Buried in a mountain of paperwork, Hiruzen Sarutobi heard that unique and familiar pattern of footsteps and immediately knew Shimura Danzō had arrived.
He let out a faint sigh. At some point, that man had become someone who, whenever he came looking for him on his own initiative, would unfailingly bring fresh trouble.
Some of that trouble came from external threats. Some came from worsening internal contradictions within the village. But more and more of it came from Shimura Danzō stirring things up, failing to pull them off, and leaving behind one mess after another for him to clean up.
Hiruzen Sarutobi lit his pipe, took a deep drag, and sighed again, hoping this time the trouble Danzō had caused would not be too large.
Contrary to what he had expected, Shimura Danzō did not bring trouble this time.
He brought a rather intriguing piece of intelligence.
After hearing Danzō's report—mostly speculation and inference—Hiruzen Sarutobi fell into thought. After a long while, he looked up and asked, "You're saying that the conscription order I issued this time accidentally fished out a key figure from the Uchiha clan?"
Shimura Danzō nodded. "That's right. That chūnin called Uchiha Yoru."
Hiruzen Sarutobi said in puzzlement, "That makes no sense. I circulated that list in advance. Every ninja clan received notice. No one was omitted."
"If this Uchiha Yoru were truly that important to the Uchiha clan, Fugaku would definitely have warned me in advance and removed him from the list long ago. He shouldn't be coming to me only now to ask for changes."
By ordinary logic, that was indeed how it should have been. Shimura Danzō also felt his old classmate's reasoning made sense. After thinking it over uneasily, he tried asking, "Hiruzen, where exactly in the notice you sent out was Uchiha Yoru's name mentioned?"
"I'll need to check. This Uchiha Yoru had no reputation before this. I had no impression of him at all…"
Hiruzen Sarutobi clenched the pipe between his teeth and started rifling through the documents on his desk.
Copies of the Hokage's orders issued over the past few days were all still on the Third Hokage's desk. He searched by date and quickly found it.
"Uchiha Yoru, hm… Yoru, Yoru… found it. It's on the list."
In the supplementary paperwork attached to the order, Hiruzen Sarutobi found Uchiha Yoru's name in the roster. It was right there on the third line.
That was a very conspicuous position. Anyone who had looked at the list would have noticed that name.
The Third Hokage gazed at the list thoughtfully. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking, but the slight upward curl at the corner of his mouth made it clear that Lord Hokage was in quite a good mood.
Shimura Danzō let out a cold chuckle. "Good. Very good. For a name in that position to go unnoticed means Uchiha Fugaku didn't realize Uchiha Yoru's importance beforehand. Good. Very good indeed."
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not echo Danzō's words, but the emotions that surfaced in his eyes were exceptionally complicated. There was even a trace of killing intent.
One glance was enough for Shimura Danzō to understand what his old classmate was thinking. He was very satisfied with how things had turned out, so he didn't linger any longer.
He picked up his cane and left the Hokage's office with a series of thuds. At the door, he turned back and said to the Third Hokage, "I'll send Uchiha Fugaku in. You talk to him."
"Uchiha Yoru must leave the village. Once he's outside, I'll naturally deal with him. I won't let him threaten Konoha's security."
"For someone important to the Uchiha clan, yet not someone Fugaku truly cares about, the best thing is to clean him out as thoroughly as possible."
Only after Danzō's footsteps could no longer be heard did Hiruzen Sarutobi softly let out a breath. "Fugaku, don't blame me. This is all for Konoha…"
Having received the intelligence in advance and being prepared, Hiruzen Sarutobi handled Uchiha Fugaku with ease.
The Hokage's authority could not be diminished. The dignity of the Uchiha clan head should not be so fragile. Shinobi were also a fighting force that had to obey discipline. One grand principle after another smashed down on Fugaku until stars swam before his eyes and he could barely speak.
Dizzy and muddled, Uchiha Fugaku, trying to emphasize Uchiha Yoru's importance, actually explained to the Third Hokage why he wanted to protect him. He mentioned the thirty-one pairs of Sharingan. He mentioned that Yoru had already possessed the three-tomoe Sharingan at the age of eighteen.
