Back when Fugaku first took office, he did not carry out a full purge of the Hokage's original power structure.
First of all, after the devastation of the war, Konoha had only a handful of capable shinobi left. If he had forced all of them to step down and replaced them entirely with Uchiha, that would have been impossible.
Second, Fugaku wanted to use this opportunity to overturn the "Uchiha Terror Theory" that had been ingrained in people's hearts during the Second and Third Hokage's reigns.
Politics is the art of compromise. And so, Fugaku spared many of those tied to the former Hokage faction.
For example, the Ino–Shika–Chō.
And right now, the man standing before him, questioning him to his face—Shimura Danzō!
"Do you even realize what you're saying right now, Danzō?!"
Fugaku's face was grim as he roared in a low voice. He had not only let Danzō go back then, but he had also allowed him to keep Root, allowing him to continue to maintain his power as the Shinobi of Darkness.
With Danzō's personality, he knew that it was impossible for him to subdue Danzō. So, from the very beginning, Fugaku had the intention of dividing Danzō Shimura and Hiruzen Sarutobi, and also using Danzō Shimura to show his pattern and magnanimity as the new Hokage.
If he could also get Danzō's gratitude and submission, that would be even better.
But he hadn't expected that now, when problems had arisen, Danzō not only refused to stand on his side—he even dared to openly oppose him like this!
"I am very clear on what I'm saying."
Danzō's expression was blank, his cold voice ringing out without the slightest doubt, unyielding:
"As the head of the Shimura clan, a member of the Hokage's Council, and the root of this great towering tree, I need to be responsible for the branches and saplings of this great tree."
"Are you saying I'm not responsible for Konoha?" Fugaku's voice suddenly became a little louder: "The battle on the front lines is tense right now. We've joined the war to protect our homes and country. Aren't we protecting Konoha and those new saplings!"
"Then please, Hokage-sama, set an example!"
"You—!"
Fugaku, who was wearing the Hokage's cloak, had an extremely grim expression. Danzō Shimura held his cane and did not give in.
For a moment, the high-ranking officers present felt a strange sense of déjà vu—as though they had been transported back to the days of the Third Hokage's reign.
Back then, the Third would often quarrel with Danzō to this very degree. And the outcome was always…
"All of my policies are for the sake of Konoha. All of my ideas and decisions are for our common future!"
"Anyone can talk pretty. Besides, the enemy is still in the Land of Grass, where the Third Division of the Allied Forces is. Why are you in such a hurry, Hokage?"
"The Third Division is currently under attack from all sides, and the enemy is numerous. If we don't supplement our forces, once a problem arises, the consequences will be irreversible!"
"According to my Root's intelligence, the Third Division is fully capable of blocking the enemy's attack. The Hokage is worried about the neighboring Land of Rain, aren't you?"
Danzō sneered.
"Heh, the Allied Forces defeated the Akatsuki before, but you, as the Hokage, voluntarily gave up the interests of the Land of Rain. Now you want our Konoha ninja to risk their lives for the interests of the Land of Rain? Are you the Hokage of Konoha, or are you the Second Hanzō of the Land of Rain?"
"Danzō Shimura!" Fugaku said angrily: "Watch your words! I am the Hokage!"
Here it comes!
At those words, every face in the room stiffened. Once again, the dialogue between the Hokage and the Shinobi of Darkness—the canopy and the roots of the great tree of Konoha—was about to appear again!
But unexpectedly, this time Danzō did not answer as he once had against Sarutobi, with some perfunctory "for the sake of the village" line. Instead, his face twisted with rage, and he slammed his cane violently against the ground.
"You, who betrayed Konoha's interests, are you worthy of being the Kage of this great towering tree!"
"What?!"
Everyone froze in shock—even Fugaku was momentarily stunned.
Then confusion gave way to fury, then to humiliation. His emotions boiled over so violently that the three tomoe of his Sharingan flared into view, locking murderously onto Danzō..
Am I too gentle with you, or have you hit your rebellious phase?!
"Shimura Danzō! Do you even understand what you're saying?!"
"Does the Hokage think I'm under a genjutsu? Indeed, you, the Uchiha clan, are good at using the Sharingan's genjutsu to control people. The Third Mizukage, the Fourth Kazekage, and... the Nine-Tails."
A hint of playfulness appeared in Danzō's eyes. Ignoring Fugaku's murderous gaze, he sneered:
"I've always been curious, Uchiha Fugaku. I've looked into Konoha's development during your years in power—our ninja, our economy, our civilian livelihood. And what do I find? Almost everything in Konoha's domestic trade carries the shadow of Kirigakure. Taverns, barbecue shops, izakaya… eight or nine out of ten are owned by merchants from the Mist."
