At the mere mention of Shimura Danzo's attempt to assassinate him, the Third Hokage felt a wave of profound bitterness.
He, Danzo, Uchiha Kagami, Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and Akimichi Torifu had all been classmates in the same graduation year at the Konoha Ninja Academy.
Danzo and the Third had shared a deep bond for decades, viewing each other as eternal rivals, constantly competing.
During their missions, Uchiha Kagami had used his Sharingan genjutsu countless times to bail Danzo out of life-threatening trouble.
Looking at how Danzo now hungered for the total annihilation of the Uchiha clan, the Hokage couldn't help but sigh at the irony.
Regarding the "Uchiha threat," Danzo had long been masterminding a plan to uproot the clan once and for all. He simply could not bring himself to trust a single soul bearing that name.
Their rivalry reached a turning point during the First Shinobi World War. As members of the Second Hokage's elite guard, they were pursued by the Kinkaku Force of the Hidden Cloud—a unit wielding the artifacts of the Sage of the Six Paths.
To survive, the team needed a decoy. Danzo had wanted to volunteer, but at the critical moment, he was paralyzed by fear and couldn't speak.
It was then that the Third Hokage stepped forward, offering himself as the sacrifice. Ultimately, the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, decided to act as the decoy himself to preserve the village's future leaders.
Before departing for his final battle, Tobirama lauded Hiruzen's courage and named him the Third Hokage. This event became the fundamental schism in their destinies.
Once Hiruzen took office, Danzo established his own independent organization, Root, under the guise of the ANBU Training Department, operating as a shadow leader in the darkness.
He had even conspired with other ambitious figures, such as Hanzo of the Salamander. By inciting Hanzo to eliminate the rising Akatsuki led by Yahiko, Danzo directly caused Yahiko's death and twisted Nagato's ideology—planting the seeds for the Akatsuki's future vengeance against Konoha.
Danzo always justified his clandestine, often stomach-churning actions with the belief that "everything is for the sake of the Leaf."
But to further his ideology, he—the ultimate hawk—never stopped coveting the seat of Hokage.
During the selection of the Fourth, he attempted to push Orochimaru into power to consolidate his own grip, but Hiruzen's strong will saw Namikaze Minato, Jiraiya's student, take the hat instead.
After Minato's death, Danzo tried again, but the council of advisors blocked him, and Hiruzen resumed the position.
To Uchiha Kaede—and by extension, the original Shiraishi—Danzo was a man with the perspective of a village chief and the ambitions of a world leader, but without the destiny to achieve either.
This reckless attempt to assassinate the Third Hokage would ultimately become Danzo's greatest stain.
The Jonin Council would never accept such a man as Hokage. Conversely, this was where the Third Hokage's brilliance lay: he saw through Danzo's moves but didn't expose them immediately.
Instead, he allowed the situation to unfold to utterly dismantle Danzo's reputation.
The two had fought for a lifetime, yet Danzo was only fit to be the Hokage's executioner, preening under the title "Darkness of the Leaf" while the Hokage kept his own hands clean.
Even after the Third's death, the throne wouldn't go to Danzo; it would stay within the Third's direct lineage.
However, for Uchiha Kaede, this was a golden opportunity to gain the trust of the Konoha high command. But for this plan to work, he needed the approval of Uchiha Fugaku.
"Coming to see me in the dead of night... is this about joining the ANBU?"
Uchiha Fugaku wasn't surprised by Kaede's visit. Compared to Uchiha Shisui, Kaede was far more mature and steady in his thinking—and he wasn't easily manipulated by the Third Hokage.
"Regarding the plan to join the ANBU, I have a thought."
Taking a sip of tea, Fugaku nodded. "Speak. Let's hear what's on your mind."
Facing the clan head, Kaede spoke calmly. "Joining the ANBU is a chance for the Uchiha. We can better scout the inner workings of Konoha's intelligence."
"Right now, it seems the Hokage is only looking for extra muscle for his guard duty..."
The dirty laundry between the Third and Danzo might have been hidden from others, but Fugaku knew the score. Those two were at each other's throats, and the Third was pulling in Uchiha members just to fill the ranks with people he knew Danzo couldn't sway.
That old fox Hiruzen, Fugaku thought. Unlike Danzo, he works without leaving a drop of water on his clothes. If there's trouble, it's Danzo or the Uchiha who take the fall.
Kaede smiled. "Then I'll find a way to make the Hokage trust me even more."
Fugaku's eyes sharpened. He set his teacup down firmly. "You want to intentionally grow close to the Third, acting as a mole within the village leadership?"
"Yes."
"The people of Konoha have always been wary of our clan."
At this, Kaede's voice took on a mocking edge. "Compared to other Uchiha, the Third will find it much easier to trust Shisui and me.
After all, I am the descendant of Uchiha Tan. This is the honor of Uchiha Kagami's lineage."
Fugaku fell silent, weighing the risks and rewards. Over the years, the village's hostility toward the clan had deepened, and the pressure on him as leader was becoming unbearable. The Uchiha were in a dangerous position.
In the original timeline, Fugaku would eventually sacrifice his own son, Itachi, sending him into the ANBU as a spy because Itachi was the only one suited for the task.
Now, with the existence of Kaede, the mission had been accelerated. Kaede was essentially stepping into that role early—becoming the Double Agent between the Uchiha and the Leaf.
Of course, what Kaede's true intentions were remained a mystery.
As the meeting was ending, Fugaku suddenly asked, "Does Shisui know?"
Kaede shook his head. "He isn't suited for this kind of work."
Fugaku sighed. Dealing with Shisui, the "teleporter" genius whose name was starting to ring out across the shinobi world, was a headache.
Shisui's attitude toward the village was far too close to that of Kagami and Tan—he was too fond of the village elders, which grated on Fugaku's nerves.
Just as Kaede was about to leave, his senses flared. The world around him seemed to warp and twist. Fugaku appeared to be calmly drinking his tea, but his Sharingan had silently shifted into its Mangekyo state.
Fugaku was casting a genjutsu on him!
This old man still doesn't trust me!
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