1

In the Land of Fire, within the Hidden Leaf Village, nestled near the sacred Naka Shrine, the Uchiha clan convened for their monthly gathering.

The purpose of this assembly transcended mere familial ties. It served as a crucible to nurture bonds amidst the diverse factions within the Uchiha clan, to untangle conflicts that lingered among kin, and to delve into the intricacies of ascending to the pinnacle of Konoha society—perhaps even achieving the esteemed title of Hokage.

While the Uchiha clan currently found themselves outside the warm embrace of Konoha's high-ranking officials, they were not ensnared in a life-or-death struggle. Rather, the prevailing sentiment among them teetered on the edge of disdain.

A resonating sound echoed through the gathering hall—Peng! 

An elder of the Uchiha, adorned with silvery hair and a face etched with the tapestry of time, vehemently struck the table. Rising from his seat, he fixed a piercing gaze upon the clan leader positioned at the head of the assembly, as well as the cadre of aged Uchiha patriarchs flanking him. The elder's voice, sharp and quivering with excitement, cut through the charged air.

"The mantle of Second Hokage was bequeathed to Tobirama, the younger brother of Senju Hashirama. Handpicked, not earned. With the demise of Uchiha Kagami, the seat of the Third Hokage fell into the hands of Hiruzen Sarutobi. And now, the Fourth Hokage's throne is occupied by Namikaze Minato. What became of the pledged two-for-one, the promised three-for-four? Your grand design is nothing but nonsense! Decades have marched on, and not once have I grazed the sacred seat of the Hokage."

At this juncture, the elder observed that the seasoned figures surrounding him deliberately averted their gaze, fixating their attention on the ceiling or the floor, as if the weight of his words was too burdensome to confront.

"How, then? Shall we persist in vying for the coveted position of the Fifth Hokage?" he exclaimed with a mixture of incredulity and disdain.

Namikaze Minato, a mere 24 years in the tapestry of time, adorned with a countenance seemingly destined for another five decades. "Fifty years?" he scoffed, "And yet, your progeny would lie in the cold embrace of death by then."

A soft sigh escaped Uchiha Fugaku's lips, hidden within the recesses of his heart. He withdrew his hand from his sleeve, casting an unruffled gaze upon the cantankerous elder.

As the helmsman of the Uchiha clan, Fugaku had weathered these tempests time and again. The members of the clan, fraught with emotional unrest, exhibited exaggerated reactions to unpleasant truths. Some even dared to challenge his leadership when the winds of dissent blew through their ranks.

Exhausted by the perpetual cycle, Fugaku allowed a moment of silence to linger. He extended his hand in a placating gesture towards the disgruntled elder, coaxing him to resume his seat. His discerning eyes scanned the hall, focusing on the clan members gathered—a congregation marked by the three tomoe Sharingan.

"Elder Ryoichi, I implore you to take a seat," Fugaku uttered calmly.

"I won't!" defiantly retorted Elder Ryoichi, a refrain echoing through the hallowed chamber.

Uchiha Ryoichi swatted away the clan leader's conciliatory gesture, advancing towards the elder opposite him. With a fierce determination, he seized the old man's collar with both hands, teeth clenched.

"Old man, you were the architect of this grand plan—securing second, aiming for third, and striving for fourth, weren't you?" he accused.

The elder affirmed, "That's right!"

"And now, the plan lies in ruins."

"Ryoichi, remain calm. I have a contingency," the clan leader assured.

"What's your next move, old man?"

"My grandfather..." the elder began, but Ryoichi cut him off.

"My grandfather died alongside Madara-sama when Konoha was first formed."

Pooh!

Uchiha Asuka, caught in the crossfire of the spat, wiped away the spittle from his face. He glanced at the bickering elders, then cast his eyes to the ceiling, allowing his mind to gradually empty.

Eighteen years in the ninja world, and the initial excitement of transmigrating into the Uchiha clan had long dissipated. The Second Ninja War left him the solitary survivor of his family by the tender age of one.

By the time he could walk at three, with no golden fingers at his disposal, he contemplated breaking free from the Uchiha shackles and starting anew elsewhere. The escape, however, crumbled before it began.

On his first day of literacy, he discovered from the Uchiha family records that ancestors who pursued a similar path were thwarted. Leaving the Uchiha clan for other families resulted in offspring unable to awaken the Sharingan, while unions with non-Uchiha women bore the coveted eye.

These restrictions felt like invisible chains, and Asuka suspected the hand of the Old Man Six Paths behind them. Rejecting the notion of becoming a mere seed, he turned to commerce.

Yet, after a brief foray into the world of business, the fleeting hope was strangled by the metaphorical talons of a bird of prey in his mind.

The technological tapestry in the ninja world unraveled as a bizarre mosaic—electric energy, chakra energy, wind energy—all woven into the fabric of existence. Light bulbs, white paper, cement—all more accessible than in his pre-travel days. In the realms of agriculture and medicine, the reliance on manual labor to conjure magical feats rendered machinery obsolete.

Strangled by the claws of Shang Lu, he redirected his focus toward the ninja's path.

In the ninja world, where blood dictated destiny, the notion that hard work could reshape fate found itself a stranger. Blessed with the paramount bloodline, he immersed himself in the arduous study and practice of ninja arts from childhood. He harbored dreams of a prosperous and extraordinary future, confident that even if he fell short, he would still stand tall, not far from the likes of Uchiha Itachi.

It wasn't until the battlefield beckoned that reality shattered his illusions. The biological son of Rokudo's elder brother (Sasuke) stood as an insurmountable benchmark.

"Uchiha Itachi stepped onto the battlefield for the first time, and in the face of such tragedy, his Sharingan awakened."

Confronting the gruesome tableau of war, his heart numbed, failing to echo the transformative moment experienced by Uchiha Itachi.

