Third Hokage's Temptation

The fall of Whirlpool Village was clearly due to the negligence of the Third Hokage. As a small island in the eastern sea of the Land of Fire, the Land of Whirlpools held a vital geographical position in resisting the Land of Water.

While Konoha was bogged down in the Second Shinobi World War, Whirlpool Village was destroyed by ninjas of unknown nationality.

This was clearly a premeditated strike, and rogue ninjas would absolutely lack the capability for such a feat.

Fortunately, Uchiha Nara saved many Uzumaki Clansmen, preventing the Uzumaki clan from vanishing into the long river of history.

In the thirty-eighth year of Konoha, the Third Hokage was in his early forties, middle-aged, and at a time when his energy was gradually declining. Yet, one could still catch a glimpse of the Shinobi Hero's former glory.

An Anbu on duty entered the Hokage office through the window and reported something to the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage blew a smoke ring from his pipe and nodded.

The office door opened, and Uchiha Fugaku walked in.

"Lord Hokage," Uchiha Fugaku greeted softly.

"Haha, Fugaku is here. Please, sit, sit."

The previously empty Hokage office saw two Anbu flicker into existence, moving a chair for Uchiha Fugaku.

Fugaku felt a bit puzzled. Although he had often interacted with the Third Hokage in the past and quite admired his gentle nature, it seemed he had never been treated with such courtesy before.

"Lord Hokage, is there a classified mission for summoning me?"

Fugaku asked softly; regarding a summons from the Hokage, he could only think of the assignment of dangerous missions.

Fugaku had participated in battles during the Second Shinobi World War and held the title of Wicked Eye Fugaku, possessing sufficient confidence in his own combat prowess.

"Fugaku, I've just invited you to the office; there is no classified mission. You are a child I watched grow up, and now that you have grown into an excellent ninja contributing your strength to Konoha, I am very gratified."

The Third Hokage puffed on his pipe, smiling as he spoke. The Third Hokage was truly the Konoha under the sun; a few words were enough to stir up memories in Fugaku.

Fugaku was nineteen at this time, in the prime of his youth, and was indeed a ninja who had grown up in the era of the Third Hokage.

"Hehe, Lord Hokage, you flatter me. As a Konoha ninja, it is only natural to contribute to Konoha; this is also the destiny of a ninja."

Fugaku smiled slightly. At this time, in all the major ninja villages, ninjas were still referred to as tools, and this was indeed the destiny of ninjas.

"Hmm, I heard that the Uchiha have elected Nara as their clan head. Some time ago, Nara even came to request to be sent to the front lines. Sigh, although Nara is an excellent child, his conduct is still a bit rash."

Hearing the Third Hokage's somewhat disparaging remarks about Nara, Fugaku frowned slightly.

Although Fugaku had ambitions regarding power within the Uchiha, he was still an Uchiha to the bone, and he clearly felt the Third Hokage's contempt for the Uchiha leader.

"You are right, though the clan head has indeed brought many changes to the clan."

Fugaku echoed softly, while subtly pointing out Nara's status and achievements.

The changes in the Uchiha clan over the past three years were not only seen by Fugaku and the many Uchiha, but also by this Third Hokage and his two advisors.

Seeing the so-called Clan Affairs Hall established by the Uchiha, which seemed to have the embryonic form of the Hokage Building in its coordination, it was clear that power was tending toward centralization.

For the Third Hokage, who was determined to weaken the influence of the ninja clans, this was not very good news.

The influence of the great ninja clans was too large, which was detrimental to the development of Konoha Village.

The reason Konoha was strong was because of the contributions of the major ninja clans, but the reason the Hokage's power was constrained was also because of these same clans.

If the Hokage wanted to weaken the influence of the ninja clans, the first to be weakened would be the most prestigious and powerful family in the ninja world: the Uchiha clan with their fan crest.

Because the Uchiha clan had now elected a leader, under his guidance, they were showing signs of being united as one, as solid as a rock.

