Shisui's death changed the Uchiha clan. When we got home from our onsen vacation and during the subsequent days following the mourning period, the clan embraced Fugaku's advice of leaning into our community. Fan crest paper lanterns were decoratively strung up over the canopy of the compound. The flower beds were replanted and public street events were held around the district showcasing Uchiha Fire Style Jutsu and cultural demonstrations like the drumming our ancestors performed during the warring states period.
Neighbours helped single parents who'd lost their spouse in shinobi missions with household chores and childcare. Seniors were accompanied on nearby shopping trips to have their grocery bags carried. Children ran around with joyful laughter chasing dogs, jumping into the lake and sharing mochi milk balls. Teenagers crouched behind corridors of walls to have their first kiss or sneak a cigarette puff. Boys attending the specialist Uchiha school grew their black hair long, as was traditional for Uchiha males.
Itachi started spending more time with Izumi. She'd been unfairly shunned by the clan since her genjutsu incident and was blamed for the renewed hostility towards us. But she'd found refuge in him and he finally had someone his own age to relate to. Whenever he was free from a mission, he'd practice Sharingan control with her after her school concluded for the day. He even made her comfortable enough to venture back into The Village. I saw them downtown together one day. They were holding hands while chatting and strolling across the central red bridge. I hadn't seen either of them so relaxed in a long time. Something was blossoming between them. It warmed my heart.
Loss had brought life back to our clan. The weekend after Shisui's passing, Fugaku brought in a notable Uchiha orator to speak to the clan and boost morale. Everyone dressed smartly in traditional black, indigo and navy blue fan crest attire, then assembled in the central courtyard around the speaker as he passionately preached to us:
"Hear me, hear me. Sons and daughters of Indra Otsutsuki. Warriors of the rolling hills and valleys of Naka- the Southern Joy. Carriers of the legacy of Ninjutsu. The emotional heartbeat of this nation. Remember who you are. Disappear your doubt and despair. Tame the winds that batter your soul and fan it across this community with the fire conjured from your breath. In the spaces between quiet and chatter, in the gaps between tears and laughter, look at the people around you and see your reflections, your creations. This is where healing begins. Notice who you have. Uchiha dojutsu is born from fierce love. Lift your heads up to the darkened sky and illuminate the moon with your brilliant eyes again. Have hope that we will be reborn from the ashes of pain, our fire can never be extinguished. Long live Uchiha! "
The rousing speech drew loud cheers and fists in the air from the crowd. The atmosphere was infectious. Uchiha pride was at an all-time high. But, as much as I loved seeing the clan come together, something else was simmering below the surface of this positive shift.
The Uchiha district was crowded. While the compound was always bustling with activity at any given time, it now felt fuller than usual. I soon realised that most clan members were no longer leaving the district and going into the Leaf Village. This was made more apparent one morning during breakfast when Fugaku told me he'd be working late and to not prepare his dinner that evening.
"I have dozens of permit applications to process and building unit inspections to conduct. This ensures each business type has the facility they need," he said, gathering his papers.
"Are people opening new businesses in our district?" I asked.
"No, these are existing Uchiha family businesses who wish to relocate their establishments back into our clan area."
I looked over some of the applicants. A garment shop that supplied Leaf Villagers with personalised clothing, a kenjutsu master who created custom-made Katana swords and other ninja weapons, as well as a food stall, and a traditional medical clinic were among the Uchiha businesses that were applying to set up shop back in our district.
I bit my bottom lip, the clan was becoming ever more isolated and closed off from the rest of Konoha. It started to affect the popular Senbei shop operated by senior couple Teyaki and Uruchi Uchiha. Their stall was famous throughout the Village. People from all over lined up to purchase snacks for their families. But now they begrudgingly turned away non-Uchiha customers after receiving clan intimidation.
One day, there was a scuffle at the entrance between some older Uchiha teenagers and Leaf Villagers hoping to buy from the Senbei shop.
"Get out of here, get the hell out!" yelled the Uchiha teens.
"No matter," sneered one of the Village boys while he backed up with his hands in the air, "Nobody wants your lame rice crackers anyways if Uchiha's are going to act so stuck up."
