Evil Uchiha Itsuki

Rumors began to spread within Konoha.

How did the Sarutobi Clan grow from a small ninja clan of a few hundred to several thousand?

At their peak, the number of Sarutobi ninja exceeded four thousand. In the entire history of the ninja world, no other clan has accomplished such growth.

Even at their height, the Uchiha and Senju clans barely had this many people.

How did they do it?

This question initially appeared in Konoha, though it wasn't prominent. 

Gradually, it started gaining attention. People began gathering, discussing the issue.

Some expressed a desire to "learn" from the Sarutobi. Others questioned how they amassed the money necessary to expand their clan. And some were simply there to stir things up.

Finally, there were those who harbored deep resentment toward the Sarutobi. Their family members had directly or indirectly died at their hands. Sarutobi Hiruzen's reputation in Konoha was already tarnished, and his clan's wasn't much better. Many held animosity toward them.

As respect for Sarutobi Hiruzen faded, disdain for the Sarutobi Clan grew, fueling heated debates.

The tension kept rising.

No one was oblivious to what was happening. How did the Sarutobi Clan grow so powerful? 

The answer was obvious after some thought.

One reason was Sarutobi Hiruzen himself. He was the Hokage, the highest authority in Konoha, and had held power longer than any other Hokage—over 40 years. His lengthy reign made many uneasy.

Some Jonin even hinted that during the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze's time, he too had to follow orders from the Third Hokage. Sarutobi Hiruzen's unwillingness to relinquish power only fueled more anger.

Another factor was secrecy.

Many Konoha ninja had never even heard of the Sarutobi Clan. It was only in recent years, after several accidents, that this ninja clan was exposed to the public.

What does this mean?

To put it politely, the Sarutobi were discreet. But to be blunt, they hadn't undertaken any high-level missions.

Ninjas rely on missions to survive. Even the ninja of the larger clans like the Ino-Shika-Cho trio had their own businesses, but still couldn't avoid doing missions. 

For one, it honed their skills. For another, it was their duty as Konoha ninjas.

Yet, the Sarutobi Clan had been feeding off Konoha's resources without contributing anything in return. This fact made Konoha's ninjas despise them!

This hatred deepened, especially after several recent wars, which claimed the lives of countless Konoha ninjas. Slowly, that resentment extended to the Sarutobi.

If the Sarutobi Clan hadn't been draining Konoha's resources, would those ninjas have died?

Before long, the Sarutobi ninjas became a target for public outrage.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was furious.

He smashed up his office in a fit of rage.

He had been working to clean up the clan's finances. Given another six months, he could have safely eased the Sarutobi out of power. But now, at this critical moment, this scandal erupted.

He wasn't stupid—he knew this was a targeted attack.

But who was behind it?

One name floated to the surface of his mind: Danzo Shimura! This was his favorite tactic.

Using rumors as a weapon, turning words into blades.

The strong-minded become dispirited. The weak-hearted may even take their own lives!

But why?

Why target me now, Danzo?

The Third Hokage fumed with rage but couldn't find even a trace of Danzo.

Danzo had become more cautious, as he knew his actions were being watched. He had spies who would relay important information to him through special techniques when necessary, like during meetings. But otherwise, he stayed hidden, avoiding confrontation.

This behavior left Kakashi quite speechless.

Couldn't he act a bit more like a leader?

Thus, the Third Hokage had only one option left: call an upper-echelon meeting to force Danzo to appear. Kakashi agreed, and so did many other high-ranking officials in Konoha.

The Sarutobi issue had already caused unrest in the village.

The Konoha ninjas were on the verge of turning against the Sarutobi Clan.

This couldn't be allowed to happen!

The Sarutobi Clan still had nearly two thousand ninja—one of the largest forces in Konoha. If they fell apart, the village would descend into chaos.

Furthermore, the Sarutobi seemed to be just the beginning. Strange rumors were popping up all over Konoha, giving the impression that the village was about to spiral into chaos.

Konoha had only recently stabilized! 