The Third Hokage's smile immediately became even warmer and more radiant. He even patted Uchiha Fugaku on the shoulder and said cheerfully, "To think Uchiha Yoru awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan at eighteen. What an outstanding genius."
"Every Uchiha with the three-tomoe Sharingan is an elite jōnin of Konoha. Once Uchiha Yoru accumulates a few years of experience, Konoha's jōnin ranks will gain another reliable and powerful member."
"Konoha is growing stronger and stronger. That's good. Very good indeed."
"Fugaku, Uchiha Yoru urgently needs tempering. Going to the front lines is the most suitable choice for him. Only on a battlefield of blood and fire can he grow as quickly as possible."
"And with how strong Uchiha Yoru is, you don't need to worry at all. His safety at the front will be fully guaranteed."
By this point, Uchiha Fugaku had already been talked into silence. But remembering what old Shinji had said, he still could not resist trying to argue, "But…"
The Third Hokage cut him off without the slightest courtesy and spoke first. "I know what you want to say. You want to say the Uchiha clan's study group needs him."
"But surely you don't mean to say it truly cannot function without him? If he goes to the front lines, does that study group simply stop operating?"
Fugaku replied quietly, "That's… not exactly the case."
Hiruzen Sarutobi went on, "There you have it. A young shinobi like Uchiha Yoru should be allowed to shine at the front lines. If you don't let him go, you'd be severely limiting the child's growth. In the future, he wouldn't even be able to hold his head high in front of his peers."
"Let him build experience and military merit for a few years on the front lines. When the now-famous Uchiha Yoru returns, wouldn't he be the perfect next clan head?"
The Third Hokage's sowing of discord was smooth and natural. He even used himself as an example.
"The Uchiha clan can be said to have worthy successors. You're much luckier than this old man. Whether it's the Sarutobi clan or the next Hokage, I don't have any suitable candidates at all."
To be honest, the moment Hiruzen Sarutobi mentioned successors, Uchiha Fugaku felt his heart skip a beat, and the determination he had just summoned to protect Uchiha Yoru instantly weakened.
The Uchiha clan's successor? The next clan head?
He, Uchiha Fugaku, was only twenty-eight this year. Why would he already need a successor?
Fugaku felt that even if a successor for the next clan head were needed, it ought to be his own son, Uchiha Itachi. He firmly believed Itachi was a once-in-a-century genius. By the time he himself reached fifty and his physical strength began to decline, handing the Uchiha clan over to twenty-two-year-old Itachi would be proper succession.
But a shinobi only ten years younger than him—what kind of succession was that?
That was a subordinate overturning his superior.
From that point on, Uchiha Fugaku no longer had any desire to argue. He answered the Third Hokage's nonsense with a few perfunctory lines, then hurriedly took his leave. He even forgot to ask for compensatory terms.
As soon as Uchiha Fugaku left, Hiruzen Sarutobi's smile vanished completely. Shimura Danzō, who had slipped in unnoticed from next door, reappeared.
At the sight of his old classmate, Hiruzen Sarutobi said coldly, "Danzō, this is your fault."
Shimura Danzō quickly began explaining. "Tch, it is my fault. Recently, my attention has been focused on the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers. It was inevitable that my surveillance of the Uchiha clan would slacken somewhat."
"During the period when this Uchiha Yoru established that so-called study group, you were indeed very busy, Danzō, and you weren't even in Konoha. That can't really be counted as your responsibility…"
But Hiruzen Sarutobi's tone suddenly sharpened, and his voice rose. "But he already awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan. That cannot possibly be something that happened only in the last month. Yet the information you gave me didn't even clearly state whether he had awakened at all!"
The moment he heard that intelligence, Shimura Danzō was genuinely shocked. The words flew out of his mouth before he could stop them. "What? Uchiha Yoru actually awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan!"
"You didn't even know something this important. Can you actually monitor the Uchiha clan properly or not?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi swept an appraising gaze over Danzō from top to bottom, and with the ease of long practice, instantly placed all blame where he wanted it. "If you can't handle intelligence work properly, then hand Root over to me. I'll select another suitable chief."
Hearing the Third Hokage threaten to take Root away from him, Shimura Danzō—who had poured half a lifetime of effort into it—grew furious.
But he was also afraid.
