3Disclaimer: I own none of this.
The future was bright, though Uchiha Fugaku as he strode proudly through the halls of the Hokage Tower. It hadn't always looked so promising: The real nadir had been several years back, really beginning with the attack by the Kyuubi.
Many members of the Uchiha clan had, in their roles as members of the Military Police, focused on evacuating panicking civilians and getting them into the village's emergency shelters. Unfortunately, this meant that very few had been on the front lines of the battle with the bijuu, which gave their fellow Leaf-nin the mistaken impression that the clan as a whole had failed to participate in the defense of their village. Worse, the tales of Uchiha Madara's ability to control the fox with his powerful Sharingan led to the inception of rumors that had many non-Uchiha shinobi quietly blaming the clan for the whole disaster.
Those rumors and suspicions had only grown with time. If he was honest with himself, Fugaku had to admit that it had probably been made worse by the cold, aloof façade that many Uchiha affected due to their frequent need to restrain their fierce emotions. The usual resentment non-clan ninja often held for those from prominent clans would only have added to the problem.
It had all resulted in a gradually-escalating campaign of subtle (by civilian standards) discrimination and ostracism against the Uchiha. Always in the shadow (sometimes literal, thanks to the monument) of the Senju already, even with none of them still in the village, his clan was pushed further to the side. They became practically second-class citizens in the village they'd helped found, the village for which they had cast away one of the greatest shinobi they'd ever produced. Their clan compound was more of a ghetto, its placement towards the village outskirts a clear and deliberate symbol of how they were being increasingly marginalized. Worst of all, at least for Fugaku, had been his wife's heartbreak at being repeatedly rebuffed in her attempts to adopt the orphaned son of her late friend Kushina. He may have understood why the Third Hokage had denied the requests, but that was cold comfort when consoling a crying Mikoto.
After years of this, the growing resentment within the Uchiha clan had begun to fester into something darker and angrier. Glares had turned to mutters had turned to ideas had turned to plots, and Fugaku had found himself at the head of a group of leaders within the clan as they planned the overthrow of the Third Hokage. While they were confident of their chances, none were so foolish as to think that they wouldn't lose friends and family, possibly on both sides. They had held back, constantly refining their plans while hoping against hope that something would change before the point of no return had been crossed.
Then something did change.
The Third Hokage had proclaimed to the village that he had selected his new successor - Uchiha Itachi. He had explained that the young shinobi had both the mindset of a good Hokage and the potential to equal or surpass those who had come before in his power and ability. Given Itachi's youth and inexperience, he would take the prodigious ANBU captain as his personal apprentice, not only to help him grow as a ninja but also to teach him about the political and administrative aspects of his work. Once the Third and the Daimyo were satisfied that he was ready, Itachi would be officially installed as Fifth Hokage. In the meantime, he would gradually begin to assume aspects of the Third's duties under the older man's supervision and guidance.
In the end it had taken nearly five years, but now the announcement had come that Sarutobi Hiruzen would be retiring once more and passing the reins of power fully to his chosen successor, though he would still remain available as an advisor. Over the intervening years, the popular perception of the Uchiha clan had gradually improved as people saw the son of the clan head being groomed for the village's highest post and greatest honor. At the same time, attitudes within the clan had softened as many felt that Konoha was according the Uchiha the respect and acknowledgement they had long been due.
His clan was prospering, his elder son would soon become the Fifth Hokage governing a village that was the strongest it had been in over a decade, and his younger son was about to graduate and become a genin. For Uchiha Fugaku, life was good.
It was now the day before the official ceremony would take place, and the village was a hive of frenetic activity. Amidst the hustle and the bustle, Fugaku was answering a sudden summons to the office that would belong to his son tomorrow.
"Ah, Fugaku, good." The man many called "The Professor" stood behind his desk favoring the Uchiha clan head with a smile that was at once pleasant and frustratingly opaque. Very few people in the village could truly read the God of Shinobi unless he chose to let them. "I'm sorry to call you in at such short notice, but there's one last bit of business to take care of that I should handle myself rather than foisting it off on my successor." He casually tossed a scroll to his visitor, who thought he detected a faint trace of sadness in the older man's voice. The Uchiha definitely detected the activation of the office's privacy barrier seals.
Unrolling the scroll, Fugaku quickly read its contents before his eyes widened in shock. "You are reassigning me to active field work?"