"Uchiha Itachi surveyed the battlefield strewn with ninja corpses, pondering the meaning of life."

Contemplating the scattered remnants of fallen comrades, he grappled with the existential question—whether to defect now, ensuring the kunai and sword met eyes before facing the battlefield's merciless embrace.

"Uchiha Itachi witnessed the demise of a cherished companion, his Sharingan evolving, unlocking newfound strength."

As death claimed a familiar soul before his eyes, his thoughts transcended, shaping a character of greater fortitude.

A sequential cascade of events followed—schooling, graduation, war, Sharingan awakening, participation in battles, the unlocking of the full three tomoe Sharingan. Post the Third Ninja War, he ascended to the rank of Jonin, earning the privilege to partake in the Uchiha clan's esteemed gatherings.

"Assembly?"

Observing the fracas of bickering elders, Uchiha Asuka quirked the corner of his mouth. Prior to the meeting, he envisioned an atmosphere steeped in seriousness, anticipating discussions of paramount importance concerning Naruto and the Uchiha clan's future.

Upon arrival, however, he found the atmosphere unexpectedly jovial. The topics meandered far from the anticipated gravity, drifting into realms where the relevance to Naruto and the Uchiha's destiny was nebulous at best.

It seemed these seasoned elders had been dissecting Naruto-related matters for decades, and the novelty had worn thin.

This spectacle, he concluded, was rather insipid.

As his intestines voiced their discontent, Uchiha Asuka rose from his seat and strode to the hall's center, intent on hastening the end of this tedious gathering. Addressing Fugaku and the assembly of elders, he spoke.

"Elders, cease your quarrel. I have a solution to elevate the Uchiha clan to the position of the fifth Hokage."

Um??

As the youthful voice resonated, the squabbling elders abruptly fell silent, redirecting their attention to Uchiha Asuka.

Observing the newly promoted Jonin in the clan, Ryoichi arched an eyebrow with skepticism.

"Speak, let's hear the intriguing ideas our young Uchiha has concocted," Ryoichi urged.

"Clan Chief Fugaku, perhaps you should contemplate divorce and pursue Tsunade-sama, the current head of the Senju Clan."

In the present, only Tsunade remained in the Senju clan of the forest. By uniting the two clans through marriage, not only would the fifth Hokage assuredly hail from the Uchiha, but the Senju of the forest would gradually assimilate into the Uchiha.

During the Warring States Period, tribes harbored dreams of annexing the Senju Clan. Now, if Clan Chief Fugaku could accomplish the annexation of the Senju clan, it would be a feat etched in stone for posterity.

Upon concluding his proposal, Asuka sensed an eerie hush settling over the hall. The pin-drop silence competed with the shattering of glass.

The eyes of the Uchiha elders flitted between Fugaku and Asuka.

"Snort!"

An elder, bearing scars on his face, rose. Turning toward Asuka, he spoke in a low voice, "To think the esteemed Konoha clan must resort to the clan leader selling his body for the role of Hokage. Even if I were to entertain this ill-conceived notion, others won't, let alone the clan leader."

"That's right!"

A one-eyed Uchiha elder also concurred, "A terrible idea, blending Uchiha and Senju together. Although our initial plan of 'guaranteeing two, fighting for three, and rushing four' failed, it doesn't hinder us from aiming for the position of the Fifth Hokage again."

"Damn you!"

Ryoichi, the elder, erupted once more. He pointed accusingly at the blind elder and ground his teeth.

"When Madara-sama was present, we targeted the position of Hokage. However, after the village's founding, Madara-sama relinquished the Hokage mantle to the Senju family. We resumed our pursuit of the Second Hokage. Suddenly, not even two years after the village's inception, Clan Leader Madara departed Konoha. Our sword broke… Later, after Uchiha Kage toiled diligently, he became the Second Hokage's guard. Our sights then shifted to the third-generation Hokage. Alas, when accompanying the Second Hokage on a mission to negotiate with the Land of Lightning, he perished on the road. Not long after we mended the sword, it shattered once more. 

Following the conclusion of the Second Ninja War, we hastily selected a candidate, hoping to once again target the Third Hokage. After all, Sarutobi Hiruzen's position wasn't firmly established at that time… Who would have thought the chosen one was a fool? He led our ninjas in battle for a year, with fewer victories than my daily trips to the toilet, tarnishing the family's reputation. As the Third Ninja War ignited, the clan leader finally had a chance to vie for the position of Hokage, and once again, we aimed for the Fourth Hokage. Enter the perverted Minato Namikaze, and our swords were sheathed before they could even be unsheathed."

Having laid out this history, Ryoichi swallowed, moistened his throat, and continued, pointing at the blind elder with vehemence.

"And now you want to wield my sword for the Fifth Hokage? Can you believe this? If you rely on the clan leader selling his body, fine, he can be Hokage. I'll admit it. But when I journey to the Pure Land, I'll kneel before Madara-sama and explain this matter."

Observing the Uchiha in the hall split into two factions, with a hint of brewing confrontation, Asuka discreetly retreated to the door. Slipping out, he closed the door behind him.

"Tsk tsk!"

Turning to glance at the still arguing group behind him, Asuka shook his head, saying nothing.

The Uchiha, a clan with a certain degree of mental turbulence, naturally had a lax family management. They not only spoke freely at gatherings but also debated physics and the outcome of ninjutsu battles.

The plan he proposed, suggesting the clan leader divorce and marry Tsunade to become the disguised Fifth Hokage, successfully ignited a fervor among those disgruntled with the failure of the Fourth Hokage.

Neurotic!

　　After saying that, Asuka left here in a flash. He was going to go back and pack his things. After witnessing the wedding of the Fourth Hokage, he would defect.