"That's right, get out of here, and tell all your Senju friends they're no longer welcome here."
I pulled the Uchiha boy to the side. "What are you doing? You have no right turning people away from our compound."
"The writings on the wall my lady. This is our home, our safe space. We don't them around here anymore and they should know it."
Many of the children left with heads lowered in disappointment. A little girl with pastel pink hair lingered behind and peered around. I recognised her as one of Sasuke's classmates. "Can I just get some Senbei for my mother?" she asked, but nobody listened and continued to scurry out.
I strolled over to the stall and bought a whole bag before following her out of the compound to a nearby playground.
"Hi there," I said gently bending lower.
The girl turned around. "Wow, you're beautiful," she breathed, gazing up at me with her pale green eyes.
"Oh you are so sweet, thank you," I chimed, "Here you go. For your mother." I handed her the plastic bag of Senbei.
"Thank you, ma'am."
The wonder never left her eyes. She slowly reached for my long hair hanging low over my shoulder.
"Sakura dear it's not polite to touch a woman's hair without asking," came someone from behind.
The girl rolled her eyes and sighed. "Sorry Mom," she sang before handing her mother the bag of snacks and running off.
"Sorry about that. My Sakura gets so excitable by beauty," said a woman with dark blonde hair and wearing a qipao-style dress.
"No worries, my mother was quite the same actually."
"Thank you for the Senbei. I'm Mebuki Haruno," she said, shaking my hand.
"Mikoto, ummm…Uchiha." I finished apprehensively unsure if introducing my family name would elicit a different response from the charming woman.
"Oh, of course, you're the noblewoman Jounin. Shikaku Nara told me and some of the other mothers about your shinobi skills. Wouldn't expect any less from the legendary Uchiha clan." she bowed deeply.
"Please, that's not necessary," I said.
"Well, it's still nice to meet you Mikoto. I pray we can meet again properly and re-establish good relations with the Uchiha."
But her prayers fell on deaf ears. A few days before the clan conclave assembly, dozens of Uchiha parents began de-enrolling their children from The Academy. Sasuke was one of the few Uchiha children who still attended. The rest would now go to the specialist Uchiha Jutsu Dojo school.
There had been conspiracies floating around for over a decade that Leaf Village leaders wanted to steal our visual prowess to empower themselves or to use it against us. Shisui's death only legitimised those fears. Even I had fallen prey to my baser instincts after he was discovered in Nakano River, believing my sons were in danger.
This renewed insulation and pullback from the Leaf Village didn't bode well. While we Uchiha had a reputation for keeping to ourselves, we still wanted to participate in society at large. Marginalisation had fueled the anti-government resentment. I was afraid to find out where it would lead.
The Uchiha Conclave Assembly
Fugaku woke early and left to prepare for the day. Much to his frustration, Itachi chose to take off on his ANBU mission without a moment to reconsider. As mid-morning came, I strolled along with Sasuke to Nakano Shrine. We joined the streams of other clan members pouring into the area and marching up the stone steps. Nakano Shrine had been arranged to accommodate all the politically active clan members and a few elders to act as neutral witnesses. The meetings were the most important political gathering on the Uchiha event calendar. Our most pressing issues were discussed and their solutions debated and voted for. This sparked both intrigue and suspicion among Leaf Village leaders. However, we were guaranteed complete privacy without interference as promised by the Hokage. No non-Uchiha or Village surveillance could get past the door seal of Nakano Shrine's basement anyway.
After we passed through the torii gate entrance, Izumi's mother Hazuki greeted us at the mid-section of the staircase. She'd volunteered to supervise the children sitting around the shrine steps today. Sasuke held tightly onto my waist as I dropped him off.
"Sasuke, it's been a while," she chirped. "Wow, you've really grown into your features. You are your mother's twin."
"Thank you," he said, beaming up at us shyly as I lightly pinched his chin. He went over to sit by Yashiro's son playing with a toy set.
"Sasuke also bears an uncanny resemblance to Izuna Uchiha," added Hazuki, "Surely he's the rebirth of our first leader's brother?"
