Time passed quickly, and soon it was September, the golden autumn season.
"Haruki, your birthday is coming up soon. How about we throw a little party? You can invite your teammates over to the house!
You know, you never really liked playing with others when you were young. Now that you finally have two friends you get along with, you should really treasure them!
We can also invite your uncle and your aunt's families. I'll ask Sister Aoko to bring your teacher too, so we can have a lively celebration. After all, this is your first birthday as a ninja..."
Haruki's mother happily chattered on, already making plans, completely lost in her own world.
Uchiha Haruki felt genuinely happy. In this life, he had a loving family, parents who cared for him deeply, two mischievous but loyal teammates, a sharp-tongued teacher who loved his sword more than anything, a proud clan, and a prosperous village. Everything felt perfect.
He sat on a tree branch, looking up at the sky, and his thoughts drifted to the relationship between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha.
The Senju and the Uchiha founded this village for peace and unity. So how did it end with the Uchiha Clan's annihilation? That's just insane...
Who could accept that? Imagine building a village, letting smaller clans join, providing them protection—no problem, the more the merrier. Everyone uniting to stop senseless deaths in war, it all made sense.
But after just a few generations, the Senju were reduced to just Tsunade, and the entire Uchiha Clan was pushed to extinction by their own people!
What kind of twisted logic is that? For Konoha's sake? No way. That's just a power grab. Smaller clans seizing power because they couldn't suppress the big clans. After all, any clan that could survive the Warring States Period had absolute strength.
Trying to take control without the strength to back it up is like an emperor trying to rule without an army. The first thing any emperor does after taking the throne is to weaken the warlords. In any regime, there can't be a mountain bigger than the ruler's own. Small hills can be managed and balanced, but one big mountain? That's a threat.
Right now, there's no clan in the ninja world that can rival the Uchiha. The Hyuga Clan's own internal structure limits its growth, with obvious conflicts within their own family. But that kind of self-imposed weakening is exactly why the higher-ups accept them.
For the Uchiha to fully integrate into Konoha? Almost impossible—unless they become the ones in power. If you want to look down from the peak, you have to be at the peak.
In Konoha, the ninjas, the geniuses, the civilians—they don't face suppression. They don't die mysteriously for the so-called "Will of Fire." They don't get sacrificed "for Konoha" without reason. They don't get manipulated, framed, or killed off because they are too weak to matter.
If the Uchiha were not limited, there would be no need to fear internal sabotage. Just look at the Fourth Great Ninja War—it practically turned into an Uchiha family brawl.
Think about the Uchiha's Kage-level ninjas... Fugaku, Shisui, Obito, Itachi, Sasuke. How many others could match them in their generation? And that was with them being suppressed! If they were truly allowed to grow, who could stop them?
Sarutobi Hiruzen's "Hokage Faction" used the ideals of the Will of Fire to manipulate the Senju into constant warfare. In the end, they were either dead or crippled. Tsunade herself was tricked by that ideology to the point of becoming emotionally crippled.
The Second Great Ninja War saw the Senju clan pushed to fight until they nearly disappeared, with only Tsunade left standing, traumatized and blood-phobic. If it weren't for the fact that Jiraiya didn't want the position, Tsunade would never have become the Fifth Hokage.
And look at the Uchiha now. Do you think, under normal circumstances, the Uchiha could ever become Hokage? Tobirama's policies suppressed the Uchiha because he knew the next generation of the Senju were too weak. Tsunade was still just a kid. If there were a strong leader after Tobirama, would Sarutobi have even had a chance? That kind of political power wouldn't go to an outsider.
Tobirama wasn't like his brother Hashirama, who handed things out generously. Tobirama believed that even if he died, Mito would hold the clan together until the next generation grew up. But what happened? The Uzumaki Clan—Konoha's biggest supporters—were wiped out because Konoha didn't step in. Another mountain was brought down.
No matter how powerful Mito was, she was still just one person. Konoha sent her to battle again and again until she was worn down. Why were there so many Uzumaki orphans left scattered around the world? And why did none of them come to Konoha? Only Kushina did, because the rest didn't trust them.
