Sarutobi, You'll Regret This! Danzo, I'm the Hokage!

News that the Uchiha Clan had replaced its clan head swept through the village like wildfire.

These days, the Uchiha Clan had a poor reputation in the village and faced widespread hostility.

But the Uchiha were still one of the two clans that had founded Konoha, and currently its strongest ninja clan.

Naturally, their every move drew plenty of attention.

For ordinary villagers and ninja, a change in the Uchiha clan head merely gave them something new to talk about.

But to certain clan heads and senior officials,

it was another matter entirely.

Inside the Hokage's Office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was handling official business when, before he could look up, the door opened and a man with a cane slowly walked inside.

Without waiting for Hiruzen Sarutobi to speak, he demanded, "Sarutobi, you're certainly taking this calmly. Something this big has happened in the Uchiha Clan, and you have nothing to say?!"

A cold sneer flickered across Danzo's lips as he spoke.

The Uchiha were stirring up trouble again.

At a time like this, they were actually thinking about replacing their clan head.

"Danzo, this is the Uchiha Clan's internal affair!"

Heh...

Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Danzo sneered inwardly.

Was this bastard playing the innocent again?!

Calling it the Uchiha Clan's own affair, saying they shouldn't interfere!

Wasn't Hiruzen Sarutobi probably more concerned about this than anyone else right now?!

But Danzo did not expose him. Some things were better left unsaid.

"Sarutobi, now that Uchiha Fugaku has stepped down, the Uchiha's policies are bound to change. If we sit around waiting, we'll lose the initiative.

"Why don't we...

"Strike while the Uchiha have only just changed their leader and settle this once and for all!!!"

A vicious glint flashed in Danzo's eyes.

He had perfectly inherited the Second Hokage's will to target the Uchiha-and taken it even further.

In Danzo's view, the Uchiha were probably still in some turmoil.

If possible, this was the perfect opportunity to wipe out the Uchiha Clan in one stroke.

Not only would that eliminate the threat posed by the Uchiha,

it would also let him obtain their Sharingan. That was the most important part!

Danzo had begun researching the Sharingan long ago.

And not just the Sharingan. Wood Release, too.

Those were the bloodline powers of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, the men who had founded the village.

If he could possess both, wouldn't he have a chance to become Hokage?!

Danzo would sacrifice anything to become Hokage.

By now, becoming Hokage had turned into an obsession for him.

He would become Hokage, no matter what.

All these years, Danzo had remained trapped in that moment from his past when he had failed to step forward.

If only he had been braver back then, if only he had been even a little quicker than Hiruzen Sarutobi,

wouldn't he have become the Third Hokage instead?!

When the Second Hokage had asked for someone to stay behind and cover their retreat, Danzo had hesitated for just an instant. By the time he was ready to speak, the position of Hokage had already been given to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He really hadn't seen that coming!!

Fuck!!!

You said you were picking someone to cover the retreat, but you were actually choosing the Hokage!

If he could return to that moment, Danzo would not only volunteer sooner, but also tell Tobirama Senju, "Liars have to swallow a thousand needles!!!"

He could not return to the past, but he had to fight for his chance now.

"Danzo, shut up! Don't ever suggest that again!!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression changed, and he immediately rebuked him.

He knew Danzo had always been outrageously bold. This was hardly the first time.

But all they had done this time was replace their clan head.

And Danzo wanted to attack the Uchiha over that? What kind of reasoning was that!?

"Heh, Sarutobi, I told you. Just leave the things you don't want to do, the dirty work, to me. Sooner or later, the conflict between the Uchiha and the village will erupt.

"Stop fooling yourself. You don't really think either side can back down now, do you?!

"Whoever backs down has a bottomless abyss behind them. One step, and they'll die without even a grave!!"

A vicious glint flashed in Danzo's eyes.

Over the past few years, as the conflict between Konoha and the Uchiha had grown worse,

it had become virtually impossible for either side to take a step back.

Whoever backed down would die!

"Danzo, do you think I'd agree to that?! Or do you really think I've grown senile?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head. He could never agree to this.

