"The Third Hokage must be involved. He's the one coordinating everything," Fugaku said, uanding what Masashi meant.

  "And the other s? Just the usual favorites, I assume?"

  "Sarutobi, Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi. The regur inner circle," Fugaku firmed.

  This preferential treatment was a source of deep dissatisfaong the excluded shinobi s. Their ANBU members' participation wasn't enough—not when it came to matters of this magnitude.

  Nobody inteo disrupt anything, but when a jinchūriki was giving birth, what if something happened? Would everyone just assively for the ued?

  If this was standard procedure, fine— but why did only those close to the Third Hokage merit involvement, while others were kept at arm's length?

  Sihe days of Hashirama and Madara, no one in Konoha had been able to face a tailed beast bomb head-on.

  Everyone's lives were on the liailed beast bombs didn't differentiate between social status.

  "Hm... The ANBU is still uhe Third Hokage's and," Masashi nodded ahe topic drop. No point pushing further when the decision's already made.

  As previously mentioned, while Hiruzen being Hokage certainly beed the Sarutobi , it wasn't excessive.

  This was shown by the number and quality of the Sarutobi 's jonin; their advantages were limited and not over the line.

  To give credit where it was due, Hiruzen was a qualified Hokage, though their perspectives were different.

  "This matter will be discussed at tonight's meeting. e over after dihe meeting starts promptly at 8," Fugaku rubbed the bridge of his nose, clearly finding the situation troublesome. "Don't keep skippiings. Since you're back, attend properly."

  "For something this important, I'll be there," Masashi agreed.

  At the very least, the eeded a uao deal with any tingencies.

  Relying solely on improvisation in emergencies was a bad idea—Uchiha leaders often cked quick deaking outside the battlefield.

  "Try not to go out in the ing days. I have a bad feeling," Fugaku added.

  The two exged a look, firming they were both thinking of the same person.

  Regarding Obito, Masashi hadn't told anyone besides Fugaku, who had decided to keep it a secret.

  It wasn't appropriate to make it public—Obito's name was already etched on the memorial stone. Instead of exposing him as a traitor, it was better to let him 'die' as a hero.

  The Obito everyone had known was already gone. If he now cimed to be Madara, so be it.

  After agreeing with Masashi on how to present this matter, Fugaku informed the Hokage's office.

  Whether they believed it or not didn't matter; this level of openness was the Uchiha's greatest gesture of trust toward the Hokage's office.

  The versatioween them ehere. Afterward, Fugaku handed Masashi a check, instrug him to train diligently, rest more, and driea!

  Masashi readily agreed, pocketed the money, a.

  That left Shisui faku's sed talk.

  The third would likely be Itachi?

  Masashi didn't care about the tter meetings; he had no time.

  Being a leader was tough. Being a father was tough. Fugaku, a mature man, didn't need his .

  But the young dies did.

  Returning home, Masashi stored the ched ted his little stash of savings.

  Perfect. There was still plenty of cash at home.

  There was no rush to cash the check—after all, it was from the 's bank. Internal checks could be cashed anytime as long as they weren't damaged.

  If damaged, they could be reissued as long as the funds hadn't been withdrawn.

  Satisfied with his fuller wallet, he ged into casual clothes, pocketed his wallet, and cheerfully went out.

  Strolling through the ercial district, he admired the pretty girls passing by, marveling at how lovely Konoha's streets were.

  When it was time for dinner, he ducked into a small food stand, had a good meal, and headed back to the area.

  Times have ged, he mused, walking toward the main hall. In the inal timeline, Uchiha meetings were held secretly in the Naka Shrine, as depicted iory.

  Secret meetings, naturally, indicated things had reached a point where the was pletely isoted. Even holding a regur meeting invited suspi.

  The Uchiha wasn't at that stage now. Meetings were held in the 's main hall as usual.

  Upoering the hall, he gnced around and quickly spotted his target.

  "Inoka," he approached and patted his rade.

  "Masashi! You're back?" Inoka's face lit up with joy. "This time, you've really hit the jackpot!"

  "Of course. The usual rules," Masashi winked. "You know what to do!"