Especially since Uchiha Nara had also joined the Konoha Military Police Force—the leader of the Uchiha clan joining an institution of the Uchiha clan, what did this mean?

Who was in charge, the clan head or the captain? The signal released by Uchiha Nara was clearly that he intended to hold the Military Police Force in his own hands as well.

Such an Uchiha, such a Uchiha Nara, was clearly a person of great ambition.

Yet, the many factional elders of the Uchiha simply watched on without speaking a word to stop him, which only deepened the Third Hokage's wariness toward Nara.

The Uchiha clan had always been an object of close scrutiny by the Hokage's inner circle, and they clearly did not want to see the Uchiha's power and voice unified.

For the Hokage, a faction-ridden Uchiha was a good Uchiha.

If the Third Hokage's group had focused their energy on the various battlefields or compensation issues to benefit the common class of ninjas instead of focusing on the Uchiha, it would have bolstered the Hokage's reputation even further.

Instead, many events were handled very sloppily, leading to his ignominious exit after the Third Shinobi World War.

The Third Hokage puffed on his pipe twice and asked with a serious expression:

"Fugaku, the Konoha Military Police Force is crucial to the security management of Konoha. I think highly of you and hope you can live up to our expectations, manage the Military Police Force well, and ferret out those black sheep and spies in Konohagakure."

"Also, manage the various streets well. I frequently receive complaints from villagers and ninjas here. Too many complaints clearly show that the villagers are dissatisfied with Konoha's environment, which affects the reputation of the Hokage Building. I hope you can handle such matters."

The Third Hokage blew out a smoke ring, his gaze burning as he looked at Fugaku.

The last time the Uchiha elected a leader, the Third Hokage had paid attention, but at the time, the Second Shinobi World War was intense, and he had no energy to intervene.

Now that the ninja war was nearing its end, with only localized fighting remaining.

Since he had already discovered that Uchiha Nara was a person of great ambition, he naturally could not let him easily control the Konoha Military Police Force.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had keenly perceived the various factional disputes within the Uchiha and the conflict of interest between Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Nara.

This summons of Fugaku was intended to release some goodwill and signal the Hokage's support. It was to let Fugaku not worry and boldly go to compete with Nara for the position of captain of the Military Police Force.

If Fugaku won the competition, the reputation of the Uchiha clan head would be damaged, and the cohesion of the clan members would be affected.

Fugaku failed in his bid for power, and the faction led by the Uchiha's greatest Great Elder would inevitably have grievances, sowing discord within the clan.

As long as there was factional strife, the Uchiha would never be a monolith. It was not too late to mend the fence after the sheep had been lost.

At this moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen intended to use Fugaku to keep Uchiha Nara in check. He could not sit idly by while the Uchiha's influence trended toward unification.

As a seasoned politician, Sarutobi Hiruzen was well-versed in the arts of divide and conquer, planting seeds of dissent, and fostering rivalries.

Regarding Uchiha Okura and Sanzang, the two brothers who had usurped power within the Uchiha, the elders of that era had been helpless to stop them for various reasons.

But now, with the younger generation rising, Sarutobi Hiruzen prepared to take a firm hand.

In their youth, Uchiha Okura and Uchiha Sanzang had played significant roles in numerous confrontations against the Hokage faction.

Back then, the two had worked in perfect sync, acting like old foxes despite their young age.

Konoha was in turmoil at the time, and during the transition of power between the Second Hokage and the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen had only the full support of the Second Hokage's guard unit.

The passing of the Senju Brothers had caused various ninja clans and powerful shinobi to harbor thoughts they shouldn't have. Fortunately, the Konoha Quartet had coordinated seamlessly.

Shimura Danzo was ruthless and cold-blooded, handling many targets for Sarutobi Hiruzen that were inconvenient to deal with openly. This stabilized the situation and consolidated power in the hands of the Third Hokage.

However, the Uchiha Military Police Force remained an exception...