"We can't hide it anymore." Mitokado Homura let out a heavy sigh. Standing atop the Hokage Tower, he gazed down at the bustling crowd below. The faint shouts and heated discussions rising from the streets made him shake his head helplessly.
"In less than half a day, the whole village will know what Uchiha Keizumi did in the capital of the Land of Fire."
"In only a few days, his name and his extreme [Absolute Justice] will spread across the entire Land of Fire. It will reach the ears of countless foreign spies, and from there, spread to other shinobi villages."
Beside him, Utatane Koharu rubbed at her brow, her aged face dark with gloom. "On top of the rumors about that brat, parts of the gossip concerning Hiruzen have also made their way to Konoha..."
At the thought of those outrageous lies, Koharu's brow twitched uncontrollably.
She said bitterly, "Some people believe Uchiha Keizumi killed the Daimyō under Hiruzen's orders. After all, in the eyes of outsiders, that brat is still a Konoha shinobi. They have no idea how deep our rift with him really is."
"These rumors, these conspiracy theories—whether for Hiruzen personally or for Konoha as a whole—are terrible news. They'll only breed suspicion toward both the Hokage and the village."
Grinding her teeth, Koharu spat, "That damned brat's extreme actions have practically placed Konoha in direct opposition to every noble!"
"Those figures who control wealth and wield influence across every corner of the Land of Fire will have a hard time ever trusting us again."
"In their eyes, if we dare assassinate even the Daimyō of the Land of Fire, then what wouldn't we dare to do?!"
"Konoha's good name has been destroyed in an instant by him!"
Her tone brimmed with anger. Her thoughts were nearly identical to Hiruzen's—deeply worried that such rumors would bring disastrous consequences to the village.
Homura, too, was utterly helpless. "The news can't be sealed, and the rumors can't be contained. Even if Konoha comes forward to clarify them, how many people would actually believe us?"
"And there's something else—something very important."
Homura's voice grew grave.
"Once Keizumi's creed of [Absolute Justice] spreads throughout the Land of Fire because of this, who knows how many will be brainwashed by his extreme ideals."
"Especially the young in the shinobi world—even the students of Konoha's Academy could fall under the influence of [Absolute Justice]."
"If too many people start believing in this black-and-white, extreme creed, the entire Land of Fire will fall into chaos!"
At this point, both Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu fell silent.
They were only senior advisors of Konoha. Raising problems was their specialty—solving them was the duty of Sarutobi Hiruzen.
And if they were to offer a solution themselves...
The only one they could think of was "kill Uchiha Keizumi"!
But that was precisely the most unreliable option.
…
Konoha.
Within the Uchiha compound—
Many clansmen were still in shock over the news that several elders had moved to impeach Clan Head Fugaku and were even attempting to elect a new head for the Uchiha.
But then—
An even more shocking piece of news reached their ears.
"The Keizumi-sama whom Izumi follows has killed the Daimyō of the Land of Fire, on the grounds that... the Daimyō was guilty of countless evils."
Uchiha Hazuki was shaken to the core. She knew her daughter's senpai did not enjoy much popularity among the Uchiha, and that some of his actions often seemed extreme in their eyes.
Yet from the few brief encounters she had had, she thought Uchiha Keizumi seemed relatively normal—not nearly as terrifying as the rumors claimed.
Now Hazuki realized she had been far too hasty.
To kill the Daimyō... that was a national-shaking event!
With Uchiha Keizumi having done such a thing, would the Hokage regard him as a rogue ninja of Konoha? And since her daughter served under Keizumi, would that make her a rogue kunoichi as well?
No, wait—killing the Daimyō of the Land of Fire couldn't even be called "betrayal of the village." It amounted to treason against the entire nation.
That sounded even graver than being branded a rogue kunoichi...
Suddenly Hazuki found herself deeply worried for her daughter.
For an ordinary Uchiha like her, that was the most natural thought in the world.
…
Inside the Police Force headquarters—
"Keizumi... huh!" Fugaku never expected wave after wave of upheaval within the Uchiha. He had already been troubled by Uchiha Setsuna leading the radical elders in a move to depose him.
