“You… what did you say?!”
Danzo stood frozen in place.
Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado slumped back onto the sofa.
“Fugaku… awakened the Mangekyo?!”
Danzo took two steps back.
“Impossible! This is impossible! How could a weak and incompetent fellow like Fugaku awaken those cursed eyes!”
“It is a fact,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said once more.
“Homura Mitokado was also present at the time. He personally witnessed the unique aura of Fugaku’s Mangekyo and confirmed its authenticity. It is a genuine Mangekyo Sharingan!”
Hearing Homura Mitokado’s testimony, Danzo remained silent.
“Mangekyo… Fugaku actually…”
Danzo panted heavily.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up, leaning his hands on the desk.
“Do you think this is over?”
Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his voice.
“Just as Lu Ming left the Uchiha Clan Compound and was taken into the Root by your men, the Uchiha Clan’s warriors were already fully armed!”
“While Fugaku was reporting to me, he also delivered the message regarding the Uchiha Clan’s final bottom line!”
“What message?” Homura Mitokado pressed.
“The entire Uchiha Clan is on high alert!”
Hiruzen Sarutobi roared loudly.
“They’ve sent word that if Konoha dares to touch their new clan leader, Lu Ming—even if he loses a single hair—the entire Uchiha Clan, centered around their Mangekyo wielders, will go to total war with Konoha at any cost!”
Total war!
Hiruzen Sarutobi walked around the desk and stood before Danzo.
“Danzo, wake up. The Uchiha of today is no longer the one from your memories!”
“Take a good look at their current combat power!”
Hiruzen Sarutobi pointed a finger.
“Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Fugaku, and Lu Ming, who displayed god-tier speed tonight.”
“Three full Mangekyo powerhouses! Aside from these three monsters, they have dozens of Three-Tomoe Sharingan youths and hundreds of Sharingan warriors in the entire Police Force!”
“They have been biding their time; their hidden strength is extremely formidable.”
“With those Root members in your hands, how do you expect to nip them in the bud?!”
Facing Hiruzen Sarutobi’s barrage of questions, Danzo gritted his teeth.
“Even if they have three Mangekyo, our Konoha has sufficient foundation!”
Danzo retorted, clutching the edge of his robe.
“We have the Ino–Shika–Chō, we have the Hyūga, and we have thousands upon thousands of civilian Ninjas! If the entire Village mobilizes, I don’t believe we can’t crush them!”
“Shut your mouth!”
“Do you still not understand?”
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed.
“The Uchiha Clan was originally one of the strongest clans of the Sengoku era.”
“Back then, Uchiha Madara alone was enough to make the entire Ninja World tremble!”
“And now? They possess three Mangekyo Sharingan simultaneously, along with a host of Three-Tomoe Sharingan elites with terrifying potential.”
“This lineup, this overall strength, will completely surpass their peak during the Sengoku era!”
Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his head to look at the portraits of the First Hokage and Second Hokage hanging on the wall.
“Looking back at our Konoha?”
“The Senju Clan, which once suppressed the Uchiha, has now declined.”
“Lord Senju Hashirama, who possessed Wood Release and could suppress everything, is long gone!”
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked directly at Danzo.
“Current Konoha no longer has any power that can contend with the Uchiha in this state!”
Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado lowered their heads.
Danzo opened his mouth, then closed it.
“If we rashly start a war at this time, the Ino–Shika–Chō and the Hyūga Clan will surely suffer a devastating blow.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat back in his chair.
“The Village will suffer unbearable losses, and might even be destroyed in the flames of war! The other Four Great Ninja Villages will take advantage of the situation and carve us up completely!”
“So, put away your foolish schemes.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi slapped the desk.
“Danzo, in the name of the Third Hokage, I strictly order you to withdraw all covert operations against the Uchiha! Stop all surveillance and suppression of them!”
“From today onward, without my command, you and your Root are not to take any reckless actions against the Uchiha! Violators will be dealt with as traitors to the Village!”
Danzo stood there, staring at Hiruzen Sarutobi, his chest heaving.
“I… understand.”
Danzo squeezed these words out through his teeth.
After everyone dispersed,
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi sat on the Hokage’s chair, his brow furrowed.
He puffed on his pipe one after another, the smoke shrouding his face in shifting shadows.
Everything that had just happened in the Root’s underground base weighed on his chest, making it difficult to breathe.
Three Mangekyo Sharingan!
Forty-three young Three-Tomoe Sharingan elites!
This power, enough to subvert Konoha, had thrown the “Hero of Shinobi,” who had ruled the Village for decades, into disarray.
“Swish!”
A dark shadow knelt on one knee before the desk, interrupting Hiruzen Sarutobi’s thoughts.
The newcomer wore a dark, high-collared short-sleeved shirt and carried a short blade on his back; it was none other than Uchiha Shisui, who had just appeared at the Root’s underground base. New chapters come out on g.com first.
“Hokage-sama, you summoned me urgently?” Shisui lowered his head.
Hiruzen Sarutobi put down his pipe and waved his hand, signaling the Anbu guards hidden in the shadows to withdraw.
Once only the two of them remained in the room,
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up from his chair, walked around the desk, and approached Shisui.
He forced a smile onto his face, attempting to use their past warmth to close the distance.
“Shisui, stand up. There are no outsiders here.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi patted Shisui on the shoulder, his tone worried.
“What happened at the Root tonight was truly too sudden.”
“Fugaku’s abdication and Lu Ming taking over as the new clan leader… it caught us completely off guard.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared intently into Shisui’s eyes, trying to find any sign of wavering in this Uchiha genius who had always leaned toward the Village.
“You have always been working for the peace of the Village and the clan.”
“Tell me, what exactly happened within the Uchiha Clan? Lu Ming… what are his intentions?”
Shisui stood up straight.
He looked directly at the old man before him.
“Hokage-sama, since you ask, I will speak plainly.”
Shisui’s voice echoed in the empty office.
“Lord Lu Ming publicly impeached Clan Leader Fugaku at tonight’s Emergency Clan Meeting and has already begun implementing drastic reforms within the clan.”
“Publicly impeached?!”
Hiruzen Sarutobi’s eyelid twitched.
“That’s right.”
Shisui nodded.
“Lord Lu Ming clearly pointed out that Clan Leader Fugaku’s past weakness and concessions were the primary culprits for the clan’s current passive situation.”
Shisui looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, whose expression changed slightly, and continued.
“Lord Lu Ming has announced to the entire clan that he explicitly opposes the clan continuing to suffer the Village’s bottomless suppression and marginalization.”
“In the future, the Uchiha will adopt a more assertive stance, using strength to fight for the rights that belong to us!”
“Lord Lu Ming said that the Uchiha are by no means spineless people who only seek peace.”
“Dignity only exists upon the edge of a blade. Concessions do not bring peace; they only invite the enemy to take a mile after being given an inch!”
These words sent a shock through Hiruzen Sarutobi’s heart.
“An assertive stance? Fighting for rights with strength?”
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a sharp breath, his face darkening.
His greatest fear had come true.
Lu Ming was not a moderate like Fugaku who could be easily manipulated; he was a thorough hardliner.