UTBW: Ch. 51

When the Uchiha clan went crazy, they didn't listen to reason. Who cared if you were part of the Fourth Hokage's guard team? In a situation like this, even the guards would probably only have a trivial impact.

"Damn it, giving us a mission like this!" Iwashi muttered under his breath.

"Stop complaining. Focus on the mission." Genma kept a cautious watch on their surroundings and gently advised, "The Uchiha are proud by nature. As long as we keep a respectful attitude, they probably won't kill us outright."

"That's one of the few blessings the Fourth Hokage left us," Raidō said with a bitter smile.

Hearing this, the other two showed a similarly bitter expression.

The good situation the Fourth Hokage had worked so hard to build had been completely destroyed, and now they had to rely on his leftover influence to try and salvage things.

It was, frankly, a stinging reminder of their own incompetence.

"Enough talk, someone's coming!" Iwashi's tone turned urgent. He formed a hand seal to enhance his sensory abilities; the jutsu immediately told him that a strong chakra signature was approaching from the street ahead.

Genma and Raidō tensed immediately.

They all looked forward.

Tap, tap, tap…

Steady footsteps echoed from afar. Soon, the owner of those footsteps rounded a corner and came into view.

"Fugaku-sama!?"

The three of them gasped in shock.

"You are…" Fugaku also noticed the three, and after a brief moment of thought, remembered their names: "Shiranui, Raidō, and Iwashi, right? It's been a while."

Seeing that his demeanor was calm and friendly, the three of them quietly let out a sigh of relief.

"What happened tonight was not something the Hokage wished to see. There must have been some misunderstanding," Genma quickly began to explain. "He has already ordered everyone to stand down. No ninja is allowed to enter the Uchiha district without permission."

"You know the Hokage, he wants peace and stability more than anyone. The Uchiha clan is part of Konoha too. He doesn't want any conflict between Konoha and the Uchiha. I hope you understand."

Even as he spoke, Genma felt a deep sense of disgust. It was clearly the Third Hokage's own actions that pushed the Uchiha to the brink of extinction.

And yet, now they were forcing him, a former subordinate of the Fourth Hokage, to come out and gloss things over. It was revolting.

"I understand." Fugaku nodded calmly. "I was just about to go out and meet with the Hokage."

"That's wonderful!" The three of them couldn't hide their relief.

They hadn't expected Fugaku to be so cooperative. And inside the Uchiha compound, everything had been quiet for some time. Judging by the situation, it seemed Fugaku had things under control?

"Please come with us." Genma quickly said, "The Hokage is waiting outside. He's very sincere about wanting to speak with you."

"Mm." Fugaku nodded lightly, though a hint of mockery flashed through his eyes. If this had been in the past, he might have been overjoyed. But now, all he felt was bitter irony.

He had sent Itachi out into the village to spread the risk, hoping to preserve a new "dove faction" of the Uchiha outside the main family.

Shisui had been sent out for the same purpose.

But what happened?

Shisui died, and his eyes vanished.

Itachi, the one Fugaku had pinned his hopes on, became the executioner, personally butchering their clansmen.

The two people he had sent out had utterly failed.

Hiruzen was a master strategist, there was no way he couldn't have guessed Fugaku's intentions. Which meant there was only one explanation: the leadership never intended to spare the Uchiha!

Damn Hiruzen! Fugaku maintained a calm and indifferent expression, but inwardly he was cursing furiously.

"Please follow us," Genma gestured politely.

"Mm." Suppressing his emotions, Fugaku nodded and began walking toward the edge of the clan grounds.

Seeing he was so cooperative, the three let out a quiet sigh of relief, feeling as if a great weight had been lifted from their shoulders.

This was going better than they had expected.

Without any resistance, they had managed to invite the Uchiha clan leader out to meet with Hiruzen.

As expected of a dove. The three exchanged glances behind Fugaku's back, each shaking their head slightly in secret.

His reputation in private wasn't exactly a flattering one. But of course, that wasn't something they had the right to openly comment on. Their priority was to fulfill their role as messengers.

However, none of them noticed, the cold gleam in Fugaku's eyes,
and the faint, mocking smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

---

Meanwhile, outside the Uchiha district, Hiruzen and his group were waiting nervously.

They all had their hands close to their weapon pouches or held their gear at the ready. They were fully prepared.

If negotiations broke down, they would immediately launch an attack.

Seeing the tense atmosphere, Koharu stepped up beside Hiruzen and said in a low voice, "With the strength we've gathered here, wiping out the Uchiha would be easy. Shouldn't we just do it?"

Her voice was very soft. Only Hiruzen, Homura, and Danzō could hear her. This was a private conversation between the council members.

The others around them, sensing the gravity of the moment, had tactfully moved a short distance away to give them space.

"You..." Hiruzen glanced at Koharu, about to respond, when—

Homura couldn't wait and interrupted, "She is right. Right now, our full strength is concentrated here. Wiping out the Uchiha would be effortless. Are you really planning to negotiate?"

"That's right, Hiruzen," Danzō added, his face full of reluctance, "Are you really going to go through with peace talks?"

Hiruzen looked around carefully, making sure no one else was within earshot, and then finally replied, "The negotiation is real. But the reconciliation is fake."

The three elders froze for a moment at his words.

"Mobilizing the entire village might let us wipe out the Uchiha, yes... but the casualties would be enormous. It would shake our standing. That's why we must first calm them down. Once tonight's turmoil passes, we'll move slowly and carefully against them, just like we've always done." As he spoke, a glint of coldness flashed in his eyes. Just earlier, he had been openly mocked by the Uchiha right to his face.

In all his decades as Hokage, no one had ever dared talk to him like that. Besides, he had long grown tired of the Uchiha's arrogance.
A bunch of insolent, uncontrollable ninjas, to a Hokage, they were the most intolerable threat imaginable.

Those in power hate subordinates who can't be controlled.

"Really?" Koharu asked, her face lighting up with delight.

Hiruzen smiled and nodded, "Of course it's true. My thinking has always been the same as yours."

Homura and Danzō also broke into smiles.

"That's wonderful. I knew you wouldn't let them off so easily," Homura said joyfully.