And now Uchiha Keizumi, over in the capital of the Land of Fire, had landed him—Clan Head Fugaku—in an even greater storm!
When he heard the news, Fugaku's scalp went numb.
It felt as though ten thousand needles were stabbing into his brain.
"Keizumi... that was the Daimyō!!!"
"The Daimyō... you cannot kill the Daimyō!!!"
Fugaku let out a despairing murmur, his vacant eyes staring at the desk before him.
This time...
The Uchiha clan no longer had any chance of turning things around. After all, no matter what was said, Keizumi was still a member of the Uchiha. The clan had not completely severed ties with him.
Now that Keizumi had killed the Daimyō of the Land of Fire, Fugaku believed the higher-ups of Konoha would inevitably link the matter to the Uchiha.
They would see Keizumi's extreme and vile actions as nothing less than the Uchiha's ambition breaking free of all restraint!
When that time came—
All the shinobi clans of Konoha would move against the Uchiha.
Because in their eyes, if the Uchiha dared to kill even the Daimyō, why wouldn't they dare kill the Hokage? Why wouldn't they dare kill the other clans? Of course that was how they would think!
For once, Fugaku's usually stiff face twisted with pain.
He had given everything for the Uchiha clan, only to ensure its survival.
So why—why were Uchiha Setsuna, Uchiha Keizumi... one after another, dragging the Uchiha into the grave?!
"How did it come to this..."
Fugaku muttered in a daze.
…
"U! CHI! HA! KEI! ZU! MI!"
Elsewhere, Uchiha Setsuna nearly exploded with rage.
He panted like a bellows, clutching his wooden cane with white-knuckled hands, eyes blazing with fury.
"That damned, extreme brat! How dare he? How dare he?!"
"What in the world was Sarutobi Hiruzen, that Third Hokage, doing to restrain him? How could he possibly allow that brat to kill the Daimyō?!"
"Huuhh... huuhh... huuhh..."
Setsuna collapsed into his chair, gasping for breath, his old face dark as charcoal.
"The most critical part of my coup plan was securing the support of the Daimyō and the nobility. As long as we pushed Sarutobi Hiruzen down from the Hokage's seat, with the Daimyō and the nobles behind us, the Uchiha could take that position securely."
"But now..."
Setsuna's rage made his chest ache.
"That damned brat—for the sake of his so-called [Absolute Justice]—he not only killed the Daimyō, he slaughtered countless nobles in the capital as well! He even exterminated several entire families!"
Setsuna could hardly comprehend it. After something like this, who in their right mind would ever support the Uchiha in becoming Hokage of Konoha?
That damned brat, from hundreds of kilometers away, had dragged him into disaster!
Uchiha Setsuna realized he could not wait any longer.
Because, upon careful thought, regardless of whether Uchiha Keizumi dragged the entire clan down with him or whether the Uchiha had offended all the powerful nobles, this coup still had to be launched.
He himself had to sit in the Hokage's seat and lead the Uchiha to glory.
Otherwise, the great Uchiha clan would be destroyed in Fugaku's hands!
But before that, the clan had to be in his grasp, not in the hands of that coward Fugaku.
"Someone, come!"
Uchiha Setsuna gave a deep command: "Notify all clan members in Konoha. Tonight, we will hold a clan assembly! The location will be the main hall of the Uchiha Naka Shrine!"
"Elder Setsuna, what about Clan Head Fugaku?" one of the radical Uchiha shinobi asked cautiously.
Setsuna snorted coldly, his face dark: "Since I said all clan members, of course, they must also be called over. The purpose of this clan assembly is to tell everyone that Fugaku must step down!"
"At the same time, we will reveal our plan to the clan. Everyone will be tied together like grasshoppers on the same rope—either they choose to fight with me and break with Konoha's leadership, or they choose betrayal and will be purged. No one can stay out of this!"
Then, as if remembering something, Setsuna added sharply: "Uchiha Itachi is excluded. In my eyes, he is no longer one of the Uchiha. He is nothing but a white-eyed wolf!"
The radical Uchiha shinobi grew excited at once.
"Yes!"
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