The Plan in Motion

In truth, he was seething with resentment. After all that, he hadn't had any complaints about the village before, but now he did.

Lord Hokage, Lord Hokage! Hahaha! So he's Lord Hokage, is he?!

Damn it!

After days of beatings and starvation, he'd become fiercely defiant. What kind of Lord Hokage was that? He was nothing but a beast!

If he had the strength, he'd beat that so-called Lord Hokage to death!

Damn you, Hiruzen Sarutobi!

Unfortunately, he was just an ordinary person. There was nothing he could do.

Just then, a screaming figure was dragged over.

"No! I was wrong, I really was! I shouldn't have badmouthed Lord Hokage! Please let me go! I really was wrong!"

The figure struggled and screamed without stopping.

Smack!

The next moment, a slap struck him across the face.

"Shut up! You people are nothing but liars. Who gave you the nerve to say anything against our great Lord Hokage? Damn it! If you dare insult Lord Hokage today, who knows what you'll do tomorrow! Get in there, quietly!"

The figures brushed past each other.

He immediately lowered his head and fled the Military Police Force as if escaping a wolf's den.

"Good. Just like that!"

In the Military Police Force office, Uchiha Kazuto watched the figure flee and smiled faintly. Then he looked up toward Konoha.

The atmosphere in Konoha had grown rather grim lately.

Steal something? Beat them! Cause trouble? Beat them!

Dare to insult the great Lord Hokage? Beat them! Beat them hard!

The Military Police Force had become terrifying. The slightest infraction brought down its merciless crackdown.

Those who dared to insult Lord Hokage were especially beaten severely, then arrested and locked up for a few days.

Of course, whenever Uchiha Kazuto did these things, he always did so in the name of Lord Hokage.

If you dared to insult Lord Hokage, you were undermining the unity of the village. You were dissatisfied with the great Lord Hokage. You lacked the Will of Fire.

Otherwise, why would you insult and revile Lord Hokage, saying such things against him?

If you truly cared about Konoha, if you truly understood the Will of Fire, if you weren't a spy, then you ought to speak well of Konoha! You ought to hold Lord Hokage in awe and remain loyal to him, as if he were the great sun!

That was what made a normal, respectable citizen of Konoha!

Uchiha Kazuto didn't understand politics, but he knew how to exploit someone else's reputation for his own ends. He knew how to stir up public resentment and how to use his authority to turn an organization into a powder keg.

A melon forced from the vine wouldn't be sweet. Admiration and respect should come from the heart. Forced adoration and forced devotion would only work through brainwashing. Otherwise, using violence like he did would only stir up resentment in the villagers.

On the surface, they would show Hiruzen Sarutobi boundless respect and admiration. In reality, they would hate him to the core.

That was what they called making ten enemies for every fan you gained.

Of course, the Military Police Force wouldn't escape unscathed either. In the process, the villagers would grow fearful and resentful of the force. But compared to the main target—the person they were ostensibly being made to admire—their resentment would be less. With the right explanation, Uchiha Kazuto might even be able to distance himself from it entirely.

"Sorry, everyone. It was all Hiruzen Sarutobi's orders. I didn't want to do it either. The blows landed on you, but I'm the one who feels the pain."

As long as he bowed and apologized, everything would be fine.

"Still not enough."

Uchiha Kazuto gazed out at Konoha. The pressure on the village still wasn't enough. It hadn't yet reached the point where a single spark could set it ablaze—or even make it explode.

And he hadn't built up enough strength yet, either.

"Lord Kazuto!"

Just then, a figure appeared at the office door.

"Come in," Uchiha Kazuto said. A moment later, someone entered.

"Lord Kazuto, here's a list of some of the spies in the village."

Uchiha Tekka handed over the documents.

"Mm, good. Keep monitoring them!"

Uchiha Kazuto took the list and nodded, then began to read.

If you didn't erupt in silence, you would perish in it.

Excessive pressure wouldn't necessarily make Konoha explode. The villagers might instead be crushed beneath it, their spirits broken until they became nothing but numb corpses.

That wasn't what Uchiha Kazuto wanted. So he needed a fuse. He needed a spark.

He couldn't light the fuse himself, nor could he have his subordinates do it. Though Uchiha Kazuto knew nothing about politics and was just an ordinary person, he understood that much.

So how could he get the fuse that would set Konoha ablaze and make it explode?

Spies!

Whether it was Konoha or another faction, no shinobi organization could possibly refrain from sending spies to investigate its rivals. Everyone knew that.

That was Uchiha Kazuto's solution: through hints, or even genjutsu, he would turn those spies into the fuse that blew up Konoha.

But according to his plan, he needed two explosions to kill Hiruzen Sarutobi for good and clear himself of any blame.

For now, all he needed to do was keep up the pressure and keep beating people, carrying out righteous punishment against the villagers in the name of Lord Hokage.

For the sake of the plan to come!

No, this was all for Lord Hokage!

"I'm utterly loyal to Lord Hokage. How could I possibly harm him?"

Uchiha Kazuto smiled faintly, looked toward the distant Hokage Building, and raised his hand.

He wasn't worried that Hiruzen Sarutobi would discover anything. After all, that was just how the Uchiha Clan was. Wasn't it perfectly normal for them to be a little extreme?

What's more, Uchiha Kazuto's current persona was that of someone utterly loyal to and deeply admiring of Hiruzen Sarutobi: loyal, serious, diligent, and devoted to Konoha and Lord Hokage.

With a persona this extreme, whatever he did would seem perfectly normal, so long as he didn't go too far, did it in the name of Lord Hokage, and made it look like an act of devotion.

Even if Hiruzen Sarutobi found out, he wouldn't be able to say much.

Because that was exactly what they thought Uchiha Kazuto was like!

Even if someone used truth serum on Uchiha Kazuto right now, they would only discover that he did everything for Lord Hokage. Because that was exactly what Uchiha Kazuto believed.