Having followed Danzo for many years, Aburame Tatsuma was intimately familiar with his methods.
Yet this time, he was still somewhat shocked.
He couldn’t help but advise:
“Lord Danzo, even among the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Setsuna is the most extreme and dangerous kind of person.”
“If we release him now, all of Konoha will be thrown into chaos!”
Danzo’s expression remained unchanged as he spoke faintly:
“Relax.”
“I know that guy.
He is perverse in nature and ruthless in his methods, but he values his Uchiha clansmen highly.”
“Right now, Kirigakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure are all making strange movements.
The number of their scouts encroaching on Konoha’s borders has multiplied by more than tenfold!”
“War is coming.”
“Even someone like Uchiha Setsuna absolutely wouldn’t dare act recklessly at a time like this.
But with him around, if Hiruzen and Uchiha Fugaku want to join forces…”
“They can keep dreaming!”
Danzo sneered and said to Aburame Tatsuma:
“Find an excuse to reduce his sentence.
It would be best to get him out within this month.”
“It’s time to turn up the heat on Hiruzen!”
“Yes, sir!”
Whoosh—!
Everyone withdrew, and the torches in the Root main hall were extinguished.
Danzo stood all alone in the darkness.
His eyes flashing.
…
Konoha.
South District.
Since entering autumn, Konoha experienced a rare light rain today.
The continuous drizzle fell onto the body, soaking through clothes and leaving a bone-piercing chill.
Uchiha Fugaku stood in the rain holding an umbrella, gazing in the direction of Uchiha Shingen as he spoke:
“I heard Shingen recently became Jiraiya’s disciple?!”
“I also only heard about it recently.”
Uchiha Yakumi stood beside Fugaku and nodded lightly:
“However.”
“This can be considered good news for us.”
“Haven’t you always been waiting for an opportunity to build a bridge of communication between the Uchiha and Konoha?”
“Although that kid Shingen is usually a bit unreliable and loves to turtle up when trouble arises, he has always been clear-headed when it comes to major matters.”
“After that incident with Danzo, he should have changed a bit too.”
“In this world…”
“Even if one single-mindedly desires stability, it is fraught with countless difficulties, and ultimately unattainable.” Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
“In the end, what decides everything is still the power in one’s hands.”
Uchiha Fugaku remained noncommittal to this.
Uchiha Shingen taking Jiraiya as his Teacher wasn’t instructed by the Uchiha Clan, nor did the Third Hokage express a stance on the matter.
But the meaning it represented was clear enough on its own.
After prolonged internal strife, both the village’s higher-ups and the Uchiha were utterly exhausted.
The existence of Uchiha Shingen was exactly the best opportunity to break the stalemate.
If there were no further complications, the complete dissolution of the barrier between the village and the Uchiha was only a matter of time.
At this point in time, as the Uchiha Clan Head, and as a rare leader of the Uchiha who yearned for stability, Uchiha Fugaku should have been happy.
Yet, he felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
In the silence.
Uchiha Fugaku reached his hand out into the rain.
Scattered raindrops landed on his palm, the chill seeping through his flesh all the way into his bones.
That sense of unease, that inexplicable premonition, became even more pronounced at this moment…
“Something is coming!”
“War?!”
Uchiha Yakumi was taken aback, his brows instantly knitting together.
He had followed Fugaku for a long time and had personally experienced the Second Shinobi World War, naturally understanding its cruelty and bloodshed.
Moreover, once a war started, nobody knew when it would end.
At least in the previous two Shinobi World Wars, by the end, it was no longer a competition of who could fight better, but who could endure longer!
“No.”
Uchiha Fugaku shook his head.
His expression not only failed to soften but actually became even graver at this moment:
“War will only make Konoha and the Uchiha hold onto each other tighter.”
“The White Fang of Konoha was forced to commit suicide a few years ago, and Tsunade is suffering from hemophobia.
Right now is the weakest Konoha has ever been in its history.”
“Even someone like Danzo has to admit that Konoha needs the Uchiha’s strength now more than ever before.”
“What I’m worried about is…”
Uchiha Fugaku’s voice suddenly trailed off.
His gaze pierced through the curtain of rain, landing on the Konoha Military Police Force building in the distance.
The crimson uchiwa clan crest appeared exceptionally blinding in this moment!
A figure that Uchiha Fugaku had almost forgotten slowly appeared before his eyes!
“Uchiha…
Setsuna?!”
“Is his prison sentence almost up?!”
Uchiha Yakumi blanked for a second.
After briefly calculating, his face immediately turned incredibly ugly:
“There are still a few months left, but the Konoha higher-ups probably won’t let him out so easily.”
“After all, he led our clansmen to stage a coup during Lord Second’s administration.
“They will likely find a way to extend his sentence.”
“I hope so.”
Uchiha Fugaku sighed.
His gaze fell upon the clansmen walking through the rain, and his eyes softened a bit.
He truly could not understand the people who, even in this era, obstinately clung to the so-called glory of the clan and stubbornly resisted using the Uchiha’s rules.
Back when Uchiha Madara wanted to leave Konoha and strike out on his own, not a single clansman chose to follow him.
This already proved that what the clan desired was never power, but a stable and peaceful life.
Not having to trade their lives for a mouthful of food anymore, and not having to be a disposable blade that could be tossed away at any moment once used up.
This was what a human life should be.
Smack—!
Uchiha Fugaku suddenly clenched his hand tight.
Rainwater splashed out, darting into the curtain of rain.
His gaze also became resolute in this moment.
“No matter who it is, whoever wants to block the path forward for the Uchiha will have to pay with their life.
Even if it’s a former elder of the Uchiha.”
“Let’s go, Yakumi.”
“Let’s go check on that kid.”
Fugaku waved at Uchiha Yakumi, then immediately stepped into the puddles, turning and walking in the direction of South District 4.
“Yes, Lord Clan Head!”
…
Konoha.
The maximum-security prison, in the deepest part of the underground.
The surroundings were completely pitch-black without a single sliver of light.
The only sounds were the occasional gasps of prisoners that would quickly fade away.
The people locked up here were all heinous, wicked individuals without exception.
Slaughtering civilians, attacking comrades, selling out the village’s classified intelligence…
Felonies that would normally be enough to send a person to the gallows were barely considered anything to the inmates here.
Being able to survive and be locked in this maximum-security prison was never due to the mercy of Konoha’s higher-ups.
On the contrary, in this eternal imprisonment with no end in sight, time itself was their most cruel punishment!
At a certain moment.
Clang—!
The lights in the cell block suddenly switched on.
The group of death row inmates, having not seen the light for a long time, only felt a sharp sting in their eyes.
It took them a long time to adjust before they could barely make out what was happening.
They saw several figures, led by Danzo, walk past cell after cell, only stopping when they reached the absolute deepest part of the prison block.
“Sometimes.”
“Hope is the most terrifying thing of all, isn’t it?!”
“Uchiha…
Setsuna!”