Uchiha Fugaku secretly checked to make sure no one was around, then breathed a sigh of relief, though he gave Uchiha Yoru a helpless look.
"Yoru-kun, you need to be more careful with what you say in the future."
Uchiha Yoru looked back at him with a feigned expression of confusion, but in his heart, he already had a guess.
At this moment, White Fang was Konoha's most dazzling star. In the ninja world, he even had a reputation for being so powerful that if you ran into him, you could just abandon your mission.
This hero, White Fang, seemed to be the early favorite to become the next Hokage.
The current Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was only in his early forties and arguably in his prime, so how could a future Hokage candidate suddenly emerge?
If you said there wasn't a powerful force behind this rumor, no one would believe you.
Uchiha Yoru smirked inwardly. Uchiha Fugaku looked at him, hesitated for a moment, and then lowered his voice, speaking carefully:
"The Third Hokage was only temporarily appointed during the First Great Ninja War. That war was won because all the major clans worked together. However, after the war, the clans suffered huge losses, and the interests they lost were..."
As Uchiha Fugaku's voice echoed, Uchiha Yoru finally looked enlightened.
Sure enough, just as he suspected, while Konoha's White Fang was strong, directly designating him as the next Hokage clearly meant there was a powerful force backing him.
These backers were the major clans, and for a force to make even the Third Hokage fall silent, the Senju clan was likely involved as well.
Based on some information from the original story, the twenty years of peace between the First and Second Great Ninja Wars could be analyzed.
The number of civilian ninjas in Konoha increased dramatically, but training ninjas required massive resources, and Konoha was only so big.
The outcome was self-evident!
When the village was first founded, the Ninja Academy had not yet enabled civilian ninjas to fully rise. During the First War, Konoha won, but the major clans within the village suffered heavy losses.
The Third Hokage took this opportunity to vigorously cultivate his own power base, as well as the so-called "civilian ninjas."
"So that's it. No wonder the clan is so close to the Hatake clan. Once White Fang becomes the Fourth Hokage in the future, the Uchiha will be able to regain the village's trust."
Uchiha Yoru's face showed a look of sudden understanding, which made Uchiha Fugaku smile and nod.
"That's right. At that time, the Fourth Hokage will even become a bridge for the clan, easing the strained relationship with the other clans in the village."
Oh, boy!
Looking at Uchiha Fugaku's mindset, Uchiha Yoru felt a wave of speechlessness.
Following the Uchiha, you'll go hungry three times a day for nine days!
Even with the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, in the original story, Fugaku got along well with him. It seemed the Uchiha's knack for making bets was truly legendary.
But every time they made a bet, it ended poorly.
However, when Uchiha Yoru heard this, his face lit up with excitement.
"The clan leader is so wise! I've long heard that the Third Hokage is the Second Hokage's disciple!"
At this point, Uchiha Yoru suddenly seemed to remember something, and his face took on an embarrassed expression.
Uchiha Fugaku also seemed to realize something, and his expression softened slightly as he waved his hand, saying, "That's all in the past."
Uchiha Yoru, seeing that they were alone and acting like close confidants, said in a low voice:
"Captain Fugaku, I've heard about the policies from the Second Hokage's era, but I can understand them. In that special period, it was right to be wary of the Uchiha clan."
In that period, there was the Uchiha Madara incident, followed by Elder Uchiha Setsuna.
Anyone would be wary.
Seeing Uchiha Yoru's cautious demeanor, Uchiha Fugaku comforted him:
"But it's okay. Although the Third Hokage inherited the Second Hokage's ideology and is still wary of the Uchiha, the new Hokage won't be."
At this moment, Uchiha Fugaku didn't realize that he had unwittingly fallen into the trap set by Uchiha Yoru.
He had just acknowledged that the Third Hokage had inherited the Second Hokage's wary attitude toward the Uchiha.
Although Uchiha Fugaku felt that something was off after saying that, Uchiha Yoru simply nodded firmly in agreement, with a radiant smile on his face.
"Big brother Fugaku, I believe the Fourth Hokage, White Fang, will be a true hero, and our clan will get the treatment it deserves."
With Uchiha Yoru's smile, he didn't give Fugaku a chance to think it over.
In one sentence, all the bad things about the Third Hokage were said by you; I said nothing and even agreed with you.
After all, from another perspective, did the Third Hokage truly trust the Uchiha clan during his reign? The Second Hokage's policies of caution toward the Uchiha must have been passed on to his disciple.
Normally, these topics would have made Fugaku frown and feel uncomfortable, but Uchiha Yoru had already brought up the future Fourth Hokage, White Fang, which made the previous points seem insignificant.
Uchiha Fugaku even smiled and comforted Uchiha Yoru:
"Don't worry, Yoru-kun. I know White Fang; he has no prejudice against the Uchiha. After all, he isn't from that era."
And he wasn't the Third Hokage's disciple! He naturally hadn't inherited that narrow-minded ideology.
For some reason, this thought suddenly flashed through Uchiha Fugaku's mind. But when he tried to argue with himself, he let out a self-deprecating laugh.
The clan had already bet on the future Fourth Hokage, so why should he worry so much?
Speaking of the Second Hokage's era, with Uchiha Madara manipulating the Nine-Tails and the First Hokage's subsequent death, it was no surprise that the Second Hokage was wary. It was perfectly fitting to call it a "special period."
After all, it was as if the Uchiha clan had indirectly caused the First Hokage's death.
The Third Hokage, having lived through that period, couldn't have been unaffected.
And so, Uchiha Fugaku's worries disappeared. He now only thought about how the Fourth Hokage, White Fang, had no prejudice against the clan, and a smile appeared on his face.
That's right, it didn't matter if the past was right or wrong; it was all about to become history. They just needed to get on good terms with the future Fourth Hokage.
Seeing Uchiha Fugaku's smile, Uchiha Yoru smirked inwardly.
First, make him unwittingly admit that the Third Hokage inherited the wary impression of the Uchiha from the Second. Then, bring up the new hope of the Fourth Hokage.
Then, what happens when he finds out that White Fang, the Fourth Hokage, is dead?
Tsk-tsk!
As he thought of this, the corner of his mouth slowly curved upward, and Uchiha Yoru showed a sincere smile.
Once the seed of doubt is planted, you won't see any changes right away. But he just needs to water it from time to time, so it can sprout and grow into a towering tree. At that time, hmph!
After all, this foolishly loyal Uchiha Fugaku had an extraordinary status within the clan, and he didn't want the Uchiha to repeat their past mistakes.
He didn't believe that a clan that saw reality sooner would still be wiped out.
While they were talking, a tiny slug secretly hid among the leaves.
Inside her tent, Tsunade opened her eyes and gave a proud huff.
"Those Uchiha brats really have big ideas!"
But Tsunade couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from turning up. At the very least, this proved one thing.
The Uchiha were focused on how to gain the village's trust and ease tensions. That was a good sign.
At the very least, Uchiha Yoru and this son of the Uchiha clan leader weren't ambitious.