If I strike rashly, what kind of infamy will I have to bear?!

That was absolutely not what Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted.

He could never do this himself. If people learned that he had killed his own people to consolidate his power and secure his position as Konoha's Spokesperson, what would they think of him?!

Their own people had to do it!

Or the Uchiha had to actually rebel, after which Konoha could suppress them.

Otherwise, Hiruzen Sarutobi would never take that step.

Danzo's undisguised malice and reckless methods were absolutely unacceptable to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Sarutobi, you really have grown old. When you were young, you never hesitated this much!"

"Danzo, I said no!"

Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Danzo gave him a long, searching look.

He knew now that there was no chance of persuading Hiruzen Sarutobi today.

He had never really expected Hiruzen Sarutobi to agree. He had only come to try his luck.

Having failed to achieve his goal, Danzo had no intention of staying any longer.

He rose and walked to the door, then stopped in the doorway and said, "Sarutobi, you'll regret this!!!"

"Danzo, I'm the Hokage!!!!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke flatly.

Those words completely shattered Danzo's composure, leaving him red with rage.

Hokage, Hokage, Hokage!!!

Then stay the fucking Hokage forever! You'd better cling to that seat until you die! Don't ever give it to me!!!!

Bang!

Even after cursing inwardly, Danzo still wasn't satisfied. He slammed the door shut and stalked off in a foul mood.

Inside the office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi merely looked up at the door, then lowered his head and returned to his documents.

But his mind was no longer on them.

There was no way he could be completely indifferent to what had happened in the Uchiha Clan.

The Uchiha changed their clan head at a time like this... Was that a good thing or a bad thing?!

"I'll have to send Shisui and Itachi back to sound things out... They should be returning in the next couple of days anyway..."

Without Uchiha Itachi and Shisui Uchiha,

it would be very difficult for him to learn about the Uchiha Clan's internal affairs.

Under the current circumstances, relations between the Uchiha and the village had not yet deteriorated beyond repair.

But with a sudden change in leadership to someone he knew nothing about, he needed to see whether his strategy required adjusting.

He had dealt with Uchiha Fugaku for so long that he already knew how the man operated.

As for Bai Ye...

I hope he doesn't make things too difficult for me!

"Shikaku, what's your take on this?!"

"My take? I'll take it sitting down."

Shikaku Nara looked helplessly at Choza Akimichi and Inoichi Yamanaka in front of him.

The two had come to see him as soon as the Uchiha changed their clan head.

The situation within the village had already become extremely tense.

And neither of them could understand why the clan had suddenly replaced its leader.

After all, barring unforeseen circumstances, a clan head generally held the position until death.

"Stop joking, Shikaku. Will this new leader make things even more tense in the village...? Actually, if we go to war with the Uchiha, it'll be a real mess, won't it?!"

Inoichi Yamanaka frowned.

It was rather taboo to say such things.

But the conflict was already out in the open. They had even heard the Uchiha openly talking about rebellion.

It felt as though, if things continued like this, war between the village and the Uchiha would be inevitable.

"I can't make an assessment. We have far too little information on Bai Ye. We don't know what kind of personality he has, or even which faction he belongs to.

"So...

"We'll have to wait and see what he chooses to do first after taking over!!!"

Shikaku Nara shook his head and explained his thoughts.

It wasn't that he didn't want to give them an answer.

He genuinely knew nothing about Bai Ye. Without understanding him, Shikaku couldn't assess what impact his rise to power would have.

"But if Fugaku stepped down, they probably replaced him with a hardliner..."

"Wasn't Fugaku already a hardliner?! Did they pick someone even more extreme?!"

The moment Choza Akimichi finished speaking, two strange looks turned toward him. "What ever gave you the impression he was a hardliner!?"

Shikaku Nara was speechless.

Judging by Fugaku's past actions, the man was clearly a dove, or at the very least a moderate.

How could he possibly be a hardliner?

"Actually, the most likely possibility is that a hardliner has taken over. If that's true, the village will probably have trouble ahead. Of course, we can't rule out a dove either. But we still have to wait for his first move!!"

