Fear of the Uchiha

The world of Naruto.

The "Night of the Massacre" had passed, yet nothing had happened at all.

Because Itachi Uchiha was dead, the Uchiha Clan had not been wiped out.

And Itachi Uchiha seemed to have vanished completely.

The next day, the Hokage Office.

Inside the office, only the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzō were present.

The atmosphere at this moment was extremely heavy.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag from his pipe, his brows furrowed tightly.

Shimura Danzō leaned on his cane, standing before the window, seemingly gazing toward the Uchiha Compound.

"Itachi Uchiha has disappeared, as if he evaporated into thin air," Danzō spoke first. "The only thing we can confirm is that there were signs of a fierce battle at the training ground near the Naka River. The residual chakra fluctuations were astonishing, and it should have been a fight between members of the Uchiha Clan."

Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke: "Itachi Uchiha chose to stand on the side of the village before the village and his own kin. He was an outstanding Anbu ninja; the fact that he personally told us the Uchiha Clan was about to rebel is the best evidence of that."

Danzō's focus, however, was not there: "Monkey, I had already ordered Itachi Uchiha to wipe out the entire clan, but he has disappeared. Do you know what this signifies?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned and immediately rebuked him: "Danzō, you are being too reckless. I am the Hokage; who gave you permission to do this? We still have a chance to reconcile with the Uchiha Clan."

Shimura Danzō responded calmly: "That is impossible. The fact that the Uchiha Clan is preparing to rebel is set in stone. Only when such rebels are all dead can the village achieve peace."

"Everything I do is for the sake of the village."

"You know very well what I am trying to say. Given Itachi Uchiha's strength, it is absolutely impossible for ordinary Uchiha jōnin, or even elite jōnin, to make him vanish without a trace before he could even send out a warning."

As one of the absolute top brass of Konoha with immense influence over the Anbu, Shimura Danzō naturally knew the extent of Itachi Uchiha's strength.

For someone like Itachi Uchiha to disappear so inexplicably, the danger the Uchiha Clan posed in his mind increased significantly.

"Does the Uchiha Clan harbor hidden masters we don't know about?" The Third Hokage took another puff of his pipe and said: "Or is it that Fugaku has hidden himself deeper than we imagined? Did he sense Itachi's betrayal and strike first, killing his own son with his own hands?"

As the Third Hokage of Konoha, he was also aware that Fugaku had awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan and possessed formidable strength.

"It might not be Fugaku," Danzō said slowly. "The Uchiha are a clan with a thousand-year history. Who is to say there aren't a few old monsters who have abandoned the narrow-minded obsession with their clan grounds and are either hiding among ordinary clansmen or cultivating in seclusion somewhere outside the village?"

"Don't forget Uchiha Madara. That was a figure who could only be dealt with by the First Hokage himself, the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju."

This name seemed to lower the temperature of the office by several degrees, and Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent for a long time.

Shimura Danzō had ordered Itachi Uchiha to commit the massacre, and he had been completely unaware of it.

But under the current circumstances, the Uchiha Clan had become increasingly dangerous, so he found it difficult to take any action against Danzō.

"The Uchiha are plotting a rebellion. Their coup d'état is imminent, and I fear it will be carried out in the near future. By then, the entire village might be destroyed," Danzō's tone turned cold. "Originally, Itachi was the sharpest blade to resolve this matter cleanly. Now that the blade is broken, are we just going to let it be?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a drag of his pipe and said very cautiously: "It is not about letting it be, but there is no need to resort to such extreme measures. Furthermore, we do not know how Itachi Uchiha disappeared."

"Even within the Anbu, there are few who could surpass Itachi Uchiha. If the Uchiha Clan is capable of making him vanish without a sound, then without proper preparation, it might cause even worse repercussions for Konoha."

He stood up, walked to the window in front of the Hokage Rock carvings, and looked down at Konoha bathed in the morning light.

"The Uchiha Clan is likely not as simple as we imagined. This should be a warning."

Danzō said with dissatisfaction: "Hiruzen, your indecisiveness will miss the opportunity. The Uchiha problem must be solved; we should find a way to annihilate them now."

Hiruzen Sarutobi turned back, his gaze firm: "Resolved, yes, but not necessarily through bloodshed. At least, not right now."

"Pass the order to the Anbu to increase the 'protection' level of the Uchiha Compound, but limit operations to outer perimeter surveillance. Without my direct order, no one is to provoke the Uchiha or conduct deep reconnaissance."

He paused and added: "At the same time, in my name, invite Fugaku Uchiha to the Hokage Building at noon tomorrow to discuss the recent work of the Military Police Force and matters of village defense cooperation."

"The tone must be formal, but the attitude must be gentle. I want to see for myself the reaction of this Uchiha clan head."

Danzō's face was gloomy. He knew this meant Hiruzen Sarutobi had chosen to wait and see for the time being, indefinitely shelving the plan for a violent purge.

This did not fit his style, but Itachi's bizarre disappearance was like a Sword of Damocles hanging over his head, causing even him to feel a strong sense of dread.

"I hope your judgment is correct, Hiruzen." Danzō finally let out a cold snort, turned around, and left the office.

After the door closed, Hiruzen Sarutobi stood alone by the window, smoke curling around him, as if no one knew what he was thinking.

The streets of Konoha were bathed in sunlight, with pedestrians coming and going, shops hawking their wares, and children playing.

However, against this peaceful backdrop, a figure wearing an orange spiral mask and a black cloak with red clouds wandered silently through the shadows of remote alleys and buildings.

This person was Obito Uchiha. Last night, according to the agreement, he was supposed to be the one to purge the members of the Konoha Military Police Force and incidentally recover some valuable Sharingan.

However, an accident occurred.

Just as he arrived at the Konoha Military Police Force and prepared to strike, he was suddenly locked onto by a powerful ocular power.

He turned his head and saw a pair of Mangekyou Sharingan with a different pattern.

Without a word, the battle erupted in an instant.

However, his own methods were completely ineffective against the opponent.

The opponent possessed the ability to release a pure white light, and those rays were fully capable of harming him, ignoring his intangibility, forcing him to abandon his attacks and dodge continuously.

Realizing he could gain no advantage, Obito Uchiha decisively chose to retreat.

The vortex of Kamui twisted space, and before the opponent's next attack could land, he vanished from the spot.

In his final glance before departing, he saw the other standing perfectly still, Mangekyo staring coldly in the direction of his disappearance, that gaze as if saying: "I know what you are, and I know what you intend to do. Get lost."

Obito Uchiha felt a sense of bewilderment, as if he had been completely seen through by someone else.

However, his original plan had now changed entirely.

It seemed he would have to stay in Konoha for a while longer.