Chapter 58: Danzo Returns, The Plan to Surround and Kill Him

Hokage Tower.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was suppressing a ball of anger in his heart.

The door to the Hokage’s office opened, and Danzo walked straight in.

" Hiruzen, I heard that Uchiha Reiji refused to form a team with a young Uchiha girl after her graduation?"

Hiruzen frowned, somewhat displeased that Danzo had simply walked in, but still nodded.

He was furious over Uchiha Reiji’s actions.

He had completely ignored him, the Hokage, and disregarded the rules established back in the era of the Second Hokage!

And that Uchiha Izumi.

She had also been completely influenced by Uchiha Reiji.

She had absolutely no regard for him, the Hokage!

"Just as I expected."

There was no surprise on Danzo’s face.

After Shisui’s death, he had already told Hiruzen Sarutobi that Uchiha Reiji was a reckless person.

He had actually dared to attack and try to kill him, the second-in-command of Konoha and leader of Root, without the slightest hesitation!

A ticking time bomb like this should be eliminated as soon as possible.

"Now you can understand what I said back then, right? If the Uchiha Clan launches a rebellion, Uchiha Reiji will definitely be one of its most determined core forces!"

Danzo sneered.

Hiruzen let out a long sigh.

"After Shisui’s death, the Uchiha Clan has completely slipped out of control."

When Shisui had still been alive, he had been able to barely suppress the clan members’ resentment through his prestige within the Uchiha Clan.

Now...

Although Hiruzen still had Uchiha Itachi in his hands,

Shisui and Itachi were completely different!

Forget about expecting Itachi to possess the same prestige as Shisui. It would already be good enough if the Uchiha Clan members did not view him with hostility and suspicion.

"In this situation, we should act decisively. Before the Uchiha launch a rebellion, eliminate them and minimize the losses!"

Danzo declared.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Hiruzen snapped irritably.

If the Uchiha Clan were wiped out, regardless of the reason presented publicly, his image as Hokage would be completely ruined!

"Then what solution do you have?!"

"If you keep dragging this out day after day, do you think you can solve the Uchiha problem?"

"What if the Uchiha Clan really launches a rebellion? How much of our strength will be lost when we have to suppress them then?"

Danzo was also provoked into anger, pressing Hiruzen with question after question.

He had long been dissatisfied with Hiruzen’s indecisiveness!

Back then, because he feared the prestige of the Konoha White Fang, Hiruzen had schemed to drag Sakumo Hatake into a storm of public opinion.

Wasn’t he decisive when he made that decision?

And now he had actually become like this!

"If you hadn’t gotten Shisui killed, would things have turned out like this?"

Hiruzen roared angrily as well.

He had originally had a chance to bring the Uchiha Clan under his control.

But because of Danzo’s unauthorized actions, everything had gone up in smoke!

"...What’s the point of bringing up something that’s already in the past?"

There was not the slightest trace of shame on Danzo’s face.

If he had to do it again, he would still attack Uchiha Shisui.

Moreover, he would send enough manpower to guard against possible reinforcements such as Uchiha Reiji.

After barely suppressing the resentment in his heart, Hiruzen asked,

"What are you planning? Don’t bring up wiping out the entire Uchiha Clan again."

Danzo felt slightly disappointed, but he also knew that this was as far as he could push Hiruzen for now.

Only when the situation became increasingly serious would Hiruzen’s bottom line continue to drop, eventually leading him to choose to act against the Uchiha Clan.

"Uchiha Reiji must be dealt with immediately."

Danzo revealed his plan.

It was not merely because of his personal grudge after being hunted down by Uchiha Reiji and losing Shisui’s Mangekyo Sharingan.

It was also because he feared Uchiha Reiji’s talent.

The strength he had displayed before had already surpassed the level of an elite jonin.

If he were given another year or two, it was truly impossible to say how strong he would become.

"By killing Uchiha Reiji, we can weaken the Uchiha Clan’s strength and also dampen their enthusiasm for rebellion."

Danzo spoke slowly.

Hiruzen frowned and thought for a long time before helplessly sighing.

"Be specific. What’s your plan?"

If sacrificing Uchiha Reiji alone could make the Uchiha Clan abandon their plans for rebellion, then it would be worth it.

Danzo smiled.

"Don’t worry. It won’t implicate us."

"You will issue Uchiha Reiji a mission to the Land of Water in your capacity as Hokage."

"Uchiha Reiji killed quite a few people from Kirigakure. They should hate him to the bone, right?"

"We’ll leak the information that Uchiha Reiji is heading to the Land of Water to Kirigakure. Then, together with some of Root’s elite forces, we’ll cooperate with Kirigakure in the operation. Getting rid of him will be easy."

Hiruzen slowly nodded, agreeing to the plan.

This way, even if the operation failed, it would have absolutely nothing to do with him.

...

"He refused?!"

Danzo’s face was filled with astonishment.

"Yes. Uchiha Reiji said that the Police Force is extremely busy with official duties and that he doesn’t have time to go to the Land of Water for a mission."

Hiruzen’s expression was terrifyingly gloomy.

This Uchiha Reiji was becoming more and more disrespectful toward him, the Hokage!

He had actually refused a mission issued by the Hokage with such an excuse?!

As expected, this man had no village in his heart and no respect for the Hokage!

Originally, Hiruzen had still harbored some hesitation about eliminating Uchiha Reiji.

Now, however, that hesitation had been completely discarded.

Uchiha Reiji truly was a hidden threat to the village. He had to be eliminated!

"I see..."

Danzo pondered with a troubled expression.

Root had basically figured out Uchiha Reiji’s daily movements.

Aside from his duties in the Police Force, he often trained beside the Naka River.

He basically never left the village.

Originally, the safest method was undoubtedly to deal with him outside the village.

They could make use of another village’s forces.

And if they surrounded and killed him outside the village, he would be unable to receive any reinforcements.

But the man had actually refused a mission directly from the Hokage!

"In that case, we’ll have no choice but to deal with him inside the village."

Danzo thought for a long time. Seeing that Hiruzen was about to raise another objection, he immediately said,

"Don’t worry. Root will handle it. We’ll set up a barrier in advance and make sure the commotion doesn’t spread outside."

"Once Uchiha Reiji is dealt with, we’ll claim that he has gone missing, or that he was attacked and killed by a spy from another village."

"Heh. We can come up with whatever excuse we want afterward."

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