"Housing prices in Konoha keep rising—yet how many common shinobi can actually afford a home? The real estate tycoons are all from Kirigakure!"
"Yes, Fugaku, under your leadership Konoha's economy has indeed grown. But who is reaping the profits—Konoha's people, or Kirigakure's? Tell me, are you the Hokage of Konoha, or the Hokage of Kirigakure?!"
"Enough!"
"It's not enough!"
Danzō roared back:
"I don't care about your policy of converting all shinobi to spiritual power use—that's the trend of the entire shinobi world. Even if it hides some secret of Yuki Yoru, nothing can be done about it. But what I cannot accept is your complete indulgence and appeasement of the Mist—handing over benefits that rightfully belonged to Konoha!"
"I did no such thing!" Fugaku bellowed.
"After the war, Konoha was in ruins. It was thanks to Kirigakure's aid that we recovered so quickly—everyone here knows this!"
"Just like Sunagakure, is it…"
"Is that so?" Danzō cut him off with another cold laugh. "Then why is it I've received intelligence… that you, Uchiha Fugaku, have been orchestrating a grand deception? Attempting to pull the wool over everyone's eyes?"
"What do you mean?"
"A deception?"
"I smell the stench of conspiracy."
"Elder Danzō, don't talk nonsense. No matter what, the Fifth Hokage is still the Hokage..."
"A Hokage who betrayed Konoha's interests and tried to subvert Konoha and defect from the village?"
Danzō's icy voice rang out as he swept his gaze over the gathered high-ranking jōnin.
Amid their shocked, hesitant expressions, he pulled out a scroll and handed it to Mitokado Homura, who stood closest.
Homura looked at Danzō with confusion, then unrolled the scroll.
At just one glance, the Hokage's advisor's eyes widened to the extreme. His face was filled with disbelief as he stared at Danzō in shock.
"Danzō, this, what in the world is this...?"
"This was all collected by Root at the risk of their lives." Danzō said slowly, gesturing for Homura to pass the scroll to the others.
One by one, the other high-ranking officials took the scroll, scanning its contents—only for their faces to twist in astonishment. And when they looked back at Fugaku, their eyes carried something very different.
"How could this be… Kirigakure has already…"
"They've even formed a new shinobi clan…"
"Fifth Hokage, you… sigh…"
A pair of complex eyes made Fugaku a little dumbfounded.
After all the high-level officials had finished looking at the scroll, they handed it back to Danzō, and Danzō fiercely threw the scroll onto the Hokage's desk in front of Fugaku.
"Fugaku, I know that the tragedy that happened to the Uchiha clan is very painful for you, but you should not have, under any circumstances, done this kind of act of betraying the village and the nation."
"The Uchiha are one of the two founding clans of Konoha, a cornerstone and an irreplaceable part of this village. Even the very title of Hokage was chosen by your Uchiha ancestor, Uchiha Madara."
"Yet you, as the head of the Uchiha clan and the Fifth Hokage of Konoha, didn't think about how to develop Konoha and the Uchiha clan, but instead leaked the Uchiha's bloodline to the Kirigakure, so much so that the Kirigakure now also has the Uchiha clan, and a whole shinobi clan at that!"
Danzō's face was full of anger as he pointed at the contents of the scroll and cursed at Fugaku.
And when Fugaku saw the contents of the scroll for himself, his heart lurched—damn it.
The existence of the Kirigakure Uchiha… he had known about it for some time. When he had first learned of it, he too had been enraged beyond words, utterly shocked.
As the Uchiha clan head, there was nothing he dreaded more than two things: the Senju clan, long since disbanded by Konoha's leadership, somehow returning to strike again—and the bloodline of the Uchiha leaking beyond the village.
And now, not only had the Sharingan leaked… the Mist had gone so far as to form an entirely new Uchiha clan!
But when he'd come to understand the circumstances of their emergence, the overwhelming power of Kirigakure at the time, and Konoha's weakness, Fugaku had ultimately chosen silence.
He had no choice. Circumstances were stronger than men—he could only accept reality.
In fact, after the Uchiha Massacre in Konoha, a small part of Fugaku's heart had even felt relief that the Mist Uchiha existed. Their survival prevented the Uchiha from being completely wiped out, allowing the bloodline to continue.
But he also knew this was something that could never be spoken aloud. Fortunately, only a handful knew the truth. In Konoha, only Hiashi was aware, and both had silently agreed to keep it buried.
