"Has the Uchiha clan made any moves yet?"
In the Anbu base, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned as he looked at Joren.
"Apologies, Lord Hokage," Joren said respectfully. "Ever since the Kumogakure incident, the Uchiha clan's defenses have become much stricter. Anbu ninja simply cannot infiltrate their compound."
He paused for a moment before continuing. "However, according to the observations of the Anbu stationed outside, the Uchiha haven't made any other moves besides opposing Kumogakure's conditions, just like the rest of the villagers."
"Is that so?" Hiruzen muttered, a sense of urgency welling up inside him.
All of his calculations were based on the premise that the Uchiha clan would definitely deploy their forces. If the Uchiha made no move, how would the conflict with Kumogakure play out?
Hiruzen fell silent for a moment, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
"Have the Anbu spread rumors among the villagers. We must force the Uchiha clan to agree to fight."
"Yes, Lord Hokage!" Joren answered respectfully.
However, Hiruzen certainly couldn't have imagined that shortly after he left, a transcript of their conversation was placed right in front of Jie Uchiha.
"That old thing is getting desperate." Reading the intelligence report delivered by Joren, Jie smiled. "To still use such low-level tactics... it seems Danzo's fate didn't teach Hiruzen much of a lesson."
"Since that's the case, let's serve up an appetizer first."
Jie pondered for a moment, then picked up his pen and wrote down a few sentences. Shortly after, a piece of secret intelligence was delivered directly into Joren's hands.
Seeing Jie's instructions, Joren's eyes lit up.
'As expected of the Young Clan Head. Every step is linked perfectly. Hiruzen is going to suffer a bit this time.'
After destroying the message sent by Jie, he immediately reverted to his stoic persona as an Anbu Captain.
"Lord Hokage's orders. All Anbu ninja are to move out immediately."
"Sure enough, the Uchiha clan are the true guardians of the village. Not like the Anbu, which has practically become a nest of spies!"
"Yeah, in just two days, the Uchiha rooted out several spies from the Anbu. I heard one of them was even a squad captain."
"What an incompetent Anbu. Spies from other villages stayed hidden in their ranks for so long without being discovered. Who knows how much of the village's intelligence has been leaked."
"I think we should just let the Uchiha clan take over the Anbu. They need to conduct a thorough investigation and weed out all the spies."
"Exactly! That's how it should be!"
Hearing this suggestion on the streets, the surrounding villagers echoed their agreement in a flurry.
"Lord Hokage is getting old. He doesn't have the energy to manage the village anymore," one villager sighed, shaking his head. "Not only did he fail to notice Danzo betraying the village, but now even the Anbu under his direct command is riddled with holes and full of spies."
He lowered his voice. "I think it's time the village replaced him with a younger, stronger Hokage, don't you?"
The surrounding villagers fell silent for a moment, suddenly feeling that this was actually a very good idea.
Of course, changing the Hokage was something the esteemed ninjas should worry about; they were just ordinary villagers with no real voice in the matter. But even so, the thought had taken firm root in their hearts.
"What is the meaning of this?!"
"Why is the Anbu full of spies?!"
In Joren's office at the Anbu base, Hiruzen Sarutobi flew into a furious rage.
"I apologize, Lord Hokage! This is my oversight," Joren said, quickly bowing his head.
Hiruzen stared coldly at Joren, his eyes glinting with a gloomy light. In just two short days, six or seven people in the Anbu had been arrested by the Uchiha clan on charges of espionage.
If the Uchiha had made such a seemingly reckless move under normal circumstances, Hiruzen would have been overjoyed. After all, arresting comrades within the village without authorization was equivalent to the Uchiha handing him blackmail material on a silver platter.
What he absolutely did not expect, however, was that the Uchiha clan actually produced hard evidence of those Anbu ninja colluding with foreign villages. Moreover, the evidence was so detailed that even Hiruzen couldn't find a single flaw in it. He could only watch helplessly as the Uchiha dragged his Anbu members away.
Because of this, inciting the villagers' emotions to force the Uchiha to deploy troops had become a complete joke.
The Uchiha clan had specifically timed their arrests for when the Anbu members were out carrying out their rumor-spreading missions. It got to the point where the villagers now suspected that anyone trying to incite the Uchiha clan into going to war was a foreign spy. A villager would pretend to agree with an instigator for a few sentences, and then immediately turn around and report them to the Konoha Military Police Force.
"Damn the Uchiha clan... I have no idea how and when they managed to change the villagers' perspective."
"To secretly gather evidence against the Anbu as well... they must have been plotting for this day for a long time. I should have listened to Danzo's suggestion back then and forced the Uchiha onto the battlefield, letting them be destroyed at the hands of the other villages!"
In his extreme fury, Hiruzen didn't realize that he had actually spoken his inner thoughts out loud. By the time he realized it, his heart skipped a beat, and he quickly glanced to the side.
He saw Joren standing there, eyes focused straight ahead, looking completely as if he hadn't heard a single word.
'Thank goodness Joren is one of my own. None of his subordinates were among the Anbu that were caught, either.'
Hiruzen calmed down slightly. He looked at the captain and spoke coldly. "Joren, do you have any opinions on what I just said?"
A trace of confusion appeared on Joren's face before he spoke with deep reverence and trepidation. "I apologize, Lord Hokage. My mind wandered just now, and I didn't catch your thoughts. Please punish me, Lord Hokage."
"There's no need."
Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction at his attitude. Sure enough, only Joren was truly loyal to him.
"Halt the mission to incite the villagers for now," Hiruzen said slowly after a moment of consideration. It seemed that he would have to personally step in to deal with the tough bone --the Uchiha clan.
He looked at the captain. "As for you, Joren... from today onwards, you are the Deputy Commander of the Anbu."
"!!!"
Joren's face filled with excitement. He hurriedly bowed. "Thank you for your guidance, Lord Hokage! I will never fail to live up to your expectations!"
Hiruzen nodded, pleased, before leaving the Anbu base and heading toward the Uchiha compound.
Watching Hiruzen's retreating figure, a flash of complicated emotion passed through Joren's eyes.
'I am sorry, Lord Hokage... but I belong to the Uchiha clan.'
The Anbu arrests were entirely due to the intelligence Joren had provided to the Uchiha. As for the evidence of the Anbu colluding with foreign villages, that had been entirely fabricated by Joren's own hands. As a highly experienced Anbu Captain, the evidence he forged was naturally flawless; there was no way Hiruzen would be able to find any holes in it.
The original goal of this plan was simply for Jie to help Joren remove the obstacles holding him back within the Anbu, allowing him to secretly grasp more power. He just hadn't expected the plan's results to be this surprisingly effective. He had actually been inexplicably appointed as the Deputy Commander by Hiruzen himself.
Thinking back to the dark words Hiruzen had just let slip, a peculiar light flashed in Joren's eyes.
He recorded the new intelligence regarding Hiruzen's true thoughts and immediately dispatched it to the Uchiha clan.
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