The plan was simple: verbally accept the Uchiha clan, but in fact, secretly undermine it from within. This time bomb had no right to exist in Konoha. As for the Uchiha's status as one of the founding clans… Well, my memory is failing me over the years. Besides, Uchiha blood is a tasty morsel. This is not Senju, where Mokuto has been awakened by only one Hashirama in the entire history. Sharingan could be obtained by any member of the clan.
"Hiruzen, I couldn't have miscalculated," Danzo said, speaking more to himself than to the Hokage. — Uchiha Yue's appearance is an unfortunate accident. The boy Itachi is to blame for not being able to properly carry out the order...
Shimura Danzo shook his head, shifting the responsibility onto someone else's shoulders without the slightest hesitation.
And there was some cruel truth in his words. If Itachi hadn't hesitated then and taken Yue's life with one blow, he wouldn't have had a moment left for anger and despair — the very feelings that awakened in him the Mangekyo Sharingan.
—Third-sama, Danzo-sama,— Nara Shikaku's voice was flat, but there was steel in it. — It's not just about our village anymore. The existence of the entire Shinobi world is at stake.
Before that, he had only outlined Konoha's crushing defeat. Now Shikaku has moved on to the main thing — to the personality of Uchiha Yue himself. And what Hiruzen and Danzo heard went against everything they knew.
It turned out that before that fateful night, Yue was an ordinary person, unable to even form the simplest chakra.
And now, his strength was growing continuously, limitlessly. In just a month, it had consumed three quarters of the lands of the Land of Fire.
When Shikaku said that, the room was deathly silent. Not only Hiruzen and Danzo, but also Itachi, who had just been lifted to his feet by Jiraiya, froze, amazed to the core.
Was it really a story about a man named Uchiha Yue? Not about a mythical monster? Not about the natural disaster that broke out of the ancient scrolls? Maybe it's about a black hole that accidentally appeared in the middle of the Shinobi world?
Itachi was especially shocked. My head felt empty. For others, Mangekye's power was an abstraction, but he, the owner of those eyes, knew its power from his own experience. And he understood perfectly well.: Mangekye has a limit.
The fact that Yue had single-handedly crushed the entire Konoha was still a stretch to accept. But what was happening now... could the dojutsu alone turn into a living disaster? It was a mockery of the very nature of Sharingan. The power of the pupils must have a ceiling!
Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo were also stunned. Especially Danzo. For the first time in years, a sticky fear stirred in his heart. It seems that he really made a mistake. Because of his intrigues, this incompetent boy Itachi unleashed a genuine monster.
"No... it's not like that... it's not like that!" Danzo croaked, and his usual composure cracked, crumbling to dust. "It's all you! Your fault, Uchiha Itachi! Yours! Why did you raise your hand against your clan at all?! Did I order you to kill civilians?!
He pointed a finger at Itachi, his face contorted into a grimace of rage.
—You bastard, Itachi! You dare to touch even women and children! Not a human being! And you, Hiruzen, are good too! Danzo turned to the Third Man. "A Hokage—minded genius," you kept saying! If you hadn't indulged this bastard, if it hadn't been for your blindness and soft-heartedness, would it have come to a massacre?!
Shimura Danzo went into a real frenzy, furiously shifting the blame from his shoulders onto the two of them. Of course, he stayed clean. He really panicked, realizing that he had created a problem that neither he nor his patrons could handle.
—Danzo-sama, I..." Itachi staggered back as if he had been hit. The insane performance achieved its goal — the usual wave of overwhelming guilt rose in the young man's soul. He's right. It's all because of me. If I didn't…
"That's enough, Danzo! Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice boomed, cutting off the hysteria.
Danzo immediately realized his lack of restraint and fell silent, giving Itachi an icy look.
—Danzo-sama...— Itachi whispered guiltily, lowering his head.
Shikaku finished his report. Hearing that the other great villages had rejected the alliance with Iwagakure, Danzo turned purple with rage once again. He immediately asked if there was a way to get Yue's eyes. Hearing in response that the village was just looking for a method and had already made some progress, the old schemer cheered up. Hope flared up in him with renewed vigor. So he wasn't wrong after all!
A sigh of relief escaped not only from him, but also from Hiruzen and Itachi. They may have died, bringing chaos to the village, but in return they gave it a chance to rise above the entire Shinobi world. A chance to become a superpower that parasitizes the rest.
Then we talked about the action plan.
Tsunade stepped forward and began to outline a strategy that they had calculated countless times.
Uchiha Yue's "self-destruction" plan.
Its essence was simple and monstrous: to awaken the Will of Fire in Yue's heart. To make him realize his "mistake" and eventually voluntarily pass away.
In words, everything looked feasible. Yue must be broken, confused, crushed by regret. In this state, a person is vulnerable. All that is needed is someone who will guide him, dispel his doubts and... push him into the abyss. It was a cruel psychological manipulation. Yue, who wasn't even a ninja in the past, should have easily succumbed to her.
I thought of Hatake Sakumo, Konoha's White Fang. If someone had talked to him then, given him support, he probably would not have broken down. But Konoha was silent. She allowed public opinion to tear her hero apart.
Or maybe she didn't just let me…