A Match of Equals

Finally, someone worth fighting!

The moment Sarutobi Hiruzen laid eyes on Uchiha Jin, an involuntary thrill of excitement surged within him, the feeling of finally meeting a worthy opponent.

Though they had only exchanged a few tentative moves, the methodical nature of the other's responses and the way he turned the tables with such hidden sharpness only confirmed Sarutobi Hiruzen's intuition.

"That fool, Danzo!"

Even while considering Danzo's "years of hard work and merit," Sarutobi Hiruzen could not help but feel irritated by his own crude, white-gloved subordinate.

Sigh...

Thinking of this, Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but sigh, a warm, involuntary smile appearing in his heart.

It was precisely because of Shimura Danzo's temperament and limited intellect that Sarutobi Hiruzen had been able to tolerate him for so many years; otherwise...

Hmph, hmph!

Yet, clearly, before him stood this "strongest Hokage," and Uchiha Jin maintained a calm, confident smile, showing he was no mere novice like the opponents Sarutobi Hiruzen had faced before.

First, there was the choice of the battlefield!

If they had launched a surprise attack on the Hokage Building as the "Jade Shatter" rhetoric suggested, such a coup, while appearing to have a high probability of success, would in reality have been a dead end.

After all.

Even without Shimura Danzo constantly nagging in his ear, Sarutobi Hiruzen would never be foolish enough to leave himself unprepared.

And as long as there were precautions in place, such "Sharp Knife Tactics" would never even make it to the stage.

Once the Uchiha Clan was branded as traitors, Sarutobi Hiruzen could easily mobilize all of Konoha's war potential, and combined with the Hokage Building, which had long been fortified like an iron bucket, he could have wiped out the Uchiha Clan with minimal losses.

But clearly, Uchiha Jin had anticipated this, choosing the Root base as his breakthrough point instead, ensuring the Uchiha Clan was not at a disadvantage regarding terrain.

It was precisely because of this that when Sarutobi Hiruzen, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu arrived, they did not immediately intervene to save Danzo, who was currently eating dirt on the ground.

Facing hundreds of Uchiha youths with red eyes, fierce as tigers and wolves, this was not an opponent that could be handled by the Hokage's direct Anbu alone; the village's collective strength would be required to suppress them.

Furthermore, once a battle of this scale was triggered, the result would inevitably cause irreparable damage to Konoha's overall strength.

As the Hokage of Konoha, Sarutobi Hiruzen would not make such a decision until the very last moment; after all, he was not a "pure-hearted" soul like Danzo.

The evil Uchiha...

Heh~

It was for this reason that Sarutobi Hiruzen chose to take a step back, intending to use the Hokage's moral high ground to suppress them as he always did, leaving the matter of dealing with the Uchiha for a later date.

But Uchiha Jin's countermeasures were equally agile and precise. He began by using a previous political compromise as a starting point to strip Shimura Danzo of his legitimacy as Hokage Advisor and leader of Root, immediately following up by using the Second Hokage's Notes to declare the legitimacy of the Uchiha Police Force's functions.

Then, in the name of the Police Force, he defined Danzo and the fallen Root members as hostile spies, turning the tables to set the fire upon him, the "strongest Hokage."

Just like that!

A scene of the Uchiha Clan attacking Root ninjas and beating up an elderly Hokage Advisor was instantly transformed into a political confrontation between the Hokage faction and the Uchiha Clan.

Pushing the matter to this point forced the other Konoha clans, who had only been assisting him in guarding against an Uchiha rebellion, to start considering their own interests.

Was it worth paying the price of mutual destruction with the Uchiha over such a matter?

In just a few short moments, every detail of what had transpired played out in Sarutobi Hiruzen's mind like a film, quickly organized and analyzed.

Hiss...

As he straightened out everything happening before him, Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but draw a sharp breath.

When did the Uchiha become like this... to have laid such a trap two years ago, waiting until today to spring it?

Thinking back to when Uchiha Fugaku proposed that exchange, Sarutobi Hiruzen had been somewhat surprised that he hadn't fully grasped the indecisive nature of this "Fierce Eye."

However, Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't surprised by the outcome; after all, when it came to the fate of a clan, even a fool would fight for some benefits...

Facing a fate with almost no room for struggle, shifting a portion of the responsibility and blame onto Danzo, and using that to pull down a powerful and hostile figure.

Faced with such a sincere exchange from Uchiha Fugaku, Sarutobi Hiruzen could only painfully discipline his good friend and happily seize the wealth and intelligence Danzo had accumulated in "Root" over the years.

Thus.

He had resolved the possibility of an Uchiha riot, disciplined the restless Danzo, and gained a windfall of unexpected wealth...

At the time, Sarutobi Hiruzen had been smug about his brilliant "three birds with one stone" strategy, never expecting it to become the very trap someone else had laid for him.

Of course.

Not everything happening on the scene was entirely unfavorable to him, and what comforted him most was Uchiha Shisui, who had just been kicked away.

Although it was shocking that someone with the strength of a "Kage-level powerhouse" could be kicked away so easily, it precisely exposed that Shisui was currently struggling madly between the village and his clan.

And given the hostility Uchiha Jin had displayed, it was clear that in this struggle, Shisui still leaned slightly toward the village.

If this were evaluated by a "hothead" like Danzo, he would likely be raging about Shisui's lack of loyalty as a ninja, viewing him as a hidden threat that must be eliminated.

Ugh... that naive Danzo!

But... how could he, Sarutobi Hiruzen, be so naive? How could he believe that anyone would be deranged enough to strike at their own clan?

Perhaps in the eyes of someone like Danzo, the world was black and white, but the reality was more often a gray area between the two.

All things carry the yin and embrace the yang, and the blending of these forces creates harmony.

This is human nature!

Whether it be the various ninja clans of Konoha or the Uchiha themselves, no one is brain-dead; how could anyone truly exist who is willing to eradicate their own family for the sake of the Will of Fire?

If there were ever to appear such an extremist who saw the world only in black and white, a being willing to slaughter everything for the sake of this so-called "Will of Fire," then Sarutobi Hiruzen believed that this butcher's blade would sooner or later fall upon his own neck.

When that time truly came, it would be hard to say whether Sarutobi Hiruzen would want to wield that blade or destroy it entirely.

Shisui's current situation, however, was just right; he held both an acknowledgment of the village and a belief in the Will of Fire, while simultaneously harboring an inseparable, intense affection for his clan.

Compared to the dead soldiers of the Anbu, a personality like Shisui's could exert a much more powerful influence in the struggle between the Hokage faction and the Uchiha.

However...

In this boring Konoha Village, it seemed that a decent opponent had finally appeared!

You want to play the "greater good of the Hokage" game with me, so you decide to hit me with the Konoha Ancestral System, is that it...

Uchiha Jin!