"The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home."

— Confucius

--

Inside the Uchiha compound, Mikoto sat at her desk. The clan leader's office was neat, perfectly ordered. She had grown used to bad news, but today her eyes were soft, her movements deliberate as she reviewed a list of supply requests.

Then the air shimmered. 

Shisui appeared before her in a flicker, dropping to one knee. His usual smirk was gone.

"Mikoto-sama."

Her pen froze as Mikoto raised her head slowly. The faint flicker of her Sharingan sparked to life, a reflex, when she registered the tension in his voice.

"Speak."

Shisui bowed his head slightly, voice steady but hard. "I found Root operatives moving among the civilians. Dozens. Too many for routine business. I captured one and… searched." He unrolled the scroll and placed it carefully on her desk."They're spreading a story — that Otis killed dozens of civilians in the village of Land of Fire."

For a moment, the air inside the office became heavy. Mikoto's fingers froze, her lips pressed into a thin line as the words settled in, piece by piece, until her chakra flared so sharply that the ink in the inkwell rattled.

"…What?"

The word wasn't a question. It was a warning.

Shisui kept his head lowered. "I confirmed. Multiple Root agents were disguised as civilians, whispering it to shopkeepers, to travelers, even to shinobi families. They want it to spread like wildfire. They want the village to turn against him."

"Danzo," she hissed.

Her chakra spiked. In the next instant, she was gone, Shisui remained kneeling, exhaling slowly. He almost pitied the old war hawk. Almost.

***

Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen had just lit his pipe. He was halfway through convincing himself that paperwork was more dangerous than war when the air displaced in front of him. 

Mikoto stood before him, her presence sharp and dangerous enough to make the Hokage straighten in his chair.

"Mikoto," he said slowly, the smoke curling from his lips. "I assume this isn't a social visit."

"Hiruzen," she snapped, her voice sharp with rage. "Your council snake is spreading filth through the village. Danzo's Root is planting lies—saying Otis has slaughtered innocents."

For a long moment, Hiruzen didn't move. He simply exhaled, staring at the cracked ceiling above him. He'd known Danzo was restless, bitter, more paranoid than ever, but this? To target a boy…

Hiruzen's expression darkened, he set down his brush and stood. 

"Where's Shisui?" he asked.

"Gathering more information," Mikoto replied, voice cold. "But we don't have time for more. If these lies take root, you'll have panic in the streets within the week."

Hiruzen tapped ash into the tray, his decision already made. 

"Itachi."

A second later, Itachi materialized, kneeling calmly, as if he'd been waiting, his ANBU mask in hand. His face was unreadable, but his eyes flicked once toward Mikoto — his mother — before settling on Hiruzen.

"Mobilize ANBU," Hiruzen ordered, his tone clipped and sharp. "Sweep the village. Anyone disguised as civilians, anyone spreading this news, capture them alive. No exceptions."

Itachi bowed. "Understood." and then vanished

The silence that followed was brittle.

Mikoto crossed her arms. "If Danzo continues this, I will not sit idle. Not as Uchiha clan head."

Hiruzen knew better than to mistake her words as empty. Mikoto was no Fugaku

— she was sharper and colder. If she wanted, she could ignite civil war, and this time, there would be no one to stop her.

Before he could reply, a knock echoed at the door.

"Enter," Hiruzen called, voice calm, almost bored.

Mitokado Homura and Koharu Utatane — the other council elders — walked in with their usual expressions of permanent disapproval, the kind only bureaucrats carried. They stopped before Hiruzen's desk, eyes flicking briefly to Mikoto, then dismissing her presence like she was some unwelcome intruder.

"Hiruzen," Homura said stiffly. "We have received troubling information."

Koharu's thin lips pressed together. "A Konoha ninja has gone rogue."

Mikoto's eyes snapped to them, her chakra flaring. Hiruzen exhaled smoke slowly, studying the two old relics in silence.

"...A rogue ninja, you say?" he asked mildly, though his tone carried the weight of a man already tired of their presence.

"Yes," Koharu said briskly. "The boy. Otis. He has attacked civilians in the Land of Fire. The matter cannot be ignored—"

Mikoto's laugh cut her off. It wasn't a pleasant sound. It was low, bitter, laced with fury.

"How convenient," she sneered. "What a coincidence. Root spreads a rumor, and you two come crawling in to declare it fact. Almost as if you're working from the same script and expect me to listen? Pathetic."

The temperature in the room seemed to drop.

Homura bristled. "Watch your tongue, Uchiha. This is a council matter."

Hiruzen leaned back, puffing on his pipe. His eyes flicked from Mikoto to the elders

"Funny," he said softly, "I was about to summon you both anyway. Seems we share concerns about false information spreading in the village."

The elders froze.

Mikoto stepped forward, her voice like steel. "Hear me clearly. If any council hand dares move against Otis on the back of Danzo's lies… you'll answer to me."

Hiruzen raised a hand

"You bring me rumors with no proof," he said, his eyes narrowing at Homura and Koharu. "And yet, I have direct testimony that Root agents are the ones spreading this lie. Now tell me — are you so eager to hand Danzo the keys to this village that you'll damn a boy without evidence?"

Homura's jaw tightened. Koharu's silence was even sharper than her words.

Mikoto's laugh was humorless. "Unbelievable. Even after all these years, you still let Danzo puppeteer you through whispers." She leaned forward, her voice dropping to a razor's edge. "If you try to brand Otis a rogue, understand this — the Uchiha clan will treat it as a declaration of war

."

The words hung in the air like a drawn blade.

Homura stiffened, trying to recover his composure. "Empty threats," he scoffed, though his tone wavered. "The Uchiha wouldn't dare—"

"They would," Hiruzen cut in, his eyes hard beneath the shadow of his hat. "And you know they would."

Koharu's lips pressed into a thin line. She did not argue.

Mikoto's gaze never left them, her chakra pressing down. "Otis is under my clan's protection. Touch him, and you touch the Uchiha. If Danzo wants to manufacture a monster, he can choke on the consequences."

Hiruzen then finally exhaled smoke and waved a dismissive hand. "Enough. This meeting is over."

Homura's jaw clenched, but he knew better than to argue. Koharu gave Mikoto a final, narrow-eyed glare before the two turned and swept from the office.

As the door shut, Mikoto folded her arms, eyes narrowing. "You should leash your dog before he poisons the whole village."

Hiruzen stared at her for a long moment.

"…I know," he said quietly. "And I fear it may already be too late."

Mikoto turned, her presence flickering as she left.

The Third Hokage sat alone in the silence that followed. He lifted his pipe again, though the tobacco inside had long since burned out. 

--

(A/N)

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