There was no helping it. The more you thought about certain things in a particular way, the more they seemed to fit. Some members of the Hawk Faction had even started to believe the conspiracy they'd made up.
All one could say was, Lord Kazuto truly lived up to his reputation!
Because of Uchiha Kazuto, Uchiha Itachi had completely lost his foothold in the Uchiha Clan. If he wanted to investigate anything, he'd have to capture a member of the Hawk Faction and torture him for any useful information.
But he couldn't do that.
He was no longer the Uchiha Clan's crown prince. He was the son of a sinner, and there was no one left to cover for him. If he really captured a Hawk Faction Uchiha and tortured him, it would be like taking a dump on Uchiha Kazuto's face. Besides, he didn't have the Mangekyō Sharingan. He stood no chance against Uchiha Kazuto and those legendary eyes. If he did something like that, he'd only alert his target—and might even provoke Uchiha Kazuto into acting.
If he attacked a fellow villager and wasn't caught, that was one thing. But if he was found out, even if they killed him and reported it to Lord Hokage, Uchiha Kazuto would be in the right. It would be a death in vain.
After all, he wasn't Shimura Danzō, that old beast rumored to have an improper relationship with Lord Hokage.
If Uchiha Kazuto were even a little weaker, if he didn't have those eyes, Uchiha Itachi would have acted already. He might even have assassinated Uchiha Kazuto and killed the one responsible for all this. Unfortunately, he couldn't. Without the Mangekyō Sharingan, how could he make a move against Uchiha Kazuto?
"Mangekyō Sharingan... damn it!"
Uchiha Itachi gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, his face full of resentment. Uchiha Kazuto, just what conspiracy are you hiding?
"Hey, Itachi, what are you skulking around here for? Are you trying to cook up some scheme against our clan, just like your father?"
Just then, someone appeared a short distance away, holding a baton. As if driving off a stray dog, he chased Uchiha Itachi away.
Itachi lowered his head and left, humiliated. Damn it, this was the first time he'd ever been so miserable within his own clan. The Uchiha Clan really was born evil. Itachi clenched his fists tight.
He was like a jinx among the Uchiha now, hated by everyone. His former glory was gone. So much for being the Uchiha Clan's genius. They hadn't kicked him out of the clan yet—that alone was lucky.
Just then, an Anbu appeared in front of 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, have you heard the voices outside?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't look at Itachi. Instead, he gazed out the window. Even now, the chants of loyalty continued to echo throughout Konoha. Listening to the repeated cries of "For Lord Hokage! For the village! Loyalty!" eased the sorrow he'd felt over Danzo being beaten to death.
"I have, Lord Hokage."
Itachi nodded. Suddenly, he had a bad feeling. Of course he knew what was going on outside. That Uchiha Kazuto had actually defied the Military Police Force's tradition by recruiting new members from the village. At first, Itachi had been thrilled. It had only taken a little while for Kazuto to show his true colors! Uchiha Kazuto!
But when the slogans rang out across Konoha, Itachi's heart sank. This wasn't right. This wasn't how he'd imagined things going. You naturally evil Uchiha Kazuto—weren't you expanding the Military Police Force to carry out some unspeakable scheme?
What was going on now? Could it be... could Uchiha Kazuto really be innocent? Had everything that happened before truly been a scheme by his biological father and Lord Danzo?
But how could that be? The ones who'd undermined the village's unity were his father and Lord Danzo...
No, no. The Uchiha Clan was born evil. As a member of the clan, Itachi knew his own people all too well. How could they simply decide not to stage a coup?
And then there was the way the clan treated him now, the fact that he'd once been told he couldn't join the Military Police Force, and Uchiha Kazuto... It was as if that man had appeared out of nowhere.
A conspiracy. There had to be a massive conspiracy behind all this!
"Well, you've heard them, then? Itachi, don't investigate Kazuto anymore. I know what needs to be known. Kazuto is innocent. Don't keep making mistakes for your father's sake."
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff of his pipe and spoke slowly, looking at Itachi's dark expression. He felt he'd already figured out what Itachi was thinking. Since his father had become a rogue ninja, Itachi wanted to investigate Uchiha Kazuto and clear his father's name.
But, Itachi, listen. Aren't those voices outside so pleasant to hear? So full of loyalty? How could Uchiha Kazuto, who inspired such chants, possibly be up to something?
Hiruzen Sarutobi closed his eyes. Since becoming Hokage, he'd never before heard people throughout the village unite to chant slogans like "For the village, for the Hokage, for the Will of Fire." Uchiha Kazuto had the Mangekyō Sharingan—the same eyes Uchiha Madara had possessed. With such power, he had no need to curry favor with Hiruzen or pretend to be loyal.
For a strong man, that was completely unnecessary. Which meant Uchiha Kazuto's chants came straight from the heart. He was a good Uchiha citizen whose Will of Fire was even more righteous than Uchiha Itachi's!
At the very least, if Itachi became clan head and took over the Military Police Force, he would never do what Uchiha Kazuto was doing now. It seemed that Shisui's eyes really had been destroyed by Danzo after all.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had no idea that Uchiha Kazuto wasn't actually all that powerful. At least, his strength hadn't yet reached the point where he could crush all of Konoha.
If Uchiha Kazuto were truly powerful, given his temperament, he would have already launched a violent coup and cut Hiruzen down, instead of pretending to be loyal and continuing to build up his strength.
Besides, Uchiha Kazuto didn't want Konoha to be teetering on the brink. He wanted a powerful Konoha under his control.
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