How Dare You Scheme Against Me! - Naruto: The Uchiha Manifesto

Training field corner.

"Stay away from Mikoto?"

Uchiha Ye gave a mocking smile when he looked at Uzumaki Kushina.

"On the contrary, Kushina-san, you should be the one to stay rational — after all, you may become the next Nine-Tails' jinchūriki!"

Boom!

Ye said it bluntly. Kushina's pupils shrank; the thing she least wanted to face had been ripped open in an instant.

Seeing the loneliness flash across Kushina's face as if he'd struck a raw nerve, Ye merely smiled indifferently.

"Don't worry. The Uchiha possess the strongest power; we won't rely on outside forces like you."

There was a proud tilt between his brows — very Uchiha. Ye also muttered inwardly: this was all part of the plan, because someone as guarded as Kushina is very hard to approach.

Not everyone gets a chance like Namikaze Minato, who could make the whole of Konoha stage a grand performance. In the original story, a few Cloud shinobi were able to sneak into Konoha, get past the police, ANBU, and Root, slip into the Senju compound, and even capture a hostage out of the village.

Tsk tsk!

Even more absurd, the Cloud shinobi who captured people strolled out openly, and these elite Cloud shinobi somehow weren't seen along the way.

Most absurd of all, they were smashed by Minato, who hadn't yet learned Flying Thunder God and was only roughly at chūnin strength.

"You—!"

Kushina's eyes flushed red. She glared at Ye in anger; her fiery temper was often just a disguise for inner fragility.

Ye, however, looked at her calmly.

"Kushina Uzumaki, your identity may be important, but Mikoto can convey the Uchiha's goodwill to you — you needn't overthink it. Instead, you should watch out for yourself. As the future Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, many will covet you or secretly try to influence the power behind you. Don't let anyone use you and then hurt Mikoto."

He flipped the pressure back on Kushina — indirectly urging her to be more cautious.

As the saying goes: what I cannot have, I won't let others have cheaply.

Besides, he trusted that Tsunade, who already had forewarning from him, would defend Kushina against similar opportunistic plots.

"Hmph! I don't need you to tell me that!"

Kushina snorted, made a hand seal, and the shadow clone dispersed. The red-haired figure who had been talking with Mikoto froze.

"Kushina? Are you all right?"

Mikoto asked with genuine concern. Kushina snapped back to composure and offered a sunny smile.

"Fine."

Their laughter echoed as Ye discreetly left.

…

Time flew; more than a month had passed since he returned from the Rain front.

Under the cover of night, the Hokage's office building was brightly lit.

Inside the meeting room, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane sat at the head of the table, their faces exuding an air of superior authority as they held the Jonin meeting.

"The Rain battlefield grows ever more tense and grim. On the surface, it's a war between the Land of Rain, the Sand Village, and us of Konoha, but in reality, it now involves the Five Great Shinobi Nations. The Cloud, Rock, and Mist villages covertly support the Rain Country and have dispatched elite squads… the Sand has declared war on us…"

It was the authoritative Sarutobi Hiruzen speaking solemnly, laying out the severity at the front. The attending jōnin all wore heavy expressions: though only the Sand had publicly declared war, the dirty underside showed the Ninja World War had already begun.

Previously, other nations hid their strength; at least that avoided wide-scale conflict. Now the Sand had declared war, and the Rain was involved.

A month had passed since Nawaki's incident. Tsunade seemed to have accepted reality. At the jōnin meeting, she glanced at Jiraiya, then rose and spoke gravely:

"First — for four-man teams that must operate alone inside enemy territory long-term, if we include one medical ninja in each squad, the team's survival and mission success rates will greatly improve…"

As Tsunade's firm voice echoed through the meeting room, many jōnin nodded inwardly.

Indeed, if a squad had a medical ninja, survivability and success would increase significantly. Tsunade had had such a medical plan prepared for some time, but it wasn't complete. The Third and others knew this; today, she presented a more developed medical ninja system proposal.

She didn't just propose battlefield measures — she suggested building medical institutions in the village and training more medical nurses. With Tsunade's polished system on the table, many senior ninja agreed. Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were sitting at the head of the table. These two exchanged a heavy glance toward Hiruzen.

Sarutobi inhaled, nodded slowly, and said: "Indeed, as you say, but during wartime, building a medical system costs too much time and money; enemies won't wait for us."

Tsunade's suggestion being rejected left her expression calm but inwardly suspicious. Jiraiya and Orochimaru noticed the oddness. Only Tsunade remained outwardly composed but inwardly resentful.

Although this was wartime, Konoha wasn't so impoverished that it couldn't fund a start to a medical system; they could invest small amounts now and be ready later. Could it be that the village truly didn't want a Senju (Tsunade's clan) to rise in influence?

"I support Tsunade's proposal."

Just then, a warm but resolute voice sounded: it was jōnin Kato Dan. The light-blue-haired Kato Dan stood in support of Tsunade's medical ninja system.

"I don't want the sacrifices up until now to be in vain. We should learn from our losses."

As Kato's firm words echoed, Jiraiya was surprised. When others voiced support, Tsunade's face changed into a dangerous smile.

"Tsunade, old man here isn't necessarily opposed — it's just the current battlefield situation…"

Jiraiya had assumed Tsunade's anger came from Hiruzen's refusal. But he did not realize that with Kato Dan speaking up, Tsunade's fury truly ignited.

"Fine! So they actually dare to scheme against me!"

First Nawaki, then this suspicious jōnin who suddenly raised the same point — everything feeding into a pattern. Tsunade suspected this was aimed at her and the Senju clan.

"Shut up!"

Answering Jiraiya's concerns, Tsunade inhaled deeply and then snorted coldly, scaring Jiraiya into an awkward smile — he dared not rile the she-tiger now. Tsunade was furious but also relieved: at least it wasn't Jiraiya or Orochimaru scheming against her.

"Kato jōnin, your argument is reasonable, but right now the village—" Hiruzen said, giving Kato praise for his love of the village, yet he had to note practical difficulties.

To Tsunade's eyes, the solemn faces of the three atop the hall — once her grandfather's pupils — now acting righteous, were only more bitter irony.

Summoning technique!

No one else noticed, but Jiraiya's eyes flashed suspicion: why was Tsunade using summoning here? If anyone else had, that would have required a strict investigation — who knows what information could leak? But this was Tsunade; it was different. Who would betray the village — but Tsunade, as a founding Senju, would never leak intel.

Chapter 17 - How Dare You Scheme Against Me!