Chapter 7: Danzo Refuses the Scapegoat; Hiruzen's Contingency!
Hiruzen Sarutobi drew in a sharp, cold breath.
He finally understood. He understood why Uchiha Jin had been able to awaken the Mangekyo, why he had decisively joined the Radicals, and why he possessed such an unyielding, life-or-death hostility toward the Leaf's leadership.
"So, that's how it is..."
Homura Mitokado nodded slowly but remained puzzled. "But something isn't right. If his parents were taken, shouldn't his first instinct be to seek out the Hokage?"
"Even if he didn't come to the Hokage, he should have asked Fugaku, the Clan Head, for help," Koharu Utatane added, her face clouded with confusion.
Hiruzen shook his head wearily. "I stopped being surprised by the decisions of an Uchiha a long time ago. Speculating on his motives now is meaningless. Danzo, I won't stand in the way of your plans, but I cannot give you any official support."
"Uchiha Jin is a dangerous opponent. Danzo, make sure your plans are airtight before you act."
If it were any other Uchiha, Hiruzen might have hesitated, hoping for a peaceful resolution. But Jin was different. There was no possibility of winning him over.
Danzo Shimura, unsurprised by Hiruzen's stance, immediately laid out his price: "I need several squads from the Anbu. I also need a contingent of shinobi from the various clans."
"Absolutely not. Don't even think about it," Hiruzen refused instantly. "If you need extra hands, place a request at the Bounty Station."
"Koharu, allocate a sum of secret funds for Danzo to use. Danzo, if you must ambush him, do it outside the village borders. Even if you fail, we cannot give him a legitimate excuse to start a civil war."
Hiruzen knew exactly what Danzo wanted: meat shields.
But if the Third Hokage forced the great clans to serve as cannon fodder in a private feud, his time in office would be over. Using his own personal Anbu forces was out of the question as well.
His prestige had already taken a hit at the end of the Third Shinobi World War. After the Nine-Tails' Attack and Minato Namikaze's sacrifice, his reputation had dropped another level. Between neglecting the Fourth's son, Naruto Uzumaki, and the scandals involving Sakumo Hatake and Danzo's unchecked power, Hiruzen's standing was precarious. He only remained in power because the civilian population still viewed him as a kind grandfather.
If he lost too many of his elite forces now, he wouldn't just lose control of the village—he'd be unable to stop the other four Great Nations from invading a weakened Leaf.
Faced with Hiruzen's refusal, Danzo shook his head coldly. "Rogue ninja and minor traitors from the Bounty Station aren't enough. They wouldn't even force Uchiha Jin to use his Mangekyo, let alone exhaust his ocular power."
"If you won't provide actual support, then I'm calling off the operation!"
Danzo wasn't a fool. In fact, his survival instincts were among the highest in the village.
Throughout the history of the Leaf, Danzo had targeted the Uchiha countless times, but he almost always did so from a position of overwhelming power, and he always stayed in the safest possible zone. Unless he had an absolute advantage—like he did with the help of a traitor like Itachi—he wouldn't risk his own neck.
He could feel Jin's madness and resolve. He was perfectly happy to scheme against Jin, but he wasn't about to throw away the lives of his Root subordinates as "filling" just to do Hiruzen a favor.
Destroying the Uchiha was important, but accumulating the power to become Hokage was more important. He was willing to be the "darkness" that did Hiruzen's dirty work because it allowed him to grow his shadow army, but he wouldn't bankrupt himself for it.
If Uchiha Jin rose to power, the person whose authority was most threatened was Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage.
You won't help? Fine. Then it's your problem.
Hiruzen: "..."
He stared at Danzo, his mind going blank for a moment. He was genuinely stunned. Danzo... was refusing to be his scapegoat?
"Don't look at me like that, and don't take me for a fool," Danzo said flatly. "We're all on the same side here, so let's stop the theatrics. I know exactly how I'm perceived in this village."
"If Root is wiped out, even if we kill Uchiha Jin, the other clans will tear me apart the moment you step down from that chair. Hiruzen, think it over."
Without another word, Danzo turned and walked out of the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen watched him go, feeling a massive headache brewing. If Danzo wouldn't take the blame and do the heavy lifting, the situation became significantly harder to manage.
He looked toward Koharu and Homura, then sighed and shook his head. These two were even more useless.
"Hiruzen, what do we do?" Koharu asked.
Homura knit his brows. "Uchiha Jin is a menace. we must find a way to eliminate him soon."
Hiruzen sighed again. Correct. These two were great at pointing out problems, but they had zero capacity for solving them.
Finally, after a long silence, he spoke. "There is no need for immediate panic. Uchiha Jin has only just taken control of the Radicals. He isn't a mortal threat to our position yet."
"On the contrary, the one who should be worried is Fugaku. Jin's rise is a direct challenge to his authority as Clan Head. I will have Shisui officially align himself with Fugaku's faction, and we will provide Fugaku with 'covert assistance' from the shadows..."
"Let the Uchiha destroy themselves from within!"
"This is actually a perfect opportunity. Spread the word immediately: frame the withdrawal of the Anbu and Root as a gesture of trust toward Fugaku's 'loyalty' to the Leaf. Hint that the Nine-Tails' Attack was likely the work of the Radicals, while absolving Fugaku's faction of suspicion."
"For now—that is how we play it."
Hiruzen's methods were seasoned and ruthless. If Danzo wouldn't play the villain, Hiruzen would play the "wise leader" and incite a civil war within the Uchiha clan instead.
Koharu and Homura, though slightly dissatisfied, could only accept the plan.
Meanwhile, at the Uchiha Compound.
As Jin returned home, a crowd of Radical members swarmed around him.
"Relax. It's over," Jin said with a faint smirk. "Hiruzen Sarutobi has blinked. The Root and Anbu squads outside our borders are being withdrawn."
"This proves our strategy was correct. From here on, we simply follow the plan step by step."
The Radicals were ecstatic. This was the first time since their friction with the village began that the High Command had been forced to back down.
However, their joy was short-lived.
While the surveillance squads were indeed leaving, the official reason broadcast by the village made everyone's blood boil with rage.
The Village has acknowledged the sincerity of Clan Head Fugaku?
The Leaf is willing to extend a hand of trust to the Uchiha—specifically those led by Fugaku?
"Damn them!" one Radical spat.
The Leaf's sheer shamelessness had shattered the Radicals' good mood. The victory clearly belonged to Uchiha Jin's defiance, yet the High Command was giving all the credit to the "cowardly" Fugaku, essentially letting him win without lifting a finger.