As proud as I was of our history, the clan's fixation on our lineage felt obsessive at times. Every generation hoped we'd become reincarnations of our formidable ancestors. "He is his own gentle free spirit. I'll be happy if he can just be himself forever."
From the corner of my eyes, I noticed Yashiro speaking to a young woman several steps above us. She was the woman with the blunt cut bob who'd asked about Shisui's missing eyes at Fugaku's statement. Yashiro put his hand on her back as she fixed her spectacles and they chuckled together. I bowed to Hazuki and walked up to him as the woman left.
"I guess having a faithful wife doesn't mean much when you can just butter up someone young enough to be your daughter to endorse your dirty political work," I said to Yashiro.
"Must be sobering to realise you're no longer the hot young thing in the clan and new girls have taken your place. What do you want, Mrs Fugaku?" he taunted.
"I want you, Tekka and Inabi to stop spying on Itachi. Leave him alone."
He scoffed at me. "Everything that we commissioning officers do is in the clan's interests, which includes internal investigations. Can you say the same for Itachi? I heard he's not even here today. Seems he's no longer interested in being a steward for the Uchiha. Too busy playing lap dog for the Hokage and his council."
"Watch what you say about my son," I hissed, narrowing my eyes at him, "I'm warning you, old man. You three don't want to provoke me or Itachi for that matter."
Yashiro stared at me for a while as his face grew serious. "Did you know Itachi was unlawfully promoted to captaincy? He now works under the authority of Danzo's secret ANBU faction. They quietly forged his age up to make it happen."
I couldn't keep the incredulous surprise hidden in my eyes that he immediately caught onto.
"Hmmm...I don't think Captain Fugaku knows either. Tell me, if Itachi had to choose between the Village and the clan, what would his answer be? Think about that."
He walked away and disappeared up the steps. I let out a heated breath. Yashiro's investigation was terrifyingly effective. To think, the classified information hinted to me by Kakashi would be verified by him. Even more concerning was confirmation that Danzo indeed has his own ANBU faction and Itachi truly was involved with them.
I buried my thoughts as I entered Nakano Shrine. There was no time to dwell on them as clan members began filing into the main hall and down into the basement room until it was at capacity. The clan elders sat at the back of the main platform while I stood behind Tekka, Yashiro and Inabi sitting in front, facing the audience.
As clan leader and presiding officer of this assembly, Fugaku would be the last one seated at the centre. He bowed to the shrine maidens outside before sealing the basement door closed. As he walked up the aisle and took his seat, the torches of the room lit up in a comfortable glowing fire.
"My fellow Uchiha," he began, "we are gathered here today to collectively decide the next course of action to resolve our dissatisfaction with the Leaf Village Leadership. We are now at a turning point in our clan's history. We've exhausted almost every possible avenue to reach an amicable agreement. Every major or minor incident results in conflicts and rising tensions between Uchiha and other Leaf Villagers. I feel your frustrations, I carry them with me every day. Our situation is unsustainable. It's time to implement big changes. So, every group will get a chance to present their proposals. That is how we will discover the best ideas and solutions to vote on. The first group can now speak."
A woman stood up from the crowd and unrolled a scroll to read from. "My name is Tomoko Uchiha and I'm representing the Separatist Movement. Our proposal is simple - we separate from The Leaf Village and become a fully autonomous, independent nation."
My heart dropped. I couldn't believe that this was one of the proposals brought forth. Sentiments towards the Leaf Village were far worse than I imagined.
She continued "Descendants of the Senju spread damaging ideology about the Uchiha having a 'curse of hatred' to instill fear against us with their unfounded prejudice. They've justified our persecution with their beliefs that we're emotionally unstable people who can't handle loss and are prone to betrayal. The Senju's have advocated for our exclusion for decades. This current administration carries out the will of the scummy Second Hokage and Danzo Shimura against us."
The air of discontent was now rife in the room as people whispered among themselves.
