Chapter 62: Itachi, the clan leader has ordered! No one is allowed to be absent!
As the Hokage's direct Anbu were crippled and thrown out of the Uchiha Clan Territory, a quiet panic spread through the undercurrents of Konoha Village. The Uchiha Clan had changed.
In the Hokage Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was unprecedentedly grave. "He's absolutely insane!" Advisor Utatane Koharu slammed her hand heavily on the table, her wrinkled face now filled with barely concealed fury. "Publicly expelling and severely injuring the Hokage's direct Anbu and declaring the Clan Territory a restricted zone—this is no longer just a provocation, this is a declaration of war against the entire Konoha!"
"Fugaku, that useless fellow!" Beside her, Danzō's wooden cane thumped heavily on the ground, emitting a dull thud. "I've said it before, the Uchiha Clan are all ungrateful wolves! Fugaku's indecisiveness could still be suppressed by political maneuvering, but now they've replaced him with such a young and arrogant brat. This is going to repeat the tragedy of Uchiha Madara!"
Danzō's gaze turned to Hiruzen Sarutobi. "Hiruzen! There can be no more hesitation! We must immediately mobilize all forces, completely seal off the Uchiha, and publicly apprehend that brat named Uchiha Akira! Otherwise, Konoha is in danger!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not respond immediately. He just quietly took another puff from his pipe. Apprehend? With what to apprehend him? Uchiha Akira was now the new Clan Head of the Uchiha. Apprehending him at this moment would be tantamount to immediately forcing the Uchiha onto the path of a coup d'état.
"Assemble all Jōnin, and the Village will enter the highest level of alert," he said. "However, no one is allowed to actively approach the Uchiha Clan Territory."
Danzō's single eye widened abruptly, almost bulging out of its socket. "Hiruzen! You are condoning this! You are raising a tiger to cause trouble!"
"Danzō, I am the Hokage."
"Hiruzen, you will regret this!" Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi pull rank as Hokage, Danzō exploded in anger and stormed out, slamming the door.
"I am trying to avoid a brutal civil war that Konoha simply cannot afford right now. We know too little about Uchiha Akira. His strength, his trump cards... we know almost nothing. Before we figure these out, any aggressive action could push the entire Konoha into an abyss of eternal damnation."
Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his head to look at the Anbu kneeling on one knee in the shadows behind him. "Immediately, adjust the threat level of the Uchiha Clan to the highest. I want all intelligence on Uchiha Akira, from his birth to now, laid out on my desk."
The night deepened. Outside Konoha, in a secluded training ground, Hiruzen Sarutobi dismissed all his guards and stood alone under the cold moonlight, waiting for someone. A figure suddenly appeared behind him. It was Uchiha Itachi.
"Hokage-sama."
"Itachi." Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly turned around. He did not use an interrogative tone; instead, he sighed deeply, his gaze filled with the sorrow and concern of an elder. "It must be very hard, being caught between your family and the Village."
Itachi's body imperceptibly stiffened, and he remained silent.
"It's not that I don't trust the Uchiha; I'm just... worried." Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze became distant and compassionate as he looked at Itachi, as if seeing the future of the entire Uchiha Clan through him. "Itachi, you are different from other Uchiha. You have inherited the true Will of Fire. You understand better than anyone how hard-won peace is for this Village, which has endured so much war."
Hiruzen Sarutobi took 2 steps forward and gently placed his hand on Itachi's shoulder. "This young man named Akira, his power is too great, and his actions are too extreme. I worry that his unquestionable dominance will lead the entire Uchiha, your beloved family, down a path of destruction. I don't want to see the Uchiha repeat their past mistakes, and I don't want to see the Village plunge into a sea of internal strife again."
"Itachi, do you understand? Now, perhaps only you can stop this tragedy." Hiruzen Sarutobi was not ordering Itachi to be a spy who betrayed his family. Instead, he was bestowing upon Itachi a noble and tragic mission to "save his family from danger."
In Itachi's mind, the image of the thunder-fire dragon that crushed Susanoo at the training ground was vivid. He also remembered the deep, unfathomable eyes of Akira when he finally retracted his attack and calmly said, "Your blood should not be shed here." Powerful, dominant, yet... restrained.
"Hokage-sama..." Itachi spoke with difficulty. "Clan Head Akira's strength might find a new path for the Uchiha."
"A new path?" Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head, his compassion deepening. "Is it a path paved with war and blood? Itachi, that's not a path, that's an abyss leading to hell. I need your help, not for Konoha, but for the Uchiha behind you, for Sasuke, for those clan members who know nothing of the future. Help me watch him, and... help me watch over your family. Before it's too late to salvage anything."
Itachi slowly lowered his head. Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Itachi's bowed head, a difficult-to-detect glint flashing in his cloudy eyes. It was done.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's aged voice became even gentler at this moment, like a true elder worried about the future of his nephew. "Itachi, I know this choice is painful. But sometimes, to protect something more important, we must bear some unknown guilt." Hiruzen Sarutobi took a step forward, again placing his hand on Itachi's slightly thin shoulder. An invisible pressure weighed heavily on Itachi's heart.
"Go back, child. Act as if nothing happened. Just tell me what you see and hear. For the future of the Uchiha, and also... for Sasuke."
Just then, a voice suddenly sounded from the darkness. "Hokage-sama, why have you summoned our clan's young genius late at night?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi abruptly turned his head. Itachi also froze in place. Under the moonlight, a figure slowly emerged from the shadows of the trees. The newcomer was dressed in the Uchiha's black combat attire; it was Uchiha Kenji.
Uchiha Kenji looked at Uchiha Itachi. "Itachi. The Clan Head has given an order. The clan meeting begins now. All Jōnin must gather at Naka Shrine within 10 minutes." Kenji paused, his gaze falling on Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand, which was still on Itachi's shoulder, his voice slightly cold. "No one is to be absent."