The Hokage Wavers!

"Not bad. Shisui awakened the Mangekyo!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen lit his pipe and took a puff before revealing the news.

He didn't give much thought to how Danzo had learned of it. After all, the Uchiha Clan's higher-ups knew about it too, so it wasn't impossible for Root to have gotten hold of the information.

"Hiruzen, the Mangekyo is too dangerous. Hand him over to Root, and I'll make good use of those eyes!"

Danzo was secretly delighted when he heard this and immediately made the suggestion.

If he could get Uchiha Shisui under his control, then...

"No!" Sarutobi Hiruzen flatly refused. "Uchiha Shisui can't be handed over to you!"

He knew all too well what Danzo was after, so there was no way he could agree.

"Hiruzen, I know what you're worried about, but you don't want to end up a puppet under the Mangekyo's genjutsu either, do you?"

Danzo brought up the threat posed by the Mangekyo.

It could control its target forever, without them even realizing it. Even if they knew the other person was loyal to them, they would still instinctively fear and distrust him.

That was why Sarutobi Hiruzen never met with Shisui unless someone else was present.

"...I trust Shisui!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen sounded as if he were trying to convince himself.

"But if we don't act first, and the Uchiha really do have Shisui turn against us, it'll be too late! Hiruzen, hand him over to me. I promise he won't be a threat to the village anymore!"

Danzo decided to try one more time to persuade him.

Unfortunately, Sarutobi Hiruzen knew his old friend too well to give him any chance.

"No. Shisui will be the bridge that brings us and the Uchiha to an understanding!"

He explained how important Uchiha Shisui was.

The village needed a channel to communicate with the Uchiha. With Shisui around, they wouldn't have to worry as much about the clan causing trouble.

And with Shisui as their man in Anbu, the Uchiha could see that the village wasn't planning to move against them.

That made Shisui's role crucial. He was like a bargaining chip that kept both sides in check.

So no matter what Danzo said, Sarutobi Hiruzen wouldn't budge.

"Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"

Danzo stormed out of the Hokage's office.

"Danzo, I'm the Hokage!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen instinctively called after him.

He was about to order Danzo not to lay a hand on Shisui, but Danzo's warning came back to him, and he swallowed the words.

Clearly, this was tacit permission.

If things went wrong, he would scold and punish Danzo, and make it clear that the matter had nothing to do with him as Hokage.

If it worked, he could put his worries to rest—and if he needed to, he had ways of taking the prize back from Danzo.

Meanwhile!

White Dove had no idea Danzo was so quick to act. After meeting with him, Danzo had gone straight to see Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Hokage, and tried to turn him against Shisui.

At that moment, he was "handing out wages."

Or rather!

In the Shinobi World, they called it paying salaries.

He let other matters slide, but when it came to paying people or promoting them, he always handled it himself.

To win people over, he had to keep a firm grip on the purse strings and control over personnel.

It wasn't that he was worried these Uchiha would betray him. He was just taking precautions.

People's hearts couldn't stand being tested, so he wasn't about to tempt fate.

Finance Office.

"Here you go, Uncle Tensui. This is your pay!"

White Dove handed an envelope to Uchiha Tensui, an old man who had lost a hand and now looked after the warehouse and inventoried its goods.

All of his sons had died on the battlefield, leaving him with only a grandson who was a few years old. Without White Dove employing him, the boy might well have starved to death.

There were plenty of people in the Uchiha Clan in similar circumstances.

The village had forced the Uchiha out of the center and into the outskirts, then failed to provide the compensation it had promised. That had left them in dire straits—and there was a sinister motive behind it.

Without money and resources, they had no way to train shinobi.

Without shinobi, their influence and power would naturally decline.

The village leadership was clearly trying to slowly destroy the Uchiha.

So it was no wonder there were more and more hawks in the clan, while the doves grew fewer and fewer.

If they didn't fight back, they would die a slow death.

Fighting back still gave them a slim chance of success. If they didn't, their clan would eventually fade away. Then, with their Sharingan coveted by others, they would have no chance of surviving—whether they were taken away as test subjects or raised as tools.

Just look at the Senju Clan, the Uzumaki Clan, and the bloodline clans among the Mist Ninja to see what happened to clans with Kekkei Genkai and no means of protecting themselves.

They were wiped out!

That was the only possible outcome.

You couldn't just accept your clan's decline and expect to survive.

It wasn't that the hawks failed to see the situation clearly. They simply had no other choice.

Even Uchiha Fugaku, who had always stood with the Dove Faction, was increasingly leaning toward the Hawk Faction.

Otherwise, why were the hawks in the clan, shouting for rebellion, growing louder and louder?

White Dove's One Heart Chamber of Commerce was gaining support because it kept taking in poor members of the Uchiha Clan and giving them jobs and wages. Even those who hadn't joined were influenced by the ones who had, so his standing in the clan was truly high.

The Konoha Military Police Force's patrols even kept a squad around the chamber of commerce at all times. Anyone who dared cause trouble would quickly learn what the Uchiha's iron fist felt like.

"Thank you, President!"

Uchiha Tensui took the envelope and bowed to White Dove, overcome with emotion.

If not for him, his little grandson wouldn't have made it through last winter. He certainly wouldn't have been able to buy medicinal herbs to strengthen the boy's constitution and prepare him to become a shinobi.

"As an Uchiha, this is what I should do. If you're having any trouble, tell me. I'll do my best to help!"

White Dove said it with heartfelt sincerity.

He wasn't pretending.

He already considered the Uchiha his "base"—the blade he would use to reshape the Shinobi World in the future.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have given away most of the chamber of commerce's profits.

These clan members supported him because he gave them so much, didn't they?

"By the way, the chamber of commerce is expanding. If you have any friends in the clan who want work, tell them to sign up with Aunt Yezue!"

White Dove called after him as he turned to leave.

Hiring more people!

That was only natural.

He hadn't held back from expanding before because he lacked the means or couldn't find ways to make money. He'd done it because he needed to keep a low profile.

Now that he was already on the stage, there was no need to be as discreet as before. Expanding was only natural.

"That's wonderful!"

Excitement spread across Uchiha Tensui's aged face.

Things were bad for the clan these days, and many people could barely afford to eat. So the One Heart Chamber of Commerce hiring workers was offering them a lifeline.

After Uchiha Tensui left the office, a chorus of excited voices rang out outside.

"That's wonderful!"

"I have to go tell Ayaka right away!"

"No, wait until after work. We can't cause trouble for the president!"

"That's right. Let's repay President White Dove by working hard!"

"Zongcheng!"

White Dove, sitting inside the room, naturally heard them.

His efforts to win people over weren't exactly secret, but no one thought there was anything wrong with them.

He was giving them real money, after all, and wasn't deceiving them in the slightest. No wonder his standing in the Uchiha Clan kept rising.

And as the chamber of commerce expanded and hired more and more Uchiha, his standing would naturally rise further.

Of course, this would also make him a target.

After all, no one wanted to see the Uchiha rise again—not the village leadership, nor the other ninja clans.

There was no need to explain the village leadership's reasons. The other clans had gained much of their resources and power from the Uchiha. If the clan rose again, they might have to give those resources and power back.

So even for the sake of their own power and resources, they wouldn't allow the Uchiha to rise again.

That was also why White Dove hadn't dared to act without restraint before.

It was too dangerous!

But now that he had thrown himself into the storm, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and push forward, even though he knew what was coming.

Uchiha Fugaku had been too much of a liability. If White Dove kept hiding behind him, he could only watch as Fugaku led the Uchiha Clan into a trap.

As White Dove handed out wages and won people over, two masked figures stood on the rooftop across from him, watching.