The Old Man Hired Rogue Ninja to Wipe Out the Uchiha? The Hyuga Clan Head Broke Out in a Cold Sweat

The Uchiha Clan's Sharingan had an ironclad rule: a higher level naturally suppressed a lower level through bloodline superiority.

When Second Pillar had gone head-to-head with Itachi Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan using his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, it was only because his own brother had gone easy on him—so easy it was like letting an ocean through.

It was precisely the overwhelming level advantage of those two pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan that had allowed the Uchiha Clan to be wiped out so cleanly.

Under normal circumstances, the Uchiha Clan's Mangekyō Sharingan had practically become a legend passed down by the older generation, since they had stayed out of any real wars for far too long.

The only one to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan had been Fugaku Uchiha, yet that guy had been a complete schemer.

He used his Mangekyō Sharingan to simulate how a coup would trigger the Fourth Shinobi World War. He talked about pursuing peace, then turned around and sold out his entire clan.

If Tajima Uchiha from the Warring States Period had known that one of his descendants, a clan head no less, could pull something like this, he would probably have chopped him into meat paste on the spot, complete with the full service of grinding his bones to ash.

Unfortunately, Naruto had no way to sort out all those old debts with Hyuga Hiashi.

So he simply laid it out plainly:

"What if Hiruzen Sarutobi paid those rogue ninja to do it?"

Hyuga Hiashi frowned.

"You mean those mercenaries that appeared over the last few years? That ragtag bunch made up entirely of S-rank rogue ninja? Hiruzen Sarutobi has that kind of capability? You've got to be kidding!"

No matter how one looked at it, the Uchiha were Konoha's own fighting force. Spending money to cut off one of his own arms was the kind of thing that sounded like someone had gotten their brain caught in a door.

Naruto smiled at his father-in-law.

"You're too close to the situation to see it clearly.

Try looking at it from another angle. If you had no idea what Hiruzen Sarutobi had been doing behind the scenes, and suddenly received news that the Uchiha Clan had been exterminated overnight.

Wouldn't your first reaction be fear over what hidden trump card Hiruzen Sarutobi still had up his sleeve?"

Hyuga Hiashi froze. Following Naruto's words and thinking deeper, a chill instantly shot up his back.

He had originally never believed Hiruzen Sarutobi had the ability to destroy the Uchiha, so like the other clans, he had merely stood by and watched the show.

But if news came the next day that the entire Uchiha Clan was gone, then as clan head, his first thought would be: Since when did the Sarutobi Clan have something like that hidden away? After the shock, all he could do would be to obediently shrink beneath the Third Hokage's tyrannical shadow.

After all, the unknown was what frightened people most.

If even the Uchiha could be crushed so easily, how much better off could the Hyuga be?

At that thought, cold sweat immediately poured down Hyuga Hiashi's face.

His understanding of the depth of that old fox the Third's schemes reached an entirely new level.

At the same time, he was genuinely impressed by the "mysterious person" behind Naruto.

He hurriedly asked:

"What about us? Should we help the Uchiha and join forces against the Sarutobi Clan?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes and shook his head.

"Help them? We need to wait for the most suitable moment before stepping in."

Hyuga Hiashi was stunned. "The right moment?"

"You don't actually want that bunch of Uchiha lunatics to take the Hokage's seat, do you?"

Naruto looked at his father-in-law with utter speechlessness.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi is rotten, but the Uchiha's core members aren't much better right now.

They're all hawks screaming for war.

If they really seize the Hokage's position, the Fourth Shinobi World War might break out immediately.

Do you seriously think the ninja villages in other countries are living more comfortably than Konoha?

Without the kind of overwhelming strength Hashirama Senju had—the strength to crush everything—even if you grit your teeth and conquer them, everything you swallow will only become dead weight."

The roots of the ninja wars were all tied to nations. Most of the time, ninja were simply blades that marched into battle with the armies.

The reason Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha had not unified the Ninja World back then was inseparable from the nature of ninja villages.

As long as your strength was strong enough, merchants and nobles from other countries would still come to hire the ninja of your village.

To truly unify the Ninja World, you would have to join forces with the Land of Fire and wipe the other four great nations straight off the map.

Otherwise, even if you destroyed all four great ninja villages, their daimyos could simply stiffen their necks and keep throwing money around to raise exclusive ninja villages within their own territories.

In the end, every ninja war happened because nations had too many people, their economies had recovered, and nobles and daimyos wanted to seize more territory.

Without a dedicated ninja village in their hands, the daimyos would have to worry about a kunai suddenly appearing in their foreheads even while they slept.

So Naruto knew perfectly well that he could never let those lunatics seize Konoha's real power.

Hyuga Hiashi stared at him wide-eyed.

"Then what exactly are we supposed to do now?"

A trace of coldness rose in Naruto's eyes as he curled his lips into a smile.

"Wait until Hiruzen Sarutobi crushes the Konoha Military Police Force. Then we'll unite the various ninja clans and save the Uchiha civilians and Genin!"

Hyuga Hiashi's eyes lit up.

This plan was brilliant!

First, it would cleanly eliminate the Uchiha hawks and those ticking time bombs.

Second, they could use this opportunity to earn the gratitude of the Uchiha's new generation, draw them in, and slowly cultivate them.

Most importantly, it would plant a massive bomb beneath Hiruzen Sarutobi's backside.

Once it was proven that Hiruzen Sarutobi had ordered this massacre, forget the Hokage's seat—this old bastard would immediately become the first village leader in history to fall into the ranks of rogue ninja.

The more he thought about it, the more excited Hyuga Hiashi became. He slammed a hand onto the table. "Good!"

Naruto, who had been supporting his aching body as he prepared to stand, jolted all over in fright.

He took a breath before standing up and saying:

"I figure it'll still be a while before Hiruzen Sarutobi makes his move.

During this time, you can secretly contact the heads of the other clans. The Hyuga Clan alone can't carry this."

Obito's strength was no joke. With the nearly unbeatable Kamui in the early stages, plus White Zetsu as a rechargeable battery and Wood Release, if the Hyuga Clan's Jonin charged in alone, they might get wiped out in a single stroke.

"Fine, I know what to do."

Hyuga Hiashi responded, then added as though he had suddenly remembered something:

"Hinata will inherit the Hyuga Clan in the future, so give up on that idea as soon as possible."

Naruto: "...@#%@!"