This clan meeting, once again, ended without resolution.
The Radical Faction, led by Uchiha Jin, did not leave early. Instead, they watched the performance of Fugaku and Uchiha Shisui with great interest before finally leaving the Naka Shrine, thoroughly satisfied.
"Clan Head..."
Shisui's voice was a little hoarse. Only after everyone had left did he speak: "We must find a way; we absolutely cannot let Uchiha Jin continue to run rampant!"
He was faintly starting to feel afraid!
Knowing the opponent's scheme but being powerless to stop it made him extremely frustrated. This open plot caused him great internal conflict.
Fugaku's eyes were deep, and he sat quietly in his seat.
He glanced at the empty Naka Shrine, vaguely seeing the consequences of his appeasement policy: the Konoha Leadership gradually indulged Danzo, and more and more Uchiha were arrested... Previously, they had no choice, but now they had Uchiha Jin, and everyone began flocking madly to the Radical Faction.
"Shisui, you..."
"Go and discuss it with Hokage-sama. Ask Hokage-sama to restrain Danzo. I will try my best to stabilize the emotions of the clan members."
"If this continues, the Uchiha Clan will be completely controlled by the Radical Faction!"
Fugaku spoke, his face full of helplessness.
He was truly cornered and had no choice but to hope Hiruzen Sarutobi would step up.
However, regarding this.
Shisui's face showed a hint of anger: "Clan Head, you cannot be misled by Uchiha Jin! Lord Danzo is a high-ranking official of Konoha. How could he possibly do such a thing?"
"Although he does have my grandfather's Sharingan, it was gifted to him by my grandfather before he died."
Fugaku sighed in response.
Silly child!
Who Danzo is, how could I not know?
However, he also knew that Shisui had long been misled by Hiruzen Sarutobi, and arguing with him further was pointless. So he simply waved his hand and said casually, "Just tell Hokage-sama what I told you. You don't need to worry about anything else."
After speaking.
He stopped paying attention to Shisui and instead left with heavy steps.
Shisui opened his mouth, wanting to explain and persuade Fugaku.
But watching Fugaku's retreating figure, after a long time, he sighed helplessly: "The clan members' misunderstanding of the Konoha Leadership is too deep. Even the Moderate Faction members still harbor serious distrust toward the Konoha Leadership."
"Hokage-sama is such a good person, why can't they show him some respect?"
"It seems I need to continue working hard!"
His gaze gradually became resolute.
As if having made a certain decision, he arrived at the Hokage Office and explained the contents of the clan meeting.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was smoking his pipe, sighed, his eyes clouded.
"The world is difficult!"
"I understand this matter. Please tell Clan Head Fugaku that I will restrain Danzo as much as possible."
"Shisui, don't blame Fugaku either. The Uchiha's misunderstanding of Konoha is too deep, and resolving this misunderstanding will take time."
Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke with deep sincerity.
His aged face was filled with fatigue, and his eyes held the complexity of being misunderstood, yet he forced himself to persuade Shisui.
Shisui was deeply moved: "Hokage-sama, you have worked too hard."
"It's my duty," Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a smile. "You are a good child."
"Let us work hard together."
He continued to talk extensively to Shisui about the Will of Fire, and only after Shisui left did he call in the Anbu.
"Hokage-sama!"
"Inform Danzo to strictly monitor the Uchiha Clan Compound. The Anbu will also dispatch the Third Squad to assist. All actions will be solely under Danzo's command."
Hiruzen Sarutobi gave the direct order.
At this moment, his aged face was filled with ruthlessness. Only after the Anbu left did he let out a cold snort.
Restrain Danzo?
What a joke!
Now, Danzo can no longer suppress the Hashirama cells within his body and urgently needs Three-Tomoe Sharingan to balance them. Under the current circumstances, even if I gave an order, it wouldn't have much effect.
I can't just watch Danzo die, can I?
For the sake of the Uchiha? Don't be ridiculous!
As for Uchiha Jin's open plot, it is indeed difficult to break, but the problem is that Hiruzen Sarutobi doesn't need to break it. After all, this is entirely internal factional strife within the Uchiha, and he would prefer it if more Uchiha clan members died.
Even if Uchiha Jin takes power, in his view, it doesn't matter!
A weakened Uchiha, no matter how strong Uchiha Jin is, how much trouble can he cause?
He only needs to ensure that the internal fighting and conflict within the Uchiha do not affect the Village; for everything else, he chooses to let nature take its course... Time passed slowly, and ten days flashed by.
Fugaku was anxious but helpless. Hiruzen Sarutobi chose to let things slide, the Radical Faction closed their doors and lived their own lives, and Danzo, in order to suppress the volatile Hashirama cells in his body, was still frantically hunting Uchiha with Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
For a time.
The entire Uchiha Clan was in a state of panic. A portion of those who saw the reality eventually chose to defect to the Radical Faction, but the vast majority remained loyal to their existing factions and were still unwilling to join the Radical Faction.
After some discussion, these individuals prepared to emulate the Radical Faction by banding together for defense.
But, unfortunately.
Their actions had just begun when Shisui personally stepped forward to stop them.
"Everyone must trust Hokage-sama! He will definitely resolve this issue!"
"This absolutely wasn't Lord Danzo's doing. Those are all slanders from Uchiha Jin. These must be spies from other ninja Villages, and Hokage-sama is already figuring out a solution."
"Clan members, just wait a little longer!"
"Trust the Village, trust Hokage-sama!"
The naive Shisui truly believed in Hiruzen Sarutobi, and this was the core belief of his entire life.
The Uchiha are an extreme clan!
Shisui, also being an Uchiha, naturally inherited this trait. Especially since he could awaken the Mangekyo, he was even more stubborn, headstrong, and single-minded than ordinary clan members.
But, regrettably.
Unaware that he had been sold out and was counting money for Hiruzen Sarutobi, he still couldn't change the dire situation within the clan, and could only watch as clan members were killed day by day.
Even if he stayed up all night and patrolled the entire clan, it was useless, because he couldn't guard the whole Clan Compound alone.
And precisely because of this.
Another portion of the clan members chose to join Uchiha Jin. The remaining loyalists of the Moderate Faction ultimately chose to have Fugaku lead the organization of defenses.
However, *heh heh*!
Fugaku was a man who was good at planning but indecisive, ambitious but lacking wisdom, and weak-willed. Although he clearly perceived the problems within the Clan Compound, he just couldn't bring himself to turn against the Village, and didn't even dare to counterattack or organize an active defense.
Because he was afraid the situation would get worse!
Just like in the original work, when facing Uchiha Itachi's clan massacre, even though he didn't agree internally, he still chose to willingly accept his death.
Now, it was the same!
Even as clan members died tragically one after another, and even though the Moderate Faction pressured him, he kept thinking, wondering if delaying things might lead to a new opportunity.
Finally.
Amidst Fugaku's procrastination and contemplation, more and more Uchiha joined the Radical Faction, until Fugaku completely became a commander without troops. Now, he could only lead the high-ranking members of the Moderate Faction, plus some core elites from both factions.
In total, fewer than fifteen people!