Right now, the ninja villages were all on high alert, trying to rebuild and defend themselves. If Konoha had internal conflicts at this time, it would be their own downfall.

Absolutely unacceptable!

The upper-echelon meeting was quickly convened.

"Danzo, why?" 

The Third Hokage glared icily at Danzo as he entered the office.

Danzo was baffled.

"Why what?"

He had just arrived, and this was the first thing Sarutobi asked him. Did something from his past dealings with Sarutobi come to light?

Which one?

There were too many to guess.

So, faced with Sarutobi's question, Danzo simply remained silent, his expression dark.

Meanwhile, subtle noises whispered in his ear—his subordinates, using secret techniques, were relaying information about the recent events in Konoha.

Indeed, Danzo hadn't been keeping up with the current affairs in Konoha. He'd been too focused on his own ambitions. Even when his spies sent him information, he was too busy to review it.

"Unless there's another war, don't bother me," were his exact words.

Danzo was at a critical stage, on the verge of creating a new ninja village of his own.

The thought filled Danzo with excitement, a glimmer of which caught the eye of Sarutobi.

"Bang!"

Third Hokage slammed his desk in fury.

"Danzo…"

"Pffft!"

Wind Release!

Sarutobi Hiruzen's hair stood on end as he frantically dodged to the side. Wind Release jutsu narrowly missed his head, leaving deep marks on the wall.

"Danzo! What are you doing? Stop!"

Shouts of alarm filled the room as everyone watched Danzo warily.

"Uh…"

Even Danzo was a bit embarrassed. He had acted on instinct, startled by Sarutobi's outburst, and in his heightened state of tension, he'd unconsciously attacked.

It really was just a twitch of his hand.

*Cough, cough.*

Danzo cleared his throat and said calmly, "Hiruzen, if you think I'm responsible, do you have any evidence? You know how many enemies Konoha has right now—this could easily be their scheme."

Kakashi, standing nearby, added, "I agree, Lord Third."

Huh?

Many were surprised to hear Kakashi speak in Danzo's defense. That was unexpected.

Kakashi remained calm, saying, "I'm just making my own judgment based on what I've seen and heard. At this moment, I don't believe Lord Danzo is responsible."

The room fell into silence.

Danzo was the prime suspect in everyone's minds.

Whenever something like this happened, their instincts always pointed to him.

But perhaps it was time to rethink those instincts.

As some began to reflect, Kakashi and Danzo exchanged glances—Danzo was clearly surprised.

Danzo was surprised!

He never imagined in his wildest dreams that someone would stand up for him, and that someone turned out to be Kakashi.

Their relationship hadn't been all that pleasant.

Back then, Danzo had been fixated on obtaining the Sharingan. When dealing with the Uchiha clan proved difficult, he set his sights on Kakashi instead.

And the result?

He lost everything!

Since then, Danzo had always harbored ill will toward Kakashi.

Going even further back...

Danzo composed himself, his gaze turning icy cold.

The other higher-ups also snapped back to attention.

"Investigate!"

Kakashi snorted coldly and said, "Thoroughly investigate this matter, especially the people from other villages currently in the Fire Village. They're the most likely culprits."

The higher-ups nodded instinctively.

It was obvious that those other ninja villages would want to stir things up in the Leaf Village.

"Oh, and one more thing!"

Kakashi seemed to have thought of something and continued, "After we gather the results from the investigation, don't act rashly. What you see may not be the truth. We need to verify the information from multiple sources."

He added with a meaningful tone, "What if the investigation reveals it was all orchestrated by the Third Hokage, or by Shikaku, or even by me? How much of that would you believe? Would you try to take us all down in one swoop?"

Koharu Utatane frowned and asked, "If it could be anyone, what should we do?"

"Wait until we gather all the information, then we'll decide!"

Kakashi replied simply.

"Understood!"

The others responded in agreement.

You had to admit, Kakashi had done quite well as Hokage during his tenure.

He had a broad perspective and wasn't lacking in capability.

As a Hokage, Kakashi was competent.

At least, people like Nara Shikaku were very satisfied.