"After the Nine-Tails Incident almost a decade ago, the Uchiha were banished from Konoha politics, despite no evidence or charges proving one of us was behind the attack. We have no authority in policy-making, governance, legislation, or the ninja military in the Leaf Village. As it currently stands, there are zero Uchiha with a seat in the Feudal Lord's office. No Uchiha has ever been selected as Hokage. Only two Uchiha were selected for the ninja rank of ANBU, Shisui now gone, may he rest in peace, and Itachi who initially faced apprehension at his appointment because he was an Uchiha. There are no benefits for our clan to stay in Konoha, so we propose independence. Thank you."
She sat down. A mellow applause followed, which relieved me. The proposal didn't receive the best reception so there was a least a good chance clan members wouldn't support it.
"Any responses?" asked Fugaku.
"Yes, my name is Shigeru Uchiha," said a man standing up, "I have no group affiliations but I'd like to point something out. Separating from the Leaf would be a disaster for this clan. We'd lose all political influence with our allies and break economic ties and partnerships that we've built for decades. More importantly, we will become an open target for attack. Here's an example: when shinobi from The Hidden Cloud Village tried to obtain the Byakugan by kidnapping the noble Hyuga clan child, it was Leaf ninja who came to the rescue. The same thing with the former Nine Tails jinchuriki saved by the late Fourth Hokage Minato. The Leaf Village provides us with protection from the rest of the shinobi world. That is only one of the benefits."
"Your information is incorrect Shigeru," came someone from the Separatist group. "The Hyuga clan child was rescued by a family member. Plus we are a warrior shinobi clan led by our 'wicked eye' lord and our lady dubbed the 'princess of fire' during the war. We also have a wealth of assets all over The Land of Fire to establish trade deals with smaller nations wary of the Five Great Shinobi Nations. We don't need The Leaf Village to protect us or for financial security."
There were murmurs of impression and intrigue as people mulled over the counterargument.
"Second group, it is now your turn," announced Fugaku.
A man stood up and cleared his throat. "Hello, my fellow Uchiha. My name is Toshiki Uchiha, and I represent the group of interests that are, well, the direct opposite of the Separatists. I guess you can call us Integrationists. Thus, our proposal is full integration. We move into the Leaf Village and live blended among the people. Then we open up our clan area as a cultural site preserving our heritage for the rest of the Village to visit."
The room was silent. With no reactions, he kept reading without pause.
"Many clans such as the Hatake, Namikaze and Sarutobi have dissolved a designated area in which only they live, to assimilate into a shared national identity of Konoha. This was the original dream of the founders. Therefore, when we become one and finally belong, they won't have to fear us anymore. Trying to steal the Uchiha dojutsu would be akin to someone stealing from a neighbour or their own military. Ladies and gentlemen, let's turn our segregation into integration and prosperity. Thank you."
Almost immediately, loud boos and jeering swelled up in the room. I wasn't surprised. The clan had always operated semi-autonomously. Very few had ever been willing to put the Village first and abandon the clan system. Uchiha pride was obstinate.
"Quiet everyone," came Fugaku's booming voice to settle everyone down. "You have firmly expressed your opinions on that proposal. We will have the next speaker from the third group now."
The young woman with the blunt bob and spectacles stood up. Yashiro winked at her and she blushed. His wife was sitting among the crowd, head bowed.
"My name is Rei Uchiha. I'm twenty years old and I represent the Uchiha youth group. Our oldest member is twenty-four. The youngest? Six years old. We are the future of this clan so our voice is important. I was around Itachi's age when I was orphaned by the Nine Tails Attack. My teammates at The Academy rejected me when the Uchiha clan was blamed even though I'd lost my parents too. See, I wasn't the perfect victim to them. But that's okay; I didn't need The Leaf's botched ninja education system and legacy of that bum Second Hokage. It doesn't nurture true Uchiha shinobi abilities anyway."
There was a buzzing hum of conversation and debate. She paused until there was silence again.
"What we as the Uchiha political youth desire is a permanent and impactful change that inspires our hope for the future. We share the same dream: to leave this tiny cramped corner in the shadows and move back to the Village centre so we can take our place as its leaders. Konoha will never trust us, we can't change that. Therefore, they will never reinstate our positions in government. Freedom cannot be given, no, it must be fought for and seized by the oppressed. We of the Uchiha youth support the amazing Yashiro Uchiha's proposal which you will all hear about next. Thank you."
