Coup

All the blame, Danzō carried on his back. All the infamy, Danzō bore alone. Only Hiruzen Sarutobi was pure, was the good guy. Only Shimura Danzō was the demon, the villain.

"I've had enough. It should have been me who became Hokage!"

That was what Danzō wrote in his diary.

This was the truth of everything. Hiruzen Sarutobi, this Innate Evil Old Man, was never qualified to be called Hokage. The position he held now was never meant to be his. Everything now had been usurped by this Innate Evil Old Man. He sat in a seat that did not belong to him.

Soon, the contents of this diary began to spread wildly in the shadows. Even, through the scheming of certain people, it reached the ears of the high-ranking members of some clans within the village.

"How could this be!"

Some clan heads stared at this thing that looked like a rumor, their faces full of disbelief. In the past, they would have dismissed it as a rumor—a despicable person daring to spread lies about Lord Hokage.

But that was the past. Now...

Looking at the state of the village and Hiruzen Sarutobi's recent behavior, this kind of thing didn't seem impossible anymore.

After all, when the Second Hokage died, no one except Hiruzen Sarutobi and his group knew what really happened. What actually occurred? Wasn't it all up to Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others to decide?

And besides, it was said that these things were copied from Shimura Danzō's diary.

It all made sense. Everything was clear. So that was it. No wonder Hiruzen Sarutobi was so lenient with Shimura Danzō. Was this the truth? So Uchiha Kazuto killing Danzō and facing no consequences—was it because Uchiha Kazuto, by accident, had solved a problem for Hiruzen Sarutobi?

Soon, these clans sealed the mouths of everyone within their families, forbidding anyone from speaking out about Hiruzen Sarutobi's conspiracy. No matter what, Hiruzen Sarutobi was still the Hokage now, and he had Uchiha Kazuto as his loyal dog—not someone they could deal with.

But even if they said nothing aloud, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already lost the people's hearts in Konoha. In everyone's eyes, Hiruzen Sarutobi had become a pile of shit—a madman, a demon who had seized a position that didn't belong to him.

Time passed quietly. Konoha still seemed very calm.

By now, aside from some clan heads and those who truly detested Uchiha Kazuto, almost all of Konoha's ninjas had entered the training corps and undergone drills. Though they didn't say it out loud, most of Konoha's ninjas recognized Uchiha Kazuto and acknowledged him. Everyone knew that Uchiha Kazuto was a good citizen of Konoha, single-minded for the village, possessing the Will of Fire.

His loyalty was clear for heaven and earth to see! What a pity—if only he weren't from the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Kazuto would have been such a suitable genius to become the next Hokage!

On the other side, Uchiha Itachi still hadn't given up looking for a flaw in Uchiha Kazuto. He spent almost every day doing nothing else, searching for a crack in Uchiha Kazuto's armor. Under Uchiha Kazuto's deliberate guidance, Uchiha Itachi overlooked the changes in the village, and one night, in complete ignorance, he locked eyes with a crow.

Until... this day. Konoha finally exploded!

Countless villagers appeared on the streets, shouting wildly, roaring, marching, loudly denouncing Hiruzen Sarutobi as a traitor, a beast. They spilled out all the darkness recorded in Danzō's diary. They couldn't take it anymore. They really couldn't.

They could no longer sing praises for this beast, this madman. Just thinking about what Hiruzen Sarutobi had done made them sick.

How could such a beast continue to sit in the Hokage's seat?

Konoha now had been crushed too heavily under this madman, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Lord Kazuto, the villagers have rioted! They're threatening to drive Lord Hokage out of his position!"

In the Military Police Force office, Uchiha Tekka knelt before Uchiha Kazuto and reported.

"What? How dare they? How dare they oppose the great Lord Hokage? Rebellion, rebellion! A bunch of ungrateful bastards! These people are no longer ordinary villagers—we must strike hard! First Unit, move out!"

Uchiha Kazuto's face showed extreme shock and anger. He completely couldn't understand why—Lord Hokage was so great, had given so much to the village—why would these people resist his rule?

It was truly baffling!

Boom boom boom!!! Boom boom boom~

Soon, the members of the First Unit assembled, picked up their batons, and began to suppress the riot.

"Protest! Protest! That damned Hiruzen Sarutobi is no longer fit to be Hokage! We need a new Hokage!"

On the street, a group of Konoha villagers held up signs and charged toward the Hokage's office.

At that moment, a squad of ninjas wielding batons rushed over.

Six strikes a second. Heavy shadows of batons fell on these villagers, directly beating them bloody, sending them fleeing in panic, screaming in agony. In an instant, the group was scattered.

"Hit them! Hit them hard! These people are no longer ordinary villagers! They dare to undermine the village's unity! The First Hokage said—anyone who dares to undermine the village's unity, who dares to harm the village, no matter who they are, he could strike them down! These damned bastards!"

Seeing this, Uchiha Kazuto shouted harshly. He fully carried out the First Hokage's philosophy. For the sake of the village, even if he had to kill everyone in Konoha, so what? As long as the village remained, what did it matter if everyone died? Nothing was more important than the village's safety!

This was the great Will of Fire passed down from the First Hokage!

"Lord Kazuto, something's happened!"

Just then, Uchiha Inaho walked over, knelt on one knee before Uchiha Kazuto, and spoke with an excited expression.

"What is it?"

Uchiha Kazuto frowned.

Then Uchiha Inaho told him why the villagers had started the riot, why they had betrayed the village.

"How is this possible! How could this be!!!"

Uchiha Kazuto stepped back, his face full of disbelief, as if he truly had no idea why the villagers were rioting. He collapsed to the ground like his Dao heart had shattered, his face filled with shock.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was the traitor? The great Lord Hokage was the one undermining the village's unity? How could he be having such a dream? This couldn't be real!