A Fifty-Fifty Split

At that moment, even Nara Shikaku, a staunch Hokage loyalist, felt somewhat angry.

How had Sarutobi Hiruzen let such a humanoid creature become Hokage Assistant? Just because he had also been the Second Hokage's disciple?

Even putting a pig in that position would have been better than putting this lunatic who kept screwing over his own people in charge, wouldn't it?

He had really turned single-mindedness into being blocked from both sides.

Refusing to hand them over meant offending Danzo, while handing them over meant the Uchiha would relentlessly elbow them aside.

The Ino-Shika-Cho clans—who had they even offended?

At that moment, Nara Shikaku could not help but question whether the Ino-Shika-Cho's practice of pledging loyalty only to the Hokage was truly correct.

Once factions were fixed, it no longer mattered whether others offended you or not.

Just like this time, Xuanye had practically thrown the Yamanaka Clan's dignity to the ground and stomped on it.

Yet the Uchiha did not care—or rather, Uchiha Genya simply did not care.

Because from the very beginning, he had never intended to win over the three Ino-Shika-Cho clans.

Before becoming Hokage, the Ino-Shika-Cho would never be his allies. Once he became Hokage, they would shamelessly come crawling over—so before that, did it not mean he could offend them however he pleased?

If he won, it was pure profit. If he lost, things would be no different from before anyway.

Damn it, the Uchiha had found a loophole.

Nara Shikaku could not help thinking, Was it really a good thing for Konoha that the Uchiha had produced someone so skilled in political maneuvering?

But then he suddenly remembered that Xuanye's combat strength seemed outrageously high as well.

According to the intelligence reports, Xuanye had taken out nine elite Root ninjas by himself, including three Jonin. Yamanaka Fu had even been an elite Jonin who had mastered his clan's secret techniques.

Yet such a force had been effortlessly slaughtered by Uchiha Genya.

Genya himself seemed completely unharmed, and he had even been able to send someone over to collect "hush money."

That showed he had not taken the attack seriously at all.

An Uchiha who was that powerful and had such a sharp mind... Nara Shikaku had no idea whether he would be a blessing or a disaster for Konoha.

"Forget it. From now on, we should avoid Danzo's side whenever possible." Nara Shikaku had no other solution now.

On one side stood the deeply entrenched Hokage faction; on the other stood Konoha's strongest and most powerful clan.

Moreover, the Uchiha had clearly given up on trying to win them over. Once they began targeting them in the future, they would show no mercy.

If the Hokage did not intervene, the three clans combined would not be able to withstand the Uchiha's pressure.

It was nearly sunset when Inabi returned.

Grinning, he pulled a stack of banknotes from his clothes and placed it before Xuanye.

"You really know what you're doing. We got so much money without any effort. Once the Yamanaka Clan gave in, those smaller ninja clans became obedient even faster. The moment I showed up, they handed over their compensation for emotional distress without a fuss."

He had learned that term from Xuanye. Thinking about it now, it was simply too precise, too wonderful!

Was that not exactly right? Xuanye had been openly assassinated in the village by nine Root ninjas who killed without blinking. He had surely suffered an enormous fright.

What? You said all the ninjas who attacked Xuanye were dead?

They had merely lost their lives. Meanwhile, the head of the Security Division had nearly been frightened! Which was more important was obvious at a glance.

Just as Inabi was preparing to leave, Xuanye suddenly called out to him.

"Wait."

Inabi immediately froze where he stood.

Glancing at the money on the table, Xuanye extended his right hand.

"Hand over everything you skimmed."

They had grown up together. Did Xuanye not know what kind of person Inabi was?

Inabi instantly put on a miserable expression.

"Big brother, I brought two brothers along this time to extort—"

As soon as he said the word "extort," Inabi noticed Xuanye's displeased look and immediately changed his phrasing.

"To collect compensation for emotional distress."

Only then did Xuanye nod in satisfaction.

As Uchiha elites, how could they make mistakes in such basic matters?

Even though there were no outsiders present, it was best not to say anything detrimental to unity.

After changing his wording, Inabi hurriedly continued.

"This time, when we went to collect compensation for emotional distress, I paid out of pocket for the barbecue the two brothers with me ate. You can't expect me to spend my own money after going out on a mission, can you?"

Xuanye dearly wanted to throw the teacup on the table at Inabi.

"So that's why you came back so late? You even found time to go eat barbecue!"

Xuanye himself had to pretend he had been so badly frightened that he shut himself inside the Uchiha Clan Compound and refused to see anyone.

Yet after finishing the mission, these idiots had not returned immediately and had instead gone off to fool around?

Xuanye forcibly swallowed his anger and finally let out a sigh.

"I have an important use for this money. You can keep some small change, but hand over the rest."

"You should know that everything I do is for the Uchiha."

Upon hearing that, Inabi immediately stopped bargaining and pulled out another stack of banknotes about as thick as the previous one, placing it on the table.

Danzo's methods really were effective. First, he had fooled Fugaku into handing over the Security Division's authority, then temporarily stabilized Shisui.

And now even little brother Uchiha Inabi obediently handed over all the money he had skimmed.

Except...

Looking at the two nearly identical shares, the veins on Xuanye's forehead throbbed violently.

"Are you planning to split it fifty-fifty with me? Do you have any more? Hand over all of it!"

He had never realized before that Inabi had such guts—and was so greedy!

Once he became Hokage, he would demote this guy to a Genin who guarded the gates!

Inabi hurriedly waved his hands.

"No, there really isn't any more."

He had originally thought it was private work between brothers.

Even blood brothers had to settle accounts clearly. Of course they had to split it fifty-fifty, right?

Only after seeing that Xuanye's anger had eased slightly did Inabi shamelessly step forward and ask,

"Xuanye, what exactly are you planning? Can't you just tell me properly?"

Xuanye merely shook his head.

"For now, it is better if you do not know. You only need to know that the Security Division will soon undergo a complete upheaval in Konoha."

Inabi did not quite understand, but since even the clan head had chosen to trust Xuanye, he had nothing more to say.

There was only one thing he needed to do now: work hard to improve his strength so that he could help Xuanye in the coming operations.

Danzo had indeed acted exactly as Nara Shikaku had expected. While the Uchiha were demanding "compensation for emotional distress" on a wide scale, he remained deaf and mute within Root.

One small ninja clan with few members had even gone directly to Root to air their grievances, only to be thrown out.

Who the hell did they think they were, daring to ask Lord Danzo for money?

It looked like they wanted to be "suicided."

Danzo was even secretly pleased. This way, the Uchiha would offend even more people and would only become the public enemy of all Konoha in the future.

That would mean less resistance when the time came to wipe out the entire Uchiha Clan.

But today's events still sounded an alarm for him.

Uchiha Genya had previously been completely unknown. Why had his strength suddenly changed so drastically?

Nine elite Root ninjas had been dispatched, yet not a single one had returned alive to report back.

Danzo could not help suspecting that elite Uchiha from the Security Division had been lying in ambush around Xuanye. Otherwise, it made no sense that none of them had survived.