Aftermath

Root base.

Danzo flipped through the report in his hands.

The report detailed the damage suffered by the Uchiha Clan this time.

"You're saying such widespread destruction was caused solely by Fugaku and Itachi?"

The Root operative below confirmed:

"Yes, Lord Danzo. More than half the buildings in the clan compound were destroyed. The scene looked like several Kage-level experts had fought there."

How could the Mangekyō be this powerful?

Danzo paced back and forth. Shisui had previously only told him about Kotoamatsukami.

And even when Shisui had revealed Susanoo while being hunted down, it had not possessed such might.

Naturally, he did not know that the Uchiha Clan's Susanoo had several stages.

Moreover, Shisui had not been in good condition at the time, and his Fighting Spirit had been weak.

So Shisui had used his Susanoo very conservatively.

"How many people did Itachi take away?"

"Reporting to you, sir, the exact figures are not yet available. The Uchiha Clan is also refusing to cooperate. The preliminary estimate is over a hundred."

"What did the Third Hokage say?" Danzo lowered his eyes, his expression unreadable within the shadows.

The Root operative responded, "The Third Hokage said that tonight there was only a departure, no rebellion."

Upon hearing this, Danzo viciously struck the ground with his cane.

"Hmph, Third Hokage, you truly have grown old."

"You still protect something as wolf-hearted and ambitious as the Uchiha Clan?"

"Send our people out. Tomorrow, spread the news throughout the village: say that because of the Third Hokage's incompetence, Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui led people in defecting."

"Yes!"

After his subordinate left.

Danzo walked into the darkness, a greedy glint faintly shining in his eyes.

Mangekyo...

Hyuga Clan.

Hiashi, Hizashi, and the other elders.

Were also looking over the investigation reports in their hands.

The destruction of the Uchiha Clan Compound was as though it had been ravaged by a Tailed Beast.

Could we, the Hyuga Clan, accomplish something like this?

As Konoha's only other great clan, the Hyuga Clan had always measured itself against the Uchiha Clan.

During the Third Shinobi World War, they had been evenly matched as well.

Although they were somewhat disadvantaged in numbers, the Byakugan's Reconnaissance Ability was also highly valued.

Hadn't Mist Village obtained a single Byakugan and practically wanted to beat drums and gongs in celebration?

So the Byakugan was extremely powerful too.

But now, it seemed that the Uchiha Clan had produced two Mangekyo powerhouses.

And one of them was even the clan head, Uchiha Fugaku.

The other was even more astonishing: Itachi, only eleven years old.

His future potential was immeasurable.

"Clan Head, the Uchiha Clan sent this over this morning."

Hiashi opened it and found a letter of recommendation from Fugaku.

Its general meaning was that Fugaku was unable to handle Police Force affairs due to injury and illness, and he recommended Hizashi as the Police Force captain.

The rest contained Fugaku's development suggestions and plans for the Police Force.

It was obvious that it had been prepared long ago.

After Hiashi finished reading it, Hizashi and the other main-family elders passed it around.

Everyone understood Fugaku's meaning. He was signaling a complete withdrawal from Konoha's power structure.

Although Fugaku had hinted at it before, no one had expected it to come so suddenly.

And in such a decisive manner.

Anyone with eyes could tell that the destruction of the Uchiha Clan Compound had been deliberate, because those houses had basically been empty.

There had been almost no casualties. How could a real battle possibly allow people to evacuate everyone first?

"I think that ever since Uchiha Natsuki returned, Uchiha Fugaku has seemed like a completely different person," Hizashi said.

The others were all shrewd people. They had seen what Fugaku used to be like, and what he had done after Natsuki returned.

They all agreed that Natsuki was very clever.

Hiashi spoke at last. "No matter what, the Uchiha Clan has now completely given up its former power, and Itachi has also taken away a considerable number of people. The village no longer has any reason to target them."

"Fugaku left us such a generous gift before departing. Our Hyuga Clan cannot fail in courtesy."

Hiashi paused. "There are still a small number of Uchiha Clan Members in the Police Force. Let them continue managing their own districts, and double their pay."

Then his tone shifted. "Hizashi, among this batch entering the Ninja Academy, besides Hinata, who else is there? Is Neji in that group too?"

