Sarutobi Hiruzen's Head Aches, the Uchiha Clan Acts Like a Master

The air was deathly silent!

That forest was filled with the shocked gasps of Konoha ninja.

The ninja around them breathed rapidly, their eyes fixed on Uchiha Mirai in horror.

Uchiha Fugaku's words from moments ago still echoed in their ears, like a heavy hammer pounding against their souls.

Uchiha Mirai was the clan head...

Danzo's lone exposed eye was filled with intense shock and disbelief.

How could Uchiha Mirai be the clan head?

How old was he?

Was Uchiha Fugaku really willing to give up the position of clan head just like that?

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

For the first time, a trace of horror appeared in Sarutobi Hiruzen's deep eyes.

Uchiha Mirai was the clan head?

He realized that things seemed to have gone beyond his expectations.

If Uchiha Mirai was the clan head, then many things would be completely different.

The clan head and an ordinary clansman were fundamentally different concepts.

But how had Uchiha Mirai become the clan head?

Uchiha Fugaku had been clan head for over a decade. Was he truly willing to hand over the position so easily?

And how could such a major transfer of power have caused no stir at all?

Sarutobi Hiruzen only felt as though his mind was a ball of yarn a cat had played with, a complete mess that he could not untangle.

"Fugaku, this isn't something to joke about. You haven't made a mistake, have you? Is Uchiha Mirai really the clan head?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen still held onto a faint, unspoken hope.

He questioned him in a low voice.

Though he knew full well that, given Uchiha Fugaku's personality, he would never make a joke of this magnitude.

But at this moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen could only place his hopes on that possibility.

"Third Hokage, you know me. I would never joke about something like this."

Uchiha Fugaku looked at him seriously.

"Uchiha Mirai is the head of the Uchiha Clan. There is no doubt about it."

The air fell silent once more.

"I see..."

Though his tone sounded relieved, there was not the slightest trace of relief in his eyes—only a hidden depth and complexity.

Sarutobi Hiruzen felt as though he had suddenly aged quite a bit.

Once hailed as the Ninja Hero and renowned as the Professor of Ninjutsu.

Recently, too many matters concerning the Uchiha had slipped beyond his control.

This was likely the greatest of them.

And the one with the gravest consequences.

"Though this may be somewhat presumptuous, Fugaku, when did Uchiha Mirai succeed as clan head? Why was the village not informed of such an important matter?"

A trace of depth filled Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes as he stared at Uchiha Fugaku across from him.

Uchiha Fugaku had concealed this matter.

That meant he had already taken Uchiha Mirai's side.

"To be frank, the clan has found a worthy successor, and I, as clan head, am no longer capable of leading the Uchiha Clan. The succession probably happened within the past few days."

Uchiha Fugaku paused before speaking slowly.

"Because it happened so recently, we did not have time to notify the village."

Uchiha Fugaku's explanation was flawless.

A trace of approval appeared in Uchiha Mirai's eyes as he looked at Fugaku.

If they had simply told the truth.

If the Third Hokage learned that, on the very first day Uchiha Mirai returned, he had forcefully seized the position of clan head.

It would inevitably make the Hokage faction extremely wary.

Using succession to conceal the fact that he had seized power in a coup would not only ease Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others somewhat, but also buy them more time to prepare.

Sure enough, after Uchiha Fugaku finished speaking, the gravity on Sarutobi Hiruzen's face eased slightly.

If the succession had happened recently, then it was understandable.

Of course, he would not completely trust Fugaku's side of the story.

The depth in his eyes bore the mark of the turmoil in his heart.

Danzo looked as though he had eaten shit, his expression exceptionally ugly.

The happier he had been when mocking Uchiha Mirai moments ago, the greater the shock and anguish he felt now.

Uchiha Mirai really was the clan head.

And he still was not Hokage.

The killing intent in his eyes nearly spilled out uncontrollably.

That killing intent reached Uchiha Mirai across from him, as well as the Uchiha clansmen standing behind him.

"Danzo, that look in your eyes suddenly reminded me that I still haven't settled the matter of you sending your men to assassinate the Uchiha clan head."

Uchiha Mirai looked calmly at Danzo, as though his murderous gaze was nothing but air.

Danzo's expression stiffened.

So many of his men had died, yet he had not gotten the chance to trouble Uchiha Mirai. Now Uchiha Mirai was coming after him instead?

"That's right! Danzo, you can't just let what you did to our clan head slide!"

"This matter must be answered for!"

"Our Uchiha Clan isn't someone anyone can piss on!"

The Uchiha clansmen behind Uchiha Mirai glared viciously at Danzo with their red eyes, breathing heavily.

Their angry, indignant roars echoed through the forest, startling the birds into flapping away.

Uchiha Zhiyin and Uchiha Kuroko in particular, the two most fanatical followers of Uchiha Mirai, shouted the fiercest.

The Konoha ninja who had just arrived from farther away broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing the Uchiha Clan's roars. They did not even dare stay to watch and immediately fled in panic.

Some of the Konoha ninja watching nearby saw that things were taking a bad turn and quietly began to slip away.

Judging by the situation, if Danzo and the Uchiha Clan really started fighting, they would be finished if they got dragged into it.

Calamity Uchiha's ability was practically an indiscriminate weapon of mass destruction!

Danzo's face darkened, flushing the color of pig liver.

Just moments ago, it had been a siege!

Now it had become an assassination attempt.

Was Uchiha Mirai going to punish him in public?

Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression was exceptionally grim.

The situation had reversed in an instant!

Uchiha Mirai being the Uchiha Clan's clan head carried an entirely different meaning.

In other words, even at the point when the village's relationship with the Uchiha was at its most strained, they had only exerted political pressure on Fugaku. They would never have sent ninja to surround and suppress him.

Once force was used against a clan head, the implications became completely different!

Not to mention how fiercely it would provoke the Uchiha Clan.

If word spread to Konoha's other ninja clans, it would likely cause an uproar as well.

The Uchiha Clan was still Konoha's strongest ninja clan, yet even their clan head had been treated like this. What about those smaller ninja clans?

What would the heads of those clans think?

The ugly expressions on the faces of the clan heads from the Yamanaka Clan, Aburame Clan, and other clans nearby confirmed the unrest in their hearts.

If Sarutobi Hiruzen had known beforehand that Uchiha Mirai had already become the Uchiha Clan's clan head, he would never have agreed to let Danzo use such methods!

This was troublesome.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's head throbbed painfully in an instant.

How was he supposed to quell the fury of these Uchiha?