Sarutobi Hiruzen gave Minagawa Uchiha a long look. He intended to calm the situation first, then return and have the Anbu investigate thoroughly.
Little did he know that Minagawa Uchiha no longer feared being exposed. In the current Konoha, no one could threaten him. He merely feared powerful old schemers like the Sage of Six Paths.
The clan massacre involved too much. The Uchiha Clan could be said to be the last bloodline clan the Sage of Six Paths had left in the world. The other bloodline clans had nearly been wiped out, with only a handful of Clan Members remaining.
Furthermore, his son's reincarnation, the Savior of this generation, Second Pillar, would be greatly affected by this incident. That old schemer, the Sage of Six Paths, might very well be watching. Naturally, Minagawa Uchiha did not dare show himself during this period.
Now, both Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Fugaku had been changed by Minagawa Uchiha, and the Night of the Uchiha Clan Downfall would no longer happen. The Sage of Six Paths could not possibly keep watch over this place at all times, so Minagawa Uchiha no longer feared exposure as much.
But Sarutobi Hiruzen knew none of this. He believed Minagawa Uchiha was as naive as Uchiha Shisui. The only difference was that, unlike Shisui, he did not want to involve himself in the conflict between the clan and the village, which was why he had hidden himself so desperately. If the danger of the clan's downfall had not been imminent, he probably would never have revealed himself.
This was likely the main reason why, despite possessing three pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan, the Uchiha Clan had not chosen to launch a Coup d'état outright as usual, but instead reached a tacit understanding of peace with the village's higher-ups.
In Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes, an Uchiha who was both naive and powerful was very easy to control. As long as he targeted Minagawa Uchiha's fear of trouble and his naive way of thinking, he could force him step by step into a position where he had no choice but to act. Then, he could use him to achieve the same results as Uchiha Itachi.
Believing he had figured out why the Uchiha had not completely fallen out with Konoha this time, Sarutobi Hiruzen's worries about the Uchiha eased.
Although he had come up with a follow-up plan to deal with the Uchiha Clan, Sarutobi Hiruzen still did not abandon his policy of dividing them after seeing that their relationship with the other clans and shinobi had somewhat improved following this incident.
"Everyone, I never imagined that Shimura Danzō had hidden so much from me and committed so many outrageous acts. This was my failure as Hokage. But please rest assured, the village will compensate every victim.
"Furthermore, we must thank the Uchiha Military Police Force for exposing Root, this scourge of the village, and recovering enormous losses for Konoha."
"In light of the Uchiha Clan's tremendous contribution this time, as the Third Hokage, I hereby announce that the Uchiha's current station will remain unchanged. In addition, the original Uchiha Clan Compound in the center of the village will be reassigned to the Uchiha Clan as a reward!"
Hearing that there was such a wonderful benefit, the surrounding Uchiha Clan Members immediately burst into cheers.
After the Nine-Tails Incident, the Uchiha Clan had been moved to their current location at the edge of the village against their wishes. Now, not only could they keep this spacious station on the outskirts, but they could also reclaim their original Clan Land in the village center. How could they not be overjoyed?
"That's great! It's the center of the village. I won't have to run so far every time I need to do anything!"
"Yeah! That was the Clan Land assigned to us when the Uchiha helped found the village. Of course it has the best location!"
"That's wonderful! If we can return to our former Clan Land, my grandfather will definitely be very happy!"
"..."
Seeing the Uchiha's excited expressions, Sarutobi Hiruzen revealed a meaningful smile.
However, Uchiha Fugaku frowned. How could he fail to see that this was Sarutobi Hiruzen's open scheme?
That place was in the center of the village and had originally belonged to the Uchiha Clan. Now that it was being returned to them, would they accept it or not?
After the Nine-Tails Incident, the higher-ups had used that Clan Land to win over other clans and promising shinobi, assigning it to them. Now, with a single word from the Hokage, if the Uchiha accepted it without hesitation, they would naturally offend those clans and shinobi.
Their reputation, which had only just begun to improve, would plummet again, and the divide between them and the village would deepen once more. It would be a decision that completely isolated them from Konoha.
But what if they refused?
Then, as Clan Head, he would have no way to explain it to the rest of the clan. Not every Clan Member could see through this layer of the scheme. Even those who could, when faced with such an excellent location and a place generations of their people had fought for, could not possibly choose to yield, whether to comfort their ancestors or because of their proud nature.
Uchiha Fugaku could not help but marvel at the brilliance of Sarutobi Hiruzen's open scheme. For a moment, he was trapped in a dilemma.
Seeing this, Minagawa Uchiha had no choice but to step forward. He had originally intended to hide himself and play the fool, but when Sarutobi Hiruzen observed him, he realized that his age had exposed him. As long as he did not appear too monstrous, there was no longer any need to keep hiding.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama. Although Hokage-sama has reassigned that place to the Uchiha Clan, and we very much wish to return to our former Clan Land, there are still many of our fellow villagers living there.
"As part of Konoha, we must also consider everyone else. Since that is the case, we will not make things difficult for Hokage-sama. We only need to reclaim a small portion of the houses for Clan Members in urgent need. As for the other houses, there is no need for everyone to move out. We can rent them to everyone at below-market rates. We hope everyone can understand."
Seeing someone from the Uchiha step forward to accept the reward, Sarutobi Hiruzen was very pleased. When he saw that it was Minagawa Uchiha, he looked even more approving, thinking, Just as expected of you, you naive Uchiha.
However, Minagawa Uchiha's arrangements for the houses caught Sarutobi Hiruzen off guard, and his expression darkened.
How could Sarutobi Hiruzen fail to see that this was merely Minagawa Uchiha's strategy of advancing by retreating?
On the surface, Minagawa Uchiha had given up the entire Clan Land that should have been theirs. In truth, the Uchiha Clan had long grown accustomed to their current station. Unless necessary, it was enough for that place to belong to the clan; few people were willing to exhaust themselves by moving back and forth again.
This way, the stubborn people among the Uchiha who insisted on moving would be appeased. The vacant houses could also be rented out on the spot, allowing them to earn a large sum of money without offending those people.
More importantly, this would neither offend the people living there nor leave the resentment over having to pay rent directed at the Uchiha. Instead, it would be redirected toward the Hokage, who had made this decision without properly settling their arrangements.
There must be an even deeper scheme behind this!
Before you continue