UTBW: Ch. 50

The voices were loud, burning with eagerness. The surge of excitement and passion was so intense it felt like a blazing fire, searing the nerves of everyone who heard it.

"!?" In an instant, everyone's expression changed, including Hiruzen.

At this moment, the Uchiha were actually bursting with morale!

What were they trying to do? Were they planning to fight Konoha to the death?

"What are they shouting? It sounds like a name..." Shikaku forced himself to stay calm and began analyzing.

Hearing this, the others quickly joined in the speculation. They tried to distract themselves through analysis, easing the unease in their hearts.

"It sounds like a name."

"Can't hear it clearly."

"Maybe they're shouting Fugaku's name?"

"Does he really have that kind of influence?"

"Or maybe it's that person who defeated Susanoo?"

Everyone was talking at once, but no one could figure it out.

Clap clap clap!

Then, thunderous applause echoed. Everyone's faces grew even more grim.

In this situation, the higher the Uchiha's morale rose, the more unfavorable it was for them. Especially because... Hiruzen had already decided to pursue peace talks!

But with the Uchiha so fired up, would they even agree to talk?

"Don't worry," Hiruzen said calmly, "I trust Fugaku. As the clan leader, he'll keep the situation under control."

Hearing this, everyone's expression relaxed a little.

"That's right, Fugaku will manage it."

"He's always hoped for peace."

"Yeah, he would never let things spiral out of control."

"If fighting doesn't stop, the Uchiha won't fare well either."

They were all clear about Fugaku's stance. He had always worked for peace, striving to integrate the Uchiha clan into the village. With such a pacifist clan leader, tonight's situation wouldn't be completely unmanageable.

Among them...

Koharu, Homura, and Danzō secretly nodded to themselves.

In their eyes, Fugaku was nothing less than a bootlicker for Hiruzen, he had even sent off his clan's geniuses, Shisui and Itachi, one after another, and had named his second son after Hiruzen's father.

He claimed it was out of admiration for Hiruzen's father, Sasuke. But anyone with a brain could see, this was just a subtle way of pledging loyalty to Hiruzen.

"For the sake of Konoha's peace, please lend me your support!" Hiruzen smiled and bowed deeply to everyone.

The civilian jonin looked helpless.

The jonin from the ninja clans twitched their mouths slightly, feeling as if they'd swallowed something disgusting.

Tonight's whole situation had been stirred up entirely by Hiruzen himself. They had known nothing about it beforehand.

Now, they were being dragged onto this war chariot, expected to help suppress the Uchiha clan, how could anyone feel good about that?

But there was no choice. An Uchiha uprising would throw Konoha into chaos, something they couldn't accept. So even though they were disgusted, they had no choice but to board his sinking ship.

"Don't worry, Hokage-sama."

"For the sake of the village, we're ready."

"We're all standing here because we want peace."

"We share the same goal."

They all swallowed their discomfort and spoke the necessary formalities. Though their words were polite, some carried hidden barbs.

"That's great." Hiruzen laughed it off, not caring about the hints of dissatisfaction in their tone. He turned to a few ninjas in the crowd. "Genma, Raidō, Iwashi… You three have some connections with the Uchiha. So I'll ask you to act as our envoys and convey our wish for peace talks."

The three called upon looked very displeased. They had once been members of the Fourth Hokage's personal guard, but after Minato's death, they were suppressed and sidelined, unable to rise again. Now, being pushed forward like this, they felt deep resentment.

After all, the Uchiha's morale was currently sky-high. Even though Fugaku was working to keep the situation under control, no one really knew what might happen. Going in now was definitely a huge risk.

"…Yes, Hokage-sama,"

But the three of them couldn't resist, they could only accept the order.

Because truthfully, they were the most suitable choices to act as messengers.

The Fourth Hokage had been well-respected among the Uchiha clan, and as members of his guard, they could still benefit a little from that goodwill, making the Uchiha less likely to reject them outright. Others wouldn't have that advantage.

"I'm counting on you." Hiruzen walked over smilingly, patting each of them on the shoulder, "Don't let everyone down."

Bullshit! The three cursed inwardly, but couldn't voice any objections. Around them, some of the other ninjas were already looking at them with faint sympathy.

"Go," he waved his hand.

Genma and the other two set off toward the Uchiha district, faces grim.

Behind them, Hiruzen watched their retreating backs with a leisurely expression, secretly smiling to himself. This is the righteousness of the Hokage. As long as I'm the Hokage, I can mobilize the entire village's power for my own use. No matter how high the Uchiha's morale, can they really fight against the whole village?

---

Inside the Uchiha compound, Junichi quickly named a group of clansmen, forming a brand-new unit.

"Yōju, Takuya, Hayato, Hiroshi, Tekkika…"

"I leave things here to you," he said after a glance at Fugaku.

"Yes. I will not let you down," Fugaku said.

Junichi not only possessed outstanding strength, but also superior intelligence and strategy. His all-around excellence had completely convinced him.

Now, he had fully become a loyal subordinate to Junichi.

"Good." Junichi nodded slightly, then waved to the new unit. "All of you, follow me."

"Yes!" The newly formed squad responded with high spirits, their voices filled with energy.

Whoosh!

He disappeared first, using the Body Flicker Technique.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh…

The new squad members swiftly followed.

Led by Junichi, they circled around the back of the Uchiha compound, heading toward a certain direction outside the village.

---

The remaining clansmen bowed in unison, bidding farewell to Junichi's team.

A long while later, after Junichi and his team were out of sight, they slowly straightened up.

"Thank you for trusting me." Fugaku looked at the clansmen solemnly, speaking firmly. "Please rest assured, I will not repeat the mistakes of the past. From here on, please leave everything to me! I will make sure to win enough time for Junichi!"

When he finished speaking, the clansmen showed complicated expressions but nodded in agreement.

Yuki sighed and said, "Let the past stay in the past. It's a good thing that you've finally come to your senses."

"Yes. I am ready. Please witness it with your own eyes later." Fugaku replied with firm conviction.

Seeing this, Yuki said no more, he simply patted Fugaku's shoulder to show his support.

"I'll set off first." Fugaku bowed once more to the clansmen, then turned and walked toward the edge of the compound.

Everyone watched him leave. Everything was proceeding according to Junichi's plan.

At the same time, Genma, Raidō, and Iwashi were nervously stepping into the Uchiha compound.

They looked tense, their eyes darting around constantly, afraid that at any moment, a squad of Uchiha would jump out from some hidden corner and attack them without mercy.