"Comments to that?" asked Fugaku.
"Taking children out of The Academy only weakens our military might," said one of the integrationists. "It makes it easier for one of the other Great Nations, even unaligned and suspicious small villages such as the Sound or Rain Village to infiltrate and destroy us in the future. We've lost so much shinobi power from Shisui's death as it is. Why not earn our way back into government by proving our loyalty to the Village? Like Kagami Uchiha, like Shisui, like Itachi."
"Lord Fugaku was considered for the position of Fourth Hokage," replied Rei Uchiha confidently, "But it was once again given to a Senju descendant, the Yellow Flash, despite our lord more than proving himself during the Third Great Shinobi War and with his years of clan leadership experience. They're only willing to give exceptional Uchiha a chance if they solely benefit from it. We can't all be generational talents like Itachi, Shisui and Kagami. There's nothing more the rest of us can do to prove ourselves. Neither our loyalty nor our skills."
After a moment of silence, Fugaku Spoke again. "Okay, final group, you're up."
Yashiro stood up from his seat and strode down to the aisle. Tekka and Inabi nodded at him.
"I'm Yashiro Uchiha. Most of you in this room are already aware of this proposal from our previous meetings. It was only briefly outlined then as we had yet to determine its viability. Now we are ready to announce it as a fully formed idea. Our proposal has been supported by the Military Police Force, Captain Fugaku, Uchiha Chunnin shinobi and many of you unaffiliated individuals."
My stomach knotted when he mentioned Fugaku. Anything that made Yashiro this pompously gleeful was bad news.
"Let me start off with a statement: We have been negotiating with Leaf Village officials on your behalf since we were relegated to this fringe district. Year after year, no progress was made. Yet, we are spied on like common enemies and now, it seems, the Village wants our dojutsu but not us. My fellow Uchiha, there is no more time left for negotiating. If we don't take action, more of us will end up like Shisui. Mysterious deaths and missing eyes. The Konoha Military Police Force was created to appease us. All policies set by the jealous and hateful Second Hokage - may he never rest in peace -
Ripples of laughter bubbled throughout the room.
-were meant to undermine our power. But our dojutsu in all of its evolved forms is the most powerful in the known shinobi world. If you can fully read the stone tablet, you'll know what I'm talking about. If you can't well…stay tuned."
"That's right!" exclaimed Tekka. "The Separatists would have us abandon what is already ours. Integrationists would turn us into obedient mutts. There is another solution."
Yashiro stopped with a smirk. His obnoxious pontificating was deeply aggravating to watch.
"We take back what's ours and permanently end the history of our persecution. We correct the treachery of our great-grandparents who refused to take a stand against the Senju with our first leader. We stop hiding behind niceties and end this parasitic relationship with the Leaf. I will show you our proposal in a genjutsu demonstration, so by your personal permission, everyone look into my eyes and watch."
Inabi waved his hands in the air to dim the torch-lit fires. Yashiro's Sharingan activated in a bright beam and we were all pulled into his mind's illusion.
It started with the jinchuriki boy. Naruto Uzumaki was crying alone in a field as everyone had abandoned him without a care of his whereabouts or wellbeing.
The pit of my stomach was churning. Yashiro's palpable bloodlust for a child was overbearingly evil, I could barely stand on two feet as it pulsated through his depraved fantasy.
Naruto's gentle eyes steeped in wonder turned to delight as grownups he didn't know finally took an interest in him, not knowing their true intentions until they bound and gagged him and threw him over their shoulder.
I was sickened that anyone could ever relish in taking advantage of a neglected child and betraying his trust. Yashiro was a bigger monster than I feared.
Three shadowy men loomed above Naruto, only their glowing crimson eyes were visible as they tied him to an altar surrounded by seals. They couldn't extract the Nine Tails tightly locked in the boy's body. So, they would forcibly pull it out. The boys' cries of agony fell on uncaring deaf ears. His bones began to shatter. His jaw and throat dislodged from his face as the demon fox chakra slowly bled out of his breaking mouth. His tearful blue eyes were twisted and deranged in torture as he choked on his own air.
