Undercurrents Surge

Soon, Uchiha Kazuto was arguing with these two old men, and in the end, Hiruzen Sarutobi decided to let them recuperate in the Military Police Force for a year.

Originally, Hiruzen Sarutobi had planned to let them rest at home for a year, but after Uchiha Kazuto's forceful reasoning, it was finally settled that they would be imprisoned in the Military Police Force.

"Sarutobi, you'll regret this!"

Utatane Koharu's face was filled with anger as she stared incredulously at Hiruzen Sarutobi and shouted.

"Enough, I am the Hokage!"

"Guards, take these two advisors to the Military Police Force!"

And so, with the help of his persona and righteous cause, Uchiha Kazuto 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 were in prison.

Now, Hiruzen Sarutobi had become completely isolated. The ninjas and clans of Konoha were constantly pledging their loyalty to Uchiha Kazuto. At this point, all Hiruzen Sarutobi had left was Uchiha Kazuto—who, in his eyes, was a useful tool—loyal and devoted Uchiha Kazuto!

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't feel much about it, after all, in his view, Uchiha Kazuto was the greatest loyalist in Konoha!

And that was exactly what Uchiha Kazuto needed. If he could have touched the Anbu, he would have gone after them too, completely sidelining Hiruzen Sarutobi.

By then, with his arms cut off and his eyes gouged out, Hiruzen Sarutobi would be nothing but fish on the chopping block.

But this was fine for now.

Over the next period, Konoha grew increasingly stifling and oppressive. The Military Police Force's oppression of the villagers became heavier and heavier, treating them like livestock and beating them within an inch of their lives. The villagers of Konoha dared not speak out in anger.

When they went out, they kept their heads down, not daring to say a word, terrified of being branded as disruptors of village unity and dragged off by the Military Police Force for a beating.

At the same time, in the shadows, a chaos aimed at overturning all of Konoha began to brew.

Uchiha Kazuto started waiting, waiting for the moment of harvest.

Time passed quietly.

More and more Konoha ninjas entered the Study Corps for training, then left carrying full loyalty.

From the resentment they felt toward Uchiha Kazuto upon entering, to the recognition—even gratitude—they felt upon leaving.

Uchiha Kazuto was, through his methods, changing the ninjas of the village's view of him, and also changing the views of the ninja clans.

Especially when Hiruzen Sarutobi proposed an idea—to promote village unity by having the trained ninjas undergo second and third rounds of training, constantly staying vigilant and learning the Will of Fire.

Uchiha Kazuto agreed without hesitation.

He couldn't have asked for more!

Konoha, inside a secret chamber.

"We need to protest, we need to march. The Lord Hokage has lost his mind..."

Kawasaki Sora spoke slowly as he looked at the gathered villagers.

"Then what should we do? Storm the Military Police Force? Make the Lord Hokage see the evil of the Military Police Force?"

A villager asked.

"No, the Military Police Force was never the point. Don't you understand yet? Everything happening now is the Lord Hokage's will. The reason you're being beaten and oppressed like this—it's all the Lord Hokage's doing!"

Kawasaki Sora shook his head and laid out his thoughts.

"Getting rid of Uchiha Kazuto alone is useless. He's just the Lord Hokage's dog, a pair of gloves. The real problem lies with the Lord Hokage himself!"

A villager stood up and said.

"That's right. The current Lord Hokage already stepped down before. He only took over because of the Fourth's death. He's an acting Hokage, and now he's too old!"

Kawasaki Sora said.

They weren't discussing a coup. Instead, it was about marching, about starting a riot to make the village realize the current situation, and then replacing the Hokage.

At least, that's how it looked on the surface.

The oppression of the Military Police Force was too terrifying. It made these villagers feel like they were living in a prison, with no freedom at all—too horrifying.

Under such crushing pressure, the villagers couldn't take it anymore.

But even if they couldn't take it, they had to. Over in Kirigakure, with the Bloody Mist, those villagers lived just as badly—but what could they do about it?

This was, after all, a world where individual power reigned supreme.

If nothing unexpected happened, these Konoha villagers would continue to be suppressed, at least on the surface, until they got used to it.

They would be crushed until they died. But now, with deliberate guidance from certain people, these villagers were growing bold.

After all, they weren't planning a coup—just a riot, a march, to demand a new Hokage.

These villagers, unable to bear the pressure, kept discussing and venting their grievances. The more they talked, the angrier and more miserable they became. In the end, they all agreed that Hiruzen Sarutobi was old and senile, no longer the Third Hokage of the past. Now, he had become a madman who treated all of Konoha as his personal property to satisfy his own vanity.

They had to replace him with a new ninja.

In the past, even with a thousand times the courage, they wouldn't have dared to think such thoughts. But now, things were different. Under extreme pressure, people would do things that defied logic, even reason.

"Just a little more. Let me add fuel to the fire. Someone!"

From the guard corps office, Uchiha Kazuto called out.

"Lord Kazuto!"

Uchiha Tekka bowed respectfully.

"How is the compilation of Shimura Danzō's evidence of crimes coming along?"

Uchiha Kazuto leaned back in his chair and asked seriously.

"It's already been organized, Lord Kazuto!"

"Excellent. Release that evidence to the public."

Uchiha Kazuto nodded and gave the order.

"Yes, Lord Kazuto!"

Not long after, the various vile and treacherous deeds Shimura Danzō had committed were made public throughout the village.

Kidnapping villagers for human experimentation, desecrating the First Hokage's remains, persecuting the major ninja clans, trampling on Konoha's laws—even the suicide of White Fang back then—all of it was tied to Shimura Danzō.

Of course, these materials had been edited. Anything that would reflect poorly on the Hokage or the major families was not released. Given Uchiha Kazuto's current persona, such information damaging to the Hokage absolutely could not be made public by his hand.

But just because he couldn't release it didn't mean the villagers couldn't learn through other channels that those deeds of Shimura Danzō's had been ordered by the great Lord Hokage himself!