Chapter 62: My Son is Your Father

A week later, the Uchiha ninja who had been sent on a solo mission was overdue. The Uchiha clan finally realized something was wrong, and rumors that the ninja had been assassinated by Konoha's ANBU began to spread rapidly within the clan...

In a climate where Konoha and the Uchiha were at odds, bordering on outright hostility, conspiracy theories found especially fertile ground.

The Uchiha clan's inability to fully integrate into Konoha was due to a complex web of reasons, but broadly speaking, there were two main points: first, Uchiha Madara's rebellion and subsequent death, and second, the special policies targeting the Uchiha that the Second Hokage had implemented after Madara's rebellion, policies that continued to this day.

Konoha, naturally, claimed to have no knowledge of the missing ninja's disappearance. ANBU proposed the formation of a joint investigation team with the Uchiha.

However, for some unknown reason – perhaps the slowing of the war had left a large number of Uchiha ninja with too much time on their hands, and thus bored out of their minds – the Uchiha clan became increasingly agitated.

In this situation, ANBU wasn't about to be lenient. Surveillance of the Uchiha clan was intensified once again.

Habara and his teammate, Kisu, were hidden in the upper floor of a building outside the Uchiha residential area. Taking cover behind the curtains, they were using a telescope to monitor the area in front of them.

Where had that Uchiha ninja actually gone? At the very least, these two were playing dumb while knowing the truth. However, the ANBU principle of confidentiality prevented them from revealing such information. Furthermore, after that mission had concluded, their original captain had disappeared, and neither ANBU nor the Hokage had offered any response. This made the other two, besides Habara, realize that the situation was far from simple.

And compared to his teammates' inner anxiety and their diligence in carrying out the mission, Habara seemed somewhat more casual. He knew the Uchiha would probably endure this; they wouldn't actually do anything rash.

The Uchiha, masters of the art of endurance.

" Riku, don't space out."

Because Habara sometimes became too mentally unfocused, his teammate had to remind him.

"Sorry, it's just..."

Habara had been happily getting his ass kicked in ANBU training when he was suddenly called to carry out this mission, which disrupted his training schedule.

"Just what?"

"I just think they picked the wrong people for this mission. We shouldn't be the ones doing it."

"Not us? Then who should be doing it?" Kisu asked, not yet realizing that his train of thought had been derailed by Habara.

"Hatake Kakashi. They should have Hatake Kakashi stand at the crossroads of the Uchiha residential area, stare wide-eyed with his left eye, and monitor the Uchiha like a red traffic light. That would be really interesting."

Using an Uchiha's Sharingan to monitor the movements of the Uchiha... if you disregarded Kakashi's personal safety, it would indeed be very interesting.

Not just interesting, but even thrilling.

"The village wants to calm things down, not provoke the Uchiha clan with a Sharingan that's been exiled from the clan."

Kisu actually understood what Habara meant, which showed that the moniker "Sharingan Kakashi" was already starting to circulate.

"The village wants to calm things down, but some people don't necessarily want that," Habara said, hinting at something.

There were actually plenty of people who wanted to stir up trouble, like Shimura Danzo, like Orochimaru, and like Habara himself.

Just then, the sound of the door opening interrupted their conversation. Two other ninjas entered the room. One was Habara's teammate, Batsu, and the other was Kazeri, the newly added Jonin captain of the squad.

"How is it? Any unusual activity?" Kazeri asked.

"No, Captain," Kisu replied.

Habara spoke up, "The Uchiha clan's movements are unclear. I think our surveillance method is flawed. Captain, should we suggest to the higher-ups that we adopt a more oppressive approach?"

"More oppressive?" Kazeri thought to himself, We're just monitoring the Uchiha right now, nobody wants to oppress them. But in the spirit of considering all viewpoints, he decided to hear Habara out. "What do you propose?"

"Adopt a surveillance method of escalating pressure. For example, on the first day, deploy 30 people to monitor them, on the second day, 60, on the third day, 120... It wouldn't even take a week for the Uchiha clan to submit," Habara said.

His words were reminiscent of "Grant me three thousand elite soldiers, and I will quell the Uchiha menace for you." It sounded good, but was it even necessary to say? If Konoha could mobilize three thousand ninjas for a single mission at this time, would they even need to worry about the Uchiha?

Forget three thousand ninjas; just deploying one thousand elite ninjas would make the Uchiha clan completely docile... The quality of ANBU elite ninjas was certainly not inferior to that of Uchiha ninjas, and a thousand was almost five times the number of Uchiha clan members.

The Uchiha were a political and "ethnic" problem, not a military one. In terms of strength, the Uchiha clan at this time was rather weak... To put it bluntly, only Uchiha ninjas who had suffered from mental illness were truly powerful Uchiha ninjas.

Unfortunately, no one in the Uchiha clan had suffered a major illness recently... Look at that statement; they were regretting that no one was sick.

Well, not no one. The only one who was sick was actually estranged from the Uchiha and was busy playing the role of a long-dead ancestor.

But even a cornered rabbit will bite. If they really followed Habara's suggestion, what would happen next was predictable... That night, fires would break out all over Konoha. A tall pole would be erected in the Uchiha clan's main residence, and at the top would hang a large banner, bearing four large characters: "Enforcing Justice for Heaven." It's said that when the government oppresses the people, the people have no choice but to rebel...

Then, a week later, there would be no more Uchiha clan. That would be a different kind of submission, wouldn't it?

After hearing Habara's words, Captain Kazeri looked at him with an especially horrified expression. The captain thought to himself, ANBU has such a remarkable talent, why wasn't he buried alive during the selection process?

"Um, that's it, shift change. You two are off duty."

The captain felt that if he said even one more word to Habara, he would waste a significant amount of brainpower.

Okay, so his suggestion had been ignored.

Habara and Kisu left the room, went downstairs, and exited through the back door of the building, facing away from the Uchiha.

As soon as he stepped outside, Habara felt a wave of heat wash over him. He couldn't help but raise his arm to shield himself from the almost directly overhead sunlight...

"It's summer already. So hot."

"Yeah, it's really hot."

...

The atmosphere of fear and suspicion within the Uchiha clan lasted for a month. During this time, the missing ninja was still not found. However, this stalemate, this standoff, was resolved in a completely unexpected way.

The Uchiha backed down.

This is what happened: In July, the thirty-five-year-old young clan head of the Uchiha had a son. He named his son Sasuke, and through this naming and its subtle implications, he expressed the Uchiha clan's admiration for the Third Hokage and their submission to the village.

To be honest, this political maneuver, starting small and expanding outwards, was actually quite brilliant, somewhat akin to the idea of spring rain nourishing everything and harmony blending with light. But at the time, many people scoffed at the Uchiha's actions.

Daring to name a newborn child Sasuke? Was he worthy? Was he born with mastery of the five elemental releases?

Of course, later they would discover that this child was indeed worthy of the name Sasuke. At least from the perspective of strength, he was very deserving of the name.