After the Hiroko incident, the entire village seemed to plunge back into a wartime atmosphere.
However, unlike the previous external wars, this would be a more covert struggle—a war without smoke or fire.
The outcome of this conflict would have a far more profound and violent impact on Konoha's future than any previous external war.
Under the Hokage's orders, a large number of ANBU operatives were constantly on the move throughout the village. Officially, they were inspecting the village for dangerous laboratories, but in reality, they were tightening surveillance over the entire village. The goal was to prevent anyone from taking reckless actions in this tense situation, which could further worsen the crisis. Of course, there was also the underlying intention to eliminate some "opposition" figures.
In any case, the ANBU had arrested quite a few people these past few days. However, their progress came to a halt at the borders of the Uchiha clan's territory.
Fugaku Uchiha, the clan head, led the Uchiha police force to block their advance. The ANBU operatives had no good way to deal with this.
After all, the Uchiha clan had always enjoyed a high degree of autonomy, and the Uchiha police force nominally had the authority to manage the entire village.
Forcing their way in would be tantamount to declaring war on the Uchiha clan, a decision far beyond the ANBU's authority to make on their own. Without explicit orders from the Hokage, no one dared to take such responsibility.
"Go back and tell the Hokage that the Uchiha cannot accept the ANBU's continuous inspections!" Fugaku Uchiha said arrogantly, staring down the ANBU operatives before him. "If he insists on this, then the Uchiha police force will also inspect the territories of other clans."
Fugaku had never felt so bold and confident before. To be honest, if Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi were still on the same side, he would never have dared to make such a threat.
At most, he would have struggled a bit and reluctantly cooperated. After all, the deterrence of the "Darkness of the Shinobi" was simply too strong for the Uchiha.
But now, things were different.
That legendary, ruthless, and merciless "Darkness of the Shinobi" was on their side!
This gave Fugaku a tremendous boost in confidence.
While he wasn't about to don a black robe and rebel outright, at the very least, he no longer had to grovel before the higher-ups.
Seeing Fugaku's newfound assertiveness, many Uchiha clansmen also raised their chins proudly.
'That's more like it! This is the kind of leader worthy of being the head of the Uchiha clan! If you're not bold, why even call yourself an Uchiha? Might as well change your surname to Hyuga!'
Only a small figure hidden within the clan's territory watched the confrontation between the two sides with deep concern.
Fortunately, a Uchiha clansman soon noticed him.
"Young Master Itachi, it's dangerous here. The clan head has asked us to take you back home," a Uchiha ninja said gently to the young Itachi.
It had to be said that Itachi, with his outstanding talent and kind heart, had always been well-liked within the clan.
Although he was only four years old, he was far more mature than his peers and had already begun pondering the meaning of life.
Therefore, Itachi didn't cause any trouble for the ninja and obediently followed him back to the safety of his home.
Meanwhile, the standoff at the clan's entrance continued.
Shinnosuke Sarutobi, leading the ANBU operatives, had no choice but to maintain the stalemate in the face of the Uchiha police force's firm stance.
On the other side, Koharu Utatane, who had been running around the village, arrived at the Nara clan's territory.
As the head of the Hokage's three supporting clans, the Nara clan was naturally the first target for recruitment.
If they could secure the support of Nara Shikasa, the Nara clan head, it was likely that the Yamanaka and Akimichi clans would also lend their assistance.
However, as soon as Koharu entered the Nara clan's territory, she sensed an unusual atmosphere.
Unlike the tense mood pervading the rest of the village, the Nara clan was actually decorating their homes with lanterns and streamers!
"What's going on? Is the Nara clan preparing for some celebration?" Koharu's brows furrowed deeply.
The Nara clan was famous for their intelligence.
Given the current tense situation in the village, every action they took undoubtedly had deeper implications.
Upon seeing Elder Koharu, a Nara clansman quickly answered, "Elder, our Nara clan is preparing for the inauguration ceremony of our new clan head!"
"What?!" Koharu was momentarily stunned, and a sense of foreboding rose in her heart.
"Where is Nara Shikasa right now?" As an elder of the same generation as the clan head, Koharu had the right to address him directly.
The Nara clansman didn't mind and replied, "The former clan head is currently at the family shrine with the young clan head, paying their respects. Would you like to join them, Elder?"
Koharu immediately headed for the Nara clan's shrine, where she soon found Nara Shikafly and his successor, Nara Shikaku.
"Shikasa, your Nara clan is one of the village's most prestigious families. Isn't this inauguration ceremony a bit too low-key?"
Koharu remarked, noting that the attendees were almost exclusively Nara clansmen.
Even members of the Yamanaka and Akimichi clans, who were closest to the Nara, were absent.
To be honest, compared to the Nara clan's grand reputation, this ceremony could only be described as shabby.
