Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi gasped.
Good heavens!
He finally understood why Uchiha Jin was able to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan, why he resolutely joined the Radical Faction, and why he seemed intent on fighting Konoha Leadership to the death.
"So that's how it is!"
Homura Mitokado nodded slightly, but then his face filled with doubt: "But something's not right. Shouldn't he have gone to the Hokage first if his parents were captured?"
"Even if he didn't go to the Hokage, he should have asked Fugaku, the clan head, for help, right?"
Utatane Koharu's face was full of confusion.
Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head: "I wouldn't be surprised by any decision the Uchiha make. There's no point discussing this now. I have no objection to Danzo's idea, but I won't give you any support."
"Uchiha Jin is not easy to deal with, Danzo. Plan carefully before you act!"
If it were any other Uchiha, he might have hesitated, but Uchiha Jin was completely different.
There was no possibility of him being swayed!
Danzo was not surprised at all and immediately stated his price: "I need a few Anbu squads, and each clan must also provide some people."
"Absolutely not, don't even think about it." Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head directly, refusing: "Go make a request at the Exchange Office."
"Koharu, try to give Danzo a sum of money. The ambush location should be chosen outside Konoha if possible. Even if it fails, we can't give him an excuse to start a war."
He understood in his heart that Danzo just wanted cannon fodder.
But if he really let the great Ninja Clanss serve as cannon fodder, his time as Hokage would probably be over.
And his own manpower was even more out of the question!
His prestige had already suffered at the end of the Third Great Ninja War, and after the Nine-Tails Attack when Minato Namikaze sacrificed himself, his prestige dropped another notch.
Coupled with allowing Danzo free rein, forcing Sakumo Hatake to his death, and especially abusing Uzumaki Naruto, the Fourth Hokage's son, Hiruzen Sarutobi's reputation was terribly poor. He could only barely hold his position because he still had some prestige among the common people.
If his own forces suffered too many losses, he wasn't sure if he could still control Konoha, let alone face provocations from the Four Great Shinobi Villages.
And, regarding this.
Facing Hiruzen Sarutobi's refusal, Danzo directly shook his head: "Relying solely on the Rōnin from the Exchange Office and a small number of Rogue Ninja isn't even enough to make Uchiha Jin use his Mangekyo Sharingan, let alone deplete its ocular power."
"If you don't even give me this much support, then I will abandon this operation!"
Danzo wasn't stupid either.
On the contrary, his life-saving abilities were among the strongest in Konoha.
If he hadn't run into that cheat Uchiha Sasuke, he would most likely have survived until the late stages of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. Don't look at how many times he targeted the Uchiha; almost every time he was bullying the weak, and even then, he would always stand in the safest area.
If the Uchiha in the original story had been a little stronger, and without Itachi, that ingrate, helping him, he wouldn't have had the chance to destroy the Uchiha!
Even though the Uchiha are now very timid, they are still the foremost noble clan.
A dying camel is still bigger than a horse!
This time, it was the same.
He could feel Uchiha Jin's resolve and madness, so plotting to trap Uchiha Jin was fine, but asking him to sacrifice Root members without providing manpower?
Don't even think about it!
Although getting rid of the Uchiha was important to him, accumulating power to ascend to the Hokage position was even more important.
He was willing to take the blame for Hiruzen Sarutobi because only then could he accumulate power, but he would never lose too much of his own strength because of it. Otherwise, how would he contend for the Hokage position in the future?
Anyway, Uchiha Jin's rise posed the greatest threat to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
So... if he doesn't agree? Then forget it!
Hiruzen Sarutobi: "..."
He was completely bewildered.
At this moment, his mind was blank, and his gaze towards Danzo was full of confusion.
This guy, Danzo, wasn't going to take the blame for him anymore?
"Don't look at me like that, and don't take me for a fool!"
"Everyone here is one of us, so there's no need for useless talk. I know very well what kind of person I am in Konoha."
"If Root is completely wiped out, even if Uchiha Jin can be eliminated, when you step down, those Ninja Clanss will never let me off!"
"Hiruzen, take your time to consider it."
After speaking.
Danzo left the Hokage Office without any hesitation!
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Danzo's retreating figure and felt a severe headache. It would be very difficult to handle this matter if Danzo wouldn't take the blame.
So, what to do?
He subconsciously looked at Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado, but in the end, said nothing, just shaking his head helplessly.
These two idiots were even less reliable!
"Hiruzen, what should we do?" Utatane Koharu asked.
Homura Mitokado also frowned slightly: "Uchiha Jin is trouble; we must get rid of him as soon as possible!"
In response to their remarks, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed.
He guessed right!
These two idiots could only raise problems, not solve them.
So, in the end.
After a long deliberation, he finally said helplessly: "There's no need to rush too much. Uchiha Jin has just taken charge of the Radical Faction, so his threat to us isn't too great."
"On the contrary, Fugaku should be the anxious one now. Uchiha Jin's rise will inevitably challenge his position. I will have Shisui truly join Fugaku's faction, and we will secretly give Fugaku some help..."
"Let the Uchiha fight among themselves!"
"This is a good opportunity. We'll announce later that, considering Fugaku's loyalty to Konoha, the Nine-Tails Attack was likely unrelated to him, and subtly suggest it might be related to the Radical Faction."
"For now—that's how it will be!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's methods were shrewd.
Since Danzo was unwilling to take the blame for him, as the 'just and righteous' Hokage-sama, he naturally couldn't personally deal with Uchiha Jin.
Therefore, supporting Fugaku, the clan head, and letting the Uchiha engage in internal strife was the best method!
Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado, although displeased, could only accept... Meanwhile, on the other side.
After Uchiha Jin returned to the clan compound, many members of the Radical Faction gathered around him.
"Don't worry, it's fine now."
"Hiruzen Sarutobi chose to take a step back; the Root and Anbu forces outside the compound have been withdrawn."
"This proves that the plan formulated by our Radical Faction is sound. Now we just need to execute it step by step as planned."
Uchiha Jin smiled faintly at everyone's concerns.
Then.
He briefly explained the situation, and everyone present was even more excited, because this was the first time Konoha Leadership had chosen to back down in their confrontations with Konoha.
However, unfortunately.
Before everyone could celebrate for long, although both Root and Anbu had withdrawn, the reason Konoha Leadership publicized made everyone grit their teeth in hatred.
They felt the sincerity of Fugaku, the clan head?
Konoha was willing to give some trust back to the Uchiha led by Fugaku?
Damn it!
Konoha Leadership's shamelessness directly broke the Radical Faction.
It was Uchiha Jin's credit, but in the end, Fugaku, that coward, got to take the win!