Rebuilding from the Ashes.
The Uchiha clan had a generation of geniuses during the Third Great Ninja War. Three stood out as possible equals to the Sannin. Kaze Uchiha, the eldest, The Red Fang, The Screaming Death, the Crab God, He Who Hunts. The middle Shisui Uchiha, Shisui of the Body Flicker, the Teleporter, The Sudden Death, and the youngest Itachi Uchiha, of Anbu, The Silent Death. All of them had evolved their eyes beyond three tomoe during the war. Kaze had three rings of tomoe in his eyes, seven tomoe per eye. Itachi and Shisiu had the more commonly expected Mangekyou sharingans.
The Leaf sat pretty in the final days of the war while the peace treaties were signed, held up by nine Kage tier ninja. The three Sannin, the Three Red Eyed Deaths, the Green Beast, the Copy Ninja and the Third Hokage. Every other nation had to think twice before offending the Leaf. Beyond the nine of them, they had the Nine Tails guarding the village.
It was after the end of the war that they started to sink down to the level of the other villages. The three Sannin left the village, Orochimaru branded a traitor, and put in the Bingo Book to be hunted down. Jiraiya left to be an author and travel seeing the world. Tsunade had nothing to keep her in the village, the last of the Senju. Kaze appeared less and less on the international stage, having taken up the position of military police chief. The Hokage was old, while the copy Ninja was barely Kage tier. It went from nine to three true Kage tier threats out in the field, Itachi, Shisui, and the Green Beast. They still had the Nine Tails, but it hadn’t made an appearance since it attacked their village years before the war. Two powerhouses to position in the shadows of the village, four powerhouses to wield in cold war between nations.
The Uchiha wanted to have the fifth face on the mountain be one of their clansmen. Most were willing to wait, they had three war heroes, they stood a good chance of doing it. Others wanted it as soon as they could get it. They pushed a bit trying to get a new Hokage right after the war.
Kaze didn't want to be Hokage, told them as much right after the war. He liked running the police and his other projects, so they placed their hope on Itachi, and had him placed in the Hokages personal Anbu. Hiruzen wasn't going to die for some time, and had no intention of stepping down for some time. Having Itachi there near him, around the movers and shakers of the village would help him when they pushed again, this time to make him the Fifth Hokage.
It went downhill when Hiruzen turned down a spar against Kaze. Old and turning down training with the village’s best, painted a picture of age catching up to him. Hiruzen didn't start making preparations for the Fifth to take over for a few days after turning Kaze down. The Uchiha had sanctions placed on them, many of their civilian businesses were targeted. The income and livelihood of the civilian Uchiha was targeted to try to divide the Uchiha.
Already pushed from the heart of the village before the war, from where they were when the village was founded, the attack on their business bred discontent in the Uchiha. They pushed together, and bristled against the village. The Uchiha started getting less and less favorable missions, seemingly being passed over for their less skilled contemporaries. Then their reputation started to sour in the village, no longer were they war heroes. It became clear the Fifth was not going to be an Uchiha if Hiruzen had anything to say about it, and he did.
In light of these actions Kaze used his considerable pull in the village to campaign for an Uchiha elder to be added to the Hokage’s council. Sora Uchiha, ninety four years old, and spry. He thought it a decent compromise. The other elders had seen their clans rise, and the Uchiha would feel they had a say in the village. His candidate was older than the village propper, none had a more right to be an honored elder.
There was friction between Kaze and the Uchiha leadership over their training and Jutsu policies. Despite his problems with the village he was the best candidate for the Fifth Hokage out of everyone. They came up with an idea, to isolate him, to distance him from the clan. Hiruzen would pass down the position, or he would become to infirm and the ninja would remove him. It was only a matter of time, and Kaze, the military police chief, would be best for the position. He was expanding the police force, bringing in more civilian born, and ninja from other clans. His record and distance from the clan would be the perfect proof that Kaze Uchiha was the best possible Leaf shinobi to be the Fifth Hokage. The Uchiha would prop Itachi up, but would back Kaze secretly.
Thier mistake was thinking they played shogi, while they really lived in a dark and cruel world. Elder Sora was to be sworn in as an elder officially, she was already attending meetings, it hadn’t been made a big public spectacle yet. She knew the plan. It didn't matter that Kaze hated the ninja world, the Uchiha would put his face on that mountain kicking and screaming.
Some thought the Hokage infirm, and needing a push to step down. Fugaku was the leader of the clan, more like the guy who passed around the talking stick at clan meetings, and he was vocal about what they should do about Hiruzen. He was laughed at the first time he brought more immediate solutions, ninja were patient, and they would wait.
The clan already had the best possible candidate in the village, the only way they could have a better one, was if Tsunade Senju had a child with an Uchiha. A child born of the two founding clans of the village, two Kage tier parents. The backup plan was to do everything in their power to get one of the Three Red Eyed Deaths romantically involved with Tsunade Senju. The backup plan came about when Kaze jokingly said “a Senju Uchiha child, half and half, would have made the best First Hokage, and merged the clans by blood”, in one of their monthly clan meetings. He was terribly drunk that day, it was the anniversary of when his fourth set of tomoe came in, the one day a year he was always drunk since the war. If they didn't get the Fifth Hokage they would have the Sixth come hell or high water.
Like any idiot who talks long enough to enough people, Fugaku found others like him. He had a small bloc in the clan, a minor voice in the clan meetings. He was heard though, and found a few like him out of over two thousand Uchiha ninja and even more civilians.
Then Shisui disappeared, and Itachi came back with his forehead protector, saying Shisui was dead. The Uchiha clan tensed, but nothing came. Sora was to be sworn in, and they relaxed.
