Root HQ.
No sunlight. Ever.
Like tree roots buried deep underground, the corridors were a maze of damp, lightless chambers. The room felt more like a sewer junction than any place meant for humans.
Danzo Shimura sat wrapped in bandages like a mummy, leaning on his cane. His one visible eye was cold as he glared down at the man kneeling below.
"Ryoma," he said, voice like gravel. "With your skill, you couldn't even handle a freshly promoted Uchiha brat. I'm very disappointed in you."
The words were harsh. The tone was worse.
Root's discipline was infamously brutal. Their internal rules and punishments were designed to scare even hardened shinobi. A single failed mission could mean losing everything—identity, name, family, even the memory that you'd ever existed—before quietly vanishing from the world.
Around them, several Root operatives stood in silence.
When Danzo spoke, more than one of them couldn't help cutting a sympathetic glance toward the kneeling Aburame Ryoma.
"…I apologize, Danzo-sama."
Ryoma knelt on one knee, back straight, head bowed. His voice was respectfully calm—but his eyes, hidden behind his mask, held no hint of awe.
"Uchiha Sogetsu was extremely cautious," he said. "And halfway through, I sensed the Third Hokage's technique at work. I made the decision to abort the mission without orders."
Ryoma had seen a dragon.
After seeing that, how could he still tremble before some rat squatting in a gutter?
Danzo's face darkened. To be fair, his face was always dark. But now he seemed genuinely displeased.
Even so, he had no intention of crippling Ryoma.
Ryoma was his right hand—his sharpest blade in Root.
Just a minor failure, Danzo thought. I'll scold him, then when he begs to atone, I'll let him earn his credit back…
He waited for the apology. The plea. The vow to redeem himself.
Silence.
He waited longer.
Still silence.
The room felt so quiet Danzo almost wondered if he'd gone deaf.
"Ahem." He cleared his throat. "Ryoma… don't you have anything else you'd like to say?"
"Your subordinate failed to meet your expectations, Danzo-sama," Ryoma replied evenly. "I am willing to accept whatever punishment you deem fit."
"You—"
Danzo's wrinkled face twisted. For a moment he looked like he'd swallowed a bug.
He was spared from saying something undignified by another Root operative stepping in.
"Danzo-sama," the man said carefully, "I believe the failure wasn't entirely Ryoma's fault. Besides… the Hokage's intervention felt like a warning directed at us."
"…Hmph."
Danzo seized the excuse immediately, climbing down from his own pedestal with all the grace he could muster.
"In that case, we'll waive punishment this time."
He looked back down at Ryoma.
"Your assignment remains the same. Continue to monitor Uchiha Sogetsu. Report every move he makes—but do not act rashly for now."
"Yes, Danzo-sama."
Ryoma rose, gave a brief bow, and left the room.
Danzo watched his most trusted subordinate's back recede into the gloom. A vague unease pricked at him.
"An illusion…?" he muttered. "Why does it feel like Ryoma's… more distant?"
In the dark hallway, Aburame Ryoma's expression could not have been more different.
My choice was right, he thought, eyes burning with quiet resolve.
Just like Sogetsu-sama said, Danzo is nothing but a rat hiding in the sewers—too afraid of the light to stand in it.
Someone like that… doesn't deserve my loyalty. And he'll never give me the 'peace' I want.
"Sogetsu-sama," he whispered, voice firm, "I'll clear every obstacle from your path."
His eyes shone brighter and brighter in the gloom.
—
By the time Uchiha Sogetsu returned to the Uchiha compound, the sky was painted with sunset.
He'd barely stepped through the gate when he nearly collided with a woman in the hall.
"Sogetsu, you're back?" she said, smiling.
Uchiha Mikoto's belly was visibly swollen now. Happiness softened her features; she practically glowed. When she saw how exhausted he looked, though, worry crept into her eyes.
"Fugaku's been waiting a long time," she said. "He said he had something to discuss with you. But you look worn out… are you all right? If you're too tired, I can ask him to come back another day."
"I'm all right, Mikoto-sama."
Sogetsu forced a small smile, though his head still throbbed faintly.
His gaze dropped to her stomach.
If nothing goes off the rails, he thought, that should be the famous 'most dutiful son' of the Uchiha in there…
"But you should be careful," he said aloud, adopting his mildest doctor voice. "You're pregnant—you need to look after yourself."
