Meanwhile, at the Naka shrine, the remaining Uchiha sat down for a brief meeting with Fugaku and Ryuu. They weren't many in here; it was mostly adults, and the elderly stayed with the kids.
"Fugaku-dono, is it true what they say? Did Itachi betray the clan?" A lady asks. She was young, one of the few youths who didn't want to fight,
"No, Itachi didn't betray the clan, he wasn't a part of the Uchiha massacre."
"Then what happened? Do you know Ryuu-sama?"
They all look at Ryuu,
"I do. And I'm already planning something for the person who's responsible for this."
Fugaku looks at Ryuu, and then he nods.
"You have to tell us, Ryuu-sama. Who killed our families?! Please tell us, Ryuu-sama."
"I'll tell you, but you'll have to make a promise that you'll let me handle things, if you can't swear to me, then I can't say a word to you."
"We swear! Just please tell us who killed our loved ones!"
"Yeah!"
Seeing they were all in agreement, Ryuu nods, and answered,
"There's a hidden reason as to why Itachi was given a role in the Anbu black ops."
"We already know about Itachi's role to spy on the Hokage and the council, but someone said he became a double agent and started spying on us instead."
"Itachi's role in the Anbu, the one we told you about, was just a front."
"A front?" They wonder.
Ryuu nods,
"Yes, Uncle didn't want me to frighten or to instigate you all any further, so he told me not to say a word.
The actual mission Itachi was given was to spy on Danzo Shimura, the Third Hokage's right-hand man, and a village official."
"Danzo? But why just him?"
"Itachi's mission was to spy on Danzo, I don't trust him even the slightest, I have my reasons but what matters is I was right to not trust him.
Danzo plotted against our clan for a very long time, my parents died because of him, and even the assassination attempt on the Hokage by one of our own was his doing.
He wanted us to be hated and seen as villains for the rest of our lives. That would be a perfect cover-up for him to initiate the other plan to eradicate us all.
Once everything was set, all he had to do was make the move.
Itachi went to meet with Danzo during the night of the massacre, he wanted to talk him out of it, but Danzo didn't want to listen, everything was already in place.
He had sent me and Obito on a fake mission far from the village, I had to go so I could keep my cover, but when I returned…" Ryuu frowns and shakes his head.
"So… Itachi tried to stop this? And by this, that means the rumors were probably Danzo-sama's orders too, weren't they?" Ryuu nods,
"But I need you all to promise me that you'll let me handle this, I'll avenge our clan and restore its honor."
"We have to find Itachi! We have to apologize. He tried to save us, but we believed the rumors too quickly!"
"She's right."
They all started talking over each other, all of them were defending Itachi and wanted to apologize. Everything went according to plan.
"All of you don't worry, Itachi is safe."
Fugaku says.
"He just can't come back yet, he's wanted and until Ryuu's plan is accomplished, he won't safely return."
"Fugaku-dono, how could you still forgive us?" Another lady asks, she was young, and she was also a kunoichi.
"He's your son, and you knew all this but…
You still helped us."
"It's my job as the clan leader to make sure we are all on one side.
Together with Ryuu and Obito, we'll take back our rightful place as the village's most remarkable clan."
Ryuu smiles and nods.
A few topics later, the meeting ended, and Fugaku left the Naka shrine.
Ryuu stays inside, he stretches as he thinks of his next moves,
'All this is happening so fast. Not that I'm complaining.'
Ryuu stops pondering as he feels someone watching him,
'It's that girl.'
"Your name is umm…" Ryuu holds his chin, trying to remember her name,
"Ayumi, isn't it?" She walks in, feeling a little flustered,
"Ryuu-sama, sorry to disturb you but-"
Ryuu waves his hand,
"Stop it, you aren't bothering me at all, you know?
But listen, I have something I must do. Please remember we have another meeting later."
Ryuu walks past her, he puts his hand on her shoulder and winks before teleporting.
He appears inside the secret meeting room, where Sakumo assigns everyone.
"Ryuu, tomorrow you, Fugaku, and the rest of the Uchiha clan will clean up the city."
"Are you serious? Me too?" Ryuu senses a glare from his uncle.
"I'm only asking because I'm excited, you know." Ryuu closes his eyes and nods affirmatively.