The opinions of people like Sarutobi Hiruzen were becoming less and less important.

Their influence in the Leaf Village had waned to an all-time low.

A group of them walked out of the meeting room together.

The Third Hokage stared coldly at Danzo and said, "Don't let me find out this was your doing."

He was still convinced that Danzo was behind it.

But given the current situation in the Leaf Village and the lack of evidence, the Third Hokage couldn't just pin the blame on Danzo.

It was the era of the Fifth Hokage now, not the Third.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was almost like a rat that everyone wanted to beat down.

Danzo snorted coldly and said, "Hiruzen, you really have grown old. If our teacher could see you now, he'd probably regret it deeply."

With a mocking smile, Danzo walked out of the building.

A large number of Root ninjas surrounded him, acting as his bodyguards.

This scene left many speechless.

The level of protection around Danzo was more excessive than the Leaf Village during wartime.

Was he that afraid of dying?

Was he that certain someone would come after him?

Kakashi stood by the window, watching silently, a cold smile playing on his lips.

He murmured, "Don't rush. This is just the beginning. The main event is about to unfold."

The rumors continued to spread.

It was strange—so many people were investigating, yet no one could figure out where the rumors had originated.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Was this a joke?

How could they not find the source?

The Leaf Village wasn't huge, but it wasn't small either. With a limited number of people, how could they not track it down?

There was only one possibility!

Everyone quickly came to the same conclusion.

It had to be an inside job!

Only someone from within the village could pull this off!

Almost instinctively, everyone turned their eyes toward Danzo again.

Danzo: "..."

What the hell?! Who did I offend this time?

Are you all that eager to dump this mess on my head?

Danzo realized that a higher-up in the Leaf Village must have been involved.

He cursed under his breath.

He also understood that he would be the prime suspect.

Especially given his recent suspicious behavior.

It wasn't just Sarutobi Hiruzen. If he were in their shoes, he'd suspect himself too.

So, Danzo made a decision: to accelerate his plans and bring them to fruition as soon as possible.

He couldn't stand to stay in this damned Leaf Village any longer.

Once his plan was complete, the world would be his oyster.

At the same time, he decided not to attend any more meetings.

He was worried that Sarutobi Hiruzen might make a move against him directly.

Though Danzo was confident in his ability to face Sarutobi, he wasn't so sure about Akimichi Torifu. That big guy gave him pause.

...

"Hokage, what do you think?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen asked coldly, staring at Kakashi.

They had gathered once again, but Danzo wasn't there.

Everyone had originally just been suspicious, but now that Danzo wasn't attending meetings, they were nearly convinced.

If this wasn't a guilty conscience, what was?

Kakashi's expression darkened, but his tone remained calm. "Everyone's suspicious of Danzo right now, so it's normal for him to avoid meetings. Don't let this lead to..."

"Enough!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen roared, gritting his teeth and snarling, "Kakashi, I don't know why you're defending Danzo, but this situation is crystal clear."

"Third Hokage!"

Kakashi's voice grew more serious. "All of this is still just your speculation. There's no solid evidence."

"This is a serious matter. We must proceed with the utmost caution."

The other higher-ups nodded instinctively.

Kakashi made a good point.

Danzo wielded significant power and possessed... dangerous information.

"Heh!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen sneered, "There may not be direct evidence, but there is circumstantial evidence."

"Circumstantial evidence?"

"Yes!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen said coldly, "One of my men captured a Root member. After using some special techniques, we discovered that Danzo is planning something big. For it to succeed, the Leaf Village must be thrown into chaos."

As he spoke, a Root member was brought forward, restrained.

"What?!"

Everyone's faces changed.

Kakashi stood up abruptly and said, "Could it be that Danzo is planning to break away, just like Uchiha Itsuki, and form a new ninja village?"

"It's very possible!"

"Bring Danzo here!"

"We need to hear it from him directly!"

"Yes, bring Danzo in!"

Danzo's plans had been rumored among the higher-ups for a while.

Only a few had believed them, but now the evidence was too compelling to ignore.

(End of Chapter)