"It's fine." Mikoto chuckled, one hand gently stroking her rounded belly. "This child still has a long way to go. I'll just be staying in the room anyway; I thought I'd keep Fugaku company while he visited you."
"Then I won't keep you standing."
Sogetsu bowed slightly.
"If Fugaku-sama's been waiting, I should see him right away. Excuse me, Mikoto-sama."
He slid the door open and stepped inside.
"You're back."
Uchiha Fugaku sat within, back straight, posture calm. When Sogetsu entered, Fugaku gestured toward the seat opposite.
"Sit. From the look of you, something happened?"
Right to the heart of it, huh?
Sogetsu looked at him for a moment, then quickly ran through his options.
He settled on half-truth.
"Yes," he said at last, letting bitterness and anger flash just enough in his eyes. "It seems my joining ANBU… upset a few people."
"Danzo?"
The faint glint in Fugaku's eyes was there and gone in an instant; his expression stayed as composed as ever.
"He made a move on you?"
From the color of Fugaku's aura, Sogetsu could tell easily.
You already knew.
Interesting. You knew and chose not to warn me…
For a clan head of Konoha's great power, you really aren't simple, Fugaku-sama.
Sogetsu let his fingers curl into fists, knuckles whitening as he played his part.
"That's right," he said, voice low. "It was Danzo. He tried to come for me… but for some reason he suddenly pulled back and left."
"Is that so…"
A strange light flickered in Fugaku's eyes.
He sighed.
"I didn't expect the Uchiha's situation to have become this precarious," he said softly. "We were once the greatest contributors to Konoha's founding. And now…"
His gaze turned distant.
"Now we've ended up like this. After the Senju were pushed aside, are we next?"
He left the last sentence hanging.
He didn't need to finish it.
"Fugaku-sama, you mean—"
Sogetsu widened his eyes, letting just the right amount of "shock" show on his face.
"…That's enough. Don't say it."
Fugaku reached out and clapped a hand on his shoulder, expression apologetic.
"This matter—I'll go to the Hokage myself," he said. "I'll ask him what Danzo thinks he's doing, and demand an answer for you."
"Fugaku-sama…"
Sogetsu let gratitude flicker over his features, then replaced it with worry.
"But… if you do that, won't Danzo resent our clan even more?"
"There's nothing more to say, Sogetsu."
Fugaku straightened his back. The quiet steel of a clan leader slid into his eyes.
"No matter what happens, you're one of us. For your sake—and for the clan's sake—I have to speak to the Hokage."
"…Thank you, Fugaku-sama."
Sogetsu bowed his head deeply.
"We're one family," Fugaku said, giving his shoulder another heavy pat. "We have to help each other."
He stood, then paused at the door.
"Also, you're a jonin now," he added. "You're entitled to attend our clan councils. Tomorrow, come to Naka Shrine. Don't be late."
"Yes, Fugaku-sama."
Sogetsu answered smoothly, though his thoughts were already racing ahead.
"All right. Rest well."
Fugaku put his "caring elder" mask back on, voice full of gentle authority.
"Remember—whatever happens, you're Uchiha. We stand together."
"I understand," Sogetsu said seriously. "I'll always be part of the Uchiha clan. After what happened today… I've finally seen clearly."
"Neither Danzo nor that man can be trusted."
"I'm glad you understand."
Fugaku smiled faintly, something secret flickering behind his gaze.
"Look forward to tomorrow, Sogetsu," he said. "The Uchiha clan you've seen up to now… is only the surface."
With that, he stepped outside.
Sogetsu watched through the doorway as Fugaku walked away, his arm around Mikoto's, the two of them chatting and laughing softly.
They looked every inch the perfect couple.
A slow, amused smile curved Sogetsu's lips.
So that's your real aim, Fugaku-sama.
You knew about Danzo and deliberately kept quiet.
Let Root make a move on me, then swoop in as the righteous clan head and "defend" me, push me farther away from the Hokage faction and deeper into the Uchiha camp…
In the manga, you looked so gentle. But in reality… your mind and your ambition are anything but soft.
Maybe the clan's future rebellion wasn't just "external pressure" after all.
Maybe the rot started on the inside, too.
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