The Hokage Faction Backed Down

Seiichi briefly showed everyone his Susanoo, then immediately dismissed it.

Come on, did they think running something that huge was free?

Wait, no-did they think it cost no chakra or eye power?

He might not go blind, but draining his chakra and eye power still felt awful, didn't it?

"Lord Hokage, everyone, um, if there's nothing else, I'll be going. Um, I'm really sorry about this misunderstanding. Well, goodbye, everyone."

Seiichi created a Shadow Clone. One took Suzune by the hand, while the other took that woman, and they formed one-handed seals and left using the Body Flicker Technique.

Revealing his Susanoo and Mangekyō Sharingan was one thing.

But he still wanted to keep his ability to cast various ninjutsu without hand seals and his spatial abilities hidden.

Because he had done something earlier that wasn't easy to talk about. Every extra moment he could keep them hidden counted...

Hiruzen Sarutobi had no idea how he made it back to the Hokage's Office.

Ever since seeing Seiichi's Susanoo, he had been in a daze.

The four of them sat together.

None spoke.

"Danzo, cancel the plan!"

"Understood."

Danzo wasn't actually an idiot. The same Gundam Madara Uchiha had used had appeared.

How the hell was he supposed to fight that? With his head?

Previously, the Konoha Military Police Force had been following the regulations to the letter, so he had endured it while discussing how to deal with the Uchiha Clan with Hiruzen Sarutobi.

And now, just when they had finished planning to provoke the Uchiha and then brutally suppress them once they revolted...

The plan was useless.

The first two steps were fine.

The last step was the bloody suppression.

When the time came, who would be suppressing whom?

The Uchiha Clan had produced another Madara Uchiha.

But their Hokage faction had no second Hashirama Senju.

As for Impure World Reincarnation?

Give him a break. As long as the Uchiha didn't back them into a corner or defect from the village...

They absolutely, absolutely would not take the initiative to use Impure World Reincarnation to summon the Senju brothers to deal with the Uchiha Clan!

"Sigh... What do we do?"

Mitokado Homura tugged desperately at his hair.

"'What do we do, what do we do, what do we do?' How would I know what to do? If I knew, would I still be sitting here?!"

Irritated by Mitokado Homura's muttering, Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed the desk, stood up, and shouted.

"Phew... Sorry, old friend. I lost control of my emotions."

After taking a deep breath to compose himself, Hiruzen Sarutobi apologized to Mitokado Homura.

"It's no use. This is a sheer gap in strength. Until we find someone who can stand up to Uchiha Seiichi, there's nothing we can do.

"Besides, can any of you guarantee he's the only Uchiha who has awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan?"

Utatane Koharu was still relatively rational.

She spoke bluntly, shattering everyone's attempt to bury their heads in the sand.

Exactly. Uchiha Seiichi alone was unstoppable. If a few more people with the Mangekyō Sharingan appeared, what the hell could they do?

Knock, knock, knock...

"Who is it?"

"Reporting to Lord Hokage, the Uchiha Clan Head and Young Clan Leader are here. They wish to see you."

Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others' hearts jolted. Why had those two come at a time like this?

Could they be...

They exchanged glances. Putting themselves in the pair's shoes, they would have done the same thing.

"Sigh... Show them up."

But at this point, refusing to see them wasn't an option.

A little later, an Anbu opened the door and entered, with Fugaku and Seiichi following behind him.

Once Fugaku and Seiichi were inside, he turned and left, closing the office door behind him.

"Fugaku, what brings you and your son here? Is something the matter?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke with a smile.

At the same time, he was secretly trying to work out what the father and son were going to say.

Were the Uchiha going to seize power by force?

"Lord Hokage, we've come today to discuss something very important with you, a major matter concerning Konoha..."

"Fugaku, I understand. Sigh... I've been so busy I lost track of things. I'd wanted to give the Uchiha an elder's seat before, but I've been so busy lately that I forgot. My fault, my fault. Still, it's not too late. Fugaku, here, just sign this."

