Chapter 9: Eliminating the Roots
Nara Shikaku's eyes gleamed; it was as he expected, though with a slight deviation.
He had originally thought Uchiha Fugaku would offer him an Advisor position, but he didn't expect Uchiha Fugaku to offer him a Hokage Assistant position.
However, he did not refuse Uchiha Fugaku's overture and said with a smile, "My Ino-Shika-Cho Trio has no objections."
Why were his Ino-Shika-Cho Trio staunch supporters of the Hokage lineage?
It was simply because the benefits were in place.
His Nara Clan controlled most of Konoha's pharmaceutical industry, being Konoha's largest medicinal herb merchant, which was highly profitable.
The Akimichi Clan controlled Konoha's meat business, and the Military Rations Pills were also developed by the Akimichi Clan.
Due to their strong spiritual power, the Yamanaka Clan, besides being Konoha's intelligence officers, also oversaw Konoha's barrier.
It could be said that after pledging allegiance to the Hokage, the Ino-Shika-Cho Trio all reaped benefits.
Now that the Third Hokage was dead, Uchiha Fugaku was about to take office and even offered him a Hokage Assistant position; he would be a fool not to accept.
Fu Yue nodded.
The Ino-Shika-Cho Trio were already closely connected, with intermarriages among the three clans.
As long as Nara Shikaku agreed, the other two clans would not object.
This meant he had already secured the support of the three clans.
He did not intend to gain the support of all clans in this negotiation.
Following the old ancestor's strategy of 'divide and conquer,' he only needed the support of Ino-Shika-Cho and Hyuga to consider it a success; the other clans were not to be feared.
Hyuga Hiashi was somewhat displeased.
His Hyuga Clan was a major noble clan, second only to the Uchiha Clan.
Why was this Hokage Assistant position given to Nara Shikaku instead of him?
But when he looked up and met Fu Yue's gaze, he still conceded and nodded, "My Hyuga Clan also has no objections."
When Uchiha Fugaku's gaze swept over them, both Aburame Shibi and Inuzuka Tsume's muscles tensed.
Was this the Uchiha Clan's Bloodline Limit?
The pressure it brought was truly immense.
The two looked at each other; since Ino-Shika-Cho and Hyuga had no objections, their two clans' objections would be useless, so they said in unison that they had no objections.
Fu Yue nodded, "Then it's happily decided.
The Sarutobi Clan and the Shimura Clan have rebelled, so I ask for your assistance."
Since he had killed Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura, it was naturally impossible for him to let go of the clans behind them.
If you don't cut the weeds at the root, they will grow back with the spring breeze.
After the cake was divided, it was naturally time to get to work.
Nara Shikaku had no sympathy whatsoever and naturally stood up to echo, "Clan Head Fugaku, no, now it should be Fifth Hokage."
Nara Shikaku smiled slightly and said, "The Sarutobi and Shimura Clans harbored malicious intentions and conspired against the Village, and Utatane Koharu, Homura Mitokado, and Danzo Shimura aided and abetted them, harming Konoha Ninja.
They deserve to die.
We, the Ino-Shika-Cho three families, are willing to assist the Fifth Hokage."
Time for reckoning!
Hyuga Hiashi secretly cursed Nara Shikaku's speed in kicking someone when they were down, but thinking that he also got an Advisor position, he righteously declared, "To clear out the remnants, my Hyuga Clan will not be left behind."
Seeing Ino-Shika-Cho and Hyuga express their stances, Aburame Shibi and Inuzuka Tsume also quickly spoke up, "We are the same."
Fugaku I'll revealed a satisfied smile.
The few of them discussed some more details before concluding the meeting.
When Fu Yue came out, he was somewhat surprised to see that more than half of the clan members at the door were gone.
He then realized that the Great Elder, Uchiha Sihu, had led the people to intercept the fleeing Sarutobi Clan.
When the Ninja outside saw their clan head come out safely, the tense atmosphere present eased slightly.
Nara Shikaku, Hyuga Hiashi, and the others did not delay, rushing back to their clans to issue orders.
"Ah? Surround and kill the Sarutobi Clan?"
The Hyuga were a bit confused listening to the orders issued by their clan head.
If it weren't for their Byakugan seeing no abnormalities in their clan head's Chakra, they would have thought their clan head was controlled by Uchiha Fugaku's Sharingan.
"Are my words not clear enough?" Hyuga Hiashi said in a deep voice.
At this moment, his dignity as the head of the Main Branch was fully evident.
The branch family member who spoke up shrank his head, not daring to disobey in the slightest.
In the Hyuga Clan, the Main Branch's word was law, and the Branch Family dared not resist.
Although the other few Main Branch members had doubts, upon receiving Hiashi's eye signal, they still put their concerns aside for the time being, planning to ask later.
The other clans were similar.
The Shimura Clan members present hadn't even figured out the situation before they were surrounded by Ninja from the major clans.
Although they were attacking fellow villagers, they did not hesitate, as the clan head's order was to kill without mercy.
Ninja consider executing orders their duty, especially the clan head's orders.
In just a moment, the Shimura Clan's Ninja were completely wiped out.
The common Ninja nearby watched dumbfounded.
What was the situation now?
Hadn't the Uchiha Clan rebelled and killed the Third Hokage-sama?
Why were the other major clans aiding and abetting them?
This confused them.
They wanted to stop it, but with just a few of them against the elite Ninja of several major noble clans, they thought better of it.
After the Shimura Clan members present were all killed, a common Jonin bravely approached Nara Shikaku to inquire about the situation.
Nara Shikaku clapped his hands and said loudly to the common Ninja, "Hiruzen Sarutobi was old and senile, betraying the Village's interests, leading to Konoha's decline in strength.
Utatane Koharu, Homura Mitokado, and Danzo Shimura aided and abetted him, harming Konoha Ninja; they deserved to die.
We have jointly nominated Clan Head Uchiha Fugaku to act as the interim Fifth Hokage.
Today's events must not be publicized, and for now, everyone return home and do not cause trouble!"
The clan heads nodded to Uchiha Fugaku, who stood at the main gate, then quickly led their people towards the clan territories of the Sarutobi Clan and the Shimura Clan.
The major noble clans left with their people, leaving behind a group of dumbfounded and bewildered common Ninja.
Although they were not entirely convinced by the reasons Nara Shikaku gave, what could they do when the other side had more people?
Among Konoha Jonin, the Ninja from the major noble clans made up the majority, with only a small portion being common Ninja.
Their disbelief was useless, so...
"Disperse, everyone disperse."
A common Jonin sighed and shouted, leading the way to leave.
The remaining common Ninja also gradually dispersed.
Soon, only the Uchiha Clan members remained around the Hokage Building, along with ordinary civilians peeking and watching from the distant streets.
Seeing the commotion, they naturally scratched their heads, wanting to know what was happening.
Once the common Ninja dispersed, the blocked view became much clearer, but being far away, they couldn't see clearly, only noticing a few corpses on the ground outside the Hokage Building.
At this point, Fugaku left a few Uchiha to clean up the mess on the ground, and told the rest to stop the ordinary civilians nearby, to prevent them from gathering and causing trouble.
"Disperse, everyone disperse!"
The Uchiha, with cold faces, stood in front of the onlookers, dispersing them.
Because of their clan head's warning, they did not use force to disperse them, merely warning them to quickly leave.