[Read up to Chapter - 102 on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]
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Hiruzen swept his gaze across the room and let it settle on Kanzou.
All the other clan heads were actively competing for the position of ANBU Commander—except Kanzou. He sat there, calm and silent, showing no interest in the position at all.
But Hiruzen didn't believe it. He couldn't imagine Uchiha Kanzou having no ambition for such an important post.
The Uchiha clan had long wanted a presence in ANBU. Back when the previous Patriarch was still alive, they had already expressed interest more than once to enlist one of their young ones into the ANBU.
Heck, Kanzou himself was once sent to him to be enlisted into the ANBU forces by the previous Patriarch.
Whether that was done to have young Kanzou serve as the Uchiha Clan's pipeline into the central power or to suppress Kanzou's growing influence and infamy that even surpassed Fugaku's by having him serve as an ANBU.
After all, the contribution made by the ANBU forces always remains a top-guarded secret, so regardless of what achievements Kanzou made while being an ANBU, it wouldn't matter, as none of that would ever make it out of the archives.
There was even a possibility that the previous Patriarch wanted Kanzou to die in some extremely dangerous mission that the ANBU forces perform on a regular basis.
It's a pity that things hadn't gone as he had intended because Hiruzen had rejected them.
He simply didn't trust the Uchiha—and feared their involvement in ANBU might cause future unrest.
Hiruzen didn't think that the current Uchiha Patriarch would be any different… 'Even if not for himself, he'd definitely recommend someone from the Uchiha Clan.'
'Even if he wants it, I won't let him have it,' Hiruzen thought grimly.
He was already deeply wary of Kanzou. If Kanzou's Uchiha Clan gained control over ANBU, it would be nearly impossible to restrain him.
With how boldly and unscrupulously the Uchiha clan operated under Kanzou's leadership, there was no doubt in Hiruzen's mind—they might even start harbouring thoughts of replacing him as Hokage.
As for the other clan heads? Hiruzen didn't even consider them a threat.
He had no intention of letting any family or Clan rise too high in power. And if one did... it certainly wouldn't be anyone but the Sarutobi.
One Uchiha was already enough of a headache—Hiruzen didn't want another powerful clan rising like them.
Despite everything, Hiruzen still hoped Uchiha Kanzou would nominate someone from the Uchiha clan—just so he could have the pleasure of ruthlessly rejecting him to show him his place and appoint his own preselected candidate.
He was looking forward to seeing that sour expression on Kanzou's face—as if he'd swallowed a fly—when he realised that this wasn't his domain. This was the Hokage's territory—his territory, Sarutobi Hiruzen's territory—and here, his word was law.
He wanted to show Kanzou that he may have managed to create some trouble for the villagers… he was still an ant in front of the Hokage.
But to his irritation, even after everyone else had made their nominations, Kanzou didn't react at all.
Instead, he casually let out a yawn and muttered to himself in a sleepy voice, "So boring…"
Hiruzen clicked his tongue in frustration, realising that Kanzou genuinely had no intention of making a nomination.
Dissatisfied, he could only move on.
"I've already decided who the next ANBU Commander will be."
The moment Hiruzen spoke, the clan leaders who had been fiercely competing for the position froze.
Their expressions darkened.
If he already had someone in mind, then why summon them for a so-called discussion?
"I wonder who Hokage-sama has chosen?" Hiashi asked, still clinging to a sliver of hope that he might be the chosen one.
"In fact, the candidate is from the Uchiha Clan…" Hiruzen said, glancing in Kanzou's direction, hoping to see his eyes light up upon hearing those words.
But when he looked at Kanzou, what he saw only angered him. At that very instant, Kanzou was staring at his right hand while rotating his left hand as though he were twisting a lever. With each slow turn, the middle finger of his right hand gradually rose higher, until it was fully extended—aimed directly at Hiruzen.
When the entire room turned toward him in shock after hearing that the candidate was from the Uchiha clan, they also noticed Kanzou casually raising his middle finger at the Hokage.
