Early the next morning, Hokage Tower.
Before dawn had even broken, the entire building was brightly lit. The Three Konoha Elders and the Hokage's advisors had been awakened from their sleep by ANBU shinobi and hurriedly summoned to the Hokage's office.
Bang!
Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his palm heavily onto a file on the desk, his eyes filled with worry and anger.
"Take a look at this. This is the latest intelligence sent over from the Konoha Interrogation Division!"
He lifted his pipe and took a deep puff, forcefully suppressing the anger in his heart before looking at the three people in front of him.
Shimura Danzō stepped forward, picked up the file, and began reading it himself. The more he read, the deeper his frown became.
Seeing this, Mitokado Homura spoke up.
"Hiruzen, just tell us what happened directly. Passing the file around one by one is a waste of time."
Utatane Koharu nodded in agreement.
If Hiruzen had summoned them all here at such an hour, something serious must have happened. Both of them were already feeling anxious.
Hiruzen slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke, his expression dark.
"Yesterday, ANBU delivered the two conspirators—the Iwagakure spy and the Root operative—to the Interrogation Division. After the Yamanaka clan used their mind-reading techniques to probe their memories, we discovered that the rumors spreading through the village were actually orchestrated by someone else."
"Who?!"
Homura and Koharu asked at the same time, stunned.
Before Hiruzen could answer, Danzō suddenly lifted his head, anger flashing across his face.
"How dare they! What exactly are those Uchiha trying to do?!"
"Uchiha?"
Homura and Koharu were startled again and immediately turned to look at Hiruzen.
Hiruzen's expression was grim as he nodded.
"That's right. Both the Iwa spy and the Root ninja had been placed under genjutsu. In their memories, there was the image of a pair of Sharingan!"
"That's impossible! Weren't the Uchiha clan the biggest victims in this incident? Why would they spread those rumors inside the village and ruin their own reputation?"
Homura frowned deeply, disbelief written across his face.
He simply couldn't figure out what motive the Uchiha could possibly have for doing such a thing.
In fact, Hiruzen and Danzō had initially thought the same way. That was why they had immediately ruled out the Uchiha as suspects and believed the whole matter had been orchestrated by Ōnoki.
And that was precisely why Hiruzen was so furious now.
After spending a lifetime hunting geese, he had finally been pecked in the eye by one.
Danzō let out a cold snort.
"What else could it be? The Uchiha are trying to completely sever their ties with the village. They're preparing to rebel!"
Homura frowned.
"That seems unlikely. I spoke with Elder Uchiha Ya during the day. Although he was furious about the incident, he also expressed a strong desire to resolve it as soon as possible."
"They shouldn't know the inner details of this matter, let alone be plotting a rebellion."
He shook his head. He understood very well what Danzō's attitude toward the Uchiha had always been, and he could not fully agree with Danzō's conclusion.
Danzō glanced at him coldly.
"Perhaps Uchiha Ya truly doesn't know. But the Uchiha clan contains more voices than just his."
"Some of them are clearly trying to use this opportunity to completely cut off the bond between the Uchiha and the village, leaving the rest of the clan with no choice but to follow them."
"Isn't such a simple tactic obvious to you?"
Homura's expression grew serious. Even he began to feel uncertain about his earlier judgment.
At that moment, Koharu also spoke.
"Danzō is right. This incident was likely orchestrated by certain members of the Uchiha clan."
"For example… Uchiha Setsuna."
"He already has a record of attempting a coup."
Years ago, during the rule of Tobirama Senju, Uchiha Setsuna had indeed attempted a political uprising. Because of that, he had been imprisoned for more than a decade before eventually being released through the efforts of the Uchiha clan.
Because of that incident, Hiruzen and the others had inherited Tobirama's vigilance toward the Uchiha clan.
After a brief pause, Koharu looked toward Hiruzen.
"Hiruzen, this situation is extremely difficult to handle. If we mishandle it, the Uchiha may truly rebel as a whole."
Before Hiruzen could respond, Danzō spoke again.
"What's there to discuss? We strike first."
"While the Uchiha are still divided internally, we move quickly and eliminate them in one decisive action!"
"This is the best opportunity."
"If we wait until their resentment reaches its peak and their will becomes unified, dealing with them will become far more difficult."
Homura and Koharu fell into thought.
But this time, unexpectedly, both of them sided with Danzō.
Homura said slowly,
"Danzō is right. If we are going to act, we must do it now. Otherwise, once this chance passes, the price the village will have to pay will be much greater."
Koharu nodded.
"The Uchiha are too unpredictable a threat. Removing them now may actually be the safest option."
Hiruzen, however, frowned deeply.
"Don't limit your vision to what's happening inside the village!"
"You must remember that Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and even Kirigakure and Sunagakure are still watching us closely."
"The world hasn't stabilized yet. Even a small spark could reignite another great war."
"This is absolutely not the time for internal conflict."
Homura and Koharu exchanged uneasy glances. They realized they had indeed overlooked the bigger picture.
Danzō snorted coldly.
"If they want war, then let them come! They're nothing but defeated enemies. What waves could they possibly stir?"
"That's easy for you to say," Hiruzen replied sharply.
"Where will the manpower come from? Where will the funds come from? After losing the Uchiha—and the forces required to suppress them—how will you defend the village against attacks from other villages?"
"This war has already forced me, the Hokage, to step down!"
"Do you want the other clans to rebel as well before you're satisfied?!"
Hiruzen grew more emotional as he spoke.
What he didn't notice, however, was the subtle glint that flashed through Danzō's eyes.
The war had indeed caused widespread dissatisfaction toward the village leadership. Yet in the end, all of that resentment had fallen squarely onto Hiruzen's shoulders—leading to his decision to step down as Hokage.
If Hiruzen quickly completed the transition of power to Minato Namikaze, and then the Uchiha incident reignited another war…
Then the one who would bear the blame next time would inevitably be Minato.
Hiruzen had already stepped down and could not reclaim the position.
Jiraiya was unreliable.
Tsunade had already left the village.
Orochimaru was under his control due to certain leverage.
If Minato were to fall as well…
Then who else could possibly take the Hokage's seat but him?
The more Danzō thought about it, the brighter the gleam in his eyes became.
His earlier idea of immediately striking against the Uchiha began to change.
Finally, he spoke calmly:
"Hiruzen… putting the Uchiha matter aside for now…"
"You should recall Minato Namikaze back to the village."
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