On Konoha's main street.
Most people had clearly heard what Uchiha White Dove had just said to Mitokado Homura. Even those who hadn't would hear about it soon enough, as word spread.
"Are the Uchiha really that bold?"
"He's got some nerve!"
"Could there be something wrong with his head?"
Countless eyes turned toward White Dove.
Even Uchiha Fugaku looked at him in disbelief.
"Did he do that on purpose, or was it an accident?"
He really couldn't understand why the other man dared to insult Mitokado Homura like that.
After all, Homura wasn't merely a Konoha advisor. He also controlled the village's domestic and foreign affairs, wielding immense power.
Even setting that aside, he was the head of the Mitokado Clan and a disciple of the Second Hokage. Fugaku always treated him with the utmost respect whenever they met.
But Uchiha White Dove had just opened his mouth and let loose a stream of insults, calling the old man names.
"How dare you..."
Mitokado Homura froze for a moment, then was about to reprimand him when White Dove cut him off again.
"What is there I wouldn't dare do? You've been suppressing the Uchiha all this time. You keep rejecting the Konoha Military Police Force's funding requests and cutting our budget. And don't get me started on the relocation compensation you've been dragging your feet on for so long. Some people are nearly starving to death because of it. Is there anything wrong with me calling you an old man?"
"Speaking of which, I really admire the Mitokado Clan. You went from a small family with fewer than ten people to a great clan with nearly a thousand ninja. I wonder where all those resources came from. It's so hard to guess!"
White Dove spoke with brazen defiance, adding a sarcastic jab.
He'd already planned to find someone to make an example of. Now that Homura had volunteered, who else was he supposed to slap down?
But he'd also seized the opportunity to expose the High Command's suppression of the Uchiha and point out how much Homura's clan had grown.
"You... You're making things up!"
Caught off guard by White Dove's accusations, Mitokado Homura still denied them.
Of course, every word was true.
They had been working to weaken the Uchiha all along.
That was why the Konoha Military Police Force's budget hadn't increased in all these years. Instead, they kept slashing it. Its annual funding was now less than half of what it had been when the village was founded. That showed just how brutally they'd cut it.
Uchiha Fugaku had brought it up before, naturally, but they'd brushed him off with a few casual remarks.
But now?
White Dove had laid their dirty laundry bare, leaving Mitokado Homura struggling to respond.
Unlike Uchiha Fugaku, he wasn't unwilling to speak up because of some supposed "Uchiha pride."
Well, just like that White-Eyed Wolf who, in order to protect the Uchiha's reputation and keep the clan from being branded as "traitors," had chosen to strike first and wipe out his own clan.
I'm always out of step with the Shinobi World because I'm not twisted enough!
That wasn't just a joke. It was the truth.
In White Dove's eyes, the village's top brass had exploited and suppressed the Uchiha until people were nearly starving to death... No, it seemed some really had starved to death. Telling people about that wasn't a disgrace for the Uchiha. It was a disgrace for the village's leadership.
At Homura's reaction, the villagers watching the scene were stunned.
They knew the Uchiha were powerful and aloof, but they'd never heard about any of this.
"Could it... be true?"
"Don't believe them. The Uchiha were behind the Nine-Tails Incident!"
"But if they really did it, wouldn't the village leadership have announced it by now? They've said nothing all these years. Maybe the Uchiha had nothing to do with it after all!"
"Whatever the truth is, the village leadership has gone too far. The Uchiha are one of Konoha's great clans!"
"But the Mitokado Clan's growth is ridiculous!"
The villagers' discussion lashed at the Konoha leaders like invisible whips.
Even the heads of the major ninja clans looked surprised and unsettled.
They really hadn't known about any of this.
They knew the village leadership was suppressing the Uchiha, but since the Uchiha were indeed suspected in the Nine-Tails Incident, none of them had thought it was unreasonable... Yet no one had imagined the suppression would be this severe.
This wasn't mere suppression anymore. They were trying to kill the Uchiha.
After all, too many people coveted the Sharingan, a Kekkei Genkai. If the Uchiha weren't powerful, those covetous people would have stripped them of everything long ago.
Now the village leadership had pushed the Uchiha this far. If the clan ever lost its strength, the Sharingan would become a "curse of riches"—and what else could that mean but their deaths?
Ordinary ninja might not see it that way, but the heads of the clans weren't fools. They understood perfectly, and their expressions changed.
They had no objections to punishing and suppressing the Uchiha. After all, the Uchiha were indeed suspects in the Nine-Tails Incident.
But if the village tried to wipe out one of Konoha's great clans, that would cross a line.
As for the Mitokado Clan's growth, they'd known about that for a long time. It was one reason they were hostile toward the village leadership.