He never expected that this matter would be exposed by Danzō today!
"The situation with the Uchiha is a bit complicated. It..."
"You betrayed Konoha, Fugaku."
Danzō cut him off mercilessly, voice cold as steel:
"As a Hokage's advisor and as a Konoha elder, the Second Hokage himself granted us a certain authority."
"Our purpose is to assist the Hokage in governance, to better guide Konoha. And when the Hokage, as leader, becomes blinded or corrupt—we have the authority to stop him, to intervene against his errors!"
Of course, the second half of that was Danzō's lie, but at this moment, the advantage was on his side, and he had the overall situation in his hands. Danzō naturally wanted to take the initiative and maximize his advantage.
"In order to ensure that Konoha's future development does not fall into a bottomless abyss of darkness, I, as a Konoha elder, demand that the Fifth Hokage step down! And I demand a full investigation into everything about the Fifth Hokage! During the investigation, all power will be exercised by the Elder Council!"
"What?!"
"Danzō—you're insane?!"
"We're in the middle of a war! The Fifth is still—"
The entire room broke into noisy argument.
Fugaku's eyes, now in full Mangekyō Sharingan form, glared death straight at Danzō. His rage was blazing—he wanted nothing more than to summon Susanoo on the spot and crush Danzō flat.
But alongside his fury was something else—curiosity.
Why did Danzō have such confidence? Why would he dare oppose him, the wielder of the Mangekyō, who had the Yuki Yoru behind him?
Danzō had always been a man who knew when to advance and when to retreat. For him to be so bold today… did he truly have some hidden card?
Fugaku didn't know. Which was why he restrained himself from lashing out blindly. Instead, he glanced toward Hyūga Hiashi.
Understanding the signal, Hiashi stepped forward, speaking calmly: "The Elder Council does have the right to demand the Hokage to step down, but it requires the unanimous agreement of all the elders."
"Naturally." Danzō's eyes were calm: "Please, all the elders, state your positions!"
"I agree." Homura Mitokado's expression was serious: "The matter of the bloodline being leaked is of great importance. It does need to be thoroughly investigated."
"I agree as well."
Koharu Utatane spoke leisurely: "Although I don't believe that the Fifth Hokage would betray Konoha, it's better to get some things cleared up."
The jōnin were not surprised that the two of them supported Danzō. They were originally from the Sarutobi faction, so it was normal for them to be in cahoots.
Therefore, from the very beginning, everyone's attention was not on them, but on Torifu Akimichi and Hyūga Hiashi, who had not spoken.
Currently, there were a total of six people in Konoha's Elder Council: Danzō Shimura, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane, who were the three original elders.
In addition, there were Hyūga Hiashi, Akimichi Torifu, and Uchiha Setsuna .
But Uchiha Setsuna died on the night of the Uchiha clan massacre, which meant that there were only five people left in the Elder Council.
Torifu Akimichi looked at Danzō, and then at Fugaku. He was a little conflicted. In the end, he sighed and shook his head.
"I've been too tired recently. This kind of decision is of great importance, so I'll abstain."
No one found this strange. Torifu had always been a peacemaker by nature, once close to the Third Hokage and never on good terms with either Danzō or Fugaku. For him to avoid choosing sides now, when the two clashed head-on, was fitting.
But his abstention meant that every gaze in the room now fell upon Hiashi.
In that instant, those who knew the hidden ties between Hiashi and Fugaku could only sigh and shake their heads. Fugaku himself merely sneered, calm and unruffled, as if seated upon a fisherman's rock.
"The matter of the Hokage stepping down is of great importance, and it is also a time of war. Konoha needs a core leader to be in charge of Konoha, so for this decision, I choose..." Hiashi looked at Fugaku without haste and spoke slowly.
But he had only spoken half of his words when a strange power suddenly surged out.
A hint of confusion appeared in Hiashi's eyes. The words of refusal that were on the tip of his tongue had actually changed.
"I agree with Elder Danzō's proposal."
"What?!"
"Hiashi-sama, you...!"
"This...!"
The entire room erupted in shock.
Fugaku, who had been sitting calm and assured, now widened his eyes in disbelief.
He and Hiashi had always been on the same side! Hiashi's entanglement with the Mist was no less than his own—if anything, even deeper.
How could Hiashi possibly… stab him in the back like this?!
No—something was wrong.
Suddenly, the Mangekyō in Fugaku's eyes suddenly contracted. He actually felt a very familiar aura from Hiashi's body.
That was—
The power of the Sharingan?!