The Inevitable Struggle

"Shisui, I'm sure you've heard some rumors about the Uchiha Clan in the village recently.

I am currently sending people to investigate the source of these rumors and will not allow anyone to deliberately slander the Uchiha Clan."

Shisui smiled happily and said, "That's great news. Thank you for your concern, Third Hokage-sama. The clan is very angry about these rumors."

"I understand. The village also knows that the Uchiha Clan has been wronged in this matter.

However, I also hope you understand that the reason these rumors have appeared is likely related to the families of the victims from the night the Nine-Tails went berserk.

After all, the Police Force did not appear that night. Because of their grief, the families of those victims have placed their resentment on the Uchiha.

The village will try its best to appease them, but for certain reasons, the village cannot explain to everyone why the Police Force was not deployed. Therefore, I hope you can understand the village's position."

Uchiha Shisui said seriously, "Third Hokage-sama, I understand. It's because of the Sharingan mark in the Nine-Tails' eyes."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said sternly, "Exactly. That's why the village made that decision at the time. I hope you don't blame the village."

Uchiha Shisui said, "I can understand, but many clan members don't know the truth and are very angry with the village."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, then said, "Shisui, your grandfather Kagami's magnanimity was not limited to the clan but encompassed the entire village. He was a firm believer in the Will of Fire.

He made great contributions to connecting the village and the Uchiha Clan. I hope you will now become the bridge of communication between the village and the Uchiha Clan."

Shisui's expression became firm, "Don't worry, Third Hokage-sama. I will definitely make the Uchiha and the village understand each other."

Is he already starting to brainwash Uchiha Shisui?

Faintly hearing the conversation between the Third Hokage and Shisui, Uchiha Yuan couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.

It had to be said that the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's first impression was that of a kind old grandfather, easily making people feel close to him.

But Uchiha Yuan knew very well that this was just one side Hiruzen Sarutobi showed.

"Great villain appears loyal" referred to people like him.

Or rather, this side of Hiruzen Sarutobi was also real, but only if you didn't threaten his power.

Shimura Danzō, known as the Darkness of the Shinobi World, was second only to the Hokage in Konohagakure and was the shadow in the hearts of the village's various ninja clans.

In Shimura Danzō's mind, he considered himself to be in a cooperative relationship with Hiruzen Sarutobi. Hiruzen Sarutobi was Konoha bathed in sunlight, while he was Root in the darkness.

However, Uchiha Yuan believed that Shimura Danzō was merely Hiruzen Sarutobi's Black Glove, or to put it more crudely, his urinal.

When he needed to suppress the ninja clans within the village, he would let Shimura Danzō act; when he didn't need him, he would retract Root's power.

This viewpoint was formed from Uchiha Yuan's memories of his previous life.

In his past life's memories, Shimura Danzō had to go to the Hokage's Office whenever he wanted to take action against someone or something. Once the Third Hokage vetoed it, he could only say, "You will regret this, Hiruzen," and had no power to object.

This also confirmed that any actions taken by Shimura Danzō were approved by the Hokage's Office.

This is a real world; the youthful passion seen in anime is just Naruto Uzumaki's story.

The conspiracies and darkness only hinted at in the anime are the true themes of this world.

In his past life, Uchiha Yuan always felt a sense of regret about the Uchiha clan's extermination when watching the anime.

Within the Uchiha Clan, there were Uchiha Obito and Uchiha Itachi, a pair of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Externally, they faced the ostracism, suppression, and hostility of Konoha High Command, as well as the schemes of Uchiha Madara and Black Zetsu.

Among these, the suppression and hostility from Konoha High Command were definitely the fuse that ignited the extermination incident.

Uchiha Yuan could not trust Konoha High Command.

Because whether it was the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi or the Darkness of the Shinobi World Shimura Danzō, in Uchiha Yuan's eyes, they were the same: a group of people who would do anything for power.

If these were merely Uchiha Yuan's speculations from watching the anime in his past life, then after the suicide of Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, Uchiha Yuan confirmed his thoughts, and his gaze towards Konoha High Command turned icy from then on.

Hatake Sakumo was a powerful ninja, his name as the White Fang striking fear throughout the shinobi world.

He held great prestige and power within Konohagakure. During the Second Shinobi World War, he repeatedly repelled the attacks of the major shinobi villages, leaving them with an indelible and terrifying impression.

After the Second Shinobi World War, dissatisfaction with the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi grew daily within Konohagakure, and calls for his resignation increased; the most prominent among these were calls for Hatake Sakumo to succeed him as Hokage.

Then came the incident where Hatake Sakumo abandoned his mission during a secret mission against an enemy shinobi village in order to save his comrades.

Uchiha Yuan personally experienced the public outcry at the time, with rumors spreading everywhere, and the entire Konohagakure filled with curses directed at Hatake Sakumo.

However, Uchiha Yuan smelled a strong scent of conspiracy in it.

Firstly, Hatake Sakumo and his team were on an S-rank secret mission, so how could it be so easily exposed?

One must know that ninja missions are never made public. Even for ordinary missions, regular ninja would not know what missions other ninja were undertaking.

And Hatake Sakumo, being a high-ranking official, how could his mission information be known even to ordinary villagers?

Secondly, the public outcry against Hatake Sakumo erupted suddenly, and the entire public opinion instantly branded Hatake Sakumo as someone who had harmed the village's interests.

Just like now, the slanderous rumors targeting the Uchiha that suddenly appeared in the village spread throughout the entire village almost overnight.

In response, Uchiha Yuan knew that someone must have organized and planned this behind the scenes.

Throughout the entire White Fang incident, Hiruzen Sarutobi and other high-ranking officials remained silent. They quietly watched as a hero who had once shaken the shinobi world became someone despised by everyone.

The current predicament of the Uchiha Clan bears some resemblance to Hatake Sakumo's tragedy.

Due to their immense strength, the Uchiha have been feared by Konoha's upper echelons since the time of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.

As the Senju Clan declined, the Uchiha's power began to threaten the Hokage Lineage's control over Konohagakure's power.

Thus, the Konoha High Command began to suppress the Uchiha Clan, both openly and covertly, continuously pushing them out of the village's Center of Power.

Naturally, the Uchiha were unwilling to be suppressed and suffer such humiliating treatment.

Therefore, the conflict between the two sides deepened day by day.

As a modern person with a higher education, Uchiha Yuan was very clear that the struggle between the Uchiha Clan and the Konoha Ninja Village, or rather, with the Konoha High Command led by Hiruzen Sarutobi, was unavoidable.

This was because the essence of their struggle was a fight for power: one side wanted to maintain its existing power, while the other wanted to reclaim its rightful position.

Consequently, neither side could back down.

This meant that the Night of the Uchiha Clan Downfall would still arrive, but the outcome at that time would be an unknown.

Because Uchiha Yuan had arrived.