If the resources taken from their clans had gone to support civilian ninja, they might have been unhappy, but they wouldn't have hated the leadership. At least it would have been for the common good and in the village's interest.
But using the excuse of "helping civilian ninja" to take resources from them and build up your own clan? That was another matter.
"...It may have been a misunderstanding caused by errors on the part of some lower-level staff. The village has always valued the Uchiha greatly and would never suppress them. Isn't that right, Fugaku?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen stepped in to answer for Mitokado Homura, offering an excuse.
A scapegoat!
The Shinobi World might not have had a word for the job, but the idea was the same.
Even if someone really investigated the accounts, they could produce evidence in no time to prove that the village leadership had nothing to do with it.
And the cleverest thing Sarutobi Hiruzen did was to bypass White Dove and address Uchiha Fugaku directly.
That was right. He'd realized Uchiha White Dove was difficult to deal with, so he was picking on the softer target.
Talking to an "honest man" like Uchiha Fugaku was much easier than talking to White Dove.
"Lord Hokage is right..."
Uchiha Fugaku was just about to nod instinctively when he felt a chill run down his spine.
It was Uchiha White Dove!
He was staring coldly at Fugaku.
Their side had only just gained the upper hand, and Fugaku was already undermining him?
White Dove had made up his mind. If Uchiha Fugaku couldn't get his head straight, then he'd make sure he couldn't use it at all.
"Lord Hokage, because Clan Head Fugaku is 'unwell,' I'll be taking over as Police Force Captain!"
White Dove cut off whatever Fugaku was about to say and seized power right in front of him.
He'd originally planned to ride the momentum of confronting the village leadership today, then call a clan meeting and take power once they returned, allowing Fugaku to step down as Police Force Captain with "dignity."
But since Fugaku clearly didn't understand his place, White Dove could simply make him step down in front of everyone.
"What...?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked surprised.
He hadn't expected Uchiha White Dove to be so audacious as to seize power with practically all of Konoha watching.
White Dove didn't bother explaining. He simply looked at Uchiha Setsuna and gave him a signal.
As the leader of the Hawk Faction, Setsuna had long been dissatisfied with Uchiha Fugaku's habit of smoothing things over. But Fugaku was the clan head and stronger than him, so he'd had no choice but to obey. Now that White Dove had stepped forward, Setsuna didn't hesitate to pile on.
"That's right. Clan Head Fugaku is 'unwell.' Otherwise, White Dove wouldn't have led the group. So he should take over as Police Force Captain!"
Whatever else one might say, Uchiha White Dove was more qualified for the position of Police Force Captain in both status and strength.
Uchiha Fugaku naturally wouldn't agree. The position of Police Force Captain had always been held by the clan head. How could he possibly hand it over?
But before he could speak, White Dove used Sharingan Genjutsu to send him a message.
It was a message that Uchiha Fugaku didn't dare respond to.
"Clan Head Fugaku, you wouldn't want your Mangekyo exposed, would you?"
That was right. To make him keep quiet, White Dove had threatened him with his Mangekyo.
If the Uchiha learned that their clan head had a Mangekyo but had backed down again and again when facing the village leadership, it would surely make them furious.
After all, when Shisui was around, Fugaku could have teamed up with him. With two Mangekyo, their chances of a successful coup wouldn't have been low. Hiding his Mangekyo was certainly good for the village, but to the Uchiha, it was a betrayal.
So the threat was extremely effective.
A clan head who betrayed his own people couldn't hold on to his position, much less serve as Police Force Captain.
So Uchiha Fugaku fell silent.
"Fugaku...?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at Uchiha Fugaku, hoping he'd step forward and object.
The position of Police Force Captain had always been the Uchiha's private domain. Even as Hokage, Hiruzen couldn't interfere, so he couldn't oppose White Dove himself.
"Lord Hokage, I'm now Police Force Captain. I want the village leadership to give the Uchiha a clear explanation: did something really happen to Shisui? I believe I have the right to ask, don't I?"
White Dove cut off Sarutobi Hiruzen and spoke as Police Force Captain, bringing the real purpose of this "showdown" to the fore.
At another time, the clan wouldn't have let him take the position so easily.
But at a moment like this, the Uchiha knew they had to stand together. Even if they wanted to oppose him, now wasn't the time. They could always raise their objections once they got back. Even Uchiha Tenzan, the Dove Faction's elder, hadn't stood up to oppose him, after all.
Opposing White Dove now would only cause internal strife. No Uchiha would jump out to challenge his position as clan head.
Besides, he had every right to take the position.
Whether it was the benefits the One Heart Chamber of Commerce had brought the clan over the years or his defeat of Uchiha Fugaku, he had all the credentials he needed to rise to power.
Before you continue