I fell to my knees trying not to throw up.
The Nine-Tailed demon fox came out and Sharingan eyes trapped it in a genjutsu immediately. The jinchuriki's un-mourned and mangled body was tossed in the dirt. The demon fox furiously whipped and gnashed its tails about The Village under the Sharingan's command. Uchiha shinobi restrained the Leaf Village higher-ups, and using kenjutsu, slit the throat of the Hokage and mentally damaged the minds of his counsel and ANBU with an advanced genjutsu.
My Sharingan activated and I sent a powerful wave pulsing through the hall. Yashiro's genjutsu broke immediately.
"Enough. Of this. Madness," I hissed through gritted teeth.
Tears shone in my eyes. My fingers curled into fists as my body shook while glaring at Yashiro. He looked back at me with a deadpan face. I wanted nothing more than to scream and grab him by the neck and toss him into the next room. I wanted to tell him how sadistic and despicable he was for even conceiving of such thoughts.
"Lady Mikoto!" came Tekka in an outraged yell and standing up, "You are disrupting a democratic process. Everyone has the right to showcase their proposals. There is no space for judgement here."
I ignored him and kept my unblinking crimson eyes squarely on Yashiro.
"No matter. I think everyone got the gist of our plan," he said before pausing, "to instate Captain Fugaku as the first Uchiha Hokage. A coup d'etat."
Thunderous clapping and deafening cheers of agreement rang from the crowd. The pungent lust for revenge and retribution hung in the air.
"We will now break for recess to marinate on our thoughts. Discuss what you've heard with comrades, then we will return to take a vote. Nobody leaves beyond the main hall of the Shrine." called Fugaku.
The crowd noisily shuffled out of their seats, already engaging in fervent talks. I covered my mouth, dizzy with disgust and fury at what I'd witnessed. Fugaku came up to me. "Come with me," he whispered and took my waist to pull me away into an empty room behind the platform wall.
I threw his hands off me as soon as we were alone.
"A coup Fugaku? Have you lost all common sense? This is high treason punishable by execution, expulsion, or life imprisonment."
"They have forced our hand Miko, we have our backs against the wall. I believe this proposal is a calculated risk that will be worth it in the end," he uttered, turning away from me.
"A risk that guarantees you and co-conspirators are arrested at minimum if you fail. Am I supposed to raise our shinobi sons to look up to their Police Chief father while he dishonourably sits in prison?" I hissed.
"We will develop a strategy that only guarantees our success. It doesn't have to lead to excessive violence either. I have the means to do this with minimal bloodshed."
"You can't actually believe that. The Hokage, his council, Leaf Village shinobi and other clan leaders will not take this lying down. They will fight back with full force and destroy us forever. There's no coming back from this."
"We know what we're up against. Otherwise, we wouldn't consider this path as a realistic pursuit. At least give us that credit."
"Then you accept the possible repercussions of this? You being an illegitimate Hokage, a conflict that could lead to civil war, destabilise this whole region and expose the Leaf to attack from other nations? Possibly inspire other rebellions and even begin a new shinobi world war!"
He said nothing to me. My lungs felt on the brink of bursting with how much I yelled. "It's not like you to consider such extremist views. Are you so eager for power that you didn't earn? The people of this Village will never accept you as their true leader if you take over like this."
Fugaku turned back to stare at me, his breathing hard and rapid. "Do you think I wanted to give up my dream?" he yelled hotly, "Are you forgetting that there was no fair pathway to Hokage-ship for me!? There was no way for me to earn that position. It's because of the blood running through my veins, our veins, our children's veins that they fear and suspect. The Uchiha blood."
I shook my head and swallowed back tears. "It's hard to measure sentiments but believe me, not everyone thinks the way Danzo wants them to. People in this Village respect you as Police Chief. But a coup will throw all of that away and bring the Uchiha name to shame. There has to be a peaceful resolution to—
"ENOUGH!" he roared, slamming his fist against the wall which made me jump. In all our years together, he'd never silenced me.
