The villages that failed to democratize their clans, Konoha, Kiri, and Suna, experienced a continuous decline in overall strength and were constantly plagued by internal division.
In the face of increasingly powerful clans and growing internal rifts, Hiruzen and Danzō could only come up with destructive tactics with self-sabotaging measures that weakened the village from within. Moreover, their actions were heavily motivated by personal gain rather than genuine concern for the village's development. At the very least, Tobirama would never have gone as far as to deliberately provoke a clan over a long period just to wipe them out completely, down to the last bone. The fact that he took Kagami as a disciple is proof enough of his different mindset.
Mito grew increasingly disappointed, and eventually outright disgusted, with Hiruzen and the others, precisely because they always talked about fulfilling their teacher's wishes, while their actions did the exact opposite, pushing Konoha step by step toward ruin.
And at this moment, Hiruzen was falling back into his old habits. He was once again pondering how best to eradicate the "evil" Uchiha clan to fulfill his teacher's supposed wish.
So, what should he do?
Soon, he came up with an idea. He thought of two methods.
The first was to exploit the discord within the Uchiha clan. That discord had begun back in Year 8 of Konoha's founding, after Madara attacked the village. Under Tobirama's deliberate guidance, that internal tension only escalated over time. By now, the Uchiha clan had split into two main factions.
The first faction was the Dove faction, represented by Kagami's line. The Doves favored peace and compromise. They advocated resolving conflicts through dialogue and cooperation, seeking to coexist harmoniously with Konoha and other clans. They believed integration into Konoha was the best way to ensure the clan's survival and prosperity. They had relatively high trust in Konoha and believed that communication and negotiation could solve problems.
The second faction was the Hawk faction, represented by Fukuyama. The Hawks were more militant. They revered power and believed that only through strength could the Uchiha secure their place in the ninja world, protect their clan, and achieve a true Uchiha revival. They were dissatisfied with the current state of Konoha, believing the village leadership was suppressing and sidelining the Uchiha, denying them the power and status they deserved. However, under Fukuyama's strong and skillful leadership at this time, the Hawk faction hadn't yet become as extreme as it would later on. They hadn't proposed using force or rebellion to seize control of Konoha just yet.
At this stage, the Hawks and Doves merely had ideological differences, and could still communicate and negotiate effectively on many issues. But if things kept escalating, and Fukuyama were to pass away, his seemingly steady but ultimately incompetent son might push everything into chaos. Still, the seeds of discord between the two factions were already sown.
The Hawks believed the Doves were too weak, while the Doves thought the Hawks were too extreme. Back then, the Doves framed and scapegoated Shin, accusing him of stealing a dead man's Sharingan and demanding his expulsion from the clan. This was essentially a gesture of goodwill toward the village leadership, an attempt to open a channel for peaceful dialogue.
The Hawks strongly opposed this, arguing that there must be some misunderstanding, and insisted on a thorough investigation to uncover the truth, they refused to let an innocent man be wronged. But Kagami took an unexpectedly hard stance and almost came to blows with Fukuyama. Meanwhile, Hiruzen had just taken power and was looking for an opportunity to assert authority.
In the end, Fukuyama had no choice but to compromise temporarily.
Later, he secretly gave Shin a large sum of money, didn't strip him of the Uchiha name, and even arranged for his protection for a while, all to show both the Dove faction and the village leadership where he stood.
Did they really think the Uchiha were that easy to push around?
In truth, everything that happened had little to do with Shin himself, he wasn't important enough to be the reason. He was merely a pawn sacrificed in a larger political struggle. But precisely because of this, the Uchiha never completely severed ties with Shin, preserving a chance for reconciliation between both sides. Even now, he was planning to use Shin to eliminate future threats to the Uchiha clan once and for all.
Hiruzen understood the situation within the Uchiha clan very well.
Although Fukuyama had aligned himself with Tsunade, that only represented the stance of a portion of the Uchiha clan. There were likely others who opposed it. After all, she was only a potential Hokage, who knew how many years it might take for that to happen? And what if she failed? What then awaited the Uchiha clan? Wouldn't it be smarter to build a good relationship with Hiruzen instead?
What Hiruzen needed to do was win over that group of people, entice them with grand promises, get them to go against the Hawk Faction, and, at a critical moment, turn them into one of his trump cards. Of course, aside from the Dove faction of the Uchiha clan, Hiruzen also thought of another person he could use: Sakumo.
To the White Fang, the Uchiha clan was a family he deeply resented, while they themselves were people he utterly hated. The best move now would be to pit them against each other, let the dogs fight. That way, Hiruzen could remain on the sidelines, observe both sides' reactions, and maybe even find something he could use against the Uchiha.
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Fukuyama walked out of the Hokage Building completely unconcerned with Hiruzen's scheming, he was in a fantastic mood.
Damn, that was satisfying!
In the past, he had always tried to maintain communication with Hiruzen. Sometimes, for the sake of his clan's future, he even showed signs of humility. But what was the result?
Hiruzen, along with Danzō, Koharu, and Homura, just kept pushing him to a dead end, never giving him a chance to negotiate on equal footing.
He had long been holding in his frustration, and today he finally let it out.
"I made you uncomfortable, huh? So what? What can you do about it?"
Shin was right: a man with no desires is truly unyielding.
As for why Shin wanted him to recommend the Hyūga clan to take over the Police Force, it was, of course, because he had learned that Hyūga clan leader Ryohei had already been bought off by Hiruzen with an elder's position and had shown willingness to switch allegiances.
So, if they were going to set a trap, they might as well go all in. This was an open conspiracy, a trap laid in plain sight.
The Police Force, while not as prestigious as the ANBU, still wielded significant power. It was lucrative and could provide a clan with many conveniences.
The Hyūga clan had always been eager to gain more political power, it was impossible they wouldn't be tempted. But if the Hyūga took over the Police Force, and Hiruzen immediately proposed a reform, rumors would instantly spread in Konoha, claiming that Hiruzen had deliberately oppressed the Uchiha all along. That his true purpose was to force them out so he could pave the way for the Hyūga to take control of the Police Force. Otherwise, why had he rejected Fukuyama's reform proposals so many times, even going as far as to scold him?
Yet now, the moment the Hyūga took over, he couldn't wait to push for reform?
Who would believe there was no shady deal going on?
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Interested in a Naruto story with a Yamanaka being the MC?
Naruto: The Yamanaka Puppeteer
200 = +1 bonus chapter
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Completed at Chapter 278!
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