He knew that at this very moment, he had no ability to confront the Third Hokage head-on. So he immediately swallowed his anger, braced himself on his cane, and bowed properly.
"I'm sorry, Hiruzen. I know I was wrong."
Danzō loudly made his pledge. "Before coming back, I had already strengthened surveillance of the Uchiha clan, especially intelligence gathering on Uchiha Yoru. I guarantee there won't be another omission like this."
The Third Hokage was very pleased with his old classmate's attitude. He immediately changed his tone and began soothing Danzō.
"Danzō, you are my most capable assistant. Only by working together can we protect Konoha properly. You mustn't disappoint me. I can't be Hokage properly all by myself."
"I'll work harder, Hiruzen. I guarantee it!"
"Good. External intelligence cannot be relaxed, but internal surveillance is even more important. Any powerful village is easiest to break from within. So your first priority must be internal control. In the future, there absolutely must not be any more omissions of such important intelligence."
"Say no more. I'll handle it. Just wait for the results!"
Shimura Danzō had been pushed to the limit. Face full of anger, he slammed the door and stormed out. He left the Hokage Building in a rage, swearing inwardly that he would monitor the Uchiha clan so tightly that Hiruzen Sarutobi would have no more room to talk.
And then there was that bastard Uchiha Yoru.
He was dead.
So what if he now had the three-tomoe Sharingan? Before this, he had spent six years as a patrol shinobi in Konoha. How much real combat experience could he have?
And besides, every awakening of the Sharingan in the Uchiha clan happened after major psychological trauma. Uchiha Yoru must have experienced something during the mission he completed last month, and only then awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan.
In other words, he had only recently awakened it. His strength must still be limited. Root absolutely had the ability to surround and kill him.
Shimura Danzō's steps suddenly halted.
A problem occurred to him.
Even if the three-tomoe had only awakened recently, what about his first awakening? What about when he advanced to two tomoe?
Six years of patrol duty made that impossible. It could only have happened during his first two years in a mission squad.
Which meant fourteen-year-old Uchiha Yoru had already possessed the two-tomoe Sharingan.
"Uchiha Yoru concealed it for a full six years and only emerged after awakening the three-tomoe Sharingan. What an unbelievably sinister and cunning man."
Shimura Danzō muttered to himself, "For the sake of Konoha, Uchiha Yoru cannot be allowed to live. He must be killed as quickly as possible."
"Otherwise, someone this treacherous will become a mortal threat to us. Yes. He is a mortal threat to Konoha."
"He must be killed!!"
Shimura Danzō quickened his pace and hurried back toward Root. He had to waste no time arranging the encirclement and assassination.
As Danzō disappeared farther and farther away, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, appeared on the balcony of the Hokage's office at some unknown moment. Puffing on his pipe, he waved in response to the greetings of passing villagers and shinobi, but his eyes remained fixed on Shimura Danzō, following him until his back vanished into the crowd.
[I never once said anything about killing Uchiha Yoru. Every action is your own decision. I only hope you do it cleanly and efficiently. That way, it will be much easier for me to speak on your behalf.]
…
Late that night, Uchiha Yūichirō convened an emergency clan meeting in his capacity as an elder. For the first time, Uchiha Yoru attended this gathering of three-tomoe Sharingan users. He was also the only non-jōnin Uchiha present.
At the very start of the meeting, Uchiha Shinji introduced Uchiha Yoru to all the jōnin of the clan. Hearing that Uchiha Yoru had awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan at only eighteen, the jōnin were all quite surprised—and very pleased.
The jōnin were in good spirits.
But the atmosphere in the meeting hall was extraordinarily strange.
Uchiha Yūichirō, the convener of the clan assembly, sat in the center with a grave expression, waiting for the clan head. As time passed, his face became increasingly ugly, frightening the assembled jōnin into silence. They only dared exchange glances with one another.
At that moment, the late-arriving Uchiha Fugaku was just outside the door. He stood tucked into a patch of shadow, his expression twisted in an odd way. If there were any possible way, he truly did not want to enter the meeting room.
Ever since his talk with the Third Hokage, Uchiha Fugaku's attention had shifted toward the matter of clan succession. He had spent the entire afternoon thinking about how to placate Uchiha Yūichirō and Uchiha Shinji.
