Hiruzen Sarutobi's Guilt

Uchiha Kazuto really is a good kid who has the village's best interests at heart—for the sake of Konoha, he didn't even hesitate to break the Military Police Force's tradition and share out power that originally belonged solely to the Uchiha Clan. This... this...

Compared to Kazuto, whether it's Kagami, Uchiha Shisui, or Uchiha Itachi, they all seem so narrow in their vision.

Uchiha Kazuto is the true good Uchiha for Konoha!

He's the one who has truly grasped the Will of Fire, truly understood it, and truly honored it!

Listen!

What does it mean to serve Lord Hokage? What does it mean to act for the village? What does it mean when he says, "My Will of Fire burns fiercely!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi listened to the voices drifting in from outside his office, the slogans echoing through all of Konoha, and took a deep breath, his face full of relief. Since becoming Hokage, no one had ever shown him such respect, even shouting out slogans of reverence and devotion in his name.

So, in Uchiha Kazuto's eyes, his status was really this high?

No wonder, no wonder—everything before this made sense now. Why this genius, who awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan as a child and was hidden away by the Uchiha Clan, would expose the conspiracies of Uchiha Fugaku and Danzō. Because this child, Kazuto, truly had the Will of Fire in his heart and genuinely worshipped him as an idol!

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag of his pipe, closed his eyes, and felt an overwhelming wave of guilt. He had actually suspected that Uchiha Kazuto might have some hidden agenda. Kazuto had treated him with such sincere devotion, and yet he... ah!

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed.

"For Lord Hokage! Long live Lord Hokage!"

"Sleep tight!"

"Bowl smash!!!"

"Loyalty!"

The unmistakable cries of loyalty came again from outside the window. Hiruzen Sarutobi squinted, took another contented puff of his pipe.

How could such a good child possibly be found guilty of anything?

Surely, back when he refused to let anyone probe Fugaku's memories, Kazuto must have been in great pain. As clan head, for the sake of the clan's interests, he simply couldn't allow anyone to casually examine Uchiha Fugaku's memories—after all, once some secrets are exposed, they cease to be secrets.

"Call Itachi back."

Hiruzen Sarutobi listened to the sounds outside, shook his head, and decided to recall Uchiha Itachi. With Kazuto being so loyal, if Itachi kept investigating, he might not find anything at all, and instead get caught by Kazuto. Then, the towering image Kazuto held of him would surely be damaged.

On the other side, Uchiha Itachi was still digging into information about Uchiha Kazuto.

But no matter how he investigated, he couldn't find anything suspicious—it was as if Uchiha Kazuto had no issues at all. Originally, he had wanted to join the Military Police Force's latest recruitment drive, but he was rejected. As Uchiha Fugaku's son, he had already lost the clan's trust.

He was no longer the young master he used to be.

When clan members saw him, they would only say, "Look, it's the son of the traitor Fugaku. Stay away from him, or you'll bring bad luck."

It seemed his entire family had become traitors, despised and shunned by everyone. Before, clan members would nod at him and say things like, "The young master is so handsome." Now, Uchiha Itachi had become nothing more than trash on the roadside.

These attitudes from his clansmen made Uchiha Itachi feel increasingly bitter. Damn these people—they were truly the inherently evil Uchiha. If... if it weren't for Uchiha Kazuto, I, Uchiha Itachi, would want to wipe out this entire clan!

Uchiha Itachi's face darkened as he suppressed the frustration in his heart.

And those Hawk Faction members of the Uchiha Clan—the ones who used to scheme about the coup every day—now acted as if nothing had ever happened. Uchiha Itachi never heard a single word about the coup from them. And when they saw him, they treated him like a plague, hurrying away.

The entire Uchiha Clan seemed to have returned to normal. The only one out of place was him, Uchiha Itachi. He no longer fit in with the Uchiha Clan at all!

The reason these Hawk Faction members loathed Uchiha Itachi so much was that Uchiha Kazuto had told them: Itachi was the clan's true traitor, the one who would one day destroy the Uchiha Clan.

This seemingly prophetic statement was believed without question by the Hawk Faction members. When they asked how Uchiha Kazuto knew, he simply pointed to his eyes.

After that, no one had any doubts. Because that was the mysterious Mangekyo Sharingan—a pair of eyes that had already become legend.

To this day, Uchiha Kazuto had never revealed the ability of his eyes to anyone, maintaining an air of profound mystery. And it was precisely this mystery that made the Hawk Faction trust him completely, believing he could lead the clan to greatness.

After all, even Danzō had been killed by Uchiha Kazuto.

This was Shimura Danzō—the ultimate darkness of Konoha, a man who, relying on being a former comrade of the Hokage, dared to shit on the heads of every major clan. Many of the village's disappearances were linked to him. He was called the "Darkness of Konoha," but in truth, he was nothing but a tumor, a living beast.

A beast allowed to exist by the Hokage's tacit approval.

And now, this beast, who had given every major clan in Konoha headaches, had been killed by Uchiha Kazuto, who even dragged his corpse before the Hokage. That was practically a slap in the face. After all, there were rumors in the village that Danzō had once attempted to assassinate the Hokage. Such rumors rarely came from nowhere—they were likely true.

But look at Danzō: after attempting to assassinate the Hokage, nothing happened to him. He still strutted around, still shat on the heads of the clans and the villagers with the Hokage's silent approval, and got away with everything. This showed just how important that beast Danzō was in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes.

Some even whispered that Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō had an improper relationship. It was this disgusting, improper bond that allowed Danzō to run rampant in the village, facing no consequences even after a failed assassination.

And this beast, with his connections that overshadowed everything, was killed by Uchiha Kazuto, dragged before Hiruzen Sarutobi, and presented with a fabricated conspiracy. That absurd conspiracy, against all odds, Hiruzen Sarutobi actually believed.

As expected of Lord Kazuto!

Though, even these Hawk Faction members were starting to wonder if the conspiracy might actually be real—after all, Uchiha Fugaku had confessed.