Sarutobi Hiruzen's Speculation and Schemes

Sarutobi Hiruzen gave Minagawa Uchiha a long look. He planned to calm the situation down first, then return and have the Anbu conduct a thorough investigation.

Little did he know that Minagawa Uchiha no longer feared being exposed. In today's Konoha, no one could threaten him. The only people he was wary of were powerful old schemers like the Sage of Six Paths.

The clan extermination incident involved far too much. The Uchiha Clan could be said to be the last bloodline family left in the world by the Sage of Six Paths. The other bloodline families had nearly been wiped out, with only a scattered few Clan Members remaining.

With the reincarnation of his son, Uchiha Sasuke, the Savior of this generation, also involved, this incident would have an enormous impact on his growth. That old schemer, the Sage of Six Paths, would very likely be paying attention, so Minagawa Uchiha naturally did not dare to show himself at this time.

Now, however, both Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Fugaku had been changed by Minagawa Uchiha, and the Night of the Uchiha Clan Downfall would certainly never occur. The Sage of Six Paths could not possibly keep watch over this place at all times, so Minagawa Uchiha no longer feared exposure so much.

But Sarutobi Hiruzen knew none of this. He believed Minagawa Uchiha was someone 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 gone to such lengths to hide himself. If the danger of the clan's downfall had not been so imminent, he likely would never have revealed himself at all.

This was probably also the main reason why the Uchiha Clan, despite possessing three pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan, had not acted out of character and directly launched a coup d'état, instead reaching a tacit peace agreement with the 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 the boy'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. When that time came, using him could achieve the same results as using Uchiha Itachi.

Believing that he had figured out why the Uchiha had not completely fallen out with Konoha this time, Sarutobi Hiruzen finally set aside his worries about them.

Although he had already thought of follow-up plans for dealing with the Uchiha Clan, seeing that their relationships with the other clans and shinobi had somewhat eased after this incident, Sarutobi Hiruzen still did not abandon his policy of dividing them.

"Everyone, I never imagined that Shimura Danzō had hidden so much from me and committed so many outrages that angered both heaven and man. This is my failure as Hokage, but please rest assured that the village will compensate every victim.

"Furthermore, we must thank the Uchiha Military Police Force for exposing Root, this black sheep, and recovering enormous losses for the village."

"In light of the Uchiha Clan's tremendous contribution this time, as the Third Hokage, I hereby announce that the Uchiha's current grounds will remain unchanged. The former Uchiha Clan Compound in the center of the village will be reassigned to the Uchiha Clan as a reward!"

Hearing such wonderful news, A Group of nearby Uchiha Clan Members began cheering one after another.

After all, following the Nine-Tails Incident all those years ago, the Uchiha Clan had been extremely unwillingly relocated to their current position on the outskirts. Now, not only could they keep their spacious grounds at the edge of the village, but they could also reclaim their original clan compound in the center of the village. How could they not be overjoyed?

"That's great! It's the center of the village! I won't have to travel so far every time I need to do anything!"

"Exactly! That's the clan compound that was allocated to us when the Uchiha helped build the village. Of course it has the best location!"

"That's wonderful! Being able to return to our old clan compound will make my grandfather incredibly happy!"

"..."

Seeing how delighted the Uchiha were, 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 compound to win over other clans and promising shinobi, allocating it to them. Now, with a single word from the Hokage, if they accepted it without hesitation, they would naturally offend those clans and shinobi.

The reputation they had only just begun to rebuild would plummet again, and the divide between them and the village would deepen once more. It would be a decision that completely cut them off from Konoha.

But what if they refused?

As Clan Head, he would be unable to explain himself to the others in the clan. Not every Clan Member could see through this layer of the scheme. Even those who could, faced with such an excellent location and a place where generations of their people had struggled and striven, would never choose to yield—whether to honor their ancestors or because of their own pride.

Uchiha Fugaku could not help but marvel at the brilliance of Sarutobi Hiruzen's open scheme. For a moment, he was caught in a dilemma.

Seeing this, Minagawa Uchiha had no choice but to step forward. Although he had originally intended to hide his strength and play the fool, when Sarutobi Hiruzen observed him, Minagawa Uchiha realized that his age had exposed him. So long as he did not perform too monstrously, there was no longer any need for him to keep hiding.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama. Although Hokage-sama has reassigned that place to our Uchiha Clan, and we do very much wish to return to our former clan compound, there are still so many of our fellow villagers living there. As members 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 who urgently need them. As for the rest, no one needs to move out. We can rent them to everyone at below-market prices. 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 showed an even more approving expression, thinking to himself, Just as expected of you, you naive Uchiha.

But Minagawa Uchiha's subsequent arrangement 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 retreating in order to advance?

On the surface, Minagawa Uchiha had given up the entire clan compound that should have been theirs. But in truth, the Uchiha Clan had long grown accustomed to their current grounds. Unless necessary, it was enough for that place to belong to the clan; few people would be willing to go through the trouble of moving back and forth.

This way, those stubborn people among the Uchiha who insisted on relocating would be appeased, while the vacant houses could be rented out on the spot. They could earn a substantial sum without offending those people.

More importantly, this would neither offend the people living there nor fail to redirect their resentment over having to pay rent toward the Hokage, who had made this decision without properly settling their arrangements.

There must be an even deeper scheme behind this!

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