The atmosphere in the village was oppressively tense—at least for the major clans.
For ordinary civilians, however, life seed to return to normal.
The Police Force resud its usual duties and once again began handling the village's day-to-day affairs.
But behind the scenes, friction between the ANBU and the Police Force had intensified considerably.
After Danzo's public accusations, the Uchiha had beco far more vigilant.
While they continued their patrols, they also gathered intelligence at every opportunity.
"Clan Head, if we don't strike first, once Konoha regains its footing, they'll co after us!"
Inside a secret underground eting hall beneath the Uchiha district, nearly every combat-capable mber of the clan was present.
Those absent were standing guard outside.
"I've already made preparations."
"I've contacted our allies."
"They will assist us."
Fugaku Uchiha spoke calmly.
He recalled visiting Uzumaki Shuji the previous day.
In front of him, Uzumaki Shuji had openly studied the Scroll of Seals without the slightest concern.
At the sa ti, he made one thing clear.
The Uzumaki were ready to act at any mont.
If the Uchiha chose to strike first, the Uzumaki would support them.
If Konoha attacked the Uchiha first, the Uzumaki would still support them.
The ssage was simple.
This round was in the bag.
Of course, the imdiate risk would be borne by the Uchiha.
Uzumaki Shuji had intentionally made Fugaku understand one crucial fact.
Fugaku still viewed the Uzumaki as equals.
But Uzumaki Shuji wanted him to realize that he was the one in control.
Not the Uchiha.
They were his subjects.
"Clan Head truly is reliable!"
"To think you had already found allies!"
"With support like this, our burden will be much lighter."
"If we strike first and eliminate the Hokage, wouldn't we beco the legitimate rulers of Konoha?"
"Our people are all in the village. We can fight at any ti!"
Hearing Fugaku's words, the Uchiha present visibly relaxed.
Facing Konoha alone had placed imnse pressure on them.
"Who are these allies?"
So could not help but ask.
Many others were equally curious.
But after the betrayal of Uchiha Itachi, everyone was wary of revealing too much.
"The Uzumaki clan."
"They still have surviving strength."
"The one who attacked the Hokage Tower was one of them."
After a mont's thought, Fugaku chose to reveal the truth.
War seed imminent.
There was no point concealing it any longer.
As long as Uzumaki Shuji's identity remained secret, everything was fine.
"That's fantastic!"
"With allies like that, victory is practically guaranteed!"
"By the way, why don't we kidnap the jinchūriki too? He might co in handy!"
The mont they learned who their allies were, excitent spread through the room.
So even beca bold enough to suggest capturing Naruto.
"No!"
"Absolutely not!"
"The jinchūriki is too dangerous!"
"Konoha can't properly control him, and neither can we. Forget it."
The suggestion nearly gave Fugaku a heart attack.
He hurriedly shut the idea down.
Of all possible plans, this was the one thing they absolutely could not do.
It would guarantee the Uchiha's destruction.
…
"The Uchiha are planning a rebellion?"
Uchiha Itachi stared in disbelief at the intelligence report from Konoha.
He had co to pass along information that "Uchiha Madara" might attack the Uchiha again.
Konoha maintained a secret drop point where coded ssages were exchanged.
After finally finding ti to visit it, he was t with this shocking news.
"Damn it."
"I have no way to know what's happening inside the village."
"Do I have no choice but to trust them?"
Itachi clenched his fists.
The report instructed him to carry out the sa plan as before.
For the first ti in a long while, he found himself genuinely uncertain.
…
"Have all the forces been assembled?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi asked Homura Mitokado.
Konoha had lost far too many ANBU.
If he wanted to eliminate the Uchiha with certainty, he needed more manpower.
The battle against Uzumaki Shuji had forced him to accept a harsh truth.
He was old.
His strength was no longer what it had once been.
And numbers mattered.
When enough people threw explosive-tagged kunai, even the strongest opponent could be overwheld.
"Yes."
"We've gathered them five kiloters outside the village, avoiding the Police Force's surveillance."
"There are no outside clients in the village right now, so there's little chance the Uchiha will discover it."
Homura gave his report.
Truthfully, he was not enthusiastic about launching such a major operation so soon.
But after hearing Hiruzen's analysis—that Uzumaki Shuji might still be alive and had used Kotoamatsukami to manipulate Danzo—he agreed that the Uchiha could no longer be tolerated.
"Still no information about the Uzumaki?"
Hiruzen nodded before asking the next question.
If Uzumaki Shuji had used Kotoamatsukami, he would not be able to use it again anyti soon.
Unless Uzumaki Shuji had lied to him in the past, his combat power would now be reduced to that of an elite jonin.
That ant the real threat was the mysterious Uzumaki.
Alone, Hiruzen was no longer confident he could defeat him.
"Nothing."
"We reviewed every archive."
"The Uzumaki should have been completely erased."
"There may be surviving bloodlines, but there should be no inheritance."
"Unless a hidden branch family escaped back then, this shouldn't be possible."
Homura shook his head.
They had found nothing.
There was no useful information about the Uzumaki at all.
"Forget it."
"It's possible he isn't truly from the Uzumaki clan."
"No matter."
"Once we destroy the Uchiha, that man may reveal himself."
"What about Uchiha Itachi?"
Hiruzen recalled the countless weapons and explosive tags raining down from those golden ripples.
For so reason, the scene felt vaguely familiar.
Almost like… Flying Thunder God.
"He reported that 'Uchiha Madara' may be unable to act in the short term and has moved beyond his surveillance."
"If we want to proceed with the plan, it may take so ti."
Homura relayed the ssage.
Because events were moving so quickly, he was not overly concerned about Itachi.
After all, this so-called Uchiha Madara was not a mber of Konoha.
"The day after tomorrow."
"We strike the day after tomorrow."
"Contain the battle within the Uchiha district."
"Minimize civilian casualties."
"That's all. Make the arrangents."
Hiruzen gave the order without hesitation.
He no longer wished to wait.
Danzo was gone.
Both the ANBU and Root had suffered heavy losses.
The Hokage Tower had been destroyed.
It was an unbearable humiliation.
He desperately wanted revenge.
And he wanted to prove to every clan in Konoha that he was still not a man to be challenged.
To Read 60 ahead advanced Chapters, head over to P@treon
patreon/DarkVerse146
User Comments
0 comments from readers