Chapter 14 - Hiruzen Sarutobi's Scheming!
"Hiruzen, what are you still hesitating for? Didn't I tell you the Uchiha Clan couldn't be trusted?"
Just now, after Itachi and Shisui told Hiruzen Sarutobi part of what Bai Ye said,
he immediately summoned the Elder Council for a meeting.
There was no other way.
In Hiruzen Sarutobi's view, Bai Ye's ideology was simply too dangerous.
It seemed Itachi and Shisui were right; the hardliners had taken power. If they hadn't come to tell him this today, he would still have held onto the idea of taking things slowly.
"Hiruzen, I think we should just act directly."
Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu exchanged glances, then decided to agree to Danzo's request.
Before, they had always been hesitant, partly because they wanted to devour the Uchiha 'cake,' and partly because they feared Konoha would lose a major fighting force, which would then lead to war.
Moreover, once a war broke out between the Uchiha and Konoha, the Fourth Ninja World War would likely be unavoidable. Even if they didn't act, other Ninja Villages would certainly take the opportunity to demand benefits from Konoha.
"Sarutobi, what exactly are you hesitating about?"
Looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was smoking but not speaking, Danzo was a bit anxious now.
He couldn't understand why Hiruzen wasn't in a hurry before, but now that the hardliners within the Uchiha had risen, was he still going to be as unhurried as ever?
"Do you know what acting now means?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi finished his last puff of smoke, then let out a long breath, looking at the others and asking.
"Konoha and the Uchiha Clan going to war."
Utatane Koharu wasn't a fool; she naturally knew that since the hardliners had risen, acting against the Uchiha Clan now would inevitably lead to war.
Even the doves would absolutely not sit idly by.
"Yes, fighting now means war, and I don't want to see that happen. Even if we can eliminate the Uchiha Clan, how much will Konoha lose?"
How many elite Ninja does the Uchiha Clan have?
It's safe to say one Uchiha can handle two ordinary Ninja, right?
Based on the Uchiha's current size, there are at least six hundred, if not eight hundred, and some clan Ninja are not on the Village's Ninja roster; those are Ninja belonging to the clan itself.
Therefore, once they act against the Uchiha, Konoha would have to pay the price of one to two thousand Ninja to eliminate them.
So, at that point, adding in the several hundred Ninja of the Uchiha Clan, if they lost thousands of Ninja, how would they contend with other Ninja Villages?
Although most of them would be Chunin and Genin, even so, it would be a significant loss.
"But Sarutobi, have you considered that continued delay will only make us more passive?"
Danzo always adhered to his plan against the Uchiha. He believed that since they would eventually have to act, they might as well do so directly.
After all, if the Uchiha found a way to counter them, then they would be in a passive position later.
"Who acts?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his gaze to Danzo, his eyes full of exasperation.
Seriously!?
Besides acting, can't you have any other ideas in your head?
If you want to act against the Uchiha Clan, you at least need a reason. They haven't even rebelled yet, and you're already making a move?
Isn't that clearly telling other Ninja clans, "Wait and see, if one day I'm unhappy with you, your fate will be the same as the Uchiha Clan's"?
Who would still obey him then!
So Hiruzen Sarutobi absolutely could not act, and at the same time, he had to restrain Danzo from acting.
If problems could arise within the Uchiha, causing them to eliminate themselves, that would be the best outcome.
Therefore, when he learned that Uchiha Fugaku wanted Itachi to be a spy in Anbu, he thought about stabilizing the Uchiha Clan temporarily, and also cultivating some of his own people who could deal with the Uchiha Clan.
Imagine, if the Uchiha Clan had internal strife, consumed themselves, and eliminated themselves, even if one or two remained, he could send Anbu to finish them off, but most would have been killed by their own people.
At that time, he would only need to push all the responsibility onto the other party, then say some good words, and the matter would be over, wouldn't it?
The Uchiha threat would be gone, he wouldn't have to take the blame, and other Ninja clans in the Village, even if they felt something was off, wouldn't say much.
After all, at that time, with the Uchiha Clan fallen, everyone could get a piece of the Uchiha Clan's collapsed cake, so naturally no one would say anything.
No one would complain for the Uchiha, who had already been wiped out, but they couldn't act directly.
If he acted himself, the nature of the situation would change.
Therefore, this was why Hiruzen Sarutobi always pulled on the doves, giving them hope, and then put pressure on the Uchiha Clan, causing the hardliners to rebel.
Once internal strife occurred between the two sides, that would be his time to act.
However, he never expected that Bai Ye seemed to have the unanimous support of the hardliners, conservatives, and moderates. Now the Uchiha Clan was as solid as an iron plate.
Then he had no reason to act.
"Danzo, you need to think clearly. We cannot act. The Uchiha Clan, no matter what, are still Konoha's people."
Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a hint of deeper meaning, which also served as a reminder to Danzo.
Eliminating the Uchiha Clan indeed couldn't be too hasty. For such a large clan, if you wanted to eliminate them silently, you had to plan thoroughly, otherwise, it would only leave people with something to talk about, and if other clans in the Village developed hostility towards them, then it would truly be troublesome.
"But you can't just watch them head down the path of rebellion, can you?"
Danzo narrowed his eyes, looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi with a hidden meaning in his words.
He meant that Hiruzen Sarutobi needed to find a way. The Uchiha Clan would rebel sooner or later, and not acting would lead to more trouble later.
"What does he need to do after taking power to gain the clan's respect? These days, we must uphold Konoha's interests, and the interests of other Ninja clans. We cannot let the Uchiha Clan go to extremes. We will appease them if we can."
Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a hint of deeper meaning.
That's right.
His meaning was also simple: Bai Ye taking power came with pressure, otherwise, the moderates and conservatives wouldn't have compromised.
But if Bai Ye couldn't achieve anything, then Uchiha Fugaku would likely be put back in power.
And the last sentence, while superficially saying they needed to uphold the interests of everyone in Konoha, actually meant pushing the Uchiha into opposition with Konoha and all other Ninja clans.
This was also Hiruzen Sarutobi's usual method: saying he would appease, but in reality, it was just repeatedly manipulating the emotions within the Uchiha Clan, making them see hope one moment and lose it the next, thereby intensifying the conflict between the two factions and achieving his goal without bloodshed.