Hearing Koharu's sarcastic remark, Nara Shikasa remained calm. "The village is going through turbulent times. It's better to avoid unnecessary trouble. I thought it best to quickly hand over the position to avoid leaving unfinished business."
Koharu eyed the old fox and asked, "Why are you stepping down so suddenly?"
Normally, the transition of leadership in a shinobi clan was a gradual process, with many matters to handle.
This was especially true for a major clan like the Nara. The abrupt handover of the clan head position to Nara Shikaku raised many questions.
At this, Nara Shikasa coughed a few times into his hand. "Elder Koharu, you may not know this, but my health has been declining over the past few years. Coincidentally, Shikaku has proven himself during the war, showing remarkable performance. So, I decided to step down from this troublesome position and retire in peace."
Koharu didn't believe a word of this.
Meanwhile, Nara Shikaku secretly rolled his eyes. 'This old man is clearly throwing me into the fire! What a hassle...'
Like most Nara, Shikaku hated trouble.
For him, completing missions was already troublesome enough.
Now, managing an entire clan? That was an even bigger headache.
Seeing that Nara Shikasa's words were airtight, Koharu grew anxious.
"Shikafly, there's something I need to discuss with you. Could you ask the younger generation to step aside for a moment?"
Hearing this, Shikaku instinctively wanted to throw his father under the bus and turned to leave.
Unfortunately, the older generation was always one step ahead. Nara Shikasa grabbed him and coughed a few more times.
"I've already passed the clan head position to Shikaku. If you have anything to discuss, Elder Koharu, please talk to him. *Cough, cough...*"
With that, Nara Shikasa feigned weakness and excused himself to rest, leaving Koharu to grit her teeth and turn her attention to the new clan head, Nara Shikaku.
"Shikaku, I came here hoping that the Nara clan, along with the Yamanaka and Akimichi clans, could pressure Danzo during the upcoming Jonin meeting. You must know that Danzo has always coveted the Hokage position. He is also extremely warlike. If he succeeds in becoming Hokage, Konoha will inevitably be dragged into war in the future! That's why we need your help!"
Faced with Koharu's impassioned persuasion, Nara Shikaku scratched his head. 'This is such a hassle.'
As one of the witnesses to Danzo's extraordinary performance, Shikaku could never raise a banner against Danzo. After all, who could resist a leader who led from the front?
Of course, he also wouldn't openly align the entire Nara clan with Danzo, as he represented more than just himself.
This was also why he had been promoted to clan head at such a rapid pace.
"Elder Koharu, it's not that I don't want to help, but I've just taken over as clan head. There are still many things I need to learn and handle. I'm afraid I can't be of much assistance in this matter. Perhaps you should speak to my father?"
Nara Shikaku decided to kick the ball back to his father.
Hearing this response, Koharu's chest heaved with frustration. However, since she was dealing with a junior, she couldn't lose her composure. She continued to appeal to reason and emotion, but no matter how she tried to persuade him, Shikaku's answer remained the same:
"I don't know. I don't understand. Go talk to my dad."
This finally pushed Koharu over the edge, and she stormed out in a huff.
After calming down, she visited the Yamanaka and Akimichi clans.
The Yamanaka clan head claimed to be seriously ill and unable to attend the upcoming Jonin meeting.
As for the Akimichi clan, their current head, Torifu, made it clear that he wanted no part in this matter.
Faced with her old friend Torifu, Koharu had no choice but to return to the Hokage's office and report her failure to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Even they don't dare to offend Danzo now?" Hiruzen's expression turned extremely grim.
He realized that he might have underestimated Danzo's current influence and standing in the hearts of the villagers.
In fact, it wasn't just these three clans. Even his own students, Orochimaru and Tsunade of the Sannin, had explicitly stated that they didn't want to get involved in this matter.
Only Jiraiya was somewhat cooperative, mainly because he believed Danzo was too warlike and couldn't bring peace to the shinobi world.
Thus, Hiruzen had to pin his hopes on Homura Mitokado. Unfortunately, Homura's expression was equally unpleasant.
"I went to the Aburame clan, and the one who received me was... Aburame Ryoma."
The entire office fell into silence.
Everyone in Konoha knew that Aburame Ryoma was one of Danzo's most trusted confidants. The fact that the Aburame clan had sent Ryoma to receive Homura spoke volumes.
"Now, we can only hope for the support of the civilian ninjas, represented by Minato," Homura said, throwing the problem back to Hiruzen.
This only made Hiruzen angrier. He had sent Jiraiya to persuade Minato, but the latter had clearly stated:
'Respect the village's investigation results.'
This response effectively shut Hiruzen down.
After all, what everyone cared about now wasn't the investigation results.
The results were determined by people, weren't they?
If anything, the results would only show that his leadership had failed to properly supervise, allowing Hiruko to run amok!
It was at this moment that Hiruzen and the two elders realized with shock—
'Were they being isolated?'
_
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