Uncomfortable Uchiha Itachi

No helping it—some things, the more you dwell on them in a certain direction, the more they seem to fit. Now even some members of the Hawk Faction had started to believe in this fabricated conspiracy.

All I can say is, as expected of Lord Kazuto!

At this point, because of Uchiha Kazuto, Uchiha Itachi had completely lost any foothold within the Uchiha Clan. If he wanted to investigate anything, he would have to capture a Hawk Faction member and torture them harshly to possibly get something useful.

But he couldn't do that.

He was no longer the former crown prince of the Uchiha Clan; he was the son of a criminal, with no one left to cover for him. If he actually grabbed a Hawk Faction Uchiha and tortured them, it would be like taking a dump right on Uchiha Kazuto's face. And without the Mangekyo Sharingan—those legendary eyes—he was no match for Uchiha Kazuto at all. If he really did that, it would definitely alert the enemy, or even provoke Uchiha Kazuto into acting.

Laying hands on a fellow villager like that—if it wasn't discovered, fine. But if it was, even if he was killed and the matter was brought before Lord Hokage, Uchiha Kazuto would be in the right, and Itachi would have died for nothing.

After all, he wasn't Shimura Danzō, that old beast rumored to have an improper relationship with Lord Hokage.

If Uchiha Kazuto were just a bit weaker, without those eyes, Uchiha Itachi would have acted immediately—even assassinated Uchiha Kazuto, the root of all this. But he couldn't. Without the Mangekyo Sharingan, how could he possibly strike at Uchiha Kazuto?

"Mangekyo Sharingan... Damn it!"

Uchiha Itachi gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, his face full of resentment. Uchiha Kazuto, what scheme are you hiding?

"Hey, Itachi, what are you skulking around here for? Are you plotting some conspiracy against our clan, just like your father?"

Just then, a figure appeared not far from Uchiha Itachi, holding a baton, shooing him away like a stray dog.

Uchiha Itachi lowered his head and left in humiliation. Damn it—this was the first time he had been so humiliated in his own clan. Truly the evil Uchiha Clan. Uchiha Itachi clenched his fists tightly.

Now, within the Uchiha Clan, he was like a plague—loathed by everyone he met, his former glory completely gone. What a joke about being the genius of the Uchiha Clan; it was already generous that they hadn't kicked him out.

Just then, an Anbu appeared before Uchiha Itachi.

"Itachi, Lord Hokage wants to see you."

"Lord Hokage!"

In the Hokage's office, Uchiha Itachi stood before Hiruzen Sarutobi like a dog, bowing respectfully.

"Itachi, can you hear the voices outside?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't look at Uchiha Itachi, but gazed out the window. The sound of unwavering loyalty echoed throughout Konoha. Hearing those cries of "For Lord Hokage!" "For the village!" and words of devotion, Hiruzen's mood, which had been somewhat gloomy after Danzō was beaten to death, improved a little.

"I hear them, Lord Hokage."

Uchiha Itachi nodded, a sense of unease rising within him. Of course he knew what those voices meant. Uchiha Kazuto had actually broken the tradition of the Military Police Force by recruiting new members from outside the clan. Originally, Itachi had been thrilled—so soon after taking over, he was already showing his true colors? Uchiha Kazuto!

But when those slogans rang out across the entire village, Itachi's heart sank. This wasn't right. This wasn't what he had imagined. You, evil Uchiha Kazuto—expanding the Military Police Force wasn't supposed to be for some sinister plot?

What was going on now? Could it be that Uchiha Kazuto really had no ulterior motives, and everything before was just a scheme between his biological father and Lord Danzō?

But how could that be? The one who destroyed the village's unity was his father and Lord Danzō...

No, no. The Uchiha Clan was an inherently evil clan. As a member of the Uchiha Clan, Itachi knew his own people very well. How could they just give up on a coup?

And besides... Itachi thought about how the clan treated him now, how he had been denied entry into the Military Police Force when he tried to join, and Uchiha Kazuto—this person who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere...

A conspiracy. There had to be a huge conspiracy behind all this!

"Hmm. Do you hear that, Itachi? Don't investigate Kazuto anymore. I already know what I need to know. Kazuto is not a problem. Don't keep making mistakes for your father's sake."

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a drag from his pipe, looking at Uchiha Itachi's gloomy face, and spoke slowly. He thought he understood Itachi's intentions—because his father had become a rogue ninja, he wanted to investigate Uchiha Kazuto to clear his father's name, right?

But, Itachi, listen. How pleasant those voices outside sound, how loyal. How could an Uchiha Kazuto like that possibly be a problem?

Hiruzen Sarutobi closed his eyes. Since becoming Hokage, no one had ever gathered in the village to shout slogans like "For the village!" "For the Hokage!" "For the Will of Fire!" Uchiha Kazuto possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan—the same eyes as Uchiha Madara from the past. With that kind of power, Uchiha Kazuto had no need to flatter him or pretend to be loyal.

For a strong man like that, it was completely unnecessary. In other words, the slogans Uchiha Kazuto was shouting now came straight from the heart. This was a good Uchiha citizen with a Will of Fire even more correct than Uchiha Itachi's!

At the very least, if Uchiha Itachi had become clan head and taken over the Military Police Force, he could never have done what Uchiha Kazuto was doing now. It seemed that Shisui's eyes really had been destroyed by Danzō after all.

What Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't know was that Uchiha Kazuto wasn't actually that strong—at least, not yet strong enough to crush the entire village.

If he truly were that powerful, given Uchiha Kazuto's personality, he would have already launched a violent coup and cut him down, instead of disguising himself like this and continuing to develop.

And what Uchiha Kazuto needed wasn't a crumbling Konoha, but a strong Konoha under his control.