Just as he was struggling with that problem, a shinobi informed him that Elder Yūichirō had convened an emergency clan meeting.
Uchiha Fugaku's guilty conscience threw him into instant confusion.
He knew exactly why Uchiha Yūichirō had called the meeting.
But he truly had no idea how he was supposed to explain himself.
Convincing one person and convincing a whole group were two completely different things. Many arguments that could be very persuasive to an individual from the standpoint of personal interest would sound crude and morally rotten when said before the entire body of the clan's jōnin.
Thus, even though Uchiha Fugaku had arrived very early, he could not take that final step into the meeting room.
He knew in his heart that the longer he delayed, the worse things would become.
But his personality was exactly the sort that was especially prone to hesitation. And whenever he faced two difficult choices, he always chose a third option.
That third option was doing nothing at all—handing the initiative over to others and waiting for the enemy or fate to decide in his place.
On the way there, Uchiha Yoru had said to Yūichirō, "I think, given the clan head's soft and squishy personality, he'll come all the way to the meeting room but still refuse to go in, causing the clan assembly to fail to start properly."
Uchiha Shinji had stared in stunned disbelief. "No way, right? If Fugaku refuses to enter the hall, wouldn't that just make him look guilty?"
But Uchiha Yūichirō had felt an ominous chill. He looked troubled as he turned to Uchiha Yoru and said, "I have to admit, if he really thickens his skin and refuses to appear, then my effort in convening this clan meeting… will truly have been wasted."
"If he failed to persuade the Third Hokage to change the order, then you have to depart tomorrow. Which means after tonight, you won't be able to appear at a clan meeting anymore. If I bring up your matter again later, the effect will be greatly reduced."
Uchiha Yoru had burst into laughter. "Hahaha, Elder Yūichirō, don't worry. The clan head isn't that capable. If he were, he'd certainly have been able to persuade the Third Hokage. In that case, how could the Uchiha clan still be stuck in this awkward situation?"
"When you get tired of waiting, you can just shout loudly. I'm sure the moment you call out the clan head's name, he won't be able to save face and will come in on his own."
Remembering Yoru's prediction, and as the scheduled start of the clan meeting passed, the hesitation in Yūichirō's heart grew weaker and weaker, while his anger flared stronger and stronger.
At last, his reason was burned clean away by fury.
Uchiha Yūichirō roared, "Uchiha Fugaku!! As clan head, sneaking around outside like a ghost—what kind of behavior is that!"
"Get in here this instant!!"
With a rustle, the paper sliding door of the meeting room was pulled open.
Uchiha Fugaku entered with a gloomy face. Under the strange and astonished gazes of everyone present, he walked to his seat, full of both regret and grievance, then sat down in silence.
At that moment, the jōnin of the Uchiha clan were genuinely shocked.
This was the first time they had ever witnessed the young clan head's breakdown.
And it was this miserable.
This weak.
These Uchiha jōnin were all elites. They were survivors of two wars, and in the future, the overwhelming majority of them would die in battle against Kirigakure, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure during the Third Shinobi World War.
Unlike the later batch of three-tomoe jōnin who grew up in an era of peace fifteen years later, these true backbone shinobi had built their pride on large-scale slaughter. Each one was confident and strong. None of them felt blind reverence toward the elders or clan head.
Most of them were unaffiliated neutrals. Even those who belonged to a particular elder's faction still maintained their own independence and would not allow the elders to fully speak for them.
The existence of these jōnin restrained the elders' power and gave Uchiha Fugaku a considerable amount of room to act, preventing him from becoming a clan head in name only like the Fourth Kazekage.
But no advantage came without a price.
Now that Uchiha Fugaku, under Uchiha Yoru's design, had shown weakness in front of them, the jōnin would naturally begin reassessing this clan head's ability and standing in their hearts.
By this point, Uchiha Yūichirō felt as though his lungs were about to explode from anger.
Following Yoru's suggestion, he had shouted once—and it had really dragged Fugaku out.
Fugaku had actually jumped straight into the worst possible situation with his own two feet.
Yūichirō clearly held an absolute advantage. This clan meeting had already secured victory before it truly began. And yet he felt no joy at all. Instead, his rage was so intense he could hardly contain it.
[I truly deserve to die.]
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