"Great, then we'll see you tomorrow." Ryuu nods.
Ryuu and Fugaku leave Sakumo's office, Anzai already prepared the Anbu to begin their operation, and by the time it was dark, criminals flooded Konoha's streets.
The next day, phase 2 of the plan was beginning.
Multiple groups of people went to Sakumo to complain about the criminals and to ask for the Uchiha's help.
As they were walking back to the bar, following yet another disappointing answer, they ran into a kid.
"They're back, the Uchiha clan are back to protect us.
Even Ryuu sama!"
Their eyes widened, and they rushed to see it themselves.
Seeing Ryuu and his clan capturing all those criminals, they couldn't help but cheer on him.
"Look, even Fugaku-dono's with them."
"Yeah, and Obito Uchiha."
"Wait, is that who I think it is over there?"
"That can't be him…"
"It is, Itachi Uchiha. He's helping out too?!
But I thought he…"
"Shhh, don't forget what we thought before must've been a lie told by Danzo-sama." Soga glared at the villagers.
"Right, now that I think about it, it only makes sense that he'd try to add more lies to what we thought before."
Even though they were back, Ryuu, Itachi, and Obito had to help them gain numbers by using wood clones, they weren't nearly as many as before but they were here, that's all that mattered.
With Ryuu and Obito's help, the Uchiha clan put a stop to nearly all the criminals in one day, they didn't take a break even for a minute.
Fugaku puts his hand on Ryuu's shoulder,
"Is there anyone else?" He asks,
"No, we should head back from here."
Fugaku nods,
"You heard him. All units fall back!"
Fugaku relays this message to all his lieutenants,
The Uchiha clan all listen and obey.
"Keep two units in the village, we'll keep swapping and sweating the streets."
Watching the Uchiha clan leave, the villagers couldn't keep their mouths shut any longer,
"Fugaku-dono, even after everything we put you through, and everything you've been through, your clan still protected the village.
I just wanted to ask… why? Why would you come back and protect us even if we were disgraceful and unappreciative of you?"
Fugaku looks back at the villagers, his Sharingan off and his guard dropped,
"The Uchiha clan has gone through a rough time recently, tragedy, betrayal, and a lot more. We have experienced these things tenfold over the past two weeks.
But it will take far more than that to destroy the Uchiha clan. We will always be there to protect the village. Please forgive our absence!"
Fugaku bows, leaving the villagers in shock.
A gasp coming from all who were there echoed,
'Fugaku…
You would put your pride down like this?'
Soga slowly walks in front of everyone,
Surprisingly, one of them walks ahead of him to speak. Soga was reluctant to let him, but Anzai stops him,
"I- I would like to say something…"
Fugaku looks at him and so do many others. The rest of the clan didn't feel as passive as Fugaku did, so they couldn't hide their glare too well, but they would soften up immediately after this,
"If it's alright with you Fugaku-dono…
I would like to assist the Uchiha police force!"
Knowing he said it already, he continues speaking up,
"Your bravery and selflessness… it's not what I expected.
These past few weeks I've seen the village destroy themselves from within, and it's because the leaf police force wasn't here… I won't lie by saying I wasn't part of this. But I won't allow my little brother to be raised under such conditions.
That's why… If there is any way I can help, even just a little, I would like to help you and your clan. I realized something that I should've realized a long time ago, we all should've.
Helping the Uchiha clan is helping the village, because… the Uchiha clan is part of the village!"
One of Fugaku's eyebrows rose in interest, this was the first time someone out of their clan had ever expressed the desire to join the police force.
The clan also was surprised to hear this,
Fugaku looks at Ryuu and Ryuu shrugs, even though he didn't expect this,
"Me too! I'd like to join the police force too!" Another guy says,
More and more people wanted to join, Fugaku was stunned, and rightfully so, Konohagakure's villagers never showed this much determination to join, even more, none of them ever acknowledged the police force all these years,
Fugaku couldn't help but smile a little. And seeing this response from their captain, the Uchiha clan also took this message positively,
Soon, a bunch of villagers wanted to join the military police force.
'This is all working too well.' Ryuu nods in approval of Anzai's role and help,
'But now it's time for the best part.
A plan for the hunt.'
Leaving a wood clone, Ryuu flickers away and goes to wear his Anbu gear.