Hatake Tatsuya in Naruto

What began as a minor incident with a few drunken troublemakers quickly spiraled out of control. On routine patrol, Uchiha guards responded by severely beating the drunks, and one of them was nearly killed in the altercation. This was no trivial matter, and hidden Anbu operatives intervened immediately, preventing the situation from worsening. In the end, both the guards and the troublemakers were taken into custody.

"Lately, Uchiha has been much more aggressive," Tsunade murmured when she received the report. Her right hand propped up her face, and she rubbed her temples as if the stress were already weighing on her. She was only days away from stepping down, yet here was another unsettling issue. It seemed that Namikaze Minato's promotion to Fifth Hokage had triggered deeper frustrations within the Uchiha than expected.

"Sister, do you think the Uchiha are planning something? I mean Uchiha are often reckless but do they have the courage to fight with us all?" Nawaki asked. Though he had confidence that the clan wouldn't try anything drastic, the tension leading up to the Hokage transition was making him uneasy. He and Tsunade had worked tirelessly to mend relations between the Uchiha and the rest of the village, but now it seemed like those efforts had barely made a dent.

Tsunade let out a weary sigh. "The police force is a thankless job; resentment builds quickly. As Tatsuya pointed out, this divide between Uchiha and the village has been ingrained since the early days. I can only try to keep things from getting worse."

She slumped over her desk, eyes drifting to the calendar on the wall. Five days until she would finally step down.

Tsunade's voice dropped as she stared out the window. "Grandfather tried so hard to unite the village, to bring peace between the clans. But for my great-uncle Tobirama, the wounds ran too deep. He blamed the Uchiha for the deaths of his brothers Itama and Kawarama. It's why he created the police force—to isolate them, to keep them in check."

Nawaki frowned. "But didn't that just fuel their resentment?"

"Exactly," Tsunade replied bitterly. "It was a temporary solution to a deeper wound, and Uncle... he was never one for forgiveness. His hatred wasn't just personal; it was calculated. He believed their emotions, their Sharingan, were a liability. But that kind of distrust—it echoes. Decades later, we're still dealing with the fallout."

Her gaze hardened. "We've made progress, Nawaki. But we're fighting against years of prejudice and pain. The Uchiha have pride, and that pride has been trampled on for generations. It's no wonder their frustrations are boiling over now, with Minato's promotion."

"You think Minato's appointment is the tipping point?" Nawaki asked.

Tsunade nodded. "The Hokage position has always been a symbol of power and unity, yet no Uchiha has ever held it. Every time a Senju, a Sarutobi, or even a Namikaze takes the role, it reinforces their feeling of being outsiders in the village they helped found. It's a dangerous mix of pride and alienation."

Nawaki leaned back, arms crossed. "So what do we do? Hope they don't explode?"

Tsunade's lips curled into a wry smile. "No, Nawaki. We keep an eye on them, but we don't provoke them. And we trust Minato to do what's right. He's young, but he has the heart and was chosen by that idiot Jiraya who has been looking for the child of prophecy. At least, I hope he does."

...

...

"It was a Shadow Clone," Shisui murmured from across the street as he and Itachi observed the police department. Today, they were tasked with monitoring Uchiha Fugaku, and they'd just watched him enter the building, Sharingan glowing with vigilance.

"How can that be!?" Itachi's voice betrayed his shock, his own Three Tomoe Sharingan reflecting disbelief. "My Sharingan didn't notice it?"

In other words, had his father been aware of his surveillance all along, using a Shadow Clone to throw him off?

"By carefully infusing a large amount of chakra distributed to the clone, it's easier to deceive those observing," Shisui explained grimly, his voice calm but heavy with concern. "Your Sharingan only recently reached the Three Tomoe stage, so it's understandable if you missed it. Even the most skilled Uchiha can be deceived by a well-crafted technique if the intent is to mislead."

Itachi's fists clenched tightly at his sides, his usually composed demeanor cracking under the weight of this revelation. If his father had known… did that mean he had never truly trusted him? The question gnawed at him, a seed of doubt taking root in his mind.

Shisui's face grew darker. "This means the patriarch might have known about your surveillance from the start. If that's true, Itachi… time is running short."

Itachi's gaze dropped to the floor as Shisui's words sank in. "Shisui… if he knew, then…" He hesitated, his voice wavering. "Do you think he ever trusted me? Even a little?"

