Uchiha Yamakaku sipped his tea as he grumbled under his breath.
"That Uchiha Dou really has no sense at all. He usually seemed decent enough—quiet, never caused trouble. And then this time, he goes and creates a disaster this big."
"How is it that our Uchiha keep producing people like this?"
Yamakaku was deeply displeased by the way Uchiha Dou had publicly questioned Hiruzen Sarutobi in front of the Hokage Building.
"Back then, Konoha had already been founded, yet Uchiha Madara still insisted on defecting and fighting the First Hokage. He died, and worse, he left the First Hokage gravely wounded. Not long after, the First Hokage passed away."
"That was what led the Second Hokage to suppress the Uchiha."
"Then there was Uchiha Setsuna, secretly organizing people to assassinate the Second Hokage and stage a rebellion. That only made the Second Hokage's impression of us even worse, and the suppression even heavier."
"And now this Uchiha Dou."
Setting down his teacup, Uchiha Yamakaku looked out into the stillness of the late night. The stars glittered high overhead.
"Being the head of the Uchiha clan is hard."
"If it weren't for me, the Uchiha would have fallen into chaos long ago. Fugaku still isn't mature enough. It seems I'll have to remain clan head for a few more years. He can't bear that responsibility yet."
Just then, more than a dozen figures suddenly vaulted over the wall and landed inside.
"Who goes there?"
"Senior Yashiro?"
"What are you trying to do?"
The guards protecting Uchiha Yamakaku stiffened, then quickly retreated to his side.
Yamakaku rose to his feet, looked at Uchiha Yashiro, and frowned.
"Yashiro, what are you doing?"
Yashiro glared at him with open fury.
"Uchiha Yamakaku, as the head of the Uchiha clan, it would be one thing if you failed to fight for the Uchiha's interests. But your heart is filled with nothing except that damned position of yours."
"And now, just to curry favor with outsiders, you've sold out one of your own."
"You deserve to die!"
Yamakaku's frown deepened.
"Yashiro, what nonsense are you spouting? I have never done such a thing."
Yashiro snorted.
"The facts are right in front of us, and you still want to deny it?"
Two Uchiha stepped forward carrying Uchiha Dou's corpse.
"Do you dare say his death has nothing to do with you? The fatal wound on his body was caused by Wind Release: Vacuum Wave. Only Shimura Danzo could use Vacuum Wave with that level of mastery."
"And without your approval, could Shimura Danzo have entered Uchiha territory so easily, killed Uchiha Dou, and left without a sound?"
Before the last words had even fully fallen, Yashiro had already moved.
At the same time, the Uchiha who had come with him attacked as well.
In an instant, Yamakaku and his group were completely suppressed.
They were at an overwhelming disadvantage in numbers.
When the rumor about Uchiha Kagami had first appeared, only a small number of radical Uchiha had stirred up trouble.
But after the rumor spread among the Iwagakure shinobi, and the Uchiha began suffering ridicule…
After Ebizo deliberately arranged scenes of Konoha shinobi betraying Uchiha…
And after the suicide note surfaced in Kumogakure…
More and more Uchiha had grown dissatisfied with Konoha.
Still, dissatisfaction was only dissatisfaction. It had not yet reached the point of an irreparable break.
That was why Uchiha Yamakaku had been able to keep it suppressed.
But now, with his own death, Uchiha Dou had utterly ignited the contradiction between the Uchiha and Konoha.
With his own blood, he had written those four words—and with them, stirred the fury buried in the hearts of most of the Uchiha.
"Kill Uchiha Yamakaku!"
"Kill Shimura Danzo!"
"Kill Hiruzen Sarutobi!"
"Avenge Uchiha Dou!"
…
An ANBU shinobi rushed urgently into the Sarutobi clan compound.
"Hokage-sama, something terrible has happened!"
"What is it?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi had been jolted awake. His expression turned grave at once. For an ANBU shinobi to come at such an hour, sounding this panicked, it could only mean something major had happened.
"The Uchiha clan has rebelled!"
"What?"
Hiruzen was instantly wide awake, his eyes widening.
The ANBU shinobi spoke quickly.
"Hokage-sama, civil conflict has erupted within the Uchiha clan. Uchiha Yamakaku has already been killed. The remaining Uchiha split apart—one group went to the Shimura clan, another to the Sarutobi clan."
"They're shouting that they will kill Danzo-sama and you, Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen's face darkened.
This news was enormous.
No matter how much the Uchiha had been targeted and suppressed over the years, they were still Konoha's foremost ninja clan. No one could afford to underestimate their strength.
And now, at the most critical stage of the war, the Uchiha had rebelled. What kind of impact would that have on Konoha?
For a moment, Hiruzen hardly dared think about it.
"Pass down my order. Mobilize every ANBU shinobi."
"And send word to the heads of all the major ninja clans. Dispatch their elite shinobi to the Uchiha compound. Suppress the Uchiha rebels."
"Kill them without mercy."
The ANBU shinobi nodded heavily.
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
All of Konoha was thrown into chaos.
After watching the ANBU shinobi leave, Hiruzen turned his gaze toward the Uchiha compound.
"Uchiha…"
"Compared to Teacher Tobirama, I have already treated you gently enough. I deliberately had Minato take one of your clan members as a disciple. I even allowed the Uchiha into ANBU."
"So why do you still insist on rebellion?"
"Over a rumor without substance?"
"Even when Uchiha Dou came to the Hokage Building and made such wild accusations, I did not punish him. I only had Uchiha Yamakaku take him back and keep him under control inside the Uchiha compound."
"What more do you want from me?"
Hiruzen frowned deeply.
Then he called in another ANBU shinobi.
"Send the order to Yūhi Shinku at once. Tell him to return to Konoha with his unit as quickly as possible."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Before this, Hiruzen had still been thinking of using Kirigakure's massive offensive against Sunagakure to profit from the situation.
But with Konoha in its current state, forget profiting from anyone else. If the matter of the Uchiha rebellion was not handled properly, Konoha itself would become the target of opportunistic attacks from the other hidden villages.
There was no need to mention Iwagakure—they were already engaged in fierce battle with Konoha. They definitely would not miss this chance.
Kumogakure, though currently at peace, would likely make a move as well.
And if Konoha's condition grew bad enough, Kirigakure might even abandon Sunagakure entirely and turn its army toward Konoha instead.
After all, compared to Konoha, Sunagakure was far too barren.
"Are these Uchiha truly impossible to tame?"
But what puzzled Hiruzen was this—
"The Uchiha shouting that they want to kill me makes sense. But why are they shouting that they want to kill Danzo too? Danzo has indeed done some things over the years, but most of them have been in secret."
"And this rumor never involved Danzo at all."
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