Hiruzen Sarutobi's Scheme

"Greetings, Lord Hokage!"

Uchiha Shūichi bowed with full respect. The old man wearing the bamboo hat was none other than the current Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Shūichi, you've come! You've worked hard during this time."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was not tall, and at this moment his face wore a kindly expression, making it utterly impossible to imagine that he was the Hokage who wielded the greatest violent power in the ninja world today.

However, Uchiha Shūichi would never underestimate the old man before him. This Third Hokage's strength might only rank at the bottom among all the Hokage throughout history, but if one only considered his cunning, in some respects he could be called the strongest among them.

At the very least, the fact that the Third Hokage had been able to maintain Konoha's stability for so many years with his level of power demonstrated his methods.

It was easy to keep a ninja village stable when it was thriving, but keeping it stable when it was in decline was far from simple.

Just like Empress Dowager Cixi, though she sold out the country for personal gain and was firmly nailed to the pillar of historical shame, the fact that she could barely hold the late Qing Dynasty together was something an ordinary person could never accomplish.

In short, you could call such a person wicked, but you could never call them weak! And you could never call them stupid or unintelligent!

Throughout his disguise, the opponent who had brought Uchiha Shūichi the greatest pressure was this Third Hokage.

"It wasn't hard... But, Lord Hokage, do you have any information about Shisui?"

Uchiha Shūichi asked with a look of anxiety on his face. Hearing this, the Third Hokage furrowed his brow and took another puff from his pipe:

"Shisui... I'm sad about that matter too, but I really don't know what happened to him!"

This was, of course, a lie. Uchiha Shūichi saw through it almost instantly.

Uchiha Shisui had revealed the ability of his Kotoamatsukami to the Third Hokage, and then suddenly disappeared, leaving behind a suicide note. Even using one's toes to think, it was clear something had happened to him.

And the only ones who knew about Uchiha Shisui's Kotoamatsukami ability were Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō. Even if Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't originally known about Danzō's actions, after Shisui's death, he should have had a good idea.

But in reality, how could Hiruzen Sarutobi be completely unaware of Shimura Danzō's actions?

Given Hiruzen Sarutobi's understanding of his old comrade, could he really not have imagined what Danzō would do once he learned of Kotoamatsukami? Danzō's actions might very well have been tacitly approved by Hiruzen Sarutobi!

"Is that so? So even Lord Hokage doesn't know... Well then, was there something Lord Hokage called me here for?"

The Third Hokage opened his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words. He had called Uchiha Shūichi over precisely to ask about Uchiha Shisui's matter.

In truth, the Third Hokage had a clear picture of Uchiha Shisui's situation. He even knew that Shimura Danzō hadn't killed Shisui, only taken one of his Mangekyo.

But whether Uchiha Shisui, having lost his Mangekyo, had truly died as stated in his suicide note—that, the Third Hokage didn't know.

Even if Shisui had died, where had his Mangekyo ended up? The Third Hokage didn't believe Shisui's personality would waste that powerful Kotoamatsukami Mangekyo.

If Shisui had left any contingency plan, the most likely recipients were Uchiha Shūichi and Uchiha Itachi. That was the purpose of this probing visit.

But Uchiha Shūichi had turned the tables by asking first, leaving the Hokage with nothing to say.

Shifting his thoughts, the Third Hokage simply changed the subject:

"Shūichi, I'd like to know what was discussed at yesterday's Uchiha Clan meeting."

"The same as before—complaints about the village, wanting to stage a coup. But because of Shisui's suicide, the Uchiha Clan seems to have been frightened, so there won't be any action for now."

"However, the Uchiha Clan all believe Shisui's death was caused by Konoha, so while the coup plans have been halted, their hatred for the village may have deepened."

Hearing Uchiha Shūichi's words, the Third Hokage nodded knowingly. He had already known the contents of the Uchiha Clan meeting. Asking Shūichi this time was merely a compliance test.

For now, it seemed Uchiha Shūichi hadn't concealed anything, spilling everything that had happened at the clan gathering.

This couldn't clear Shūichi of all suspicion, but it did reduce some of the doubt in the Third Hokage's mind.

"Ah... the Uchiha are, after all, members of our Konoha. Shūichi, you don't need to be too hostile toward them."

"Yes, I understand, Lord Hokage."

Uchiha Shūichi agreed verbally, but a faint look of disapproval flickered across his face, raising the Third Hokage's trust in him a notch further.

As for why the Third Hokage trusted Uchiha Shūichi so much, it came down to Shūichi's parents.

Uchiha Shūichi's parents had died on the Night of the Nine-Tails. And as everyone knew, when the Nine-Tails broke its seal back then, its eyes bore the pattern of the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan.

Konoha's ninjas had suspected the Nine-Tails' release was an Uchiha conspiracy, and Uchiha Shūichi seized on this, acting especially radical in front of the Third Hokage, blaming the Uchiha Clan for his parents' deaths. This naturally earned him the Third Hokage's trust.

The Third Hokage couldn't help but trust him. Other things could be faked, but the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan could not!

Aside from awakening the Mangekyo, the hardest part of the Uchiha's Kekkei Genkai was the first awakening of the Sharingan, which required immense emotional stimulation. Going from Two Tomoe to Three Tomoe was much easier.

The fact that Uchiha Shūichi had awakened his Sharingan due to his parents' death proved his feelings for them were genuine, and that he must harbor hatred for the Uchiha Clan responsible for it all.

Otherwise, a wily old fox like the Third Hokage wouldn't trust someone so easily.

After a brief silence, the Third Hokage spoke seriously again:

"Shūichi, regarding this matter of Uchiha Shisui, I suspect someone else may be pulling strings. I need you to keep an eye on the Uchiha Clan."

"Lord Hokage suspects the Uchiha Clan? As far as I know, Uchiha Shisui had already awakened his Mangekyo. If anyone could kill him, it would have to be another Uchiha who had also awakened the Mangekyo—perhaps the mastermind behind the Night of the Nine-Tails!"

The Third Hokage, fully aware of the whole truth, naturally knew how Shisui had died, but he couldn't reveal that information.

And seeing Uchiha Shūichi's somewhat agitated state, he found it convenient—it would help him investigate better.