliners leaked Lance's words and the accusations he'd made against the dove faction the storm became unstoppable.
The Uchiha were furious.
Voices rose in outrage across the district. The so-called doves, once the advocates of peace and cooperation, were now being condemned as traitors.
Some hot-headed clansmen even began harassing members of the dove faction. Shisui, who was still reeling from his reassignment, suddenly found himself at the center of it all.
When he heard the news, he was stunned completely blindsided.
He had never imagined that everything the doves had fought for peace, integration, understanding would be twisted into something so dark. Now, the very people they'd tried to protect saw them as enemies.
And he wasn't the only one speechless.
In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk, rubbing his temples. His face was lined with exhaustion.
"What a mess," he muttered.
He had just ordered surveillance on Lance Shen, wary of the young man's growing influence. And now this an internal purge that had dismantled an entire faction of the Uchiha overnight.
How did Lance manage to do all this?
Even Hiruzen couldn't decide whether to admire or fear him.
Still, he frowned. That accusation was too severe. The doves weren't saints, but they weren't plotting to erase their clan either.
With their credibility destroyed, Shisui and the others had lost their ability to act. Without political standing, they would be excluded from every clan meeting, every decision-making circle.
And if Shisui couldn't attend those gatherings, how could he report anything back to the village?
It was a disaster.
To make things worse, Lance had successfully pushed to have Shisui removed from the Police Department, reassigning him to the tedious civilian complaints division a humiliating demotion.
And there was nothing Hiruzen could do.
It was an internal clan matter, beyond even the Hokage's direct authority. At best, he could offer subtle reminders or advice. But subtlety couldn't undo what had already been done.
All he could do now was watch as his most valuable Uchiha informant was cast aside.
A slow, rhythmic tapping broke his thoughts the sound of a cane striking the polished wooden floor.
Hiruzen sighed. He already knew who it was.
The door to the Hokage's office swung open without so much as a knock.
Bandages wrapped his right eye, arm, and leg; a wooden cane struck the ground with each step. Danzo Shimura entered with his usual air of restrained menace.
Only two people in Konoha would dare to barge into the Hokage's office without permission: Danzo, and Hiruzen's fiery disciple Tsunade.
Hiruzen lifted his gaze from the paperwork. "Danzo. It's late. What brings you here?"
"Don't play dumb, Hiruzen." Danzo's single visible eye glinted coldly. "You know what's happening with the Uchiha. The situation is spiraling out of control."
He stopped in front of the desk, his voice dripping with venom. "I told you long ago being gentle with them is a mistake. The Uchiha are dangerous. They always have been. You should have crushed them when you had the chance."
Danzo's tone hardened into a snarl. "Especially that boy Lance Shen. He's evil to the core!"
Hiruzen didn't respond immediately. He simply exhaled a long, tired breath, his eyes clouded with quiet unease.
Danzo's obsession with control was nothing new. But this time, Hiruzen couldn't shake the feeling that he might be right about one thing.
Lance Shen was no ordinary Uchiha.
And whatever his true intentions were, the winds in Konoha had already begun to change.