Fugaku's eyebrows twitched, the weight that had pressed against his chest for years finally easing. Hiko's logic was brutal, but it was anchored in a truth Fugaku had been too afraid to voice: as long as Hiko didn't lead a coup, he could tear up the clan's outdated "roots" all he wanted.
"The conflict between the family and the village is a deep chasm, Hiko," Fugaku said, his voice heavy with caution. "The suspicion is old and rooted in blood."
Hiko smiled, a sharp, confident expression that made him look older than his years. "I know. But suspicion isn't a bad thing, Patriarch. It's a tool. In the past, we were weak because we were fractured—Doves fighting Hardliners while the village watched the show. But if we are united? If we are a singular, unbreakable wall that does nothing the village can legally condemn? Then they can't touch us."
"They will still play their games," Fugaku countered.
"Let them play," Hiko shrugged. "Tricks and shadows are for those who aren't strong enough to stand in the light. The Uchiha is the number one ocular power in the shinobi world. We aren't a minority to be 'managed'; we are a military superpower living within their walls. It's time we started acting like it."
Fugaku sighed. He had spent his life trying to be "accepted." Hiko was the first person to suggest that the Uchiha were simply too big to be ignored.
The Leaking Secret
While Hiko and Fugaku spoke, the Hardliners were busy. By sunset, the "Senju Charges" against the Dove faction had been leaked to every corner of the compound.
The Uchiha didn't just gossip; they exploded.
The idea that the Doves were actively trying to "dissolve" the Uchiha identity—to turn them into nameless commoners like the Senju—was treated as the ultimate betrayal.
"The Doves want us to forget our names!" "They're digging our graves while we sleep!"
Shisui, who had spent the afternoon preparing for his transfer, found himself walking through a gauntlet of cold stares and whispered insults. He was stunned. He had spent his life trying to save the clan, only to find himself branded a "root-digger." He realized that the "Will of Fire" he preached sounded increasingly like a eulogy to his kin.
The Hokage's Office
Across the village, Hiruzen Sarutobi was staring at a report with a mounting sense of dread.
He had intended to use Hiko as a way to pressure the clan, but Hiko had turned around and annihilated the village's only bridge—the Doves.
How did he do it? Sarutobi wondered, rubbing his temples. He didn't use a coup; he used an argument. He made 'loyalty to the village' look like 'treason to the blood.'
By moving Shisui to the Complaint Department, Hiko hadn't just insulted the boy; he had blinded the Hokage. Without Shisui in the Police Force, Sarutobi's best source of internal intel was now stuck filing paperwork for lost pets and angry farmers.
The rhythmic thump-clack of a cane echoed in the hallway. The door to the Hokage's office was shoved open without a knock.
Danzo Shimura walked in, his one visible eye burning with a cold, sickly light. His bandages seemed to tighten as he looked at Sarutobi.
"Sarutobi, don't pretend you aren't seeing the fire," Danzo rasped, his voice like grinding stones. "Uchiha is slipping through your fingers. I told you years ago: you cannot be gentle with a cancer. You must excise it. Especially this brat, Hiko."
"Danzo," Sarutobi interrupted, his voice tired but firm. "The Uchiha are still villagers. What Hiko is doing is an internal restructuring. As Hokage, I cannot interfere in clan politics without a legal cause."
"Internal restructuring?!" Danzo slammed his cane down. "He has neutralized our greatest asset in Shisui and unified the radicals! He is building a fortress within your walls!"
Sarutobi looked out the window toward the Uchiha district. "He is also making them more efficient. He is removing the friction. Danzo, do you know why we haven't 'excised' the Uchiha yet?"
Danzo went silent.
"Because they represent over ten percent of our Elite Jonin," Sarutobi said, his eyes narrowing. "If we push them to a civil war, we win—but Konoha dies with them. The Hidden Cloud and the Hidden Stone are wolves at the door. They would love for us to slaughter our own protectors."
This was the "Sovereign Deterrent" that Hiko understood perfectly. The Uchiha weren't just a clan; they were a tenth of the village's total military power. As long as they stayed united and "legal," the Hokage couldn't touch them without inviting total annihilation from the outside world.
"Hiko knows this," Sarutobi whispered. "He isn't planning a coup, Danzo. He's planning a stalemate."