Although they had to admit that it was really a very unique method of showing the middle finger… it also left everyone both confused and astonished.
On one hand, they had to admit it took remarkable audacity to flip off Hiruzen so openly.
On the other hand, they couldn't understand why Kanzou would make such a gesture even though Hiruzen had merely said the ANBU commander was from the Uchiha clan.
'This bastard!' Hiruzen fumed inwardly.
He wanted to put Kanzou in his place… but before he could act, it almost felt as though Kanzou had read his thoughts and responded with a Fuck you!
Of course, Kanzou was simply borrowing a page out of Star-Lord's book… but even he had to admit, telling Hiruzen to fuck off in such a manner, in this kind of setting, was deeply satisfying.
That aside, even Kanzou himself was a little surprised that Hiruzen was appointing an Uchiha as the ANBU commander.
Meanwhile, Hiashi stepped forward and asked in disbelief, "From the Uchiha Clan? Hokage-sama… you… Are you serious?"
He felt that the Hokage might have Uchiha Kanzou in his mind as the ANBU commander… and that worried him.
Hiruzen took a deep breath and called out, "Come in, Uchiha Fugaku."
The doors to the conference room opened, and Uchiha Fugaku stepped inside. His expression was cold, and his first glance was aimed straight at Kanzou—a glare filled with silent hostility.
"I recommend Uchiha Fugaku for the position of ANBU Commander," Sarutobi Hiruzen declared.
After Sarutobi Hiruzen made the announcement, the two advisors seated beside him—Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu—remained silent.
It was clear that Hiruzen had already discussed this with them beforehand. How exactly he convinced them, however, remained unknown.
The ninjas present turned to Kanzou with curious and somewhat mocking expressions.
Kanzou, on the other hand, stretched out as his eyes landed on the person who had just entered and blinked in surprise, "Huh? Since when did someone start to shit in green color…? I have heard of shit of many colors… but never green colored…"
Everyone in the hall stared at him in stunned silence…
Kanzou frowned and muttered, "Why are you all looking at me like that? What—don't tell me… have you all seen green shit before??"
They were all left speechless… especially the man who had just entered the hall.
He couldn't help but feel personally mocked.
"Uchiha Kanzou…" he growled under his breath.
Kanzou blinked in confusion. "Huh? That green shit just spoke? Wait… how the hell can shit talk?" He rubbed his eyes. "Damn it, did I accidentally cast Genjutsu on myself?"
After a second glance at the newcomer, he muttered, "Ah… so it's Fugaku. I apologize for mistaking you for grin shit… But then again, considering just how similar you look to green shit, such a mistake is not that big of a deal… green shit or Fugaku… same thing really. Synonyms… synonyms…"
As for everyone in the hall, they looked at each other with speechless expressions, while Kanzou kept his gaze fixed on Fugaku.
He was indeed momentarily surprised when Fugaku appeared as the candidate for the position of ANBU commander, but quickly understood Hiruzen's intention—this was a petty move meant to provoke him.
By appointing Uchiha Fugaku, an exiled member of the Uchiha clan, as ANBU Commander, Hiruzen was trying to get under his skin and use Fugaku to counter him.
Hiruzen couldn't do anything to exact vengeance for the murder of his son, so he chose to disgust Kanzou by appointing Fugaku as the ANBU Commander… by the way, he probably also hoped to sow seeds to divide within the Uchiha Clan.
But Kanzou didn't care.
To him, Fugaku was, as he put it just a few moments ago, shit… green shit to be exact… A disgraced mutt who had already been cucked and cast out of the Uchiha clan. If not for the future potential of Fugaku awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, Kanzou would have disposed of him long ago.
"Yo green shit, ah, I mean, Fugaku, long time no see. You've been doing well, haven't you?" Kanzou greeted casually, his tone light.
"Hmph," Fugaku scoffed coldly, clenching his fists as the veins in his arms bulged.
