By seniority, Uchiha Hikari was indeed the ancestor of the current Uchiha clan. Not long ago, at the *Root* base, she'd even told Sarutobi Hiruzen and his crew, "What kind of adult would get serious with kids?"
But…
Being called "Great-Grandma" in public by a crowd—especially with a few clearly older-looking elders among them—was, frankly, a bit embarrassing.
After a moment…
"Ahem…"
Hikari cleared her throat, composing herself before speaking. "Alright, get up. What do you all want, coming to see me like this?"
She was starting to piece together why Kakashi had been the one to knock earlier.
—This was the home of the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki. The Uchiha clan showing up in such force must've put the *Anbu* on high alert. But "paying respects to our ancestor" was a legitimate reason, and they couldn't exactly block it. So, they'd compromised: the meeting was set in the hallway outside Naruto's place, with the *Anbu* relaying messages to ensure the Uchiha didn't directly interact with the Jinchūriki.
If her guess was right, Kakashi had probably already sent someone to inform Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was likely on his way.
Across from her, several Uchiha exchanged glances. Uchiha Fugaku, the clan leader, stepped forward, bowing respectfully. "Great-Grandma, it's like this…
"In recent years, the village has suspected our clan's involvement in the chaos four years ago. Without reason, they relocated the entire Uchiha clan to the village's outskirts and repeatedly stripped away our authority over the Police Force.
"When the clan heard of your return, we were thrilled. We've come, at the risk of disturbing you, to ask you, for the sake of our shared blood, to return to the clan and lead us!"
In front of the *Anbu*, Fugaku kept his words measured.
But subtly, he alluded to a certain unnamed, bandage-wrapped schemer who'd been spearheading the village's efforts against the Uchiha for years—the clan's most despised figure. When they heard Shimura Danzō had been carted off to the hospital, some Uchiha had nearly set off firecrackers in celebration.
Kakashi, eavesdropping nearby, twitched slightly but stayed silent.
Hikari, meanwhile, furrowed her brow. "Lead the clan… Are you serious?"
"Of course. If you're willing to return, Great-Grandma, the position of clan leader is yours without question," Fugaku replied smoothly, as if the matter had already been settled within the clan.
"…"
Hikari narrowed her eyes, her gaze sweeping over the mostly fervent Uchiha behind him. She lingered for a few seconds on the relatively calm Shisui and Mikoto, then sighed after a brief moment of thought. "To be honest, I'm not interested in all this power-struggling nonsense."
Thanks to the influence of her predecessor's memories, she even felt an almost instinctive aversion to the Uchiha clan.
"But…" Fugaku started, about to press further.
Hikari cut him off. "Besides, if you all know it's Konoha's higher-ups oppressing the Uchiha, you should be taking it up with Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō. Oh, wait—Danzō's already laid up in the hospital. So, go talk to Sarutobi, then. You're all grown adults; you should have some initiative. Don't expect me, your ancestor, to solve every little problem for you."
Uchiha Fugaku: "…"
Kakashi: "…"
*Hold on*. They call you Great-Grandma, and you *actually* treat the Third Hokage and his crew like snot-nosed brats?
Fugaku's mouth blown out laughing. The corners of his mouth twitched as his eyes lingered for a few seconds on Hikari's youthful, almost ethereal face. He barely restrained himself from blurting out, "Great-Grandma, you're still young!" Instead, he tempered his tone and explained, "Great-Grandma, it's not as simple as you think. The rift between the Uchiha and the village runs deep, with tangled rights and wrongs that are hard to unravel. Over the years, we've tried talking to the Third Hokage, but every discussion has ended in failure."
"Then talk again," Hikari said lightly. "I've already explained the Nine-Tails incident to Sarutobi. If he doesn't believe me, he can come find me."
To Hikari, the Uchiha's issues weren't all that complicated.
Revitalizing the clan might take effort, but avoiding extinction? That was easy.
It was a historical problem.
On one hand, Konoha needed the Uchiha's strength but feared them, worried another Uchiha Madara might emerge, so they'd been deliberately suppressing the clan.
On the other hand, some Uchiha did have unstable tendencies, prone to extremes—like wanting to destroy the world over a breakup.
But…
Which clan *didn't* have a few nutcases?
The five great hidden villages, in their sixty years of existence, had fought four shinobi world wars. Even in peacetime, most people didn't grow up with both parents intact. In such a high-pressure environment, it'd be weirder if a few didn't snap.
Sure, the Uchiha could go to extremes, but the ones who truly went off the deep end—like Obito or Itachi—were rare. Others, like Uchiha Madara, could still hold relatively normal conversations. Before being swayed by Black Zetsu to defect from Konoha, Madara, despite his bad temper and poor social skills, hadn't exactly been committing heinous crimes.
Then there was Shisui, whose personality barely changed after awakening his *Mangekyō Sharingan*.
If the Nine-Tails incident hadn't happened and Namikaze Minato were still alive, the Uchiha genocide likely wouldn't have occurred.
Even after the Nine-Tails chaos…
As long as Shisui hadn't been assassinated and had his eyes stolen by Danzō, there would've been room for reconciliation.
Now, Hikari was keeping an eye on the Nine-Tails situation, ensuring no trouble for the time being. Shimura Danzō, the Uchiha's worst enemy, was in the hospital, possibly bedridden for life. That left only the indecisive Sarutobi Hiruzen and his two ineffective advisors. If they still couldn't reach an agreement under these conditions, it meant neither side had any real intent to reconcile. At that point, open war was the only path.
That said…
Hikari wasn't exactly optimistic about the Uchiha.
Weakness was the real sin.
The current Uchiha were a mess internally, lacking a unified voice. Externally, they had no political allies or even friendly clans, yet they were fixated on becoming Hokage. Their half-baked rebellion plans were already common knowledge in Konoha, yet they smugly thought they were pressuring the higher-ups.
If *this* level of incompetence could succeed, Hikari would eat all nine Tailed Beasts on the spot!
"Fugaku, you're still young. There's a lot you don't understand," Hikari said, standing on her tiptoes to pat Fugaku's shoulder, her tone earnest. "If you don't have any better ideas, just do as I say. Your Great-Grandma's walked more roads than you've crossed bridges. I won't steer you wrong."
(*End of Chapter*)