Mitsusuke smoked a cigarette while pondering the Uchiha problem.
To be honest, even if he wanted to handle Uchiha matters, he couldn't; he had to rely on the Sarutobi Clan's subsidies just to get by!
But who told him to be friends with Shisui? For Shisui's sake, he had to think of a way.
Time passed minute by minute, and Mitsusuke had already smoked three cigarettes.
During this time, Shisui didn't speak. He also knew this matter was very difficult to handle; perhaps he shouldn't have come at all.
Just as the third cigarette was about to burn out, Mitsusuke looked at Shisui, his tone becoming very serious: "Shisui, what is Clan Leader Fugaku's attitude? Is he indulging the Hardliners, or is he suppressing them?"
"Clan Leader Fugaku is naturally suppressing them, but I feel he won't be able to hold them back for much longer. More and more people in the clan are supporting the Hardliners."
Shisui's answer didn't surprise Mitsusuke. A cowardly clan leader like Fugaku could only suppress his own clansmen; he didn't have the courage to perish together with Konoha.
If the Uchiha were united against outsiders, Konoha wouldn't dare suppress them. The number one clan in the Ninja World was nothing to scoff at.
"Shisui, I'll give you two suggestions. As for which one you choose, that's up to you."
"Suke, go ahead! I'm listening. No matter the outcome, I will be grateful to you."
Mitsusuke waved his hand: "No need for thanks. I'm only saying this for your sake. After all, besides you, my only other friends are Guy and Asuma."
"First, eliminate the leaders of the Hardliners to give the Uchiha six or seven years of peace. After those six or seven years, I guarantee that the Uchiha will no longer be targeted. As for why, I can only say that once I grow up, I will resolve the issues between the Uchiha and the Village."
This was actually just to fool Shisui. In six or seven years, Orochimaru would return to cause trouble, and Tsunade would become Hokage; then, they wouldn't target the Uchiha anymore.
As for Mitsusuke himself, he had no interest in dealing with the Uchiha's mess!
Hearing Mitsusuke say he could resolve the issues between the Uchiha and the Village, Shisui's eyes immediately lit up.
Although Mitsusuke's strength was average, Shisui felt that he was far smarter than himself; maybe he really could solve it.
But Shisui suddenly felt a bit troubled again. He didn't want to see the Uchiha kill each other, so he asked for Mitsusuke's second suggestion.
"The second suggestion is to meet force with force, to be tit-for-tat. As long as the Uchiha are united, the Village will re-examine the Uchiha and perhaps make some concessions. However, the Uchiha cannot push their luck and must not have any thoughts of a coup or anything like that."
"But I don't think Clan Leader Fugaku can be that tough, so the first suggestion is more reliable. The choice is yours."
Mitsusuke stood up and patted Shisui's shoulder, comforting him: "Don't make yourself so tired. There are so many people in the Uchiha; this responsibility shouldn't fall on your shoulders."
"To the Uchiha, they just want to use you as a blade against Konoha. Konoha has the same idea. Don't be so foolish that you can't tell the difference."
Shisui left, looking a bit distracted as he went.
Watching Shisui's retreating figure, Mitsusuke felt helpless. He suddenly felt a sense of urgency.
If his strength were enough to suppress all dissent now, he could completely resolve this matter.
If possible, Mitsusuke really wished Orochimaru would start the Konoha Crush Plan this year to settle the Uchiha problem sooner.
Ultimately, the Uchiha were also a part of Konoha. With the Uchiha around, Konoha's strength would be significantly greater.
Meanwhile, inside the Hokage Office...
"Hiruzen, that brat Mitsusuke is far too lawless. He actually dared to threaten me and even has ties to Uchiha Shisui. Hand both of them over to me. We cannot allow such a dangerous situation to continue."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Danzo with a very dangerous gaze, his voice turning cold to the extreme: "Danzo, do you want to stretch your hand into the Sarutobi Clan?"
"This..." Danzo also realized. Although Hiruzen Sarutobi was very indulgent toward him, besides their decades of friendship, it was because he had never made a move against the Sarutobi Clan.
Wanting to move against Mitsusuke this time had touched Hiruzen Sarutobi's bottom line.
"Fine! Forget about Mitsusuke. Give me Shisui, and I guarantee..."
"No," Hiruzen Sarutobi directly refused Danzo's request. "Shisui rarely gets involved in Uchiha matters now. That is a good sign."
"Furthermore, Shisui is Kagami's descendant. I will not allow you to target that child. Danzo, your power was given to you by me. If I can give it to you, I can take it back. At worst, I'll lose Root. Don't force me to take action against you."
Recently, Danzo had been getting more and more out of line. Hiruzen Sarutobi intended to take this opportunity to give him a warning.
"Humph! You'll regret this." With that, Danzo slammed the door and left.
After Danzo left, Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up the file in his hand; it was Mitsusuke's.
The reason Hiruzen Sarutobi was so indulgent toward Mitsusuke, besides both being from the Sarutobi Clan, was that he saw a shadow of Jiraiya in him.
The same optimism; even when his clansmen marginalized him, he didn't speak ill of them.
Also, both Mitsusuke and Jiraiya were Underachievers, but even Underachievers have their moments of turnaround.
When an Underachiever turns things around, they can be even more powerful than so-called geniuses.
Hiruzen Sarutobi himself was happy to see Mitsusuke and Shisui become friends.
These two children reminded him of his youth, back when Kagami was still alive.
Just then, Kakashi walked into the Hokage Office with a document.
Since the door was open, Kakashi didn't knock: "Hokage-sama, I've finished investigating all the information you wanted. Here are all of Mitsusuke's records from his three years at the academy."
As Kakashi placed the records on the desk, he added: "Mitsusuke was a genius before he was nine. After that day, the boy became lazy."
Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally knew this. When Mitsusuke first started school, he had paid close attention to the child.
Having a genius emerge from the Sarutobi Clan was a good thing for him as Hokage, but after the Nine-Tails Incident, this genius faded from everyone's sight.
Looking at the data in the file, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that Mitsusuke didn't resemble Jiraiya as much as he did Tsunade—smoking, drinking, and gambling, he was proficient in everything.
He was already on the blacklist of all Konoha's casinos because he won every time he gambled.
Closing the file, Hiruzen Sarutobi said to Kakashi: "Thank you for your hard work. You may go. Tomorrow, help me check on Mitsusuke's teaching situation. Although he's only fifteen, his Ninjutsu talent is quite good; he should be able to teach those students well."
After Kakashi left, Hiruzen Sarutobi took a crystal ball out of his drawer and revealed a lewd smile.