Chapter 33: The Uchiha Clan
While a small-scale political crisis was unfolding in the Hokage's office and within the Konoha leadership, the situation in the Uchiha clan—which had been exiled from the village center and moved to its new compound built in a large clearing deep inside the forest—was the exact opposite. A completely peaceful and ordinary image of daily life prevailed inside. This compound of the Uchiha clan, one of Konoha’s most powerful yet also most populous families, resembled a small, independent town when viewed from the outside. In the streets, where sakura trees bloomed in the spring months at almost every corner, modest houses and shops that drew attention with their elegant architecture were lined up in an extremely orderly fashion. In this grand clan, whose population exceeded ten thousand, there were over five thousand ninjas capable of taking active duty. The main reason the Konoha leadership feared a potential coup attempt so much was precisely this population and balance of power. To an outsider, it might seem illogical for a massive military force like Konoha, which could gather around fifteen thousand ninjas during the Fourth Great Ninja War, to be so wary of a single clan. However, when the losses Konoha suffered after the Uchiha massacre up until that war were taken into account, underestimating this crowded and highly qualified military population of the clan would be a major strategic mistake.
Within the clan boundaries, ordinary civilians shopped in the markets, spent time in the restaurants and taverns run by the clan itself, and engaged in trade and production. On the other side, in special training grounds, experienced Uchiha ninjas meticulously trained the youths who represented the clan's future, while patrols made regular rounds along the border lines to ensure security. This place was not just a living space; it was a city in its own right, blending a disciplined military base with a serene civilian life.
At the main entrance of the clan facing toward Konoha, two Uchihas on guard duty were chatting calmly. The middle-aged, broad-shouldered, and heavily built ninja leaned his back against the wooden door frame, crossing his arms over his chest in a rather relaxed manner. Yet, this relaxed posture was merely a facade; his body was ready to spring into action at any moment, remaining completely alert. The younger and less experienced clan member standing beside him was vehemently venting about his own troubles.
"...and then I bought her flowers, she turned bright red, took the flowers, and suddenly ran away. Then she came back, kissed me on the cheek, and ran away again..."
The young man scratched his head awkwardly as he remembered what had happened.
"So... do you think I should propose to her, Tetsuya-san?"
Tetsuya looked at this excited youth beside him, thought for a moment, and replied in a mature voice.
"You've been seeing her for a long time, Akira. If you love each other and the girl is willing, just go ahead and marry her. In the world we live in, there's no telling when we might die... We are ninjas, Akira; even if it's not wartime, a single mission gone wrong can cause your death."
Tetsuya leaned his head back, gazing into the sky visible through the branches.
"Life is short. For us ninjas, it's even shorter. Try to do what you love, do not delay it. Otherwise, you'll regret it."
Faced with these words full of experience, Akira nodded thoughtfully and made his final decision.
"Then I will propose to her!"
After nodding in support of the young man, Tetsuya asked about something he was curious about.
"Good decision! By the way, what has Kenzo been up to lately?"
Akira paused for a brief moment, thinking of his friend, before speaking.
"He's practicing swordplay as usual. Sometimes I think he pushes himself too hard..."
Tetsuya let out a deep sigh, remembering the challenging past of the boy whose name he had heard, and shook his head.
"Kenzo's situation isn't easy, Akira... his master, who acted as a father to him, was forced to commit suicide in his own home. We are lucky he didn't go mad with grief..."
Akira grimaced and scratched his head uneasily.
"Is it true that he went into a coma when he received the news that the White Fang had died?"
Tetsuya nodded, confirming the situation.
"He was around 12 or 13 years old back then, he grew up as an orphan. Even though those in the clan welcomed him, it's not like a real family, and most of the clan was busy during wartime. Kenzo became Sakumo-sama's student after graduation... anyway, never mind, I'm not in the mood to tell stories right now, I was just curious about Kenzo."
Akira, who was expecting to hear the details of the story, was slightly disappointed. Just as he was about to insist on Tetsuya continuing, he suddenly noticed that Tetsuya’s expression changed and his eyes narrowed. Turning his attention to the direction the older ninja was looking—the dirt path leading to the clan entrance—he saw a small silhouette running from there toward them. When Tetsuya gauged the height of the approaching person from a distance, he tilted his head slightly in curiosity.
