Beside the conference room was a small room where secretaries, bodyguards, and others accompanying the dignitaries could rest and wait. Today, Shisui had come along as Sōken's attendant, so he was sitting in that room too.
The room was only small in comparison to the conference room next door.
"Please, don't let things get out of hand!!!"
Standing in a corner, Shisui felt as though he had a hundred things weighing on his mind. His unease was so palpable that everyone else in the room noticed it. But no one spoke to him. As close attendants and bodyguards to their clan leaders and department heads, they more or less understood that the reason for calling a meeting so early was apparently to deal with the Uchiha.
Besides,
the Uchiha weren't exactly popular.
No one had any reason to go out of their way to approach Shisui.
Just as Shisui was lost in an endless sea of unease, the door opened and another boy walked in, wearing the Uchiha Gunbai crest on his clothes. No, calling him a boy was an exaggeration... he was only about ten years old!
"...Itachi?"
Shisui's eyes widened.
He had never expected to run into Itachi here.
Itachi Uchiha walked over to Shisui, who was standing in the corner.
"Itachi, why are you—"
"Shisui, why?"
"Why what?"
Shisui was at a loss.
"Why are you supporting Uchiha Sōken?"
"..." Shisui furrowed his brow slightly. "Itachi, are you blaming me for helping Sōken drive your father out of the clan leader's position?"
"No."
Itachi Uchiha shook his head without hesitation.
"I understand, too. Father... wasn't a particularly good clan leader. But at least he wouldn't have put himself at odds with the village, unlike Uchiha Sōken. Shisui, you once told me about the Will of Fire—that the clan and the village were one, and that they could coexist. But what Uchiha Sōken is doing is driving a wedge between the village and the clan!"
"Itachi, you..."
Shisui stared at him in disbelief.
Itachi had just given him an earful, and Shisui didn't know what to say. His thoughts were a tangled mess, and there was so much he wanted to say... What did Itachi mean, saying former Clan Leader Fugaku wouldn't oppose the village? That former clan leader had openly supported a Coup at the Naka Shrine gathering...
And as for Sōken driving a wedge between the village and the clan,
that guy had long since given up on the possibility of getting along with the Third and the others. Instead, he had chosen to wait for the future Fifth.
"These things are complicated, Itachi. Let's talk them over properly next time. This isn't the place..."
Just then,
the Hokage Building trembled slightly beneath their feet.
Shisui froze. An earthquake? Or...? An ominous premonition rose uncontrollably in his heart. He used the Body Flicker Technique and appeared at the doorway, shouldering the door open and rushing into the corridor. He immediately saw a gaping hole in the wall, through which he could see the chaotic conference room.
The next second,
the door Shisui had nearly knocked off its hinges finally gave way.
The bodyguards and attendants in the room rushed out, then... stared wide-eyed at the hole in the wall. When they saw Hokage Assistant Shimura Danzō imprinted on the opposite wall, their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
What on earth had happened?
Who would dare attack Danzō?
"Uchiha Sōken!!!"
At that moment, Danzō, still embedded in the wall, roared in fury.
He struggled to pull himself free. The old man was surprisingly sturdy. Wind Style Technique and Fuinjutsu were his specialties, but few knew he was also skilled in Earth Release, Water Release, and Fire Release. The old man had been willing to contend with the Third for the Hokage Position for a reason.
The moment Sōken struck him, Danzō sensed the danger. He had no time to use the Substitution Technique, so he had no choice but to reinforce his body with an Earth Release hardening technique. That was the only reason Sōken's punch hadn't turned him into a smear on the wall.
"I'm right here. No need to shout so loudly!"
Sōken stepped through the hole and came out into the corridor, facing everyone there without fear.
As for how things had suddenly come to this... it had begun when Itachi, following the Third's orders, returned to the clan and found his father, Fugaku Uchiha. Then father and son had gone together to the Hokage Building.
The Third had planned to stoke Fugaku Uchiha's resentment and get him to challenge Uchiha Sōken of his own accord. That way, the Third could step back and play the impartial judge, then reap the benefits.
