The Compromising Hokage

Ten-year-old Uchiha Ensei argued with Konoha's Hokage, the two of them clashing head-on over every kind of interest.

Beside Uchiha Ensei stood the Uchiha Clan's current strongest member and the clan head. Both were acting like ostriches now, wishing they could bury their heads in the sand.

For the two of them, perhaps this was the best possible outcome.

Of course, Shimura Danzō was silent as well.

Shimura Danzō looked utterly miserable at the moment. He had not only lost his right arm and right eye, but was covered in small wounds. Though the bleeding had stopped, the bursts of intense pain still came from time to time, leaving him barely able to endure them.

Yet what angered Shimura Danzō even more were Hiruzen Sarutobi and Uchiha Ensei.

In just a few words, the two had redrawn the entire structure of Konoha. From time to time, they even broke into fierce arguments over trivial details.

At that moment, it was as if Uchiha Ensei had never doubted whether Hiruzen Sarutobi would keep his promise. It was also as if Hiruzen Sarutobi had never doubted whether Uchiha Ensei could represent the entire Uchiha Clan.

In short, the scene possessed an exceedingly strange sort of harmony.

The discussion continued until late into the night.

Only then did the three members of Uchiha Ensei's group finally leave the Hokage's office.

By then, bustling Konoha had begun to grow quiet. Beneath the dim streetlights, the shadows of the three stretched long behind them.

"I never expected the Hokage to agree to all of your demands."

"Ensei, does this mean our relationship with the village will improve quite a bit?"

Once they reached a deserted place, Shisui Uchiha finally could not hold himself back any longer and spoke.

Hearing that, Fugaku Uchiha seemed to recall something, and a bitter smile appeared on his face.

Uchiha Ensei merely cast Fugaku Uchiha a sidelong glance before speaking. "No."

"Our relationship with the village has become even worse. We are practically mortal enemies now."

"Unless the Uchiha Clan can remain overwhelmingly strong forever, as long as Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō are alive, they will keep testing us and targeting us until we disappear completely."

Shisui Uchiha could not accept those words, much less believe them.

"No! That's impossible. This is just your imagination, isn't it? How could the Hokage possibly..."

In truth, Shisui Uchiha had vaguely sensed something as well. Otherwise, he would not have awakened those eyes.

Unfortunately, those eyes had appeared to bring change, yet their owner had aimed that change in another direction.

"Next, Hiruzen Sarutobi will probably try to win over you and Itachi Uchiha. I don't know what he will say to the two of you, but I hope neither of you is foolish enough to betray your own clan."

"If I find out you have, I won't show mercy."

Uchiha Ensei offered no explanation. He did not truly know the future, and those so-called plot developments no longer held much value as reference.

But it did not matter. With enough strength, every conspiracy was nothing but a paper tiger.

"Shisui, leave the clan's affairs to Ensei. Next, I will announce Ensei as a new elder. Once he comes of age, he will succeed me as clan head."

Fugaku Uchiha did not know what he had been thinking about, but he suddenly said those words.

Uchiha Ensei did not refuse.

He did not wish to manage affairs, but the status of an elder could save him a great deal of trouble.

After Uchiha Ensei and the others left, the renovation crew that had been waiting for a long time swiftly began repairing the Hokage's office under ANBU surveillance.

As for Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō, after leaving the Hokage Building, they went to a very ordinary house in the village and stayed there for quite some time.

This seemingly ordinary residence housed two Nine-Tails jinchūriki, as well as the still-unconscious Fourth Hokage.

After Hiruzen Sarutobi obtained enough information from Kushina Uzumaki, his attitude finally became much firmer. He forced Shimura Danzō to hand over Root's personnel list and experimental records.

But after reading only two pages of those cruel human experiments, Hiruzen Sarutobi could not bear to continue.

Because of this, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō erupted into a fierce argument.

Yet in the end, Hiruzen Sarutobi still chose to keep avoiding the issue. He merely restricted some of Root's actions. As for the innocent lives that had died miserably at the hands of Root ninja, naturally, no one cared.

After all, Root did not merely target ordinary people. Quite a few of Konoha's own ninja were involved as well.

Even Root ninja who had dedicated their entire lives to Konoha would be dealt with unconditionally as long as there was even the slightest possibility of betrayal.

They invoked noble ideals and forcibly compelled others to sacrifice for them.

That was Konoha's Root. It believed itself to be providing nourishment for the great tree of Konoha, but in reality, it never stopped devouring the tree's nutrients.

And the Hokage, who should have stopped all of this, chose compromise every single time.

The next day, the entire structure of Konoha changed.

The Uchiha Clan's duties were partially adjusted, and the overdue compensation funds for relocating their clan grounds were fully paid that very day.

At the same time, a large number of idle Uchiha Clan powerhouses scattered throughout Konoha and began taking on missions.

After some time, the Ninja World once more witnessed the Uchiha Clan's strength. The major ninja villages all began sending spies into Konoha, hoping to discover why the Uchiha Clan's attitude had changed.

Meanwhile, the Uchiha Clan restored a tradition from the Warring States Period and established a Purge Squad composed of Three-Tomoe Sharingan users.

Naturally, the Purge Squad's targets were all organizations coveting the power of the Sharingan.

The squad had only ten members, but with the power of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, they feared no organization in the world.

Yes, even against the Five Great Ninja Villages, ten Three-Tomoe Sharingan powerhouses were enough to pose a certain threat.

On the battlefield, every Uchiha Clan member with a Sharingan required at least three opponents of the same level for victory to be guaranteed.

This squad could be considered a selection of the Uchiha Clan's strongest members. Not a single faction dared to overlook its combat strength.

During the Warring States Period, this squad, which gathered nearly half of the Uchiha Clan's strength, had been what allowed the Uchiha Clan to run rampant across the Ninja World.

Now, it had become the confidence they used to openly restrain Konoha.

For this reason, Uchiha Ensei deliberately revealed part of his strength, becoming the squad's captain and sending it out of Konoha to openly carry out all kinds of missions.

Ordinary ninja who accepted missions privately should have been treated as rogue ninja.

Yet Hiruzen Sarutobi acted as though he saw nothing in the face of the Uchiha Clan's actions, still striving to maintain that false peace.

Unfortunately, he could endure it, but some people could not.