The underground training ground of "Root."
It had expanded several times over in the past two years, fully equipped with all kinds of training facilities.
But unlike the other areas supervised by Danzo, one independent training zone had a distinctly different atmosphere.
There was none of the cold, oppressive feeling here. Instead, it was filled with high morale.
Ten young ninja in black combat attire were engaged in intense sparring.
Their movements were as swift as the wind, their strikes ruthless and precise, and their coordination was seamless.
Most eye-catching were their blood-red eyes, which occasionally flashed with three tomoe during combat.
Sharingan!
All ten of these individuals were Uchiha!
They were the reserve members of the "Hokage's Direct Guard," now officially designated as the Uchiha Special Response Team, selected from the Military Police Force two years ago under the direct order of Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and Uchiha Kagami stood on a high platform in the training ground, quietly watching the drill below.
"Lord Hokage, their progress has exceeded my imagination," Uchiha Kagami said, his voice filled with emotion and gratification.
In these two years, he had poured all his heart and soul into this squad.
And Hiruzen had given them unprecedented support.
The best equipment, the most abundant resources, and even some high-level ninjutsu scrolls that were only accessible to the core members of the Anbu were all made available to them.
More importantly, Hiruzen would personally come to guide their training every month.
This favor, for these young Uchiha who had once been ostracized and overlooked in the Military Police Force, was more important than anything else.
They were filled with fervent admiration and loyalty for the Third Hokage, who had given them a new life and dignity.
"No, Kagami, this is your achievement," Sarutobi Hiruzen said, shaking his head. "Without your guidance, they couldn't have grown so quickly."
He looked at the young and resolute faces below, very satisfied.
These people were the sharpest wedge he had driven into the Uchiha clan.
Just then, the drill ended.
The squad leader, a young man named Uchiha Tokko, appeared on the high platform in a flicker and knelt on one knee.
"Lord Hokage! Lord Kagami!"
"Rise, Tokko," Sarutobi Hiruzen said gently. "The drill was good. Your teamwork has improved since last time."
"Thank you for your praise, Lord Hokage!" Uchiha Tokko looked up, his eyes filled with fanaticism. "Everything we have was bestowed upon us by you, Lord Hokage. We are ready to lay down our lives for you at any time!"
"I don't need your lives. I need your eyes and your minds," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a wave of his hand. "Speak. How is the matter I entrusted to you progressing?"
"I have not failed my mission!"
Uchiha Tokko took out a scroll from his robes and respectfully presented it.
"Following your and Lord Kagami's instructions, we used the convenience of our positions to successfully obtain evidence of several elders from the Uchiha council secretly contacting a high-ranking official close to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire."
Sarutobi Hiruzen took the scroll and slowly unrolled it.
It detailed how several hard-line Uchiha elders had embellished facts to complain to the Daimyo's confidant, impeaching him, the Third Hokage, for being "warlike" and "wasting the nation's treasury" (mainly referring to the establishment of the Medical Department and the expansion of Root), in an attempt to shake the Daimyo's trust in him.
Looking at the contents of the scroll, a cold smile appeared on Sarutobi Hiruzen's face.
"The old fools are finally getting restless, are they?"
Seeing this intelligence, Uchiha Kagami's expression also turned a little ugly.
"Lord Hokage, it is my failure. I was unable to restrain the elders of my clan."
"No, this isn't your fault," Sarutobi Hiruzen said, closing the scroll. "The ingrained way of thinking is not so easily erased. They live in the glory of the past and cannot see the future of the village, let alone the future of the Uchiha."
"Since they want to walk the path to their own destruction, I'll give them a push."
A cold glint flashed in Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes.
He handed the scroll back to Uchiha Tokko.
"Tokko, next, I have another mission for you."
"Your orders, Lord Hokage!"
"Make a copy of this intelligence. Then, find a way to accidentally leak it to the deputy captain of the Military Police Force, Uchiha Tekka."
"Uchiha Tekka?" Uchiha Kagami was taken aback.
He knew this person.
Uchiha Tekka had a considerable voice and ability in the Military Police Force, but because he was not part of the hawkish elders' faction, he had always been suppressed and unable to advance.
He had long been dissatisfied with those elders who relied on their age and seniority.
Uchiha Kagami instantly understood the Hokage's intention.
This... this was to make the Uchiha fight among themselves.
"Lord Hokage, this..." Kagami hesitated.
"Kagami, I know what you're thinking," Sarutobi Hiruzen said, looking at him. "To remove the rotten flesh, one must use a sharper knife. We cannot do it ourselves; that would only deepen the conflict between the Uchiha and the village."
"But if it's an internal purge resulting from a power struggle within the Uchiha, then it has nothing to do with us."
"This is their own choice."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's tone was calm, but the content of his words sent a chill through Uchiha Kagami's heart.
He looked at the Hokage before him and, for the first time, felt what a cold and cunning side this gentle leader had when it came to political maneuvering.
Uchiha Tokko, however, did not hesitate in the slightest. He only recognized the Hokage's orders.
"Yes! Lord Hokage! I guarantee that within three days, this intelligence will accidentally appear on Uchiha Tekka's desk!"
"Very good. Go."
Tokko's figure vanished.
In the training ground, only Sarutobi Hiruzen and Uchiha Kagami remained.
"Hiruzen..."
Kagami's feelings were complicated. "Are we really doing the right thing?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen walked to his side and patted his shoulder.
"Kagami, remember, our goal is to save the entire Uchiha clan, not a few old men blinded by power."
"Sometimes, to save the majority, sacrificing a small part is a necessary price."
"This is the resolve of a Hokage."
Uchiha Kagami fell silent.
He looked at Hiruzen's profile, his heart filled with a mixture of emotions.
He knew that a storm was about to brew within the Uchiha clan.
And the person who had stirred up this storm was standing calmly beside him, as if he had just done something trivial.
...
Three days later.
Konoha Military Police Force Headquarters.
From the office of Deputy Captain Uchiha Tekka, the sound of a cup being smashed violently could be heard.
"How dare they! Those old fools!"
He looked at the intelligence report that had come from nowhere, his whole body trembling with anger.
"They actually went to complain to the Daimyo about the Hokage? Are they trying to drag the entire Uchiha clan down with them!"
The flames of ambition burned in his eyes.
An internal storm targeting the Uchiha elders had just begun.
And the instigator of all this, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was currently sitting in the Hokage's Office, leisurely sipping tea, as if he knew nothing at all.