"Did one of the clan children go to Konoha today?"
Even though Tetsuya maintained his relaxed posture, his gaze was completely locked onto the small figure approaching from afar.
"I don't think so. While that one-eyed dog is alive, the clan children are not sent to the village alone except for the academy."
Tetsuya activated his Sharingan to better analyze this uninvited guest who did not belong to the clan. As the three tomoe in his crimson eyes slowly spun, he noticed within seconds not only the approaching young boy but also three distinct ANBU chakras carefully hidden among the trees far behind him. When he clearly saw the facial features of the approaching child, he stared in a slight shock, at a loss for words for a moment. Seeing this strange expression on his senior's face, Akira asked curiously.
"Is there a problem?"
Tetsuya let out a deep sigh at the approaching headache he felt and rubbed his eyes lightly without turning off his Sharingan.
"Yes... I hope this doesn't escalate."
Akira also opened his own Sharingan out of curiosity to grasp the situation. Though the two tomoe spinning in his eyes did not provide a vision as sharp and wide as Tetsuya's three tomoe, it was more than enough to make out the child, who had now come quite close. Seeing the blond hair of the arriving person and the marks on his cheeks, his jaw dropped, leaving him stunned.
"...Why is the Kyuubi's Jinchuriki running toward the clan..."
Tetsuya murmured with mixed emotions.
"If only I knew..."
Akira discreetly glanced around, sensing the three ANBU chakras Tetsuya had noticed, and asked in a whisper.
"Should we inform the clan leader?"
Tetsuya shook his head in a negative sense, weighing the current scale of the situation.
"Not yet, let's find out the situation first."
During this brief dialogue, Naruto had come quite close to the clan boundary. Tetsuya signaled Akira to intervene with a slight nod of his head. Akira caught onto the situation instantly and shouted in a stern but warning tone.
"HOLD ON RIGHT THERE, BRAT!"
Slightly startled by this sudden and loud call, Naruto braked hard on the spot. A small cloud of dust rose as his feet slid a few centimeters on the dirt ground. He had been successfully stopped just three or four meters away from the entrance of the clan gate. Panting heavily, he looked with curious eyes toward Akira, who had called out to him. Keeping his distance against this potential small threat before him, Akira asked calmly.
"What is the reason for your arrival? Didn't they tell you that this is a private area and not everyone can come here?"
While this interrogation was taking place outside, inside the seal space within Naruto's mind, Altay, who was doing his daily exercise by lifting dumbbells, calmly stepped in to take control of the situation.
"Alright, Kid! Now I will show you how to easily build a connection with one of the strongest clans in this world. Now, here is what you are going to do..."
As Altay listed the psychological tactics to be applied one after another, in the outside world, three-year-old Naruto began to put these subtle manipulations into practice with a feigned yet childish innocence. Raising his short arm to give an amateur salute, Naruto spoke in an eager tone.
"Excuse me, big brother, is this the Uchiha clan, the strongest and coolest clan in the world?"
While Tetsuya blinked in the face of this blatant flattery, Akira's ears twitched slightly. In response to this praise, the young Uchiha involuntarily puffed out his chest, smiled, and spoke with the clan pride within him.
"Hahaha! That's right, this is the Uchiha clan! The number one clan in the world! Hahaha!"
Frankly, if an adult ninja had uttered these lines, it would have been instantly understood that the intention was cheap flattery. However, when this praise came from a three-year-old, orphaned, and lonely child, it turned into a pure display of admiration that stroked Uchiha pride. Ignoring Akira, who stood boastfully straightening his posture beside him, Tetsuya let out a soft sigh and renewed his question to wrap up the matter.
"What do you want, kid?"
Seeing that he was not instantly excluded with curses or hatred as he was in the streets of the village, Naruto's inside filled with hope. However, he continued without abandoning the strict advice of Altay in his mind.
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. If you give me permission, I want to buy supplies for myself from the Uchiha shops!"
The two Uchiha guards flinched slightly and looked at each other in surprise when they heard this ordinary shopping request come out of the Jinchuriki's mouth. The reason behind a child with so much political weight showing up at the clan gate being this simple had caught them off guard. Unable to hide his curiosity, Akira asked.