Hizashi nodded. "Yes, Lord Clan Head. Besides Hinata, there are also Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi..."

Hizashi listed all the children from the Great Ninja Clans in that group, including Naruto.

"As for Neji, he is one year ahead of Hinata."

As a major clan, they would investigate in advance the backgrounds of those attending school in the same cohort as their children.

They would build relationships early and pave the way for future development.

Hiashi considered it briefly.

"One year ahead is no problem. They are in the same school anyway. Have Neji build a good relationship with Sasuke."

"Yes!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hiruzen Sarutobi... I wonder whether you will regret this.

Speaking of regret.

The Third Hokage was already beginning to regret it.

He had personally seen the devastation at the scene.

Only then did he realize that the Uchiha Clan's destructive power was this great.

While feeling fortunate that they had not fought before, he also regretted not treating the Uchiha Clan better.

Now, the Uchiha Clan no longer wanted to play along with him.

Early in the morning, Uchiha Fugaku had submitted his resignation letter and a letter of recommendation.

The resignation letter stated that he had failed as clan head, leading to Itachi's ideological conflict with him and departure from Konoha.

As for himself, he was resigning to take responsibility, while also recommending Hizashi to take over his Police Force duties.

And he stated that aside from Hizashi, no one else could do the job properly.

There was also an explanation for the Uchiha Clan's relocation.

Due to the damage to their compound, the Uchiha Clan had decided to relocate the entire clan five kilometers outside Konoha Village and rebuild there.

That five-kilometer distance was rather telling. Why?

Because the Investigation Barrier outside Konoha Village only extended as far as five kilometers.

The Uchiha Clan's meaning was: don't use an Investigation Barrier to claim you are protecting us anymore; we will take care of our own safety.

But you should not monitor us either. We will mind our own business.

Since you did not define Itachi as a rogue ninja, then we, the Uchiha Clan, still belonged to Konoha Village. We were merely living a little farther away.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the large stack of documents before him.

He felt even more exhausted than after a full day of handling government affairs. Fugaku had not only resigned himself; several other higher-ups in the Police Force had resigned at the same time.

Among them were Third Elder Uchiha Takuya and Fourth Elder Uchiha Yohei, who had followed Itachi out of the village. Not a single Uchiha remained in management.

Only some Dove Faction Uchiha Clan Members remained at the lowest levels, and their numbers were small.

The Uchiha Clan had probably deliberately left them behind to look after their own businesses.

The Third Hokage had previously tried every possible way to suppress the Uchiha Clan within the Police Force.

He had also spread public opinion campaigns to make the ordinary villagers distrust them.

He had feared that the Uchiha Clan would one day grow too powerful, obtain more authority, and run for Hokage.

But now, the Uchiha Clan simply refused to play along anymore.

You, the Hokage, would not allow the Uchiha Clan to hold power, so they no longer wanted it. They were giving it all up.

And it was difficult to say whether Uchiha Itachi's departure had been ordered by Fugaku or suggested by Natsuki.

Because this blow had stabbed Konoha directly in the vital spot.

First, the Uchiha Clan publicly claimed that someone had sought to seize their Sharingan, which was why they had departed.

Second, they had displayed their strength, fully demonstrating the might of the Mangekyō to the ninja clans and making everyone weigh the cost of targeting the Uchiha Clan.

Third, they had eliminated the threat. Itachi's departure had taken away a large number of Uchiha Elites, and the Uchiha Clan no longer had so many people. If anyone wanted to use the Uchiha Clan again, they could simply brush them off by saying they lacked manpower.

Fourth, if anyone used force against the Uchiha Clan, the Uchiha Clan had at least three pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan capable of fighting. The key was that no one knew where Itachi was or when he would appear.

Finally, the timing. Konoha was currently signing a peace agreement with Cloud Village.

At such a critical juncture, if the Third Hokage sent Anbu to hunt down the Uchiha Clan, his own regime would be in grave danger.

Right now, the Uchiha Clan had merely "departed." If he forced them into rebellion, Cloud Village would not come to sign a peace agreement. They would come to start a war.

It was all Danzo's fault. If he had not acted on his own and dug out Shisui's eye, how could things have turned out like this?

After all, both Itachi and Shisui had been close to the village.