Konoha's forehead protector even uses our clan's symbol. In the First Great Ninja War, we supported them with everything we had. When our people were in danger, Konoha said they didn't know. Even when they did, they said it was too late. Do they think we're idiots?
Haruki let out a long breath. He had finally understood: if the Uchiha wanted to live peacefully, there was only one path—the path to becoming Hokage.
"Happy Birthday!" Everyone cheered loudly, and Haruki smiled happily.
His little cousin Rei jumped into his arms, yelling for a hug and making faces at Fugaku behind her.
Fugaku just frowned and looked away. Haruki couldn't help but think how much Fugaku resembled Sasuke with that attitude.
He chuckled and patted Fugaku's head, then playfully poked his forehead like Itachi. "Come on, little Fuga, give your big brother a smile!"
"Ha ha ha!"
Everyone burst into laughter, even his usually stoic uncle cracked a smile.
Rei suddenly shouted, "Tsundere! Hehe, Big Brother Fugaku asked me to prepare a present for you!" She quickly leaned forward and kissed Haruki on the cheek. "That's my present! Do you like it?"
"Of course I do! As long as it's from cute little Rei, I'll always love it," Haruki replied with a grin.
"Big Brother, here's my gift," Fugaku said, blushing as he handed over a scroll.
Opening it, Haruki saw it was a Fire Style technique: Great Dragon Fire Technique. "Thank you, Little Fuga. One day, you're definitely going to become a great ninja just like Uncle."
His mother then stepped forward, handing him a beautifully made charm. "This is from me. It's a protective amulet to keep you safe and bring you back home safely every time."
Mei stood up next, took a short blade from his wife, and handed it to Haruki. "Starting next week, you're going to learn swordsmanship. This blade is called Seiryuu. Treat it well."
Haruki's father then spoke up. "I asked your uncle to prepare a special assessment. You'll find out what it is when you complete it tomorrow."
Finally, his uncle walked over with a scroll. "From today, you are the squad captain. Mei will be leaving your team to take command of the Fourth Division. Your team will be the only squad in this new division."
Everyone gave their gifts, and Haruki was overwhelmed with happiness. "Thank you, everyone. I promise to train hard, to live up to your expectations, to protect my family, and to protect the Uchiha Clan. I'll make sure our name echoes across the ninja world!"
Everyone turned their eyes to Haruki's two teammates, curious about what gifts they had prepared. The two of them blushed before Uchiha En finally spoke up, "We prepared a special gift for you. But you'll have to wait until the party is over so we can take you there ourselves. Heh heh, you're gonna love it."
"Haha, looks like the little ones have their own secret surprise!" Haruki's father called out, obviously a bit tipsy, but no one minded—everyone was just enjoying the happy atmosphere.
Haruki's curiosity grew stronger. These two had been acting all mysterious for a while now. They were clearly planning something behind his back, and he couldn't help but feel excited.
When the party finally ended, Haruki was pulled away by his two teammates. They led him to the usual place where they did their patrols. Only then did Haruki realize that the two of them were wearing combat gear.
"Haruki, here's your gear. We got it ready for you. Go change. The gift we prepared for you... is that big fish you've been waiting for. Today's your birthday, so we're going hunting. Happy birthday, brother."
"Happy birthday, Haruki."
These guys... they really went all out with this special surprise. That bearded guy really did come back right on his birthday. It seemed like he had to go thank him properly!
While Haruki changed into his gear, Retsu quickly explained all the intel and the plan:
"The bearded guy came back the morning before yesterday. I saw him at the gate when I was visiting my uncle. En noticed that the fishball shop was closed today. I went to the marketplace and found out that the orphan girl had taken the day off, saying she was going to help out at the orphanage. We're guessing they'll be making a move today or tomorrow.
The two of us split up—one of us tailed the bearded guy, and the other kept an eye on his house. He and two of his men went inside and never came back out. For the past two days, he's been wandering around near the Ninja Academy.
This afternoon, before we came to the party, the bearded guy's two men left the village. But the bearded guy hasn't been seen since before the party started."
"We're short on people, so we figured no matter what he's planning, we should stick close to him. He's gonna lead us right to your birthday present!"
"Alright then, let's go find that birthday present!"
Haruki strapped on his gear, eyes filled with anticipation.