"Y-you... what did you say?!"
Danzo froze in place.
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura sank onto the sofa.
"Fugaku... awakened the Mangekyo?!"
Danzo took two steps back.
"Impossible! That's impossible! How could that weak, incompetent fool Fugaku awaken those cursed eyes!"
"It's the truth," Hiruzen Sarutobi repeated.
"Mitokado Homura was there as well. He personally witnessed the unique presence of Fugaku's Mangekyo and confirmed it. Those were genuine Mangekyō Sharingan!"
At Mitokado Homura's testimony, Danzo fell silent.
"The Mangekyo... even Fugaku..."
Danzo breathed heavily.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood, bracing both hands on his desk.
"Do you think that's all?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his voice.
"The moment Ren left the Uchiha District and your men took him into Root, every fighter in the Uchiha Clan was already armed!"
"When Fugaku reported to me, he also delivered the Uchiha Clan's final ultimatum!"
"What ultimatum?" Mitokado Homura pressed.
"The entire Uchiha Clan is ready for battle!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi roared.
"They've made it clear: if Konoha dares lay a hand on their new clan leader, Ren—even if he loses so much as a single hair—the entire Uchiha Clan will rally around their Mangekyo wielders and wage all-out war against Konoha, whatever the cost!"
All-out war!
Hiruzen Sarutobi walked around the desk and stopped before Danzo.
"Danzo, wake up! The Uchiha of today are nothing like the clan you remember!"
"Take a good look at their current fighting strength!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi held up his fingers.
"Uchiha Shisui, Fugaku Uchiha, and Ren, who displayed godlike speed tonight."
"Three full-fledged Mangekyo wielders! Besides those three monsters, they have dozens of young three-tomoe users, along with hundreds of Sharingan warriors in the Military Police Force!"
"They've been biding their time all along, hiding formidable strength."
"How do you expect those Root operatives of yours to nip them in the bud?!"
Under Hiruzen Sarutobi's barrage of questions, Danzo clenched his teeth.
"Even if they have three Mangekyo wielders, Konoha still has more than enough resources!"
Danzo clutched the hem of his clothes as he argued back.
"We have the Ino-Shika-Cho, the Hyuga, and thousands upon thousands of civilian shinobi! If the whole village mobilizes, I refuse to believe we can't overwhelm them with numbers!"
"Shut your mouth!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi cut him off.
"Do you still not understand?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed.
"The Uchiha Clan was one of the strongest clans of the Warring States Era."
"Back then, Madara Uchiha alone was enough to make the entire shinobi world tremble!"
"And now? They have three Mangekyō Sharingan at once, alongside a host of three-tomoe elites with terrifying potential."
"With that lineup and that collective strength, they'll completely surpass their peak during the Warring States Era!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi turned to look at the memorial portraits of the First and Second Hokage hanging on the wall.
"And what about Konoha?"
"The Senju clan, which could once reliably hold the upper hand against the Uchiha, has fallen into decline."
"Lord Hashirama, whose Wood Release could subdue anything, is long gone!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared straight at Danzo.
"Konoha no longer has any force capable of contending with the Uchiha in their current state!"
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura lowered their heads.
Danzo opened his mouth, then closed it again.
"If we recklessly start a war now, the Ino-Shika-Cho and the Hyuga clan will inevitably suffer devastating blows."
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat back down in his chair.
"The village will suffer losses it cannot bear. It may even be destroyed outright in the fighting! The other four great shinobi villages will exploit our weakness and carve us up!"
"So put those foolish schemes of yours aside."
Hiruzen Sarutobi slapped the desk.
"Danzo, in my capacity as Third Hokage, I order you to withdraw every covert operation targeting the Uchiha! Stop all surveillance and suppression of them!"
"From this day forward, without my orders, neither you nor Root is to make any rash move against the Uchiha! Anyone who disobeys will be charged with treason against the village!"
Danzo stood where he was, staring at Hiruzen Sarutobi, his chest heaving.
"I... understand."
Danzo forced the words out through clenched teeth.
After everyone had left,
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in the Hokage's chair, his brow furrowed.
He took puff after puff from his pipe, the smoke obscuring his face in shifting veils.
Everything that had just happened in Root's underground base weighed on his chest, making it hard to breathe.
Three Mangekyō Sharingan wielders!
Forty-three young three-tomoe elites!
That force, powerful enough to overturn Konoha, had shaken the composure of the Shinobi Hero who had ruled the village for decades.
Whoosh!
A dark figure dropped to one knee before the desk, interrupting Hiruzen Sarutobi's thoughts.
The newcomer wore a dark, high-collared, short-sleeved shirt and carried a short sword on his back. It was Uchiha Shisui, who had just appeared at Root's underground base.
"Lord Hokage, you summoned me urgently?" Shisui asked, his head lowered.
Hiruzen Sarutobi set down his pipe and waved a hand, signaling the ANBU guards hidden in the shadows to withdraw.
Only when the two of them were alone in the room
did Hiruzen Sarutobi rise from his chair, circle the desk, and approach Shisui.
He forced a smile onto his face, trying to bridge the distance with his old warmth.
"Shisui, get up. There are no outsiders here."
Hiruzen Sarutobi patted Shisui's shoulder, his tone troubled.
"What happened in Root tonight was far too sudden."
"Fugaku stepping down and Ren taking over as the new clan leader—it caught us completely off guard."
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared intently into Shisui's eyes, trying to find a trace of uncertainty in this Uchiha prodigy who had always sided with the village.
"You've always worked tirelessly for peace between the village and your clan."
"Tell me, what exactly happened within the Uchiha Clan? What is Ren... planning?"
Shisui straightened.
He looked directly at the old man before him.
"Lord Hokage, since you asked, I'll speak plainly."
Shisui's voice echoed through the spacious office.
"At tonight's emergency clan meeting, Lord Ren publicly denounced Clan Leader Fugaku and has already begun implementing sweeping reforms within the clan."
"Publicly denounced him?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyelid twitched.
"That's right."
Shisui nodded.
"Lord Ren made it clear that Clan Leader Fugaku's past weakness and concessions were the root cause of the clan's current predicament."
Watching Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression shift slightly, Shisui continued.
"Lord Ren has announced to the entire clan that he firmly opposes allowing the village to continue suppressing and ostracizing us without restraint."
"From now on, the Uchiha will take a tougher stance and use our strength to secure the rights that belong to us!"
"Lord Ren said that the Uchiha are no spineless cowards who seek peace at any price."
"Dignity lies at the edge of a blade. Concessions won't bring peace—they'll only embolden the enemy to demand more!"
Those words sent a shock through Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart.
"A tougher stance? Using strength to secure their rights?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi sucked in a sharp breath, his expression darkening.
His greatest fear had come true. Ren was nothing like Fugaku, a moderate he could manipulate at will. He was a hardliner through and through.
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