Konoha Village, Uchiha Clan Compound.
The night was deep, and the clan compound was silent, save for the occasional passing of Guard Unit members on patrol. The sound of footsteps echoing through the empty streets only added to the oppressive atmosphere.
Inside Uchiha Setsuna's stone house, the candlelight was as small as a bean, illuminating the elder's wrinkled and slightly weary face.
He sat alone at a stone table with a cup of tea that had long since gone cold before him. He had no intention of drinking it, merely staring blankly at the flickering flame.
The Uchiha's situation had become even more difficult since Uchiha Shao Yu's defection.
The surveillance from Danzo's Root was like a maggot clinging to a bone. Within the clan, the Hawk Faction's restless emotions were being suppressed with an iron fist, and the rift with the Village deepened by the day.
Every time the higher-ups called the clan head and him for a talk, he could feel Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze—seemingly gentle, but actually distant and scrutinizing.
War had broken out again in the Land of Rain, and Konoha would inevitably send people there. How would the Uchiha be handled?
Would they be used as cannon fodder to be consumed, or kept in the rear under strict supervision? Neither option boded well for the Uchiha.
Just as Elder Setsuna's thoughts were in disarray...
In the corner of the room, his shadow, elongated by the candlelight, began to ripple violently like water without any warning.
"Who's there?!"
Elder Setsuna became instantly alert, his withered body springing up like a tensed bowstring.
A sharp light exploded from his cloudy old eyes as his Three-Tomoe Sharingan instantly activated. One hand pressed against a Kunai hidden at his waist while his Chakra surged, locking onto that abnormal shadow with a death grip.
Given his strength and perception, the fact that someone could infiltrate his room soundlessly—and through such a bizarre manner as a shadow—meant the intruder's strength was absolutely terrifying.
The shadow rippled even more violently, and then, a creature of singular form slowly rose from the darkness.
It was not human, but a strange creature about the height of an adult. It was covered in dark purple short fur, possessed a tiger-like head with sharp teeth, yet stood upright like a human. Its claws resembled human hands, and a long tail trailed behind it.
The quality and quantity of this Chakra was something Elder Setsuna had only felt from a very select few.
For example, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi in his prime.
This eerie Tiger-headed Monster actually possessed Chakra fluctuations comparable to a Kage-level ninja?!
Furthermore, the nature of this Chakra... cold, dark, and filled with an indescribable sensation, was completely different from any Ninjutsu or summoning beast he knew.
"What... are you?!"
Elder Setsuna's voice was dry. His Sharingan spun frantically, attempting to analyze the opponent, but it felt like looking at flowers through a fog; he could only sense that bottomless power.
His entire body was tensed, prepared for a fight to the death and ready to call for reinforcements.
However, the Tiger-headed Monster did not attack.
It merely glanced at Setsuna with its cold amber eyes. Then, with a retching sound from its throat, it opened its toothy maw and... spat out a neatly folded letter, protected by a special layer of Chakra so that it wasn't stained by a single drop of saliva.
Tiger Burial pinched the letter with its claws and held it out with stiff movements.
Elder Setsuna was filled with doubt and suspicion, staring intently at the letter and the Tiger-headed Monster.
The opponent seemed to have no hostility?
It came to deliver a letter?
The kind of person who could use such a bizarre and powerful creature to deliver a letter... Setsuna was shocked, and as his gaze swept over the letter, the faint Chakra mark on it made his heart shake violently.
Uchiha Shao Yu!
It was that clan genius who had already become an elder in Kumogakure! This bizarre and powerful creature was actually a messenger sent by Sho U?
But... Sho U, did you forget that our Uchiha Clan can send messages through Ninja Cats?
Considering that Sho U hadn't been exactly the brightest since he was a child, Setsuna figured he should remind him next time.
Setsuna took a deep breath, suppressing the shock and vigilance in his heart, and slowly reached out to take the letter.
It was cool to the touch, and the paper was tough. The Chakra mark remaining on it... indeed carried a hint of that familiar and unique aura belonging to Sho U, though it had become much deeper.
Seeing that the letter had been delivered, Tiger Burial did not linger. Its figure seemed to melt as it slowly sank into the shadows on the floor and vanished in an instant. The heart-palpitatingly massive Chakra in the room dissipated along with it, as if it had never existed.
Elder Setsuna did not relax immediately.