  "Got a rick?"

  "Absolutely. Stagnation isn't my ninja way."

  "You're the best! Watch—everything will be set up perfectly for you," Inoka responded with fervor.

  "Meeting time! Everyone, find a seat! The Fugaku-sama and the elders are arriving soon," someone called out.

  "Yeah, right! You say that every time!" another member grumbled.

  "This time it's true! Hurry and sit dow's finish quickly and go home early."

  The st ent resonated with everyone, and the seating process sped up noticeably.

  Before long, everyone was seated. Fugaku and the elders eogether.

  The elders of the Uchiha wielded less power than those of the Hyūga d served more as advisors. That didn't mean the leader was an absolute authority, though. The Uchiha just didn't have a signifit internal hierarchy.

  "We had no choice but to call this meeting now, so let's keep it brief," Fugaku began, adjusting his posture for effed clearing his throat. "This s the jinchūriki's childbirth."

  "What is the Police Force's role in this?" a member immediately asked.

  "Sadly, none," Fugaku replied. "This will be handled entirely by the ANBU. Other departments won't be involved."

  "Is that appropriate?" another member questioned. "The jinchūriki giving birth isn't a small matter; the st time this happened was during the First Hokage's era."

  "Still, it shouldn't be a big deal, right?"

  "That's true, but not knowing anything feels strange."

  The members began discussing their opinions, their voices mixing together in trolled disagreement.

  As Masashi had anticipated, the Uchiha didn't sider this issue too signifit overall.

  At the end of the day, thanks to their past alliah the Uzumaki , Konoha's tailed beast sealing teiques were unmatched in the shinobi world.

  While other vilges dealt with periodic tailed beasts rampages, and jinchūriki deaths, Konoha had no such issues.

  Because of this, the status of jinchūriki in Konoha wasn't as awkward as it was elsewhere.

  In other vilges, a jinchūriki was merely a tainer—property of the vilge. Their individual will was seen as insignifit and irrelevant.

  However, in Konoha, while it was still believed that a jinchūriki's self-trol might be influenced by their tailed beast, it didn't go so far as to dehumahem entirely.

  Of course, this didn't mean there was no risk of losing trol. Childbirth, for instance, was a cssic example.

  But it had been a long time since Konoha st experienced su event. The long-standing stability of its jinchūriki had given everyone a mispced sense of fidence.

  This overly optimistic attitude was one of the reasons Konoha suffered severe losses in the inal timeline.

  Thus, he decided to speak up.

  "I have a proposal!" he said loudly, drawing everyone's attention.

  "What is ygestion?" Fugaku asked, his sharp eyes studying Masashi's face.

  "I think, regardless of whether something happens, the Police Force should prepare for the worst-case sario."

  "What do you mean by worst-case sario?" Fugaku, uanding the weight behind Masashi's words, asked. However, he doubted Obito's abilities. The boy was barely in level when he disappeared.

  The Mangekyō Sharingan wasn't omnipotent, especially if it was only in one eye.

  But the value of the Mangekyō was undeniable. Fugaku was already sideririeving Obito's eye from Kakashi.

  Personal feelings were insignifit pared to the 's is.

  "For example, if the ails breaks loose and appears in the vilge, what should we do then?" Masashi asked.

  Several members shifted unfortably in their seats.

  By saying this, he hoped to prepare the Uchiha in advance. Even after the Hiruzen era, the Hokage was Minato, and the Police Force had mental leadership. The only superior officer was the Hokage—not just anyone could issue orders.

  "In that case, we'd naturally follow the Hokage's instrus. The Police Force is a department of Konoha," Fugaku replied.

  "The Hokage's office has many people," Masashi said, leaning forward slightly. "Not just anyone should be able to give orders to the Police Force. Besides, at that point, it wouldn't just be a Police Force issue—it'd be about what the Uchiha should do."

  "The Uchiha is the Police Force," Fugaku disliked the dire of this versation and decided to move on.

  But Masashi wouldn't let it go.

  "Fugaku-sama, with all due respect, the Uchiha have never just been the Police Force. The Police Force exist without the Uchiha, but the current Uchiha rely on the Police Foraintain their position. That distin o be clear."

