'The father from before was not like this.'
'Could it be that what Kurenai said is true, that Father has really been brainwashed by Uchiha Itachi's genjutsu?'
Asuma certainly didn't know why Sarutobi Hiruzen had changed like this, and he would never understand what kind of great ambition a man with excessive power would give rise to after obtaining matching assistance.
The Sarutobi Hiruzen whose previous grand aspirations had been smoothed over by the years had already been completely abandoned by the current Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Strengthening Konoha, unifying the ninja world, what a magnificent achievement that was.
Especially after obtaining the "Future Diary," this grand goal seemed so close within reach.
"You know nothing! Whether or not Sunagakure surrenders, Konoha must show a stance to deal with the repeated attacks from the Sunagakure army, this is a sign of caution."
He never expected that his own decision would be publicly opposed by his own son in front of the crowd. Sarutobi Hiruzen was beyond furious.
"Men, take Asuma down!"
"Yes!"
A group of Anbu ninja pressed Asuma to the ground.
"You sheltered Orochimaru, got close to someone like Uchiha Itachi who has no humanity, and now you want to expand the war. Third Hokage... if you keep doing this, Konoha will be destroyed by your own hands sooner or later," Asuma, who was pinned to the ground, was still shouting loudly.
"What did you say?", To be opposed and rebuked like this by his own son in front of everyone, Sarutobi Hiruzen almost wanted to draw his ninja blade on the spot and cut down this rebellious child.
"I said Konoha will be destroyed by your hands, Sarutobi Hiruzen!", To show his opposition, the fuming Asuma directly called out his father's full name.
"Oh? So if we don't listen to a naive brat like you, Konoha is doomed?"
"Hard to say!", Asuma stubbornly shook off the Anbu ninja holding him down, his eyes sharp as he stared down Sarutobi Hiruzen without backing down.
"I... I...", If the one saying this wasn't his own son, Sarutobi Hiruzen would have killed him on the spot.
But precisely because it was his own son, he could only be so angry he could hardly breathe.
"Sensei, please watch your health."
Although Orochimaru had hoped for Sarutobi Hiruzen's death just yesterday, now Orochimaru actually didn't want him to die.
It just felt like the future was going to get very interesting.
"Hurry! Take him back and confine him, don't let him appear in front of me again," Sarutobi Hiruzen, nearly coughing up blood from anger, quickly ordered the Anbu to take away the still-defiant Asuma.
"Meeting adjourned!"
After putting on such a father-son drama in front of so many villagers, Sarutobi Hiruzen no longer had the face or mood to continue giving a speech.
"What a good show that was."
However...
'There are still sane people in Konoha after all.'
'Even if the Hokage wants war, there are many who wish for peace.'
Although the blue-haired kunoichi didn't look back again, a faint smile finally appeared at the corner of her mouth.
'The ninja world has hope only because there are people who love peace.'
———
"Hmph! I'm not joining the war, especially not under that Orochimaru!"
Just thinking about it was terrifying.
"But Anko... sigh."
Just like how Uchiha Itachi's return made Uchiha Sasuke furious, Orochimaru's return also left Anko, who had once been abandoned by him, feeling completely lost.
These days, every time Yuhi Kurenai saw Anko, the latter always looked blank and empty-eyed.
As if her soul had been drained.
"It's best if sensei stays in the village. Things outside are too chaotic now."
Although Uchiha Kage was looking forward to turmoil in the ninja world, he didn't want people he cared about to get involved.
"I know you're worried about sensei, but I'm not weak either. Even if I go to the frontlines—"
Yuhi Kurenai originally wanted to reassure Uchiha Kage, but inexplicably, she recalled her father who had died in battle.
She immediately fell silent.
"What about you? You're not seriously thinking of going to the frontlines, are you?"
Compared to herself, Yuhi Kurenai was more worried about her disciple.
Even though he was strong, the battlefield was no playground.
Even the strongest ninja could fall in battle.
She was worried that this disciple would get hot-headed and follow that muddled Hokage's orders.
"No, the Hokage-sama assigned me to be in charge of village security."
Probably because he had impersonated Uchiha Obito and entered Konoha so many times, Sarutobi Hiruzen now took the village's security very seriously.
"But Uchiha Itachi..."
"We need to find a way to get Uchiha Itachi out of the village," Just as Uchiha Kage and Yuhi Kurenai were chatting, Hyuga Hiashi appeared out of nowhere and interjected.
"Who knows what the Hokage-sama is thinking? How can someone like Uchiha Itachi be allowed to stay in the village?"