The Third nodded soberly, any hint of casualness gone and a core of steel in his eyes. "The missions assigned to you and your unit will be of vital importance, but they will also be among the most dangerous we have. You will continue to take such missions until you are either no longer physically capable of doing so or until you are killed in action."
An ice-cold stone seemed to have settled in the Uchiha Head's stomach. "Why, Hokage-sama?"
"If you look at the list of those being assigned to the unit alongside you, I'm certain you'll be able to grasp my reasons."
Fugaku read further, noting that every member of his new unit was a member of the Uchiha clan, before realizing that the list was a near-exact list of those who had been part of the plotting five years before. His shock must have shown, at least enough for the legendary ninja across from him to spot.
"Did you really think that I wouldn't know? That the Uchiha clan could get exactly the kind of boon they wanted at no cost? That there would be no consequences for planning to commit treason? For nearly starting the next Great Shinobi War?!" The last question was no louder than those before it, but the tone still felt like a powerful bellow.
"If your plans had moved forward," the Hokage continued coldly, "you may or may not have been able to overthrow me. It really wouldn't have mattered, in the end. A great many of our shinobi would have opposed you, and your planned surgical coup would have exploded into a civil war within the village. Konoha-nin would have been killing their comrades inside our very walls, all with the civilians caught in the middle and suffering for it. Our enemies would have waited until our strength had ebbed its lowest before descending upon us like wolves, and sending us to join our brethren in Uzushiogakure. Five great villages would become four, and it's entirely possible that the other villages would treat it as a combination of opportunity and provocation, spreading the violence across the Elemental Nations. Thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands dead, all to salve your clan's bruised egos."
"Some of your grievances were legitimate," he admitted, "and if you had brought them before me I would have done what I could to help. It tore at my heart every time I had to refuse you custody of Naruto to keep the peace with those who blamed the Uchiha, fairly or unfairly, for the Kyuubi's attack. That last is why Mikoto-san's name is not on that list. It is for the sake of your families, your clan, and this village that your conspiracy will never become publicly known. You will all die in service to your village, have your names inscribed on the memorial stone, and be remembered as loyal heroes of the village. If any of you tell anyone outside of your conspiracy about this plan or the reasons behind it, the only remaining option will be to execute all of you as traitors, something which I'm certain none of us want."
"I... I see," Fugaku said finally. "Thank you, Hokage-sama, for allowing us to die with dignity and honor, but more than that for sparing Itachi the burden of issuing this order. He will undoubtedly bear enough in the years to come without his own family adding to it."
"Itachi is going to make an incredible Hokage," the Third replied more gently. "He was willing to do whatever was required of him to save his brother and his village - how could I not do everything I could to save his clan as well? His Will of Fire burns stronger than almost anyone else I've ever met, possibly even greater than my own sensei, and I have no doubt that he will defend the people of Konoha with everything he has. I am also quite certain that he could defeat any living Kage at his current level, and his growth can only continue. You deserve to be incredibly proud of your son."
"I am," the Uchiha stated firmly. "Even if our philosophies differ, he chose this path, and I will always be proud of him."
"Now, Hokage-sama," he continued, "if you would excuse me, I should return to helping my clan prepare for tomorrow's celebration. In addition, my upcoming assignment leaves me needing to select a new Military Police Chief and an interim Clan Head for my time outside the village." Fugaku bowed. "Good day, Hokage-sama."
The Third Hokage bowed in return. "Good day, Uchiha-san."
A/N: I know I'm far from the first to float naming Itachi as the next Hokage as a better solution to the Uchiha plotting, but I wanted to do my own take. The main point was to focus on some of the attendant issues, like what to do about a group of people that were apparently planning to commit treason to salve their wounded pride; after all, they sort of got what they wanted, which could encourage them to plot again the next time they were feeling tetchy. Above is my answer to how to deal with them without making the whole thing public or making the village leadership look cruel or incompetent.
In the process, I also ended up delving deeper into what could have been motivating the conspirators, and found what I thought was a much more sympathetic and believable motive for Fugaku and Mikoto - after all, if your friend dies and leaves their newborn baby an orphan, you'd want to do what you could for the kid, right? Being blocked from doing so, or even getting to know the child, because of a bunch of incorrect (to your knowledge) suspicions and the manipulations of a monocular old spider, would hardly engender positive feelings.
Posted in celebration of my main story (Umino Iruka and the Will of Fire) hitting 100 reviews).