"Oh? Is that how you greet your patriarch? Oh wait…" Kanzou smirked mockingly. "I almost forgot—you have been expelled from the clan."
Being reminded of that… Fugaku's anger increased.
"What? Didn't I exile you?" questioned Kanzou, egging him.
If Fugaku really lost his temper and started a fight, Kanzou wouldn't hesitate to beat him half to death.
To that end, he didn't hold back and continued to provoke him further:
"By the way… Mikoto was asking about you—just last night, in fact. After we did something I really shouldn't talk about openly with outsiders—since it's, well, a matter between a married couple—so I won't be talking about it, since I don't want to rub it on your ugly green face, she suddenly brought you up.
I was like, 'what's up… why did you suddenly mention him?'
For a moment there, I thought, maybe she is concerned about you… But that wasn't the case…
No, no. She was just wondering which gutter you might be rotting in, like a vile rat you are.
She even asked if it might be under the Sarutobi Clan's compound…. You know a lot of rat gathers there… squeaking at each other, hoping to find something, gain something…"
As he said this, he looked scornfully at the two elders, comparing them to rats before turning to Hiruzen, "No offence to you HokaGAY-sama—nothing personal, it's just a rumor going on in the village that the gutters under the Sarutobi Compound are crawling with rats…. You might want to check them and get them cleaned lest they become more troublesome than they are worth… after all, rats spread diseases. But that aside, turning back to our conversation from last night…
And I told her, 'No, Mikoto… Cuck-san's probably not rotting in a gutter like a rat. He may have been exiled from the Uchiha Clan, but he hasn't fallen enough to be a rat who lives in the gutters of Sarutobi Compound… rather, he should only have fallen to the point of becoming a dog…
And not just any dog… but one with a nice little collar around his neck with the tag of a monkey, the leash of which is held by the monkey in the tag…
And wouldn't you know it? I was right, wasn't I?
I should've made a bet with her. That would've been fun."
A stunned silence filled the hall.
Though Kanzou hadn't said it outright, his story made it clear—Fugaku was nothing more than a dog on a leash… and that leash was held by Hiruzen, the monkey.
The atmosphere in the hall grew tense. Everyone's eyes shifted—some to Kanzou, others to Fugaku, a few to Hiruzen, and some even to the rats—cough-cough—the elders beside him.
Judging by their expressions, most believed someone was about to lash out.
The majority expected Fugaku to lose control first—and even Kanzou thought the same.
But to everyone's surprise, Fugaku held back his anger and ignored Kanzou entirely—as if silently saying, 'Are you done?'
He resumed walking and didn't stop until he was standing beside Hiruzen.
"Look at that… There's some character development… But then again… suffering does make people mature… I suppose, there's that…" mumbled Kanzou with a chuckle, not at all offended.
If it had been before… by now, Fugaku might have vomited blood… but that didn't happen here.
Clearly, his temperament had changed.
He had become more composed.
Hiruzen, taking a deep breath to not let the anger get the better of him, announced, "Uchiha Fugaku will serve as the new ANBU Commander." Sarutobi Hiruzen announced, glancing around at the assembled shinobi. "I trust no one has any objections?"
"I do," a voice rang out before anyone else could respond.
Kanzou suddenly slapped the table.
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed slightly. 'As expected… so he finally couldn't hold back. Good, good… now let's teach him a lesson…'
"You have an objection, young man?" Hiruzen asked, already preparing in his mind how to counter Kanzou's resistance.
To make a point, Hiruzen had deliberately addressed him as 'young man' instead of 'Uchiha Patriarch,' 'Captain of the Konoha Military Police Force,' or even by his name 'Uchiha Kanzou,' subtly trying to put him in his place—as if he were nothing more than an inexperienced junior in this setting with no real power.
Kanzou blinked twice upon hearing Hiruzen's 'I am looking down on you' manner of speaking, but continued with a wide, cheerful smile.
