Chapter 69: The Night of the Uchiha Massacre Arrives, the Ambitions of the Sarutobi Clan

Inside the Hokage Building.

The Konoha F4... oh, with Danzo gone, it should be the Konoha F3 now.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane were all seated in the Hokage’s office.

"...Uchiha Yashiro and the others have been preparing large quantities of explosive tags and various ninja tools. I’m afraid they will launch their coup very soon."

Uchiha Itachi spoke in a heavy voice.

Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a long sigh, his face filled with sorrow.

"...The situation has still reached this point. Sigh."

There was actually some genuine emotion behind that sigh.

Hiruzen Sarutobi’s original intention had merely been to intimidate and suppress the Uchiha clan.

Ideally, he wanted them to bow their heads and submit to him as the Hokage, just like the Hyuga clan.

As long as he could ensure that his own power and position remained secure, and that his son could eventually succeed him as Hokage, he was not necessarily determined to exterminate the Uchiha clan.

But!

Now the Uchiha clan had made up their minds to rebel.

Especially that Uchiha Reiji fellow!

He had absolutely no reverence for the Hokage in his heart.

He was a tumor within the village that absolutely had to be eliminated.

"This isn’t your fault, Lord Hokage. You’ve already made more than enough efforts. It’s simply that the Uchiha clan members refuse to be satisfied."

Uchiha Itachi spoke solemnly.

Beside him.

Homura Mitokado sighed inwardly at Hiruzen’s ability to brainwash people, then said sternly,

"Uchiha Itachi, now that the Uchiha clan is preparing to launch a rebellion, what do you intend to do?"

Koharu Utatane also chimed in.

"If we simply sit back and do nothing, the village will suffer tremendous losses. And if the other villages make a move afterward, the village may not be able to withstand it."

After Danzo’s death, the two of them could only take on the roles of playing the villains.

Uchiha Itachi’s expression was bitter.

"I will participate in suppressing the rebellion in advance."

His father was the Uchiha clan head.

If he went to suppress the rebellion, there was no way his father could escape.

"It’s not just about suppressing the rebellion!"

Koharu Utatane’s voice was sharp and stern.

"The entire Uchiha clan must be exterminated!"

"If we spare even some of them, someone may awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan out of hatred in the future. When that happens, they could threaten the stability of the village!"

"That’s right!"

Homura Mitokado also spoke seriously.

"Not just the shinobi. The civilians as well, regardless of whether they are men, women, old, or young, must all be dealt with at once!"

Uchiha Itachi felt his chest tighten.

He had considered this possibility as well.

Even Uchiha who did not become shinobi still possessed Uchiha blood.

If anyone was left alive, they might awaken the Sharingan, or even the Mangekyo Sharingan, in the future and then seek revenge against the village...

Perhaps eliminating everyone at once really would be the better option.

But.

If he did that, it meant he would have to kill his father, his mother, and even Sasuke!

Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi put on a false show of persuasion, attempting to stop them for a few moments.

Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, meanwhile, fully played the roles of the villains, insisting that the entire Uchiha clan had to be exterminated.

"...Lord Hokage, there’s no need to say anything more. I agree with the two elders."

Uchiha Itachi’s face was filled with pleading.

"I only hope that Sasuke can be spared. He knows nothing about any of this."

Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane were just about to refuse when Uchiha Itachi continued,

"I will take full responsibility for the massacre. Afterward, I will become a missing-nin who slaughtered his entire clan."

"I only ask that Sasuke be spared..."

Upon hearing this.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other two were all delighted inwardly.

For them, the difficult part was not exterminating the Uchiha clan.

It was finding an explanation that they could give to the village.

If Uchiha Itachi was willing to shoulder the blame for the massacre, that would be ideal.

After Hiruzen Sarutobi made a few more attempts to refuse, he could only "reluctantly" accept.

The group then began discussing the arrangements for the massacre.

"At that time, I’ll send the first and second ANBU squads, along with some elite shinobi from the Sarutobi clan, to the Uchiha district to assist you," Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

The Root had already been destroyed.

The only ANBU forces he could mobilize were the first and second squads.

These two squads were somewhat more reliable.

The truth behind the night of the clan massacre could not be allowed to become known to these ANBU members!

But even so, these forces would still be somewhat insufficient against the entire Uchiha clan.

Hiruzen Sarutobi could only mobilize his own clan members as well.

The other ANBU forces included shinobi from various ninja clans of Konoha.

He had spent all these years painstakingly nurturing the strength of his clansmen precisely so that, when his son became Hokage in the future, he would have enough people of his own to rely on.

Thinking of this, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt deeply pained.

It was all the fault of those damn Uchiha!

How many people would the Sarutobi clan have to lose during the night of the massacre?

Couldn’t they simply obediently follow the orders of their Hokage?

Beside him, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane still felt that things were somewhat unreliable.

These forces might not be enough against the entire Uchiha clan.

"...There is also a mysterious man who intends to attack the Uchiha clan. He will deal with the elites of the Police Force."

"As for Uchiha Reiji, I will deal with him using my Mangekyo ocular technique."

"Afterward, I will join the organization that mysterious man belongs to and act as Konoha’s spy, gathering intelligence for the village."

Uchiha Itachi spoke.

Hiruzen Sarutobi temporarily suppressed his concerns.

Whatever this mysterious man was, he was an outsider to Konoha.

The most important thing now was to eliminate the internal threat within Konoha!

Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others exchanged glances, unable to help frowning.

A mysterious man?

And he was confident that he could deal with the elites of the Uchiha Police Force?

That was not good news...

However.

"We’ll proceed according to the plan we discussed. You’ve worked hard, Itachi."

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke.

Around the Uchiha district.

At the ANBU station monitoring the Uchiha clan.

"A shift change?"

Kakashi was somewhat puzzled.

The Third Squad, which he belonged to, had always been responsible for monitoring the Uchiha district.

Yet the First Squad had suddenly come over and requested a shift change?

However, the other side produced an order personally issued by the Third Hokage, so Kakashi immediately agreed and left with his subordinates.

After Kakashi left.

ANBU Commander, Asuma Sarutobi, said,

"We can act now, Uchiha Itachi."

"Remember, eliminate Uchiha Reiji as quickly as possible. Don’t give him a chance to activate the Eight Gates."

Seeing Uchiha Itachi leave after receiving the order, a smile appeared at the corners of Asuma Sarutobi’s mouth.

Once the Uchiha clan was exterminated, the greatest threat to his father’s position as Hokage would be gone.

After that, he would also be able to smoothly inherit his father’s position and become the Hokage of Konoha.

Farther in the future, he could even pass the position of Hokage down to his own son, Konohamaru.

The power of Konoha would remain in the hands of the Sarutobi clan forever!

After the Senju and Uchiha, the Sarutobi clan would become the greatest ninja clan in the shinobi world!

Meanwhile.

Uchiha Itachi went alone to find Uchiha Reiji.

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