Indeed, that was the case. Uchiha Chizan had been planning for many years and had already figured out a backup plan for the Uchiha clan should they leave Konoha. In Chizan's view, the entire Hidden Village system was flawed from the beginning. Why should powerful shinobi follow the orders of feudal lords and be controlled by them?
So Chizan had long set his sights on the Land of Fire's daimyo.
Chizan wanted to separate from Konoha, but not in the way Madara Uchiha had done through outright rebellion.
Instead, his plan was to have the Uchiha clan relocate to the Land of Fire's capital. Nominally, they would still be a clan of Konoha, but in practice, they would become the real power behind the Land of Fire.
Of course, controlling the daimyo wasn't going to be easy.
At least for now, Chizan had no method of controlling the daimyo without others finding out.
Therefore, over the years, he had been immersed in genjutsu research in hopes of a breakthrough.
Chizan had even thought ahead—once he succeeded in controlling the daimyo, he would arrange for Uchiha women to marry into the daimyo's household as concubines.
They would bear the daimyo's children, and those children would become future daimyo. After a few generations, the daimyo of the Land of Fire would be of Uchiha blood. At that point, the whole country would belong to the Uchiha—why bother fixating on just the position of Hokage in Konoha?
Of course, some of Chizan's ideas were still unknown to Uchiha Yuan.
If Yuan knew, then Chizan wouldn't need genjutsu anymore.
In fact, Yuan himself had thought about controlling the Land of Fire's daimyo. But for now, he wanted to focus on consolidating the Uchiha clan as a whole.
As for the Hawk faction, Yuan preferred a conciliatory approach. They were kin, after all, and many members—like Uchiha Yin—were only on that side because of their parents' affiliations.
Not every Hawk was a die-hard supporter of their ideology.
In terms of numbers, however, the Hawks certainly outnumbered the Doves. That was the inevitable result of worsening relations between Konoha and the Uchiha.
But with the success of the initial police force reforms—and Namikaze Minato's mediation—the Uchiha's reputation in the village had improved considerably.
Additionally, with the power of Danzo and the two elders increasingly curtailed, they no longer had the means to act against the Uchiha.
As a result, the Uchiha grew closer to Namikaze Minato.
Minato's ANBU forces were severely lacking in personnel. The Uchiha Doves and Uchiha Fugaku now worked closely with him to handle certain affairs.
That afternoon, Uchiha Yuan was relaxing—well, more like resting with his eyes closed—in the Third Division office when a knock came at the door.
"Come in."
"Yuan, sensei asked you to go to the Hokage's office," said Kakashi, pushing open the door while wearing an ANBU mask.
"Kakashi, are you not even trying to hide your identity anymore?"
Kakashi sighed. He used to, but with his signature silver hair and Sharingan eye—who could possibly not recognize him? Hiding was pointless.
Yuan followed Kakashi to the Hokage's office.
As soon as he entered, he saw a somewhat familiar Suna shinobi talking with Namikaze Minato.
"Baki, Yuan is here. You can explain the situation to him directly," said Minato.
Hearing the name, Yuan looked more closely. Only then did he confirm that the Suna-nin was Baki—the elite jōnin who, during the Konoha Crush in the original story, helped Kabuto kill Hayate Gekko.
"Lord Yuan, our One-Tail jinchūriki Bunpuku has fallen seriously ill and won't live much longer. So Lord Kazekage hopes Konoha can assist with sealing the One-Tail."
"Sealing the One-Tail? Lord Hokage, you want me to go?" Yuan asked Minato.
Minato nodded. "Yuan, I gave you those sealing scrolls a while ago, right? You've had plenty of time. Let's treat this as a test. If you do well, I'll ask Kushina to teach you more Uzumaki sealing techniques."
"These sealing techniques… are they mission rewards?"
"Of course not. Just a personal reward. Besides, Suna has also provided us with other intel—something of great value to the village."
"Intel? What kind?" Yuan asked with interest.
"Baki, tell him," said Minato.
Baki nodded and said, "Lord Yuan, a few days ago we received information that Kumogakure and Kirigakure both sent teams to the Land of Waves. Elder Chiyo sensed something unusual and had them followed. We discovered that the Three-Tails appeared in the Land of Waves."
"The Three-Tails!" Yuan's eyes lit up. He already had One-Tail chakra, so he wasn't particularly interested in helping with that—but the Three-Tails was different. He didn't have its chakra yet.
"Yuan, after you help seal the One-Tail, I also want you to stop by the Land of Waves. We don't need to interfere in the tailed beast battle—just confirm who ends up with the Three-Tails."
Yuan nodded. "Alright. I'll go. Is there any detailed intel on the One-Tail?"
Baki respectfully handed him a scroll. Yuan skimmed through it and said, "Got it. Wait for me at the village gate. We'll meet in one hour."
"Kakashi, you go with him too," Minato said. "It'll be good for you to see a tailed beast's power firsthand—it'll help in your development."
Kakashi nodded immediately.
Yuan teleported outside the village and summoned Lightning.
He sent Lightning to deliver a message to Hyuga Asana, asking her to meet him in the Land of Waves.
Both Kumogakure and Kirigakure were interested in the Three-Tails, so the agents they sent were bound to be strong—possibly even other jinchūriki.
If the Six-Tails jinchūriki was there, Yuan would need Asana's help to obtain that chakra too.
Even if the Six-Tails didn't appear, with Asana around, the two of them could face off against the other villages directly—even the Fourth Raikage wouldn't be a problem.
After arranging everything, Yuan teleported back to the Third Division office.
As usual, he handed responsibilities over to Uchiha Cai and reminded Yamanaka Kagetsu to assist her before leaving.
(To Be Continued...)