Naruto: How to Be an Undercover Shinobi

Konohagakure, Hokage's Office. Stacks of paperwork towered over the desk. Buried in that mountain of files, Hiruzen Sarutobi was at his wits

Konohagakure, Hokage's Office.

Stacks of paperwork towered over the desk.

Buried in that mountain of files, Hiruzen Sarutobi was at his wits' end.

He hadn't been home in two days, spending nearly every hour cooped up in his office.

On one side, the Uchiha Clan conflict kept escalating. On the other, the Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails had been attacked.

Although Lady Mito hadn't suffered any serious harm, the fact that the assailant had reached the Senju estate was alarming.

Something like this would've been unthinkable in the past.

After all, Lady Mito was a member of the Uzumaki Clan—famous not just for immense chakra and long lifespans, but for their terrifying sensory abilities.

Yet even she had been ambushed.

That didn't just expose a glaring flaw in the village's defenses; it also served as a harsh reminder to the Konoha leadership.

Lady Mito was getting old.

It was time to seriously consider a new Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.

Danzō Shimura's suggestion was straightforward: bring the Uzumaki Clan to Konoha.

Doing so would not only secure a new Jinchūriki but also save the hassle and resources of protecting Uzushiogakure.

Truthfully, Hiruzen was tempted.

But in reality, there was no way the Daimyō of the Land of Fire would ever approve such a move.

Look at what happened to the Daimyō of the Land of Grass—toppled by Reiji—and still none of the great nations dared to follow suit.

The gap between the daimyō's private forces and the hidden villages was like the difference between a toddler with a stick and a man wielding a greatsword.

Which brought about an unspoken agreement among the daimyō of all nations:

War was fine—but the borders must remain unchanged.

Break that rule, and both big and small nations would suffer massive political losses.

Think about it—if you win a war and seize territory, who does it belong to?

The daimyō? Get real. Without troops of their own, they were barely more than figureheads.

And for the daimyō who loses? Maybe not a personal disaster, but losing land? That hurt.

And the truth is, no one wins every battle forever.

So, the daimyō kept the hidden villages in check this way:

Fight all you want. Any land gained? Keep it. I'm not touching it. Watching you squabble is like watching kids fight.

Nothing ever really changes.

Plus, with smaller countries acting as buffers, the five great nations avoided direct border contact.

Even putting the Daimyō's resistance aside, the bigger obstacle was the Uzumaki Clan themselves—they had no intention of merging into Konoha.

Why would their leader, who had full authority over his clan, come join Konoha and play second fiddle?

With no other option, Hiruzen had to send ANBU to Uzushiogakure to bring someone back.

The chosen candidate, naturally, was Prince Naruto's mother—Empress Kushina.

Still, more troublesome than that was the Uchiha situation.

Hiruzen hadn't expected Kagami Uchiha's expulsion from the clan to spark such an uproar.

Kagami himself remained silent, but those who once aligned with his ideals were anything but.

They stepped forward one after another, criticizing the Clan Head's decision as utterly unreasonable.

Back when Madara Uchiha left the village and fought the First Hokage, the clan didn't strip him of his surname—so why Kagami?

What they didn't understand was just how far people would go for power.

The Uchiha Clan Head had envied the Konoha Council seats for far too long.

What stung most was that the Hyūga seat was held by their clan leader, while the Uchiha's representative was just... Kagami.

And Kagami, of all people, had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. How could that not spark jealousy?

Put yourself in the clan head's shoes—could you sleep easy knowing someone like that existed in your own ranks?

Of course, none of this could be said out loud.

So Kagami's supporters were furious.

Because over the years, he hadn't just sat idle. Whether in the Konoha Police Force or among the upper ranks, his ideals had deeply influenced many within the Uchiha clan.

Faced with their doubts, the Uchiha Clan Head—busy schmoozing his way into a senior counselor position—found it all deeply irritating.

As tensions rose, the conflict escalated dangerously, teetering on the edge of fracturing the Uchiha Clan itself.

Outside the clan, the villagers' reactions only fanned the flames.

There were mockers, gawkers, the openly disdainful, and those whispering venomous gossip in the shadows.

People wore many faces, and in times like these, every kind of underhanded comment surfaced.

It's no exaggeration to say that every Uchiha was going through a rough time.

And when the Uchiha were unhappy, Konoha's public order took a nosedive.

Put simply—if the Uchiha weren't content, Konoha wasn't calm.

At the eye of the storm was Kagami. No longer Uchiha Kagami—just Kagami now.

Staying home, Kagami received wave after wave of loyal supporters, doing his best to persuade them to stop stirring things up.

He saw the growing chaos throughout the village. As someone who carried the Will of Fire more faithfully than anyone, it pained him deeply.

But in the face of brutal reality, his words felt powerless.

His supporters were being squeezed out and suppressed by the Clan Head.

Former Konoha Police Force members had been expelled.

Those who had once lived in prime clan housing had their homes taken.

They had wives. Children. Families to support. They needed jobs, money, stability.

But being Uchiha limited their options.

Aside from a select few with exceptional skill, most Uchiha weren't welcome in the ANBU.

As for Root? Forget it. That was Danzō's turf—and no one dared tread there.

Leaving the village for missions?

Even if they wanted to, the village wouldn't let them leave en masse.

After all, the Sharingan was one of Konoha's most prized assets. If it were captured by another village, the consequences would be catastrophic.

Which left one pressing question: how were they supposed to feed their families without defecting?

That stumped many of them—and stumped Kagami too.

Even when he turned to Hiruzen Sarutobi, he found no solution.

What were they supposed to do? Create a "Konoha Police Force 2.0"?

Power had long since been divided up within the village. There was no place left for these displaced Uchiha.

For the first time, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that being Hokage wasn't worth a damn.

Staring at Kagami's gaunt, worn face, he even considered taking off his robes and paying the Uchiha Clan Head a "personal visit."

But he couldn't.

The entire village was watching—every clan, large and small.

Especially the Hyūga. Even if they clashed with the Uchiha politically, when it came to the principle of internal clan autonomy, they stood firmly on the same side.

Clan self-governance was a red line—the shared baseline of every major clan, and a reality Konoha itself couldn't ignore.

Even the mighty First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, had only reformed the Senju. He didn't dare touch the Hyūga or Uchiha.

Reiji saw this with exceptional clarity.

He knew Hiruzen would never openly intervene in the Uchiha's internal affairs—and he used that to split the clan, tearing off a faction by force.

And it was certain—this splintered group of Uchiha would become a hot commodity, eyed greedily by many.