Uchiha Senba looked at the scene before him, a long-lost smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
He raised his hand and lifted the tea cup that had long since gone cold, gesturing toward his brothers: "Since we have reached a consensus, let's plan carefully—the first step is to start with the Third Elder's group."
Five pairs of eyes met once more; this time, there was no ten-year estrangement, only the resolve of shared enmity against a common foe.
Outside the window, sunlight filtered through the wisteria flowers, casting mottled shadows on the table and illuminating the five men's clenched fists—the Uchiha counterattack officially began at this moment.
The afternoon sun was exceptionally lazy, casting fine specks of light through the wooden lattice windows of the Hokage Office onto the mountain of scrolls.
Hiruzen Sarutobi leaned back in his wide chair, holding the pipe that had accompanied him for decades between his fingers. Pale blue smoke rose in curls, blurring the expression on his face.
In the inkstone on the desk, the ink still held a fresh luster. Beside the recently reviewed front-line battle reports sat half a piece of leftover Chestnut Cake—left there by Tsunade before she departed.
"Bang!"
A dull impact suddenly exploded as the wooden door of the office was slammed open from the outside. The door frame groaned under the force, nearly dislocating.
Danzo Shimura rushed in, shrouded in a gloomy chill. His black Root Organization cloak swept over the threshold, kicking up a gust of wind that sent several scrap papers on the desk flying into the air.
"Hiruzen!" Danzo's voice was filled with uncontrollable rage. He rushed to the desk in a few steps and slammed his rough palm heavily onto the red sandalwood surface, the force causing ripples in the inkstone. "You still have the heart to smoke here! Uchiha Senba and those five guys are meeting in secret; do you have any idea?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly lifted his eyelids, looked at his old partner who was fuming with rage, and sighed helplessly. He brought the pipe to his mouth, took a puff, and blew a smoke ring that perfectly framed Danzo's flushed face. "Danzo, how many times have I told you? Knock before entering the Hokage Office."
He paused, his fingertip lightly tapping the desk. "Besides, the five Senba brothers haven't reunited in a long time. What is so alarming about them getting together for tea and a chat?"
"Tea and a chat?!" Danzo looked as if he had heard the world's biggest joke, the veins on his temples throbbing as his gloomy face twisted. "Have you forgotten what his status was back then?
Uchiha Senba!
A core figure who held one-third of the Moderate Faction's power!
If I hadn't used those two brats to restrain him back then, he would have led his people to join Setsuna's Radical Faction long ago!
Now that he's suddenly gathering his old subordinates, he's definitely up to no good!"
He leaned in close to Hiruzen, his voice dropping extremely low, filled with deep wariness: "Five Three-Tomoe Elite Jōnin! Once they unite and lean toward the Radical Faction, the Uchiha's combat power will surge by thirty percent! By then, the entire Konoha won't be able to suppress them! We must act now and take out Senba and those guys..."
"Silence!" Hiruzen Sarutobi finally set aside his laziness. He tapped his pipe heavily against the ashtray, sparks flying up before quickly extinguishing. "Danzo, have you gone senile?
What time is it now? The Kirigakure Battlefield is in a stalemate, and Jiraiya is nearly at his limit over by Kumogakure. We are in desperate need of manpower! You want to move against five Uchiha Elite Jōnin at a time like this? And in their own Clan Compound?"
Hiruzen's gaze suddenly became sharp, carrying the authority of the Hokage: "Setting aside whether you'd succeed, once you act, the entire Uchiha clan will be forced into rebellion! When Fugaku brings the Moderate Faction back from the front lines and Setsuna's Radical Faction responds from within the compound, Konoha will be attacked from both sides. Can you bear that consequence?"
Danzo's body stiffened abruptly, the rage on his face gradually freezing.
He naturally knew the stakes, but the thought of Uchiha Senba's eyes—which hid such endurance—and the thought of Shine, who could single-handedly slay an Elite Jōnin plus three Jōnin and three Elite Chunin, made him feel like he had thorns in his back. That was the "fish that escaped the net" from his failed assassination. What if Senba really wanted to avenge his son... "But Senba is recruiting old subordinates! He is supporting that Shine!" Danzo roared unwillingly, yet he didn't dare mention the assassination of Shine. That was an order he had given privately; if Hiruzen knew he had jeopardized the plan to balance the Uchiha out of greed for the Sharingan, he would surely be suppressed by Hiruzen Sarutobi again!
"I know about Shine's matter." Hiruzen Sarutobi leaned back into his chair, his tone returning to calm, even carrying a hint of imperceptible certainty. "I watched that child grow up; he inherited the Will of Fire from a young age and even performed great service on the Eastern Battlefield recently. It's only logical for Senba to support his own son. Don't do anything unnecessary."
He had already made his calculations: Fugaku was being worn down with the Moderate Faction on the Kirigakure Battlefield, which happened to weaken the Uchiha's active forces.
Even if Senba recruited old subordinates, with a "pro-Konoha" child like Shine there, they wouldn't be able to stir up much trouble.
Boiling a frog in warm water to slowly wear down the Uchiha's edge was the safest way—he never intended to truly reinforce the Mist front. Letting a few more of Fugaku's people die would instead make the remaining Moderate Faction more dependent on Konoha.
Danzo felt as if a giant boulder was blocking his chest, his breath stuck in his throat.
Looking at Hiruzen's confident demeanor, he was so anxious his eyes turned red, yet he couldn't expose the truth, leaving his face turning an ashen green from suppressed frustration.
After a long silence, he slammed the table and roared, "Hiruzen! You will regret this!"
"Danzo." Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice suddenly turned cold, his pipe pointing toward the door. "Danzo! I am the Hokage.
If you are truly that idle, then take your Root Organization to support Kumogakure—don't be an eyesore here."
"You!" Danzo trembled with rage. He gave Hiruzen a death stare, turned, and walked out. As he left, he kicked the door frame hard, leaving behind a dull thud.
Door: "Bang!"
Door: '...You f*cking...!'
Tranquility finally returned to the office, leaving only the flying scrap papers and the smell of smoke in the air.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the closed wooden door, a meaningful cold smile curling his lips as he took another puff from his pipe.
He knew Senba wasn't that simple, of course, but compared to direct action, letting the Uchiha descend into internal chaos was the most effortless method—after all, only an Uchiha consumed by internal strife was an Uchiha Konoha could feel "at ease" with.
Uchiha Xia Yin's footsteps fell on the bluestone path of the Clan Compound. The afternoon sun filtered through lanterns shaped like the uchiha clan crest, casting fragmented crimson shadows on the ground...
Advance chapter available on pãtrêon Got1808