  Several older members exged meaningful gnces.

  "What are y to say, Masashi?"

  "Some matters be resolved logically, while others ot. If something happens and the Police Force fails, the Uchiha will bear the bme, not the Police Force. Survivors will harbor rese, and public opinion will vilify us. "

  "At that point, will we leave the Police Force or stubbornly stand against the entire vilge?"

  "Absolutely not!" a sman immediately responded, rising halfway from his seat. His face flushed with anger. "It would be the Hokage's office that arra!"

  "How do you handle work every day?" Masashi g him. "If someone loses their loved ones, are you going tue procedures with them?"

  "Wait, that's just hypothetical," the smaed.

  "It's a reasonable hypothesis," Masashi replied. "If it's doable, then it's valid."

  "Who could pull that off?" the sman was unvinced, his voice rising with challenge.

  "I ," Masashi's reply stunned everyone.

  The silehat followed was deafening.

  "Is it that hard? When a jinchūriki gives birth, the ails' chakra is fully exposed, revealing its exact location. All it would take is a space-time ninjutsu to separate the Fourth Hokage from the jinchūriki using the newborn as bait. After that, the rest is easy."

  "Ridiculous," the sman grew angry, his Sharingan activating unsciously. "That's nonsense! What kind of ninjutsu could do all that in such a short time? I could cim I use Wood Release, too!"

  "You certainly 't do that," Masashi said, disappearing from his spot and reappearing behind the sman. "But I use the Flying Thunder God. I go anywhere I want—across the vilge, even into the forest."

  Rustle—

  Everyone in the hall stood up, stuhe sman turned around, utterly bewildered. Some reached for ons instinctively.

  "Masashi! When did you learn Flying Thunder God?" Fugaku was at a loss. The library had some of Tobirama's water teiques, but no Flying Thunder God—or at least not a workable version.

  It's a support teique, sure, but ohat had defeated Mangekyō Sharingan users in the past.

  "After seeing it enough times, I figured it out. You know how I am," Masashi said. "As an Uchiha, it's only natural for me to master the Sed Hokage's teiques. Why wouldn't I?"

  " you use Edo Tehen?" Setsuna suddenly asked, his eyes narrowing with i.

  "How could I? I've never eve." Masashi's casual dismissal carried just the right note of indifference.

  "Is this why you're making such bold assumptions?" Fugaku took a deep breath, trying not to lose his temper. This boy! Why hadn't he said anything before?

  No wonder he was worried about Obito causing trouble. If Obito didn't have the Flying Thunder God, he probably had something simir.

  "You think... someone might exploit the ails using a simir method?"

  "Bold assumptions, cautious verification," Masashi said. "The ninja world is vast and full of strange possibilities." And some possibilities are closer than you think.

  "Enough unnecessary words," Setsuna interjected, rising to his feet. "I propose that if the ails breaks loose, the Uchiha must fight on the frontlines! Let's vote."

  The smeed briefly before voting.

  "I agree!" a younger member called out, his eyes bright with enthusiasm.

  "Same here!" Another voice joined in.

  "Right, this is a ce to prove the Uchiha 's strength!" The energy in the room was building.

  "What ce? Watch your words!" An elder's sharp rebuke cut through the excitement.

  After a round of voting, the sensus was clear: if the ails breaks loose, they'll fight it—no exceptions.

  "This cludes today's meeting. Everyone is dismissed," Setsuna announced.

  The solemn atmosphere evaporated. As soon as the meeting ehe crowd dispersed with gusto. Chairs scraped against the floor as members stood, their faces already turoward the door.

  The ails was important, sure, but clog out was even more important. It didn't flict with their dedication to the . True love was subtle, after all.

  Masashi regrouped with his trusted rades, setting off for their destination. A great battle was ahead, and they couldn't rexation and preparation to reach peak form.

  The jinchūriki was in the vilge, meaning there was still time. It wouldn't happen today.

  And tonight, uhe full moon, it was time to brew some fiea, listen to musid let oneself go in the quiet of the moment, while sav the warmth of life.