Although Danzo had said not to mention those two words again, the other ninja villages wouldn't indulge him.
"Are you okay, Hokage-sama? Would you like something to eat? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Hokage-sama is so handsome!"
"Hokage-sama is amazing!"
With every repetition, Danzo trembled faster and faster until finally foam burst from his mouth, and he collapsed into a heap of filth.
Seeing Danzo in that state, Tatsuma quickly rushed forward to lift him up and, barely suppressing his anger, asked, "Seiki Shimaseki, what exactly did you do to the Hokage-sama…"
Even unconscious, Danzo twitched upon hearing those words.
Tatsuma's eye twitched slightly, and he quickly corrected himself, "…to Danzo?"
"I didn't do anything to him. I just thought Danzo was being careless about becoming Hokage, so I specially arranged for him to experience many different Hokage lives within an illusion realm!" Seiki Shimaseki said casually.
Everyone looked puzzled—wasn't that a good thing?
"Hmm, isn't this exactly what Danzo wanted? So why did things end up like this?" Kinoto asked with a frown.
Hearing the very question on his mind, Tatsuma also turned to look.
Seiki Shimaseki smiled softly. "Maybe he just experienced too many of them."
"Too many? Exactly how many?" Tatsuma couldn't help but ask.
"Who knows? Maybe around several thousand lives!" Seiki Shimaseki added, "To satisfy Danzo's fantasy, I especially designed this genjutsu so that no matter what choices he made, he would always end up becoming Hokage!"
"Several thousand lives? And all of them definitely ending with him becoming Hokage!" Everyone's scalp crawled as they listened.
Even the best food gets old if you eat it every day for months.
And what about Danzo? He was forced to become Hokage thousands of times. Even if that had been his lifelong wish, such an experience would drive anyone mad!
And even they couldn't help but respect him a little… he didn't even lose his mind after all that!
That night, at the ruins of the Uchiha clan's territory.
The underground meeting hall beneath the former Naka Shrine.
There weren't many participants—just over two dozen—but they were the Uchiha clan's very core!
At this moment, these key figures either spoke with intensity, wore serious expressions, or appeared indecisive, standing at a critical juncture that would decide their fate!
"What are you hesitating for? Are you waiting for others to grab their blades before you act?"
"You all know what kind of person that Hokage-sama is; there's no need for me to explain further. If he dared to strike against the Hyuga four years ago, tomorrow he'll be coming for us Uchiha without hesitation!"
"Perhaps you still place hope in Seiki Shimaseki, believing he'll intervene as he did four years ago, but don't forget—the recently exposed Obito and Shisui are both Uchiha!"
"Especially considering Obito's suspected control during the Nine-Tails disaster, there's no way he could possibly help us now!"
"The Uchiha's situation has reached the point where unless we change our course, destruction is inevitable—we must launch a coup!"
The radical faction had the most members, making up over two-thirds. Obviously, this was largely thanks to a certain Hokage!
Encouraged by their excitement, even the remaining members started showing some interest.
Fugaku sat at the head, deep in thought. The long-suppressed resentment within the clan had finally erupted—Obito and Shisui's incidents had only been the spark.
One could say the coup was the general trend among the Uchiha.
A member of the radical faction kept shouting:
"You all know how unpopular that Hokage is in Konoha. If we start this coup, those willing to help him might not even reach one in ten!"
"And also, Clan Head, four years ago during the Kage Summit, the ability that stopped Seiki Shimaseki was your newly revealed power called Susanoo, right? Who would've guessed Clan Head actually possesses strength rivaling Seiki Shimaseki!!"
Fugaku snapped out of his thoughts and quickly denied it, "I didn't! I don't have that power! Don't just randomly make things up!"
However, everyone burst into laughter.
"Clan Head, you're being modest again!"
"Come on, hiding your true power from us!"
Fugaku frowned. Was nobody going to believe him when he spoke the truth?
"Last time, Shisui mentioned he had already awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, and today Itachi seems to have awakened the Mangekyo too. In that case, we now have three fighters at the same level as Seiki!"
"With such powerful strength, why should we listen to the orders of an incompetent like Danzo?"
"Just because the Second Hokage had prejudices against our ancestor Madara Uchiha, should we keep being treated differently? I'm sick of this already!"
As the emotions of the remaining members were stirred up, Fugaku felt a slight headache and gently pressed his temples.
He didn't oppose the coup itself. Many in the clan had wanted to take down Danzo for a long time—but held back to protect Lord Seiki's reputation.
This coup could be the perfect chance to win their support!
What truly worried him was the emotional shift among the clan members.
When suppressed for too long, emotions could swing to the other extreme once released!
Just like their current behavior—seemed overly fanatical.
Bear in mind, this was still only the discussion phase!
If the coup indeed succeeded and Danzo's rule collapsed, he feared the clan members might get drunk on victory, grow overconfident, and start thinking they're the true rulers of Konoha!
The danger in this kind of behavior was impossible to ignore!
As Fugaku was lost in concern and inner conflict, Itachi entered the room with a delighted expression.
Fugaku found it somewhat strange; his usually calm son now seemed unusually emotional, "Itachi, what's the matter?"
Itachi took a deep breath to calm himself before speaking, "According to reports from the recent Kage Summit, Danzo is no longer the Hokage!"
"What? That bastard is finally stepping down!" Fugaku was excited, but he couldn't help asking, "How exactly did this happen?"
"It seems Danzo had secret dealings with the Akatsuki organization, and finally, Lord Seiki decided to take action!" Itachi explained.
"If it's someone like Danzo hooking up with Akatsuki, I wouldn't be surprised one bit!"
Fugaku gave a slight nod, then smiled. "It should be Lord Seiki who becomes the next successor to the Hokage. Given Lord Seiki's nature, our Uchiha clan will definitely no longer face oppression. Things are finally looking up for us!"
"Then the coup will be called off!"
However, the more radical members looked uneasy and exchanged glances without a word.
Seeing their reaction, Fugaku suddenly felt a sense of foreboding. Could it be—he was about to get tricked again?
Fugaku asked, "What's wrong with you all?"
One of the radicals stepped forward, clearly embarrassed as he spoke. "We were worried that Head Elder Fugaku wouldn't approve of the coup, so we decided to act first and explain later. The coup has already been made known throughout the clan."
"It's already impossible to reverse the situation now!"
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