The Third Hokage held the Uchiha clan responsible?
Could it be that the Third Hokage no longer wanted to keep up his facade?
From what Genya remembered, even when the Uchiha clan was wiped out, the Third Hokage still maintained a hypocritical attitude, always hiding behind his "Will of Fire."
Even after Itachi wiped out the clan and fled the village, he still respected the Third Hokage, showing just how terrifying the man truly was.
In any case, Genya didn't believe that the Third Hokage, who had served as Hokage twice, would allow Danzo to act so recklessly without his involvement.
The Third Hokage's influence was definitely at play here.
But why target the Uchiha clan early on? Genya wasn't sure. He didn't know much about what led to the clan's downfall, but there had to be a reason behind it.
It was clear that Konoha was taking deliberate steps against the Uchiha clan.
As for accusations of violent law enforcement? The Uchiha Police Force was just doing their job. When people resisted, were they supposed to smile and let themselves be insulted?
It was obvious that someone had it out for the Uchiha and wanted to bring them down.
It seemed that the relationship between the Uchiha clan and Konoha was beyond repair. No... as long as the Third Hokage and Danzo were in power, there was no hope for reconciliation. They would continue to find ways to weaken or even destroy the Uchiha clan.
"It looks like the village has come up with new ways to target us," Uchiha Kinya, the head of the Chamber of Commerce, remarked. He knew the village was finding more ways to weaken the Uchiha clan.
Even civilians were being encouraged to turn against them.
If this continued, the conflict between the village and the Uchiha clan would only escalate until it became uncontrollable.
"The village is really frustrating. Why do they always target our clan?" Uchiha Kai said angrily. He seemed disappointed with how the village treated the Uchiha.
Uchiha Kinya nodded, frowning as he asked, "What does the clan leader, Fugaku, think? How does he plan to resolve this?"
"I'm not sure. The clan leader went to the Hokage's office yesterday and said he'd hold a clan meeting afterward. We'll find out then," Uchiha Kai replied, sounding a bit frustrated.
"At least, thanks to you, Brother Kinya, we've started doing business. We don't have to deal with their nonsense as much anymore."
"Luckily, we left the Police Force," someone remarked. "Otherwise, we'd be caught up in this mess too!" They were relieved to no longer serve in the village, avoiding the humiliation that others were now enduring.
As a few people discussed this, some Uchiha clan members approached Uchiha Kinya, greeting him warmly.
Even Genya noticed the envy and longing in the eyes of the ninjas when they looked at Uchiha Kai and his group. It seemed that being a ninja in Konoha was not easy for them; in fact, it was quite challenging.
Now, they took pride in joining the Chamber of Commerce, even though it meant sacrificing the Uchiha's so-called dignity.
The proud Uchiha clan members couldn't allow such a thing to happen. Those who joined the Chamber of Commerce had abandoned the pride of the Uchiha clan.
As night fell, more ninjas arrived, including Genya's mentor, Uchiha Zentaro, and other well-known ninjas. Genya even saw Uchiha Shisui and Itachi.
But seeing Itachi now made Genya feel uneasy. Itachi's gaze toward the Uchiha clan had turned cold, as if he had been deeply influenced by the Third Hokage over the past month.
Genya quietly wondered, "Can I still persuade Itachi?"
He was already thinking about the future. If Itachi, Shisui, and the veteran Uchiha ninjas united with him, they might stand a chance against the Konoha ninjas. Genya hoped Itachi would still listen to him.
Itachi, standing with the clan members, seemed to feel Genya's gaze and glanced in his direction. When he saw Genya and the small group of Uchiha gathered around Uchiha Kinya, his eyes grew even colder.
To Itachi, Uchiha Kinya and the ninjas who followed him were traitors to the clan, and he viewed them as uncontrollable elements that he despised.
"Who are you looking at, Itachi?" Shisui noticed the cold aura coming from Itachi and glanced at him curiously.
"It's just that so many people are gathered here for the first time. I want to see the elders of the clan," Itachi replied, shaking his head and ending the conversation.
If Genya had heard this, his eyes would have twitched. Knowing the elders of the clan... did that mean remembering their faces so he wouldn't let any of them escape?
Suddenly, the once-bustling tribe fell into silence.
The eight elders of the Uchiha clan walked onto the stage and took their seats.
An empty chair sat at the edge, meant for Uchiha Kinya, but he didn't join them. The other elders had no intention of letting him sit with them.
Finally, Uchiha Fugaku and Sasuke stepped onto the stage as well. They greeted the elders and then sat down.
"Now that everyone is here, let me explain why I've called this clan meeting!" Uchiha Fugaku began, his voice steady as he addressed the puzzled clan members.
"This month, the Uchiha Police Force was criticized by the Hokage for using excessive force!"
He paused, and the room fell silent as everyone leaned in to listen more closely. They had all heard rumors, but they wanted to know the full story.
Seeing their focused attention, Uchiha Fugaku sighed and continued, "Yesterday, I met with the Hokage. To prevent the Uchiha from being hated by the villagers, he suggested we give up half of our control over the police force and apologize to those who have complained about us!"
The clan erupted in shock.
Even Uchiha Kinya's expression darkened. The Konoha Police Force was the backbone of the Uchiha clan, and he hadn't expected Konoha to go to such lengths to weaken them.
Give up half of the police force?
This was the foundation of the Uchiha clan. Since the village was founded, the Uchiha had maintained order!
Some were unhappy with the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, but this move made him seem more sinister than ever.
In the beginning, Konoha's White Fang, a powerful shinobi on the level of a Kage and a candidate for Hokage, ended up taking his own life.
This was because of a wrong decision he made and some harmful rumors. Yet, the Third Hokage didn't do anything to stop these rumors or clear White Fang's name.
Some even say he might have fueled the situation, letting the gossip spread.
Secondly, the Third Hokage definitely knew about the shady things Danzo was doing, but he might have allowed it to happen.
Thirdly, Naruto, the son of the Fourth Hokage and a Jinchūriki, was given only a small amount of money to live on by the Third Hokage.
He couldn't even afford a bowl of ramen, had to eat expired food, and was mistreated by the villagers. Meanwhile, the Third Hokage acted like he was Naruto's protector.
He find it hard to believe that the Fourth Hokage and Naruto's mother, the leader of the Uzumaki clan, didn't leave anything behind for him.
But when Konohamaru first appeared, he had servants and was called "Omago-sama," showing that the Sarutobi clan was quite wealthy.
Then, there was the Uchiha clan massacre. I don't believe that the Third Hokage was unaware of Hyuga Hiashi killing the Kumogakure ninja who tried to kidnap Hinata.
But the Third Hokage still asked the Hyuga clan for an explanation?
As for the night of the Nine-Tails attack, I'm not sure if the Third Hokage was fully innocent. Both he and Danzo have a lot to answer for. I hope everyone can see that!
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