However,
he had misjudged a few things. Itachi Uchiha, who wasn't yet old enough to attend the secret gathering, didn't know his father had publicly supported a Coup in front of many clan members. That meant the Third lacked crucial information and had made the wrong call.
No matter how easily the former clan leader was swayed or influenced by others, he wouldn't have forgotten that he had supported a Coup at the Naka Shrine gathering just last night. If he had suddenly sided with the Third against Sōken over the clan leader's position...
that would have been far too shameless!
"I'm sorry, Hokage. I'm no longer the leader of the Uchiha Clan. That was the joint decision of the six clan elders and many Jonin. I have no personal objections."
The unexpected refusal threw the planned scheme slightly off course.
"Fugaku, do you truly believe a fifteen-year-old boy can lead your clan down the right path?"
"I'm just an ordinary Jonin in the clan now. This is... something our clan leader should be concerned with."
Fugaku Uchiha took two steps back, positioning himself squarely behind Sōken.
The Third's brow furrowed deeply.
The two advisors beside him also looked rather displeased.
Danzō, on the other hand, maintained his deadpan expression. He glanced at the Third, as if to say, See? There isn't a single Uchiha worth trusting! That only made the Third's mood worse.
The Third gloomily considered whether he should simply use his authority to force Uchiha Sōken to step down. If Sōken resisted... then so be it. He could rally the clan leaders to kill Sōken together, keep Fugaku Uchiha alive, and send him back to placate the Uchiha Clan...
That was the backup plan.
He didn't want to resort to it unless absolutely necessary. If the Uchiha went out of control, even if the clan could be wiped out, Konoha would be weakened in the process.
But before he could decide to act, Sōken—his anger mounting—struck first.
He produced a pile of "evidence" proving that Shimura Danzō had sent Root operatives disguised as Kirigakure shinobi to attack him and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. He bluntly accused Danzō of murdering Uchiha clan members and stealing their Sharingan, then kept right on arguing with him.
Distracted, the Third failed to stop Danzō and Uchiha Sōken from going at each other.
The result was that the clan leaders all turned into cowards. No one stood up to back Danzō. They really did dislike the Uchiha, but Danzō, the bastard who had forcibly taken talented shinobi from every clan to join Root, was hated by many of them as well.
To many people, the clash between Sōken and Danzō
was a classic case of two dogs fighting.
They had no intention of stepping into that mess. They would much rather see Danzō and Uchiha Sōken both suffer serious losses—or even die together!
That was exactly what Sōken wanted.
He had spent a long time considering how to oppose the Third and the others without leaving the Uchiha vulnerable to an attack by the other clans in the village. After thinking it over from every angle, he had finally set his sights on Danzō.
The Pot Kage was the perfect target.
Attacking Danzō wouldn't provoke the other clans to gang up on him. It might even persuade these cautious, self-preserving people to sit back and watch the fight.
As for angering the Third and the others... they were already on opposing sides. The angrier the Third got, the happier Sōken would be. And compared with the Third, Danzō—the man who had stood by while Pain destroyed Konoha, all so he could take control of his own village—was truly willing to fight the Uchiha to the death, no matter the cost.
The Third, who was known as the "Shinobi Hero," was different.
He had always kept the village in mind. Unless he was sure he could eliminate the Uchiha at little cost, the Third would never start a war with them lightly!
In short,
in the middle of their argument, Sōken exploded into action. With speed and strength no one had expected, he threw a fierce punch that sent Danzō flying and left a huge hole in the conference room wall. The terrifying force instantly reminded everyone of the one woman among the Sannin.
"Yang Release?"
The fat old man, who had remained seated, stared at the hole Uchiha Sōken had punched through and sprang to his feet. His bulky frame smashed straight through the conference table in front of him.
It was that fat old man's sudden movement
that delayed the Third and the others as they went to Danzō's aid. They all turned to look at their former teammate and fellow student in confusion: Torifu Akimichi.
Before you continue