Shisui's expression softened, but his reply was measured. "Fugaku-san is a complicated man, Itachi. He may not express trust the way we'd hope, but I believe in his own way, he saw your potential. That's why he tested you, why he watched you so closely. But right now, trust isn't the issue. It's what he's planning that we need to worry about."

Halfway through his sentence, Shisui abruptly turned to Itachi, his tone sharp and urgent. "Itachi, where do you think the patriarch could have gone? If he's taking precautions this extreme, he's likely moving forward with something significant. We need to find him before it's too late."

Itachi forced himself to focus, pushing his personal turmoil aside. "The clan meeting hall… no. He wouldn't risk drawing attention there. If he's planning something critical, it would be somewhere remote, somewhere only key allies would know about."

"Think, Itachi," Shisui pressed, stepping closer. "You know Fugaku better than anyone. If he wanted secrecy and security, where would he go?"

Itachi's teeth clenched so tightly that a drop of blood oozed from his lip. He was stumped. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't piece it together. Then, his gaze landed on a figure in the distance—Uchiha Tekka, a radical Jōnin within the Uchiha Police Department and one of Fugaku's closest confidants.

"Maybe we can get something out of him," Itachi said with a grim resolve.

"Itachi, you're considering confronting one of our own?" Shisui asked, momentarily stunned by Itachi's intent.

"This… this is to prevent more bloodshed," Itachi whispered, wiping the blood from his lip.

Shisui clenched his fists, hesitating only for a moment before he muttered, "Then let's do it."

...

...

A few hours later…

Naka Shrine, hidden beneath tatami mats on the outskirts of Konoha, lay in eerie silence. Suddenly—Boom! The ceiling shattered with an explosion. Uchiha Fugaku, standing alone and deep in contemplation before the ancient stone tablet, snapped his head up in shock. Through the wreckage at the entrance, a figure leaped down. It was his son, Itachi.

In Itachi's eyes, his three-tomoe Sharingan reflected a mixture of sorrow, reluctance, and anguish.

"How did you find this place, Itachi?" Fugaku asked, regaining his composure within moments, his gaze narrowing.

"I got it out of Uchiha Tekka," Itachi replied solemnly, without any attempt at concealment.

Fugaku's expression darkened, tinged with both disappointment and grief. "So… you've reached the point of attacking your kin, Itachi?"

"No, Father! It's you who have brought harm to our people!" Itachi's voice rose, trembling with frustration. "The path of a coup d'état is leading the Uchiha to ruin!"

Fugaku's face remained impassive, though his eyes hinted at conflict.

"Father, don't you understand? There's no sense in Uchiha fighting the village now! We stand no chance of victory!" Itachi's voice grew louder, his anger spiraling, almost frenzied by the end.

A few seconds later, Uchiha Fugaku turned back to face the stone tablet, his back to his son.

"The odds of winning are less than 10%… perhaps even smaller…" he said quietly. "But!" He suddenly spun around, his voice firm and resolute. "But even so, I—no, the Uchiha—will go through with it. It's been too long. The resentment among our people has reached its breaking point. We've decided: in five days, on the day Minato assumes the role of Fifth Hokage, we will launch our coup."

Fugaku's eyes hardened. "Living under this yoke, hollow and stripped of dignity, is no way to live. Better to perish with honor than continue as walking corpses."

He took a step toward Itachi, his gaze penetrating. "When you return, consider carefully where you stand. Will you join us to claim the honor that rightfully belongs to Uchiha, or will you stand with Konoha, against your clan?"

Itachi's eyes widened, shock registering as he absorbed his father's words. After a long pause, he replied slowly, "No… Father, this so-called glory of yours only leads the Uchiha to disgrace."

He gathered himself, desperation edging into his tone. "The chaos with the Nine-Tails eight years ago—it was orchestrated by Uchiha Obito, a man who should be dead! The Uchiha were wrongly accused, Father!"

He took a step closer, his voice pleading, "I know it sounds impossible, but it's the truth! Please, Father! There is still time to pull back!"

At the mention of "Uchiha Obito," Fugaku's entire body stiffened, a violent tremor passing through him.

A heavy silence fell between them.

Finally, in a voice barely above a whisper, Fugaku said, "It's too late, Itachi. Far too late… There is no going back now."

With that, Fugaku turned, revealing something he had never shown another soul before—a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan gleaming in his eyes.

---

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