Soon, Uchiha Kazuto began arguing with the two old men. In the end, Hiruzen Sarutobi decided to send them to the Military Police Force for a year of "rest and recuperation."
At first, Hiruzen Sarutobi had intended to let the two old men recuperate at home for a year. But after Uchiha Kazuto argued his case, it was ultimately decided they would spend that year behind bars in the Military Police Force.
" Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"
Utatane Koharu looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi in fury and disbelief, then shouted angrily.
"That's enough. I'm the Hokage!"
"Guards, take these two advisors to the Military Police Force!"
And so, with his carefully cultivated image and the weight of righteousness on his side, Uchiha Kazuto had successfully cut off the two right-hand men at Hiruzen Sarutobi's side—for the time being.
Danzo was dead, and the other two old men had been sent to prison.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had now become completely isolated. Konoha's ninja and clans were continually pledging their loyalty to Uchiha Kazuto. Now, all Hiruzen Sarutobi had was Uchiha Kazuto, whom he regarded as a useful tool—a fiercely loyal Uchiha Kazuto!
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't feel much about it. After all, in his eyes, Uchiha Kazuto was Konoha's most loyal subject!
And that was exactly what Uchiha Kazuto needed. If he hadn't been unable to touch the Anbu, he would have gone after them too, completely reducing Hiruzen Sarutobi to a figurehead.
By then, with his right-hand men cut off and his eyes gouged out, Hiruzen Sarutobi would be nothing more than a fish on the chopping block.
Still, things were fine as they were.
Over the next little while, Konoha grew increasingly somber and oppressive. The Military Police Force's persecution of the villagers grew ever more severe. They treated the villagers like animals, beating them within an inch of their lives. The villagers of Konoha dared not speak out, despite their anger.
Whenever they went outside, they kept their heads down and didn't dare say a word, afraid the Military Police Force would accuse them of undermining the village's unity, haul them in, and beat them.
Meanwhile, in secret, a turmoil aimed at overthrowing all of Konoha began to brew.
Uchiha Kazuto began to wait, biding his time until the moment came to reap the harvest.
Time passed quietly.
More and more Konoha ninja entered the Study Corps for training, then left with hearts full of loyalty.
They entered hating Uchiha Kazuto, but left feeling a sense of kinship with him—and even gratitude.
Uchiha Kazuto was changing the way the village's ninja saw him in his own way. He was also changing how the clans saw him.
In particular, Hiruzen Sarutobi had proposed that, to promote unity in the village, the ninja who had completed their training should return for a second and third round, keeping them constantly alert and teaching them the Will of Fire.
Uchiha Kazuto had agreed without hesitation.
He couldn't have been happier!
In a secret room in Konoha.
"We have to protest! We have to march! Lord Hokage has lost his mind..."
Kawasaki Sora looked at the villagers and spoke slowly.
"Then what should we do? Storm the Military Police Force? Make Lord Hokage understand how evil they are?"
A villager asked.
"No. The Military Police Force has never been the real issue. Don't you understand? Everything happening now is Lord Hokage's doing! You're being beaten and oppressed like this because he wants it!"
Kawasaki Sora shook his head and explained his thoughts.
"Simply getting rid of Uchiha Kazuto won't help. He's just Lord Hokage's dog, his glove. The real problem is Lord Hokage himself!"
A villager stood up and spoke.
"Exactly. Lord Hokage already stepped down. He only took the position again because the Fourth Hokage died. He's just an acting Hokage, and he's too old!"
Kawasaki Sora said.
They weren't discussing a coup. They were talking about holding a march, starting a riot, making the village recognize the state of affairs, and then choosing a new Hokage.
At least, that was how it looked on the surface.
The Military Police Force's oppression was too terrifying. The villagers felt as though they were living in prison, without the slightest freedom. It was horrifying.
Under such terrifying oppression, the villagers could no longer bear it.
But even if they couldn't bear it, they had no choice but to endure. Kirigakure next door had its Bloody Mist, and its villagers were suffering too. What could they do about it?
This was, after all, a world where individual power reigned supreme.
If nothing unexpected happened, the villagers of Konoha would continue to be suppressed. At least on the surface, they would get used to it.
They would be oppressed until they died. But now, with deliberate encouragement from those with their own agenda, the villagers were growing bolder.
After all, they weren't planning a coup, only a riot and a march. They just wanted a new Hokage.
The villagers, oppressed past the breaking point, kept discussing things and venting their resentment. The more they talked, the angrier and more miserable they felt. In the end, they all agreed that Hiruzen Sarutobi had grown old and senile. He was no longer the Third Hokage of the past. Hiruzen Sarutobi had become a madman who treated all of Konoha as his private property to satisfy his own vanity.
They had to choose a new Hokage.
In the past, they wouldn't have dared entertain such a thought, even if they'd been given a thousand times the courage. But things were different now. Under extreme pressure, people could do all sorts of things that defied logic and even reason.
"We're almost there. Let me add one more spark. Someone, come here!"
In the Military Police Force's office, Uchiha Kazuto called out.
"Lord Kazuto!"
Uchiha Tekka bowed respectfully.
"How are those records of Shimura Danzo's crimes coming along?"
Uchiha Kazuto leaned back in his chair and asked seriously.
"They're ready, Lord Kazuto!"
"Good. Publish them."
Uchiha Kazuto nodded and gave the order.
"Yes, Lord Kazuto!"
Not long afterward, the village learned about all the filthy, sinister things Shimura Danzo had done.
Kidnapping villagers for human experimentation, desecrating the First Hokage's corpse, persecuting the great clans, trampling Konoha's laws—and even White Fang's suicide. Shimura Danzo had been involved in all of it.
Of course, these records had been edited. Anything that reflected badly on the Hokage or the major clans had been left out. Given the image Uchiha Kazuto had cultivated, he absolutely couldn't let information damaging to the Hokage get out.
That didn't mean the villagers couldn't learn through other channels that Shimura Danzo had done those things on the orders of their great Hokage!
Before you continue