Hearing Seiichi's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others felt their hearts sink.

The father and son had opened with a major matter concerning Konoha. They hadn't come with good intentions.

To prevent the two from making outrageous demands, Hiruzen Sarutobi decided to offer an elder's position, something the Uchiha Clan had always coveted, hoping to silence Seiichi with it.

"No, you've misunderstood, Lord Hokage."

"It's not enough? But above that, the Hokage's assistant position is already filled. Then how about it, Assistant Danzo? You're in poor health, so perhaps you should take some time off?"

Veins bulged on Danzo's forehead at those words, and he glared furiously at Hiruzen Sarutobi, but he remained seated, motionless and silent.

Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't expected one elder's seat to satisfy the Uchiha either.

Because, putting himself in their shoes, he wouldn't have been satisfied either.

So his bottom line was Danzo's seat as Hokage Advisor.

It would give them power while removing Danzo to let the Uchiha vent their anger. He thought that would be acceptable to them.

As for his own position as Hokage, he had no intention of yielding it, nor did he think the Uchiha would be foolish enough to ask for it.

Even if the Uchiha Clan now held an absolute advantage in military strength.

But becoming Hokage wasn't that simple. Many other factors were involved.

For example, the daimyo, and the feelings of the other Shinobi Villages, ninja clans, and shinobi.

But Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't know that, in Seiichi's eyes, the so-called national daimyo was no different from any other ordinary person.

None of them could withstand a single slash from him anyway.

Still, Seiichi truly had no aspirations in that direction.

Watching Hiruzen Sarutobi continue to ramble on...

He grew annoyed, turned to glance at Fugaku, and nodded.

Fugaku activated his Mangekyō Sharingan.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had still been rambling, instantly fell utterly silent, like a chicken seized by the throat.

"Lord Hokage, let me finish. We haven't come today to demand power, but to relinquish it."

"Relin... relinquish power?!"

"That's right."

"Our clansmen no longer like working for the Military Police Force. Forcing them to do it might work in the short term, but we can't keep forcing them forever.

"What's more, becoming shinobi was a way to take missions to support their families, but the problem is that we already have more work than we can handle in the Uchiha's own businesses.

"So we held a brief clan meeting just now and made an important decision.

"Starting today, the Uchiha Clan will relinquish the Konoha Military Police Force and return all of its authority to the Hokage faction.

"Furthermore, every currently serving shinobi in the Uchiha Clan will resign as a shinobi and return to civilian life.

"From now on, the Uchiha Clan will transition from a ninja clan into a merchant clan. That is why we've come today."

When Seiichi finished speaking, everyone except him and Fugaku wore an expression as though they had been broken.

Seeing the four of them questioning their lives, Seiichi and Fugaku exchanged a glance.

They placed the scroll they were holding on the desk.

"Lord Hokage, starting today, the shinobi of our Uchiha Clan will begin coming in to cancel their shinobi registrations.

"We have no intention of being your enemies. Please don't make things difficult for us in the future either. We hope we can coexist peacefully. That's all I have to say, so we'll take our leave."

After Fugaku finished speaking, he and Seiichi turned and left.

Only a good while after the two left did the four people in the room come to their senses.

Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up the scroll on the desk, opened it, and spread it flat.

Danzo and the other two gathered around as well.

The scroll clearly stated the Uchiha's intentions, no different from what Seiichi had just said.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo let out long sighs of relief.

For Danzo, it was because he had kept his position as Hokage Advisor.

For Hiruzen Sarutobi, it was because the Uchiha still had no intention of seizing power despite their overwhelming strength.

That meant they were unlikely to want to seize power in the future either.

Although they would lose ten thousand elite shinobi from the Uchiha Clan, the missions they left behind and the Military Police Force could be used to train plenty of shinobi.

Yes, all things considered, this was a good thing!

Compared with the scenario they had initially imagined, this was an even greater, welcome surprise!