In the silence, Fugaku Uchiha suddenly spoke: "Shinichi-kun... What do you think of that person? And what do you think of the Uchiha?"

"Madara Uchiha?"

Shinichi’s treatment movements did not stop.

After pondering for a moment, he spoke: "He had merits and faults. Merits are merits, faults are faults. Just write them down clearly and let everyone judge for themselves. Deliberately hiding it to the point where even you, Clan Head Fugaku, are reluctant to mention his name only makes things seem stranger instead. Whatever Madara Uchiha did, he did. There’s no need to avoid it, nor exaggerate it. The more something is concealed, the more it invites speculation."

After a pause, he continued: "As for the Uchiha, in my view, they are simply part of the village, no different from anyone else."

Hearing this, Fugaku Uchiha opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but Shinichi continued before he could speak.

"If Clan Head Fugaku is referring to that incident back then, didn’t the Uchiha already make their choice? From the day the Uchiha did not follow Madara Uchiha and leave Konoha, the Uchiha became only Konoha’s Uchiha. Nothing more."

The Uchiha... They are only Konoha’s Uchiha.

Hearing this, Fugaku Uchiha’s heart shook violently.

The boy’s words were calm, as if he were merely stating a fact.

And this fact happened to be exactly what he had wanted to hear most for many years, and what he needed most to hear.

After remaining silent for a long time, Fugaku Uchiha seemed to finally make some kind of decision in his heart. He suddenly raised his head to look at the boy and spoke word by word: "Shinichi-kun, I hope that one day, my Mangekyo Sharingan, no! Not just my Mangekyo Sharingan, but every Uchiha Clansman who awakens the Mangekyo Sharingan, will be able to openly and proudly serve Konoha."

"Shinichi-kun, can you help me? No... Can you help the Uchiha?"

These words sounded somewhat abrupt, even somewhat lacking a context.

But Fugaku Uchiha believed that with the boy’s intelligence, he would definitely understand the true meaning behind his words.

In the future, my Uchiha Clan will support you with all our strength in ascending to the position of Hokage, and in exchange, we ask for your future acceptance, trust, and protection of the Uchiha.

This was a political alliance staking the clan’s future.

Shinichi’s treatment movements did not stop, and after a brief pause, he spoke: "Alright."

Then, his tone shifted.

"However, when that day comes, the Uchiha must voluntarily relinquish leadership of the Konoha Military Police Force."

"The Konoha Military Police Force is not the Uchiha’s Konoha Military Police Force, but Konoha’s Konoha Military Police Force. Every Konoha ninja should have the responsibility and right to participate in maintaining the village’s security."

Hearing this, the stone that had hung in Fugaku Uchiha’s heart for so long instead completely fell at this moment.

Making demands... Good!

Making demands meant the other party was sincerely considering this matter and truly taking it seriously.

If Shinichi made no demands at all and agreed to everything readily, he would instead worry whether the other party was merely perfunctory and might deny everything in the future.

Thinking of this, Fugaku Uchiha nodded solemnly and said, "When the time comes, the Uchiha will accept all arrangements made by Hokage-sama."

Neither of them explicitly clarified whether that Hokage-sama referred to the third Hokage or someone in the future.

A moment later, Shinichi withdrew the hand pressing against Fugaku’s wound and spoke: "That’s about enough, Clan Head Fugaku. Our comrades outside are still fighting. We should go support them."

Fugaku Uchiha nodded, then suddenly seemed to recall something and spoke again: "Wait a moment, Shinichi-kun. Regarding Hangetsu Hozuki’s death, since he was originally killed by you anyway, how about we unify our story here? I became reckless due to underestimating the enemy, suffered heavy losses, and was severely wounded. You arrived in time, saved me, and killed Hangetsu Hozuki yourself."

Shinichi’s brows twitched slightly.

"How can that be? Clearly, Clan Head Fugaku, you fought desperately and severely injured him. I merely added the finishing blow from the side and picked up an advantage. This credit should belong to Clan Head Fugaku."

Fugaku Uchiha shook his head firmly.

"If Hangetsu Hozuki and I had truly fought to the death just now, it’s hard to say who would have survived. If you, Shinichi-kun, had not arrived in time, I might not have walked out of here alive. That is the truth. This way, it can also conceal the matter of my Mangekyo Sharingan."

"In this battle, because I greedily sought merit and advanced recklessly, my companions lost their precious lives. I must bear this responsibility."

"And Shinichi-kun, you are merely the one who came to rescue me, saved my life, and avenged the Uchiha by personally killing our enemy."

"Let us define the matter this way."

The meaning behind Fugaku Uchiha’s words was not difficult to understand.

He pushed all the credit for killing Hangetsu Hozuki onto Shinichi while portraying himself as a Clan Head who suffered a painful price because of recklessness and underestimating the enemy, only to ultimately be saved by Shinichi.

In this way, on the surface, Shinichi became the benefactor of the entire Uchiha Clan.

He had traveled a great distance to support the Uchiha forces, saved the Clan Head in a moment of crisis, and personally avenged the dead Uchiha Clansmen.

With this relationship established, after returning, Fugaku Uchiha would have sufficient reason to persuade the stubborn, cautious, or dissatisfied voices within the clan.

No matter how much the Uchiha supported Shinichi Higashino in the future, there would now be a perfectly reasonable and justified explanation for it.

This was not merely an outward narrative, but also a political pledge of allegiance.

By sacrificing his own prestige, Fugaku Uchiha paved the road toward Uchiha support for Shinichi while also demonstrating his determination and sincerity in fulfilling the alliance.

Shinichi remained silent for a moment before nodding.

"If Clan Head Fugaku insists, then let us handle it this way for now. However..."

"One day in the future, I still hope the truth of this matter can be revealed to everyone, giving Clan Head Fugaku the honor and achievements you deserve."

"Additionally, Clan Head Fugaku, you need not blame yourself too much for the sacrifice of those four clansmen. On the battlefield, situations change in an instant. No one can guarantee flawless calculations. What matters is that those who survive can continue moving forward carrying their will."

Fugaku Uchiha was stunned for a moment before nodding gently.

"Thank you, Shinichi-kun. I hope that day comes soon."

Neither spoke further as they walked side by side toward the battlefield outside, where fighting still raged.

From this day onward, the Uchiha Clan would go all in and fully support Shinichi Higashino’s future ascent to the position of Hokage.

And Shinichi’s direct foundation had long since extended beyond this alone.

Shibi Aburame, Ren Inuzuka and his wife Tsume Inuzuka, Murakumo Kurama... These ninjas, who in the original timeline would each later become Clan Heads.

But at this moment, they were all old core members of Shinichi Battalion, people who had followed him through life-and-death battles many times and had even once disobeyed retreat orders at a critical moment of survival, willing to throw away their lives just to return and support their captain.

This loyalty tempered through blood and fire was firmer than any political alliance.

And with the support of the Senju clan represented by Tsunade...

Only half a year had passed since the war began. Even excluding the higher-ups and civilians, just counting ninja clans alone, more than half of Konoha’s ninja clans had already, openly or secretly, stood on his side.

And Shinichi believed this network of connections would only continue to expand as the war dragged on, eventually condensing into an incomparably enormous force after the war.

"Minato... You’ve already lost too much to me."

This thought calmly flashed through Shinichi’s mind.