Chapter 326: Wait, Have We Become the Uchiha?

"Perhaps?"

Homura Mitokado and Hiruzen Sarutobi had known each other for so many years that Hiruzen's hidden meaning was naturally not lost on him.

His old friend was clearly entertaining yet another idea.

Thinking of this, Homura asked directly, "Hiruzen, what are you planning to do? Are you thinking of finding a way to rescue Danzō?"

Hiruzen's eyes flickered, but he did not immediately answer Homura's question.

Homura knew that Hiruzen was still weighing whether such a plan was feasible, so he continued, "Danzō's situation won't be easy to deal with. Uchiha Ren has practically nailed him to the coffin with those ten charges. There's no room left for him to make a comeback."

"If we step in to rescue Danzō and speak on his behalf right now, we might end up bringing trouble upon ourselves!"

Homura did not particularly resent Shimura Danzō, but objectively speaking, in Homura's eyes, the current Danzō was nothing more than a pile of filth. Getting anywhere near him would only leave them covered in the stink.

"Then we really have no choice..." Hiruzen sighed and said, "Homura, our situation is extremely precarious right now."

"The only person we can rely on is Danzō!"

"Hm?" Homura was somewhat surprised. "Is it really that serious?"

"No. It's exactly that serious!" Hiruzen said solemnly. "Homura, even now, you still underestimate Uchiha Ren!"

"Although the reforms to the Konoha Military Police Force carried out by Uchiha Ren and Minato Namikaze appear to have given up a great deal of our interests, in reality, what they have gained is far greater than what they surrendered!"

"First of all, the fact that the heads of several departments created after the restructuring are to remain hereditary positions within the Uchiha clan alone is enough to ensure that the Uchiha clan's fundamental interests have not been shaken."

"Previously, there was the Konoha Military Police Force. Now, they have merely divided the Konoha Military Police Force into several smaller departments."

"After merging some other departments into them as well, the authority held by each of these departments is actually not much less than that of the former Konoha Military Police Force, which had possessed considerable authority in name and substance alike!"

"At the same time, although the other clans of Konoha appear to have gained a share of the benefits, accepting those benefits also means accepting the Uchiha clan's oversight. They have effectively been bound to the Uchiha clan as part of a shared interest group!"

"With this strategy of dividing and winning over allies, combined with Minato Namikaze's control over the ANBU, the Hokage Guard Platoon, and other departments, just how much power do you think we still have in our hands?"

Homura frowned at this. After carefully calculating the situation, he said, "Excluding those minor departments that possess little real authority, it seems that all we have left are the Administration Department, Medical Department, and Mission Assignment Office?!"

Sometimes you didn't realize how bad things were until you actually counted them. At this moment, Homura felt a genuine sense of unease.

"You're counting too much," Hiruzen said again. "Don't forget that Uchiha Ren just transferred the Body Disposal Unit from under the Medical Department to another jurisdiction. And the Animal Treatment and Rehabilitation Unit under the Medical Department has always been controlled by the Inuzuka clan. The Nara clan also has a share of the Pharmaceutical Unit. As for the Administration Department, there's even less to say. The only departments we can completely control are the Finance Department and the Logistics Department."

"And the Mission Assignment Office... that department has always been under the Hokage's jurisdiction. Although it is still in my hands for now, who knows when Minato Namikaze will take it back?"

"So the situation we are facing now is more severe than anything we have ever encountered!"

Hiruzen's voice was filled with worry, and he felt an intense headache coming on.

Homura still held onto a sliver of optimism. "Surely it won't come to that? Although the Medical Department and Administration Department contain several competing factions, we are still their highest-ranking leaders. Would they really dare defy our orders and side with the Uchiha clan?"

Hiruzen shook his head. "They may not side with the Uchiha clan, but they certainly won't side with us either!"

"Don't forget, I am no longer the Hokage. The current Hokage is standing together with the Uchiha clan!"

"Just that alone gives the Uchiha clan the moral high ground. As long as they don't go too far and attempt something like a coup d'état, then even if those people don't help them, they certainly won't move against them either!"

"So now, we can only rely on ourselves!"

After a pause, Hiruzen continued, "And just watch. This reform is only the beginning. Uchiha Ren and Minato Namikaze will definitely continue moving against us, gradually taking back the authority in our hands!"

"The Mission Assignment Office, the Medical Department, the Administration Department—they won't spare any of them!"

"If we don't find a solution soon, we may really have no choice but to go home and retire!"

Hiruzen had a very clear understanding of the current situation. He knew that there was no longer any possibility of reconciliation between them and the Uchiha clan and Minato Namikaze.

"Wait." Homura suddenly realized something. "Being isolated by the other people in the village and suppressed by the Hokage's faction... why does this situation sound so familiar?"

"Have we become the Uchiha?"

Hiruzen was also caught off guard by Homura's remark. But after thinking about it for a moment, he nodded.

"You're actually right. Our current predicament is very similar to what the Uchiha clan faced in the past."

"Ha... The tables have turned."

Homura was in a daze. He still had not quite recovered from the realization that he had somehow fallen into the very same predicament the Uchiha clan had once endured.

Hiruzen continued, "That's why Danzō is so important right now. He is one of the few remaining forces we can win over. And with Danzō's abilities, as long as we work together wholeheartedly, there is nothing we cannot resolve!"

"Back when I had just become Hokage, almost all the power in the village was in the hands of the Senju clan. Eight out of ten people in charge of the village's major departments were Senju. The only clan in the entire village that had formed its own faction and dared to stand up to the Senju was the Uchiha."

"At that time, we had no manpower, no money, and no influence. Our situation was far worse than what we are facing now!"

"And yet, we survived!"

"And that was because we stood united and worked together!"

"So long as we can rescue Danzō, we may still have a chance to turn the tables!"

Homura was somewhat stirred by this, but he remained calm enough to ask, "I understand the reasoning, but how are we supposed to rescue Danzō?"

Hiruzen thought for a moment before saying, "We obviously can't do it openly. Our only option is to operate in secret!"

"The name Shimura Danzō has already become utterly disgraced. He is practically a pariah whom everyone wants to denounce. So even if we rescue him, he will have to assume a new identity."

"Danzō is currently being held by the Uchiha clan, and we have no way of getting our people inside. We can't pull off a switch like the Swapping a Civet Cat for the Crown Prince trick."

"But there are still quite a few remnants of Root who haven't been captured, aren't there? We can manipulate the situation a little and have these 'Root remnants' make a move, rescuing Danzō!"

Homura said, "That's the only option left to us. But we need to act quickly. I heard that they will be publicly executing Shimura Danzō soon!"

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