"Indeed, Grandpa HokaGAY," he replied mockingly. "Just in case your old age is catching up with you and dementia's starting to settle in, let the young and frivolous me with better memory remind you: the ANBU Commander must be strong. Strength is a necessary qualification."
Hiruzen's lips twitched as Kanzou called him old and suffering from dementia.
Kanzou continued with a calm but cutting tone, "My objection is simple—Cuck-san here… ahh… sorry, a slip of tongue, what can I say, I am still a bit inexperienced here… Fugaku-san is too weak."
His words made Fugaku's rage spike again. But remembering what Hiruzen had told him earlier, that Kanzou's strength might already be Kage-level, Fugaku gritted his teeth and forced himself to remain silent.
After recovering from his injuries and relentless training, he has been going through after being exiled, Fugaku's strength had improved—he had finally reached a bit beyond quasi-Kage level.
However, the gap between quasi-Kage and true Kage-level was still immense.
He knew he wasn't Kanzou's match yet, so he chose to bide his time—for now, he would endure and wait until he officially became ANBU Commander.
"Uchiha Fugaku's strength has my recognition," Sarutobi Hiruzen said, narrowing his eyes. "He's fully qualified to serve as the new ANBU Commander."
"Your recognition?" Kanzou scoffed. "Even if you're the HokaGay, you're not immune to bias, not to mention a weak little monkey like you recognized as 'The God of Shinobi' haah, how laughable… There is also a strong probability that you suffer from dementia because you are old enough to call me a young man. You have more blind spots than everyone else here."
The room fell silent in shock. Kanzou's words were beyond audacious—no one else dared to speak so bluntly to the Sandaime Hokage in public.
"Uchiha Kanzou, show some respect, it's the Hokage-sama you are speaking to," Jiraiya said with a frown, no longer able to bear the disrespectful words and tone of Kanzou.
Kanzou glanced at him briefly, then looked away, clearly not interested in a back-and-forth—but he made a mental note, 'I hope you are prepared for the coming days in prison.'
"I apologize HokaGAY-sama…" said Kanzou mockingly, before pointing at Hiashi, and continued, "The Hyuga clan has contributed a lot to the village and worked just as hard. I believe Hyuga Hiashi deserves a fair shot, too," Kanzou continued. "So, I propose a duel between Hyuga Hiashi and the exiled green shit-san. Whoever wins becomes the new ANBU Commander. How about that?"
Kanzou suddenly spoke up in support of the Hyuga Clan, catching everyone present off guard.
Just moments ago, he had clashed with Hyuga Hiashi, humiliated the man, and even threatened the Hyuga Clan—and now he was backing them? The sudden shift felt off.
"I agree," Hyuga Hiashi said without hesitation.
Despite his earlier conflict with Kanzou, Hiashi chose to prioritise the opportunity in front of him. Becoming the ANBU Commander would bring immense benefits to the Hyuga Clan, and the temptation was too strong to resist.
"Very well," Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded. "Then let green Sh—Fugaku and Hiashi fight for the position." His tongue almost slipped there, but he had quickly covered it up.
And as for accepting the proposal for a duel between Fugaku and Hiashi… He had little choice but to agree.
If he refused and insisted on appointing Fugaku unilaterally, it would certainly provoke resentment from the Hyuga Clan.
Agreeing to the duel was the safer political move—and besides, Sarutobi Hiruzen was confident that Uchiha Fugaku could defeat Hyuga Hiashi.
If Fugaku couldn't even beat Hiashi, then avenging Shinnosuke—or standing against Kanzou—would be out of the question.
"Uchiha Fugaku, are you against the idea?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked.
"No," Fugaku replied bluntly.
Even if he was against the idea, it didn't matter.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had chosen him as the next ANBU Commander—and in return, Fugaku was expected to follow his every command.
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Drop power Powerstonessssssssss!
[Read up to Chapter - 102 on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]