Not just Hyuga Hiashi, other ninja from Konoha's major clans were also deeply disturbed by the appearance of the terr*rist Uchiha Itachi.
A guy who wiped out his own clan just like that, who wouldn't be scared of him?
Especially since most of them had witnessed the terrifying strength Uchiha Itachi had shown that day.
A wielder of the Mangekyo Sharingan wasn't someone ordinary clan ninja could handle.
Everyone knew Sarutobi Hiruzen was getting senile because Itachi had publicly stated in Konoha his reason for wiping out the Uchiha clan, that it was merely to "test his blade."
In simple terms, he just wanted to test how powerful his newly awakened Mangekyo Sharingan was.
A madman like that, who wouldn't be afraid?
Who knew when Uchiha Itachi might go crazy again and use the other ninja clans as test subjects?
"I'll find a way to keep an eye on him," Of course, Uchiha Kage didn't trust Uchiha Itachi either.
But mainly, it was for Sasuke's safety.
"Great! Now that you've mastered the Flying Thunder God technique, you can definitely deal with him," Hyuga Hiashi looked at Uchiha Kage like he was looking at the young Namikaze Minato.
It didn't matter, even if he, the Hyuga clan leader, couldn't become Hokage, being the Hokage's father-in-law wasn't bad either.
"And about last time, your suggestion really made the Hokage-sama abandon the idea of forming the Konoha Police Force with the Hyuga clan, and he never brought it up again...", Hyuga Hiashi never imagined Sarutobi Hiruzen would be so easy to talk to.
All this time, because of the Uchiha clan massacre, he had always walked on thin ice as the clan head.
"Seek peace through struggle, and peace will endure. Seek peace through compromise, and peace will perish. Struggle is a means to peace; peace is the goal of struggle."
The Uchiha died precisely because of compromise inside and out.
Their final rebellion was just a joke.
"What do you mean? Peace and struggle?", Yuhi Kurenai didn't quite understand Uchiha Kage's words.
"Simply put, honest people get bullied. Only when honest people stop being honest will others treat them with respect."
"Oh! I get it. Kage means we should oppose the Hokage together, right?", Yuhi Kurenai excitedly grabbed Uchiha Kage's arm.
Although Asuma was a bit too impulsive earlier, it was still a form of resistance.
"What sensei said... isn't entirely right, but it's doable," Uchiha Kage's eyes lit up.
Right, with Asuma setting an example, Konoha could probably rally some people to take to the streets in protest against Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Only with both internal unrest and external threats could Sarutobi Hiruzen truly feel Kage's "concern" for him.
Right, he could also stream it live for Tobirama.
Like today's father-son argument show, it was pretty good.
"First, we need to 'rescue' Asuma from his house, then...", Uchiha Kage quietly shared his plan with Yuhi Kurenai and Hyuga Hiashi.
If they were going to lead a protest against Sarutobi Hiruzen, the leader had to be Asuma.
"I knew it, you really do hate the Hokage," After hearing Uchiha Kage's plan, Yuhi Kurenai hugged his arm even tighter.
'Wonderful!'
'This bad disciple is truly rotten to the core.'
'He can even come up with something like this.'
'But as long as he isn't blindly loyal to the Hokage anymore, that is enough.'
"This is too... what if the Hokage-sama...", Hyuga Hiashi began to waver.
Rallying villagers to protest the Hokage, could that really be done?
What if it was ruthlessly suppressed...
Even with Asuma at the front, it might still implicate them.
"Mm, now is not the time. We need to wait for the right opportunity to act."
Wait until the war in Konoha grows too big to contain, wait until Sarutobi Hiruzen is at his most overwhelmed, then it would be the best time to hold a protest.
"Okay, when the time comes, let's overthrow the Third Hokage together, and elect Kage to be the new Hokage," Yuhi Kurenai really didn't want to see the Third Hokage's old face anymore.
"If Kage becomes Hokage, I'll be the Hokage's teacher. Wouldn't that be great," Although most of these words were said in jest, Yuhi Kurenai truly hoped to see the day Uchiha Kage became Hokage.
"Don't joke, sensei. There's no way I'll ever be Hokage."
Just like how his achievements this time had been hidden by Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Uchiha clan would never have a living hero, and it was impossible for a Uchiha to become Hokage.
Even if we take ten thousand steps back, Uchiha Kage wasn't interested in the Hokage position anyway.
Forget being Hokage, being "on" the Hokage sounded better.
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