Sarutobi Hiruzen's Ruthlessness

"I called you here not to urge me to take action!" Sarutobi Hiruzen grew somewhat angry.

Usually mild-tempered, he suddenly erupted with a fierce aura, like a roaring tiger, startling everyone and making them tremble.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu lowered their heads and sat back down.

Shimura Danzō remained seated without moving.

Amid the heavy silence, Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Uchiha Itachi. The unpleasant expression on his face softened somewhat. "Itachi, what is Shisui's stance? Does he lean toward the Conservatives or the Hawks?"

He should lean toward the Conservatives, Uchiha Itachi wanted to say. But he recalled Uchiha Shisui's words—"Those hostile toward the Uchiha Clan are not the villagers, but the higher-ups."

Then he looked at Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu, who looked as though they wished they could wipe out the Uchiha Clan immediately. He seemed to understand Uchiha Shisui's words a little better.

Yet he still hoped the village and the Uchiha Clan could coexist peacefully, so he answered honestly, "Uchiha Shisui should currently belong to the Conservatives. But if anything happens to the clan members or his younger brother, he will probably become a Hawk immediately."

Sarutobi Hiruzen murmured, "So he changes according to our attitude..."

Compared with Fugaku Uchiha, who kept asking him for help and pinning his hopes on him, Uchiha Shisui's attitude was far more troublesome.

A feeling of unease, as though something beyond his control was about to slip free, rose in his heart like a thorn.

It did not pierce him, but it was still uncomfortable.

However, the most important matter at present was calming the Uchiha Clan.

They absolutely could not give Kumogakure or Iwagakure an opening to exploit.

With that thought, he looked toward the greatest destabilizing factor at his side.

"Danzō, if anyone from the Uchiha Clan goes missing, whether you were responsible or not, you must quell the Uchiha Clan's Rage Flame."

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were abruptly shocked.

Even they could hear Sarutobi Hiruzen's underlying meaning—if any Uchiha went missing, Sarutobi Hiruzen would send Shimura Danzō to the Uchiha Clan as a sacrificial lamb.

"How did Sarutobi Hiruzen become so ruthless?" The two were utterly shocked and instinctively shrank back, afraid of drawing Sarutobi Hiruzen's attention.

Shimura Danzō clenched his teeth so hard that faint cracking sounds seemed to come from them.

The hand gripping his cane trembled slightly, veins bulging across it. His breathing grew heavy as he stared fixedly at Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Hi... ruzen!!!" His voice was hoarse, as if it had crawled out of hell itself, filled with endless Rage Flame.

Sarutobi Hiruzen seemed somewhat unwilling as well. He averted his eyes and looked at the moon outside the window. "If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for digging out the Uchiha Clan's eyes."

Shimura Danzō's clenched hand creaked loudly.

His cane struck the floor. He flung his sleeve with force and stormed out in anger.

From his back and his movements, anyone could see the boundless Rage Flame he was holding in.

Shimura Danzō could not understand Sarutobi Hiruzen.

When his attempted assassination of Sarutobi Hiruzen had been exposed, all that had happened was that one test subject had been captured and taken back.

Now, merely because he had taken a few Uchiha eyes, Sarutobi Hiruzen was making such a big issue out of it?

"Hiruzen! You will regret this!"

But no matter what, he had to halt the two orders being carried out by the Root Members.

Because whether Uchiha Shisui would control Sarutobi Hiruzen over the disappearance of clan members or not, Sarutobi Hiruzen would not spare him.

When that time came, all of Konoha would be hunting him down.

If he became a Missing-nin, could he still become Hokage?

By then, he probably would not even be able to remain the leader of Root, let alone become Hokage!

And all of this had been caused by one Uchiha little brat.

If that little brat had not recklessly caused such a scene in the village, how could Shimura Danzō's perfect plan have allowed things to reach this point?!

"Uchiha! Jinghuo!!!"

Shimura Danzō's killing intent flickered wildly in the darkness.

Uchiha Shisui becoming the Clan Head had intimidated Konoha's higher-ups.

But likewise, to reassure Konoha's higher-ups, his residence became the most heavily monitored place.

Four Anbu were assigned solely to keep watch over him, and they had to send a message every five minutes to prevent themselves from being controlled.

Not wanting to affect Jinghuo Uchiha, Uchiha Shisui moved out and settled in the very center of the clan grounds.

After learning of Uchiha Shisui's actions, Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed in relief.

It was clear from this that Uchiha Shisui was cooperating with him.

Thus, Konoha changed the way it monitored the Uchiha Clan.

It became surveillance of the entire Uchiha Clan centered around Uchiha Shisui.

From then on, Uchiha Shisui never stepped outside his home again. Nor did he speak privately with anyone. Every action he took was monitored—eating, sleeping, even bathing.

He was like a demon-suppressing stone statue, remaining there, always and forever.

Konoha's higher-ups gradually felt reassured.

But Uchiha Itachi's heart was filled with sorrow.

Was this surveillance?

No, this was imprisonment in another form!

Yet Uchiha Shisui had chosen it willingly.

He was using his freedom to buy time and delay the Uchiha Clan's coup.

But what was Uchiha Itachi doing?

Feeling disappointed by his suspicion toward the clan members?

Feeling irritated by the Uchiha Clan's current situation?

Feeling lost over his own helplessness?

He felt a faint ache in his heart.

He blankly watched Uchiha Shisui meditating peacefully inside the house, and Uchiha Shisui's words once again surfaced in his mind—"Itachi, those hostile toward the Uchiha Clan are not the villagers, but the higher-ups."

His heart hurt more and more.

"Shisui..."

His Sharingan turned slightly, its rich blood-red glow shining as though it could drip at any moment.

Time passed steadily.

The Uchiha Clan Members clearly sensed certain changes.

When Uchiha Shisui had first become Clan Head, Konoha's higher-ups had been extremely wary of them, acting with great caution.

It was as though they feared giving the Uchiha Clan any excuse to make an issue of things.

While this left the Uchiha Clan Members curious and puzzled, it also filled them with excitement.

The fact that Konoha's higher-ups, who had always looked down on the Uchiha Clan Members, were acting this way only proved that the Uchiha Clan was improving.

But after several weeks, those changes vanished.

The people in the Hokage Building had become much gentler toward them.

But another group became even harsher, provoking them from time to time until their faces flushed red and their blood boiled.

The conflict grew increasingly severe.

In the end, the Uchiha Hawks gathered together and prepared to launch a coup.

Every department wore cautious expressions;

Every clan merely shook their heads in silence.

Against the fighting strength of the entire village, the Uchiha Clan had no chance of winning whatsoever.

Meanwhile, Root lurked in the shadows, watching like tigers and wolves, waiting for a feast.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu stood out to rebuke the Uchiha Clan, demanding that the Uchiha Clan arrest every Clan Member causing trouble and hand them over for punishment.

At that moment, the people around the two Hokage Advisors, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, inexplicably backed away, leaving only the two bewildered old people behind.