He maintained his Sharingan and carefully sensed every corner of the room. Only after confirming that the monster had truly left did he let out a long sigh, his back already drenched in cold sweat.
The pressure brought by that brief contact was not at all inferior to facing an enraged Danzo or the unfathomable Hiruzen.
He walked to the candlelight and carefully unfolded the letter. Inside was a cipher written in Sho U's own hand, using a code that only they, the Uchiha, understood.
In the letter, Sho U first briefly explained Kumogakure's views on the Land of Rain war and his own plans. Then, he highlighted a bold proposal.
He wanted Setsuna to take the initiative to arrange for the Konoha Uchiha's Hawk Faction elites...
...to be "sent" to the Land of Rain battlefield, where Sho U would then meet them at the appropriate time to transfer them to Kumogakure.
Uchiha Setsuna's hand holding the letter trembled slightly.
The massive impact of the letter's contents and the chain reaction it could trigger were unimaginable.
Actively sending the clan's most radical and capable young people to a battlefield where survival was nearly impossible, and then plotting their defection, was nothing short of a grand gamble.
If it succeeded, the Uchiha's future would have another layer of security, and Konoha's strength would be weakened.
If it failed, these elites would likely be wiped out entirely, or the defection plan would be exposed, bringing total destruction to the Uchiha remaining in Konoha.
Moreover, he had to personally push for this... to personally push his clansmen toward unknown danger, even if it was for a greater future, filled this weathered old man's heart with conflict.
He sat withered before the candlelight for an entire night.
The decades of oppression the Uchiha Clan faced in Konoha flashed through his mind, along with Danzo's sinister eyes... As the first light of dawn appeared, Uchiha Setsuna finally raised his head, the cloudiness in his eyes replaced by a sharp resolve.
He cautiously used the candlelight to burn the letter to ashes, watching the last wisp of blue smoke dissipate.
He decided to agree to Sho U's proposal.
However, as for the specific operation, he had to be even more shrewd.
"We cannot directly request to go to war..."
Elder Setsuna narrowed his eyes, recalling Sho U's warning in the letter and combining it with his own understanding of Konoha's leadership.
"That would be too deliberate. Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura are suspicious by nature, especially toward the Uchiha."
"If we show a strong desire to participate in the war, they will instead suspect we have other motives. They might even use the opportunity to completely exclude us from the core combat forces or place us under even stricter surveillance."
He paced slowly, calculating in his heart.
"On the contrary... if the Uchiha show resistance and concern about participating, or even secretly collude to express dissatisfaction, believing that the leadership is trying to kill us with a borrowed knife to consume the Uchiha..."
"Then, given the personalities of Danzo and those Advisors, they will instead be more determined to push the Uchiha onto the battlefield. They will see it as a perfect opportunity to test the Uchiha."
Once Uchiha Setsuna made up his mind, he began his secret and efficient operations.
Following that, a carefully designed "double act" was performed before the Konoha leadership.
First, the Uchiha Clan head, Tenjima, took a stance of sharing the Village's burdens and proving the Uchiha's loyalty. He formally submitted a written request to Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, hoping the Uchiha Clan could mobilize their elites to participate in the imminent Land of Rain war and contribute to Konoha.
The wording of this request was earnest, listing the Uchiha Clan's combat advantages and expressing a willingness to take on the most arduous tasks. On the surface, this appeared to be a family eager to integrate and earn trust by taking the initiative.
However, when this request was submitted to the Hokage Office and mentioned during a small-scale high-level meeting, Elder Uchiha Setsuna "accidentally" burst into the meeting, expressing his adamant opposition with great emotion.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi, Uchiha Tenjima, this must not happen!"
Uchiha Setsuna's hair and beard bristled, his face filled with deep concern and anger.
"The war in the Land of Rain is dangerously unpredictable. Sunagakure has just been defeated, Iwagakure is watching like a tiger, and Hanzou is famous for his poison and strength. Sending the clan's elites to such a perilous place at this time... isn't that just sending my Uchiha boys to their deaths?!"
He turned to Uchiha Tenjima, looking heartbroken.
"Clan head, you are confused! Our Uchiha Clan has performed great service for Konoha, yet we are constantly stationed on the fringes and treated with suspicion."
"Now that the Village finally has a war and needs to be united, you take the initiative to send our clansmen into that meat grinder of a battlefield? How am I supposed to explain this to the worried people in the clan? This is clearly... cutting off our own arms!"
Advance chapter available on pãtrêon Got1808