"We know who you are, kid... but are there no shops left in Konoha? Why did you come here?"
Remembering the ostracization he experienced, Naruto scratched the back of his neck disheartenedly and lowered his gaze to the ground.
"Well... today I was kicked out of every shop I stopped by to buy supplies..."
Just then, Altay in his mind, noticing that Naruto was twisting his words, intervened.
"Speak more directly, kid, don't beat around the bush."
Approving his inner voice, Naruto recounted what he had experienced one by one exactly as it happened, without resorting to any emotional exploitation, but in a low-spirited manner.
"...The shops I wanted to enter either beat me or insulted me, and those around mocked me... no one sells me anything in the village... they even tell me to die..."
The two guards on duty at the clan gate felt demoralized as they listened to this treatment subjected to a three-year-old child from his own mouth. Especially the face of Tetsuya, who had known Minato and Kushina closely in the past and belonged to the same generation as them, instantly went rigid and his gaze hardened. Meanwhile, Naruto continued his story.
"Yesterday, I heard from Uncle Teuchi that the Uchiha clan is one of the clans that founded the village, and that it is the strongest clan in the village!"
Then, scratching his head with a child's innocence, he went on.
"So I wondered, 'Would such a strong clan ostracize me too?' and I came here..."
However, immediately afterward, with the learned helplessness brought by his experiences in the village, he added in an unhappy and tense tone.
"If I caused a disturbance, I'll leave..."
Akira felt truly sorry for this state of the boy standing with his head bowed. Unlike the ordinary and ignorant civilians in the streets of Konoha, most ninjas in the Uchiha clan fully comprehended what a Jinchuriki actually meant. Thanks to the historical legacy of Uchiha Madara, they were closely associated with tailed beasts and sealing arts; meaning that, contrary to the ignorance of the people in the village, they knew very well that Naruto and the Kyuubi were entirely different entities. The Uchihas, who were excessively fond of their innate nobility, pride, and arrogance, would never stoop so low as to make a innocent three-year-old child a scapegoat. In Uchiha culture, there was no sneaking around to ostracize anyone or scheming behind their backs; if they had a problem, they would say it directly to the person's face, whatever the cost. They looked down on such cowardly behaviors. The ignorant civilians in the village could attack Naruto regardless of the true catastrophe residing within him, but if the real Kyuubi were to appear one day, those same civilians could do nothing but wet themselves and beg for mercy. An Uchiha, on the other hand, would join the battle directly even if their opponent were a legendary demon, because for them, fleeing from the battlefield was a dishonor greater than death.
However, politically, Naruto was practically a minefield for the Uchiha clan. They stayed away from him solely to avoid drawing the suspicions of the central management upon themselves and to prevent creating a political crisis. Despite this, the Fourth Hokage Minato and his wife Kushina still had many friends within the Uchiha who remembered them. Especially Kushina, who won everyone's heart with her social nature, was very close friends back then with Mikoto, the wife of the current clan leader. She was probably the only Uzumaki in ninja history who managed to establish such close bonds of friendship with the Uchiha clan.
Akira felt extremely helpless in front of Naruto. He held no personal grudge against the child, yet there was a definitive and strict instruction issued by Fugaku throughout the clan: No Uchiha was to make direct contact with the Jinchuriki. Still, his heart did not possess the cruelty to simply drive away this child waiting before him with a shred of hope. Just as he opened his mouth and was trying to gather what to say, his senior Tetsuya, who was not at all pleased with this situation, intervened.
"I'm sorry, kid, but I can't allow you to enter the clan. The clan leader said that outsiders are not to be admitted."
Hearing this definitive rejection, the ANBU members in the shadows let out a deep, relieved sigh from within. They absolutely did not want the child to enter; for while they could hide in the Konoha center or its forests, moving comfortably within Uchiha territory was impossible. The moment they crossed the border, the experienced eyes of the three-tomoe Jonin would trace their every step with scrutiny, and a crisis would erupt at the slightest diplomatic error.
As Naruto's shoulders dropped down with visible disappointment upon understanding that he could not enter, Tetsuya, unable to bear the weight of sending him away completely empty-handed, continued his words.
"But you tell me what you want to buy, and I will go get the supplies and give them to you. How does that sound?"