Inside the Hokage’s office, the atmosphere that had been harmonious from the very beginning now seemed to have solidified into heavy amber.
With a sharp hiss, a match flared to life.
The tobacco pipe burning between Hiruzen Sarutobi’s fingers sent a thin, solitary wisp of blue smoke curling upward, twisting and spiraling in the sunlight streaming through the window.
Those eyes that usually carried a hint of kindness and warmth were now as sharp as an eagle’s, fixed tightly on the Uchiha clan head seated opposite him.
He tried to catch even the slightest hint of hesitation or probing from that wrinkled yet resolute face.
But there was none.
The Uchiha clan head simply returned his gaze calmly.
Those eyes, weathered by the Warring States period and two Shinobi World Wars, were like two ancient wells so deep their bottoms could not be seen, utterly undisturbed.
The demands he had just put forward—the Uchiha heading to the eastern front to serve as commanders of the shinobi forces, obtaining independent command authority, as well as…
Pursuing Shimura Danzo and his “Root” for their repeated covert operations targeting the Uchiha.
After saying all of this, he had fallen silent, returning the full weight of that silence to Hiruzen.
This silence was not submission, but a confrontation founded upon strength and resolve.
With an entire clan united behind him, the Uchiha clan head’s back was straighter than ever before in the presence of the Hokage.
Understanding this, Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag from his pipe.
The acrid smoke circulated through his lungs before he slowly exhaled it with a long sigh.
He leaned back slightly against the Hokage’s chair, breaking the suffocating silence.
“Becoming commander of the eastern shinobi forces and possessing independent command authority…”
Hiruzen slowly spoke, his voice hoarse from years of tobacco.
“Uchiha clan head, you should understand what this means.”
“Since the founding of Konoha, there has never been a precedent for a shinobi clan completely breaking away from the Hokage’s command structure on the battlefield, let alone taking command of an entire front!”
“Hokage-sama.”
The Uchiha clan head’s voice remained calm, but carried an unquestionable firmness.
“The Uchiha are not an ordinary shinobi clan. We possess enough strength to deal with Kirigakure’s challenge on our own. Unified orders will allow the Uchiha’s combat power to be brought to its fullest potential. What’s more…”
He paused slightly, his implication almost completely laid bare.
“…handing our backs over to ‘comrades’ we cannot trust is more dangerous than facing an enemy head-on.”
“We cannot defend against Kirigakure’s blades while simultaneously diverting our attention to guarding against kunai coming from behind.”
“On this point, Hokage-sama should understand it better than this old man, considering all the ‘accidents’ of the past.”
He mentioned Danzo and Root again.
Though he did not say their names outright, the cold implication was already like a drawn blade lying between the two men.
Of course he knew what the other man was referring to.
Those Uchiha jōnin who had disappeared during missions, those unsolved cases…
Some lids could not be lifted.
At least, not now.
“Danzo is an elder of Konoha. Root exists to protect Konoha as well. They would never do anything to harm the village.”
Hiruzen chose to skirt around the issue, and his tone hardened as well.
“But during wartime, internal distrust and suspicion are poisons more deadly than any enemy!”
“Trust is mutual, Hokage-sama.” The Uchiha clan head did not yield in the slightest.
“When one side is subjected to constant suspicion, suppression, and even assassination attempts…”
“Is it not too much to demand that the other side maintain trust and loyalty unconditionally?”
He leaned forward slightly, and a sharp light flashed through his aged eyes, as though a mighty lion were looking down upon everything before him.
“I did not come here today to beg. I came here representing the entire Uchiha clan to state the conditions under which we will enter the battlefield.”
“The Uchiha can shed blood for Konoha, but every drop of blood we shed should have value. It must not become a victim of political infighting, nor should we be stabbed in the back by our own people!”
“The Uchiha’s strength must be used where the blade is needed to protect the clan and the village, not wasted on internal strife and guarding against our own people. This is the Uchiha’s bottom line!”
The low words fell, followed by another oppressive silence.
Hiruzen Sarutobi’s fingers tapped against the tabletop, producing a soft, steady knocking sound.
His gaze lowered as he stared at the pipe trailing wisps of white smoke, his mind rapidly weighing the situation.
He desperately needed the Uchiha’s combat power.
If Kirigakure broke through the eastern coastline, the consequences would be unimaginable.
But the Uchiha’s conditions, especially their demand for command authority—
It was tantamount to carving out a state within a state in Konoha’s military system.
And their relentless pursuit of Danzo as their banner was an outright challenge to his authority as Hokage.
Agree, and there would be endless trouble in the future.
Refuse, and the eastern front would be in danger.
He was not even certain what these unruly lunatics of the Uchiha clan might do.
‘Was Danzo right after all?
Is the Uchiha truly a pest that must be eliminated?’ You are reading on g.com, the official source.
‘Has Danzo done something behind my back again, provoking the Uchiha?’
After a long while, Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his eyes, the sharpness in his gaze having receded considerably.
“Konoha naturally places great importance on the Uchiha’s strength.”
He spoke slowly, choosing to compromise, but not to accept everything outright.
“But the eastern shinobi forces are of enormous importance. Even as Hokage, I cannot make such a decision on my own.”
Hiruzen skipped over the matter of Danzo and Root, as though that portion of the conversation had never happened.
“Go back for now. Wait for my notice.”
The Uchiha clan head listened quietly, without the slightest change in his expression.
Only after Hiruzen finished speaking did he slowly rise to his feet.
His tall figure cast a long shadow across the office.
“In that case, on behalf of the Uchiha clan, this old man will await good news from Hokage-sama.”
The Uchiha clan head did not bow.
He merely gave a slight nod before turning around and walking steadily toward the door.
The instant he pulled open the office door, the noisy voices and bright light outside poured in, creating a stark contrast with the silent, oppressive space behind him.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the man’s back as he disappeared beyond the doorway.
At some point, the pipe between his fingers had already gone out.
He leaned against the back of his chair and rubbed his brow, an indescribable gloom settling over his heart.
The Uchiha’s eagle had already spread its wings, while the chains binding it were breaking apart one by one.
“…What a troublesome time.”
A faint sigh eventually dissipated into the vast Hokage’s office.
Not long afterward, the heavy wooden door was gently pushed open.
Having already considered the matter of “returning the Hokage faction’s money in full while splitting the Uchiha’s money thirty-seventy,” Utatane Koharu walked into the Hokage’s office.
When she heard from Hiruzen Sarutobi that the Uchiha had “forcibly seized” command of the eastern shinobi forces, she felt as though the sky itself were about to collapse.
She could almost see Uchiha shinobi running rampant along the eastern coastline like beasts that had broken free of their reins.
The mission rewards, wartime profits, and even the resources of the entire eastern region that should have flowed into the pockets of the Hokage faction…
All of it would be swallowed up by the Uchiha!
“Rizai, absolutely not!” Utatane Koharu shrieked.