"Stop complaining about the teacher."
The Third Hokage looked displeased, his tone carrying warning as he glanced at Danzo. A moment later, his gaze softened with nostalgia.
"The Second Hokage entrusted the Police Department to the Uchiha for a reason. He foresaw dangers we could not. We, as his disciples, must not presume to question his wisdom so lightly."
Sarutobi Hiruzen was not only defending his late master's reputation, but also the legitimacy of his own succession as Tobirama's chosen heir.
Yet, even he admitted with a weary sigh:
"Of course, times have changed. Konoha is not the same village as in the Nidaime's era. The power of the Police Department must eventually return to the hands of the Hokage. The question is how to do it properly."
Danzo's single visible eye gleamed, seizing the opportunity.
"I have a solution," he said coldly. "As long as we prove the Uchiha are incapable of running the Police Department, their authority can be stripped justifiably."
"How do you propose to prove that?" Hiruzen asked, his voice sharp.
"Prison riot." Danzo uttered the two words without hesitation.
Hiruzen's brows furrowed. "Explain yourself."
Danzo leaned back, taking his time, savoring his own logic before speaking:
"The Police Department's law enforcement has always been too severe. They arrest people in the streets for petty disputes. This has already bred resentment among villagers and caused long-standing dissatisfaction.
So—we create a prison riot. Then we use that chaos as justification to take the prisons away from Uchiha control. At the same time, we can free civilians and shinobi who were unjustly detained. Their gratitude will strengthen the Hokage's position and weaken the Uchiha's standing.
It is killing two birds with one stone… in fact, it is victory twice over."
The way he spoke made it clear: Danzo had been preparing this scheme for a long time.
However—
"No."
The Third shook his head firmly, his voice carrying steel. "A riot will spiral out of control. If hardened criminals escape, how will the safety of the villagers be protected? The cost would be too great."
Danzo's lips curled into a scornful sneer.
"Don't lecture me, Hiruzen. Sacrifices are the price of true leadership. If the villagers suffer, it will be Uchiha who bear the blame, not you. How many have already been unjustly imprisoned? Their release will only make us look merciful, while Uchiha's reputation collapses.
That is the truth of power. Do you still not understand, even after all these years as Hokage?"
For Danzo, individuals were expendable. To preserve Konoha as he envisioned it, a few lives—or many—could be discarded without hesitation.
"I said no."
Hiruzen met his old comrade's glare, his own voice unyielding.
Danzo rose abruptly, his cane tapping the floor. "Then the old man has nothing more to say." He turned on his heel and strode out, his cloak trailing behind.
Koharu and Homura exchanged silent looks.
They knew full well what Hiruzen's words meant. Outwardly, the Hokage opposed Danzo. Inwardly, he did not entirely reject him. Hiruzen wanted the benefits of Danzo's ruthless methods without staining his own hands.
Without someone like Danzo to carry the darkness, how could the "Professor," the kindly Third Hokage, continue to embody the light?
"If there is nothing else, we will take our leave."
Koharu stood, followed by Homura.
"Ah…" Hiruzen leaned heavily against his chair, his expression weary and conflicted. "Do I truly allow Danzo to go that far…?"
Before he could dwell further, an Anbu wearing an eagle mask rushed inside and dropped to one knee.
"Lord Hokage, the Uchiha clan has mobilized. Just now, more than thirty of their shinobi left the compound together."
Hiruzen's face hardened instantly. "Their leader? Their destination? Are they marching on the Hokage Building?"
The possibility chilled him.
But the answer surprised him.
"No… they seem to be heading toward Uchiha's gym." Eagle's tone carried hesitation. "At least, that is where their trail leads."
"…The gym?" Hiruzen murmured. Then, after a pause, he gave his order: "Continue surveillance. Report everything."
Yet unease gnawed at him. He opened a drawer and withdrew a translucent crystal sphere the size of a fist.
Forming hand signs, he infused it with chakra. Within moments, the figure of the Anbu agent "Eagle" appeared in the crystal ball, perched on a rooftop and overlooking a narrow alley below.
At the alley's end stood the facility built by Duan—the Body Transformation Department.
This was Hiruzen's unique jutsu: the Telescope Technique.
By using a person's chakra as a reference, he could observe them remotely through the medium of the crystal ball.
But its reach was not limitless. He could only track a handful of people at a time, such as the Jinchūriki Naruto, or certain subordinates. Powerful shinobi like Danzo, or Uchiha Shisui, could detect the intrusion and repel it. That was why Hiruzen rarely used it carelessly—especially not against those whose trust he wanted to keep.
Now, however, his focus sharpened on the images within the crystal ball.
A column of more than thirty Uchiha, all clad in dark-blue high-collared robes, marched grimly down the street.
At their head were Uchiha Inaho, Uchiha Tekka, Uchiha Yashiro, and several other Jōnin of the Police Force.
Passersby whispered in fear and speculation.
"So many Uchiha at once… what are they planning?"
"Are they going to arrest someone powerful?"
"Stay away, don't get caught up in it!"
But the crowd guessed wrong.
The Uchiha did not head for the Hokage Building. Instead, they turned into the narrow alley leading straight to Duan's gym.
It was the fallout of the clan meeting the previous night.
There, Duan had stood not merely as the patriarch's brother-in-law, but as a warrior who displayed overwhelming strength. In front of all the Uchiha, he had torn through Susanoo and wielded power akin to Shinra Tensei—reminding them all of their own weakness.
Fear had turned into obsession.
His words had planted seeds: the Uchiha were too weak, unworthy of their potential.
Many of them had tossed sleeplessly, their pride gnawed by humiliation.
By morning, more than thirty Uchiha gathered. No one had figured out how to awaken the Mangekyō or find shortcuts to greater power. So, desperate, they agreed: they would go to Duan himself, to seek instruction.
Even Fugaku, as clan head and Police Chief, quietly allowed it. He approved their leave requests without resistance.
Thus, the column of proud Uchiha, radicals and moderates alike, marched together into the alley toward Duan's gym—seeking the power they craved.
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