Hiruzen Sarutobi's forehead was drenched in sweat.
Staring at the letter in his hands, his mind went completely blank.
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined Yan Uchiha could be this ruthless.
But it made sense.
His side was preparing to wipe out the entire Uchiha Clan, so it stood to reason that they would turn on him outright—stood to reason, my ass!
Wouldn't a normal person's first reaction be to fight like hell to save their clan?
Either take on the Konoha High Command or find a way to fight their way out.
Instead, you abandoned every Uchiha civilian and treated everyone below Chunin as cannon fodder.
You broke your Jonin into small units for scattered raids, specifically targeting the families of the shinobi clans' leaders and their promising young talents.
What the fuck kind of strategy was that?
Were you sick in the head?
You were a powerhouse who had awakened the Mangekyo. Didn't you care about a powerful shinobi's dignity at all?
Instead of facing me, the Third Hokage, head-on, you were camping outside my own home.
What a fucking coward.
Had you no shame?
But what could he do?
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, a bitter smile tugging at his lips.
He understood the situation perfectly.
A surprise attack on the Uchiha tonight was now impossible.
Once the shinobi clans saw this letter, their attitudes would change immediately.
They had only agreed to help wipe out the Uchiha because that outrageous maneuver to change the law had frightened them.
Once they understood the truth and learned that the Uchiha had never intended to overturn the established order, only to sit down with the shinobi clans and talk while recruiting a few allies along the way, things would change.
Even if these people refused to ally with the