"I've deliberated over this a hundred times in my head. This is the closest we've been to the Village centre in generations. Who knows when we'll ever get another chance of an Uchiha making it to ANBU when they didn't trust us there in the first place? Shisui's death was our final straw. We have one chance left. My choices would be different if Minato were still alive as the Hokage. But times have changed. The salvation of our people now rests in my hands," he breathed.
Tears stung the corners of my eyes. "If you or any of your commissioning officers harm even a hair on Naruto Uzumaki…I will leave you."
He stopped.
"And I will take the boys with me."
"Mikoto…you'd break our family up? You'd take our children away from me? You'd choose that demon-hosting child...over me? Have the past fourteen years together meant nothing to you?"
His voice grew thinner with every sentence. Mine was on the brink of breaking.
"I won't allow Sasuke to be part of the darkness that you've so callously exposed Itachi to since he was four years old. I failed to protect Itachi from your ambitions but I won't let it happen to our youngest."
"I did what was necessary to show him the harsh realities of this world. It conditioned him into the perfect shinobi he is today."
"There's nothing you can say to make this justifiable, Fugaku. I will not be involved in the brutal murder of a child - my dead friend's child - and the destruction of this Village that I have risked my life trying to safeguard, that my comrades have died to protect. I will not betray their sacrifice!"
"If you won't participate, then stand aside and let us take action. No more negotiating. It's time to choose a side. I must honour what will be the unanimous decision of our people. Miko, please don't make me have to regard you as a traitor to the Uchiha clan."
He looked at me straight in the eyes. I desperately searched for a hint of doubt in his. But there was none. I wished he'd at least shown some uncertainty, regret, or guilt. But this was all him. Unwavering and resolute. At that moment I didn't know who he was. His were the eyes of a stranger.
"I'm deeply ashamed of what has transpired in these halls today. It's like I don't know any of you at all. Don't speak to me after this," I whispered in a choke, "I need time to settle my thoughts and explore options for myself."
"Mikoto, please…" he begged.
I turned on my heel to walk out of the room, leaving him staring in my wake.
The rest of the proceedings were a blur to me. Back in the basement room, a shrine maiden offered me a ballot paper to cast my vote as I returned. I declined it. Every other clan member voted upon reentry and returned to their seats eagerly awaiting the final results.
Once the votes were tallied by quick use of Sharingan, Fugaku stood up again and cleared his throat.
"It has been decided. The Uchiha clan will overthrow the existing leadership of Konohagakure and take over political control. We will attempt a coup d'etat."
The crowd jumped to their feet for another round of roaring cheers, triumphant fists in the air and approving handshakes. Their faces were distorted by malicious glee and a sinister hope. During my time as a Jounin, I'd heard this sound and pictured its scene countless times. What often followed was civil unrest, land invasions and eventually, declarations of war. Traumatic memories of the Third Great Shinobi War filtered into my mind.
I was the only person who left immediately as the door seal of the basement room was undone. My legs refused to break into a run as I'd wished. So I stiffly trudged along the halls alone with the sounds of the cheering basement room following me.
Just before the Nakano Shrine main hallway exit, I peered up at the imposing portrait of our first founding leader. His glaring and stoic crimson eyes, jagged black hair, and maroon armour made him an arresting figure.
Madara Uchiha.
The most powerful shinobi our clan had since known, unrivalled. He had bestowed The Village its name - Konohagakure no Sato, and now his people sought to claim ownership and control all of what he'd partly created - just as he'd desired. A shiver ran down my spine. His will and legacy still rang loudly in these halls.
Finally outside, I put a drowsy Sasuke onto my back so he could nod off and I could get us away from the Shrine quicker. As I jogged down the steps, my mind was scanning through the years of Uchiha discontent. Where did it all go wrong? How could I have missed the warning signs within the clan? With Fugaku? When we started our lives together, the world made a little more sense. Now, the decades of slighted anger, stagnant social changes and suppressed grudges had culminated in plotting an insurrection.
Fugaku's words echoed in my mind.
"The Uchiha clan will overthrow the existing leadership of Konohagakure and takeover political control. We will attempt a coup d'etat."