Hiruzen Sarutobi's Cunning! (Please Follow, Vote with Monthly and Recommendation Tickets)

Hiruzen Sarutobi's Cunning! (Please Follow, Vote with Monthly and Recommendation Tickets)

"Hashirama, what are you still hesitating for? Didn't I say the Uchiha clan couldn't be trusted?"

Just now, after Itachi and Shisui relayed part of Bai Ye's words to Hiruzen Sarutobi,

he immediately summoned the Elder Council for a meeting.

There was no helping it.

In Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes, Bai Ye's ideas were simply far too dangerous.

It seemed Itachi and Shisui had been right after all. The Radical Faction had taken power. If the two of them had not come to tell him about this today, he would still have clung to the idea of taking things slowly.

"Hashirama, I think we should just strike directly."

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu exchanged glances, then decided to agree with Danzo's proposal.

In the past, they had always hesitated somewhere in the middle. On one hand, they wanted to swallow the Uchiha clan's piece of the pie; on the other, they feared Konoha would lose a major fighting force and provoke war afterward.

Moreover, once war broke out between the Uchiha clan and Konoha, the Fourth Great Ninja War would likely become unavoidable. Even if they did not make a move, the other ninja villages would certainly take the opportunity to demand benefits from Konoha.

"Sarutobi, what exactly are you hesitating for?"

Watching Hiruzen Sarutobi smoke in silence, Danzo was growing anxious inside.

He could understand not being in a hurry before, but now that the Radical Faction within the Uchiha clan had risen, was Hiruzen Sarutobi still going to remain as unhurried as ever?

"Do you know what it means if we act now?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi took his final drag, let out a long breath, and looked at them as he asked.

"Konoha goes to war with the Uchiha clan."

Utatane Koharu was no fool. Naturally, she understood that since the Radical Faction had risen, making a move against the Uchiha clan now would inevitably mean war.

Even the Dove Faction would never stand by and do nothing.

"That's right. Fighting now means war. I don't want to see that happen. Even if we can eliminate the Uchiha clan, how much will Konoha lose?"

How many elite ninja did the Uchiha clan have?

It would not be a problem for one Uchiha to fight two ordinary ninja, right?

Given the Uchiha clan's current size, they had at least six hundred, if not eight hundred. And among the clan's ninja were some who were not even listed on the village's ninja registry; those belonged solely to the clan itself.

Therefore, once they fought the Uchiha clan, Konoha would have to pay the price of one to two thousand ninja to eliminate them.

Then, with the Uchiha clan's several hundred ninja added in, they would have lost several thousand ninja. How were they supposed to contend with the other ninja villages afterward?

Most of them might be Chunin and Genin, but even so, it would be no small loss.

"But have you considered that continuing to delay will only leave us more passive?"

Danzo had always carried out plans targeting the Uchiha clan. Since they would have to act eventually, he believed they might as well act now.

After all, if the Uchiha clan found a way to counter them, then they would be the ones at a disadvantage.

"Who will make the first move?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his gaze toward Danzo, his eyes full of speechless exasperation.

Seriously!?

Couldn't that brain of yours come up with anything besides fighting?

If you wanted to make a move against the Uchiha clan, you needed a reason at the very least. They had not even rebelled yet, and you were already preparing to attack?

Wouldn't that be openly telling the other ninja clans, "Just wait. If I ever become unhappy with you, you'll end up just like the Uchiha clan."

Who would submit to him after that?

Therefore, Hiruzen Sarutobi absolutely could not make a move, and he also had to keep Danzo from acting.

If problems could arise within the Uchiha clan and they could destroy themselves, that would be the best possible outcome.

That was why, when he learned that Uchiha Fugaku intended to have Itachi enter the Anbu as a spy, he had wanted to temporarily stabilize the Uchiha clan on one hand, while cultivating his own people capable of dealing with them on the other.

Think about it. If internal strife erupted within the Uchiha clan and they consumed themselves, killing themselves off, then even if one or two remained, he could have the Anbu finish them off. But most of them would have been killed by their own people.

At that point, all he needed to do was shift the blame onto them and say a few kind words. Wouldn't the matter simply pass?

The Uchiha threat would be gone, he would not have to shoulder the blame, and even if the village's other ninja clans felt that something was off, they would not say much.

After all, once the Uchiha clan fell, everyone could take a share of the spoils from its collapse. Naturally, no one would speak up.

No one would seek justice for an Uchiha clan that had already been exterminated, but they could not act directly.

If they acted themselves, the nature of the matter would change.

That was why Hiruzen Sarutobi had continually strung along the Dove Faction, giving them hope while also pressuring the Uchiha clan and driving the Radical Faction into rebellion.

Once internal conflict broke out between the two sides, that would be the time for him to act.

But he had never expected Bai Ye to seemingly gain the unanimous support of the Radical Faction, the Conservative Faction, and the Moderate Faction. Now, the Uchiha clan was as united as a solid block of iron.

That left him with no reason to act.

"Danzo, think this through. No matter what, the Uchiha clan are still people of Konoha."

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke meaningfully, which also served as a reminder to Danzo.

They truly could not be too eager to exterminate the Uchiha clan. It was such a large clan; if they wanted to erase it without a sound, their plan had to be thorough. Otherwise, they would only leave others with something to criticize. If the other clans in the village developed hostility toward them, that would be real trouble.

"But can you just watch them walk down the road to rebellion?"

Danzo narrowed his eyes, his words carrying another meaning as he looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

What he meant was that Hiruzen Sarutobi needed to find a way. The Uchiha clan would rebel sooner or later, and if they did not act, things would become even more troublesome later.

"After he takes power, he will need to accomplish something to win the clan's approval. In the coming days, we must protect Konoha's interests and the interests of the other ninja clans. We cannot allow the Uchiha clan to go to extremes. If we can placate them, then we should."

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke with a meaningful tone.

That was right.

His meaning was simple as well. Bai Ye had taken power under pressure; otherwise, the Moderate Faction and Conservative Faction would not have compromised.

But if Bai Ye failed to achieve anything, Uchiha Fugaku would most likely be elevated again.

And while his final sentence appeared to say they needed to protect the interests of everyone in Konoha, it was effectively pushing the Uchiha clan into opposition against Konoha and every other ninja clan.

This was also Hiruzen Sarutobi's usual method. He called it placation, but in truth, he was repeatedly tugging at the Uchiha clan's emotions—letting them see hope one moment, then lose it the next—thereby intensifying the conflict between the two factions and achieving his goal without spilling blood.