You're just talking in circles!!

After all that, you still haven't figured anything out?!

Still, they knew Shikaku was right.

There was no way to determine what kind of person the new leader was yet.

If a hardliner really had taken power, and the village went to war with the Uchiha, the consequences were almost unimaginable.

The village would certainly win in the end, but the casualties would be immense.

In the Hyuga Clan, after Hyuga Hiashi heard that the Uchiha had changed their clan head,

his feelings were rather complicated.

The Uchiha chose to replace their leader at a time like this. Could anyone really do better than Uchiha Fugaku?!

Although he did not think Uchiha Fugaku was a particularly good leader,

surely the Uchiha Clan couldn't find anyone better than him right now?!

Were they desperately grasping at straws, or what?!

Forget it...

It doesn't have much to do with me anyway.

After thinking it over for a while, Hyuga Hiashi stopped wondering what the Uchiha intended to do.

Whatever they did, it was a matter between Konoha and the Uchiha. It had little to do with him.

Akatsuki.

"Tobi, the Uchiha have changed their clan head!!!"

At Akatsuki, Zetsu brought back news of the change in Uchiha leadership.

Although Obito had recently been busy causing trouble in Kirigakure, he would probably abandon it before long.

He had already all but ruined the Bloodline Families and ninja there.

As Kirigakure was the ninja village responsible for Rin's death, Obito had immediately begun taking revenge on it after inheriting Madara's plan.

He wanted Kirigakure to feel his pain.

Over the years, Obito had been laying his plans in Kirigakure.

With his work there nearly finished and his other plans about to begin, he had also recently ordered Zetsu to keep a close watch on the Uchiha.

The Uchiha...

Obito did not have much of a grudge against them. But he knew very well that even a dead last could turn his fortunes around once he awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, just as Obito himself had.

So he could not allow such an overpowered clan to exist.

As it happened, the conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha was growing worse.

Obito decided that once he finished his business in Kirigakure, he would start dealing with the Uchiha.

"They replaced the clan head?" A hint of surprise crept into Obito Uchiha's voice. He clearly hadn't expected Uchiha Fugaku to step down.

Even though, in his eyes, Uchiha Fugaku was as stupid as a pig.

Still, was there really someone who could overthrow Uchiha Fugaku now?!

"Was it Shisui?! No way... Shisui would never get enough support to become clan head."

Obito almost wanted to laugh as he said it.

With Shisui's way of thinking, not to mention his position in the Anbu, there was absolutely no way he could become head of the Uchiha Clan.

"It was Bai Ye. Uchiha Bai Ye!"

"Bai Ye? Him?"

He was one of the three strongest among the Uchiha's younger generation.

Naturally, Obito had been keeping an eye on him.

But while Shisui and Itachi both had clear ideas of their own, Bai Ye was different.

Bai Ye had always been rather mysterious.

And now he had actually become head of the Uchiha Clan?!

"That's right, Bai Ye became clan head! I only came back after confirming it!"

White Zetsu spoke.

At first, he had thought it was false information. Only after thoroughly confirming that Bai Ye had become head of the Uchiha Clan had he returned.

"Tobi, should we change the plan? He might be different from Fugaku, after all."

"Keep watching for now. I'll take another look when I have some time to spare. Things in Kirigakure have already reached the final stage."

After thinking for a moment, Obito spoke slowly.

He was almost finished there now.

Once he was done, he could abandon Kirigakure at any time. There was no rush to deal with the Uchiha yet.

All he had to do was wait for the conflict between the village and the Uchiha to grow worse.

After all, wiping out the Uchiha Clan within Konoha would definitely require Konoha's cooperation. Otherwise, even he couldn't silently slaughter the entire clan without drawing anyone's attention.

Once the Akatsuki came into the public eye, collecting the tailed beasts later might become troublesome.

It was all for the Eye of the Moon Plan...

Besides, no matter how the Uchiha changed, they could never escape their eventual destruction...

"All right. The White Zetsu Clone will keep watch over the Uchiha's every move."

White Zetsu nodded in agreement.