After settling matters with the Hawk faction, the entire Uchiha clan—except for Uchiha Fugaku and his subordinate Uchiha Yakumi—was now effectively under Uchiha Yuan's control.
Of course, Uchiha Fugaku wasn't someone to be underestimated. He still had supporters within both the Hawk and Dove factions.
But those numbers weren't many. At best, Fugaku's influence accounted for a third of the clan members.
Overall, Uchiha Yuan clearly had the upper hand.
That said, he had no plans to move against Fugaku just yet. Right now, everything was focused on the coming Nine-Tails Night.
Two days later, the Hawk faction delivered their selected members for the ANBU unit.
Among the four were three Special Jonin who had awakened the two-tomoe Sharingan, and one who had appeared in the original story—Uchiha Tekka, who possessed the three-tomoe Sharingan.
Uchiha Yuan didn't say much and directly handed them over to Shisui.
Shisui led the four to report in at the ANBU. As for the remaining three members from the Dove faction (besides the ones invited by the Hokage), Yuan also picked three Special Jonin with two-tomoe Sharingan.
Thus, the Uchiha ANBU squad was fully assembled: led by Uchiha Shisui, who possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, with two members wielding three-tomoe Sharingan and the rest holding two-tomoe Sharingan.
This team, by all standards, was the strongest unit in Namikaze Minato's ANBU.
Meanwhile, news of Minato allowing the Uchiha clan to form an ANBU unit quickly reached Danzo and the two village advisors.
The three of them rushed to find the Third Hokage. Whatever was said in their conversation, the Third Hokage soon went to the Hokage's office.
"Minato, is your ANBU short-staffed?" the Third Hokage asked after some pleasantries.
"We were a bit short before, but the situation has improved now."
"If that's the case, why did you recruit members of the Uchiha clan into the ANBU?"
Minato feigned surprise. "Lord Hokage, are you saying I shouldn't recruit Uchiha? Isn't ANBU open to everyone in the village? Or do you think the Uchiha aren't part of the village?"
"I didn't mean it that way!" the Third Hokage quickly replied. "I only meant that the Uchiha are already short-handed managing the Police Force. Perhaps they shouldn't be burdened further."
"Oh, so that's your concern! You're overthinking it. I looked into it specifically. The Police Force has just undergone reform. Now other clans can join and assist the Uchiha in maintaining public order. The village's security shouldn't be a problem."
The Third Hokage was left speechless for a moment.
Minato seized the opportunity and continued, "Lord Third, Kakashi has been in the ANBU for a while now, and he has a Sharingan. I've noticed that the Sharingan is incredibly useful for ANBU missions. Uchiha members in the ANBU can significantly boost efficiency. I think it's a great decision."
With Minato putting it that way, the Third Hokage had nothing more to say. After all, Minato was now the current Hokage.
He sighed and left in silence.
Three more months passed without notice.
During that time, Yamato had successfully learned the basics of Wood Release techniques. Unlike in the original timeline, his Wood Release contained more vitality—closely resembling that of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.
After Yamato succeeded, Uchiha Yuan suggested they visit the First Hokage's grave to pay respects. It would also serve as a tribute to the First's legacy.
Minato thought about it and agreed.
The next day, Minato and Kushina led a group of people to the First Hokage's grave.
On the way, Yuan learned that all of them had Senju blood. Their fathers were all members of the Senju clan. As for why the Senju disappeared, Minato did not elaborate.
Kushina, however, mentioned that many people in the village still carried Senju blood.
Under Minato's lead, they arrived at Hashirama's grave.
It was not at all what Yuan had expected. The location wasn't secret, nor was it protected by a barrier—just a relatively quiet area.
Yuan then learned from Kushina that this place had once been the Senju clan's graveyard, where many Senju who died for the village were buried.
After the group finished paying their respects at Hashirama's grave, Kushina walked alone to a nearby grave to make a personal offering.
Yuan was certain—this must be the grave of Uzumaki Mito.
That night, Uchiha Yuan returned to the site alone and retrieved what he needed.
Then he teleported away from the village.
Perhaps due to the approaching Nine-Tails Night, many White Zetsu clones were now monitoring the outskirts of Konoha.
Yuan didn't hesitate—he captured one on the spot, formed hand seals, and activated the Reanimation Jutsu (Edo Tensei).
In the blink of an eye, a red-haired woman with about 50% resemblance to Kushina appeared before him.
Her expression was dull, her eyes vacant. Yuan had done this on purpose—he had bound her soul to prevent Uzumaki Mito from moving freely.
He handed her the Rat Talisman and ordered her to use it to copy her own soul.
To his surprise, the talisman didn't respond at all.
"Does this not count as voluntary? She's holding the thing herself and pressing it to her head!" Yuan muttered.
Clearly, complaining wouldn't make the talisman work.
He sighed, took the talisman back, and released his hold on Mito's soul.
Her eyes gradually regained their luster. She looked around and then down at her own hands before sighing.
"Sigh… Tobirama's jutsu really is detestable. I warned him before—tampering with the souls of the dead would bring retribution. Now I have to pay the price for him."
"Hey, could you maybe reanimate Tobirama too? I can't rest in peace even after death. I really want to beat him up."
Yuan's expression grew odd. This Mito was... not quite what he expected.
"Hey! Young man, why are you zoning out while an old lady's talking to you? That's just plain rude!"
"Ahem… Sorry. You just weren't how I imagined, so I was a little caught off guard." Yuan replied with an embarrassed look.
(To Be Continued...)