This clan meeting, once again, ended without any results.
Uchiha Jin and his Radical Faction didn't leave early; instead, they watched the performance of Fugaku, Shisui, and the others with great interest before finally leaving the Naka Shrine satisfied.
"Clan Head..."
Shisui's voice was somewhat hoarse. He only spoke after everyone else had left: "We must think of a way. We absolutely cannot let Uchiha Jin continue to be so rampant!"
He was vaguely scared!
Knowing the other party's plan but being unable to stop it, this feeling made him very irritable. This open conspiracy made him feel very conflicted inside.
Fugaku's gaze was profound as he sat quietly in his seat.
He glanced at the empty Naka Shrine and seemed to see that because of his appeasement policy, the Konoha higher-ups gradually gave Danzo free rein, leading to more and more Uchiha being arrested...
Before, they had no choice, but now with Uchiha Jin, everyone began to defect to the Radical Faction frantically.
"Shisui, you..."
"Go discuss it with Hokage-sama. Ask Hokage-sama to restrain Danzo. I will try my best to stabilize the emotions of the clansmen."
"If this continues, the Uchiha will belong to the Radical Faction!"
Fugaku spoke, his face full of helplessness.
He was truly forced into a corner with no options, and could only hope Sarutobi Hiruzen would be somewhat effective.
In response to this.
A look of anger appeared on Shisui's face: "Clan Head, you cannot be misled by Uchiha Jin. Danzo-sama is a Konoha higher-up; how could he do such a thing?"
"Although he does have my grandfather's Sharingan, that was a gift from my grandfather before he died."
Fugaku sighed at this.
Silly child!
Do you think I don't know what kind of person Danzo is?
However, he also knew that Shisui had long been hoodwinked by Sarutobi Hiruzen, and talking too much with him wouldn't make any sense. So he just waved his hand and said casually: "Just tell Hokage-sama what I said. You don't need to worry about other things."
After speaking.
He ignored Shisui in front of him and left with heavy steps.
Shisui opened his mouth to explain, to persuade Fugaku with a few words.
But watching Fugaku's retreating back, after a long time, he sighed helplessly: "The clansmen's misunderstanding of the Konoha higher-ups is too deep. Even the Neutral and Moderate factions still have severe distrust towards the Konoha higher-ups."
"Hokage-sama is such a good person; why can't they respect him?"
"It seems I have to continue working hard!"
His gaze gradually became firm.
As if he had made some kind of decision, he went straight to the Hokage's office and reported the content of this clan meeting.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, smoking his pipe, sighed with an obscure look in his eyes.
"Times are tough!"
"I am aware of this matter. Please convey to Clan Head Fugaku that I will restrain Danzo as much as possible."
"Shisui, don't blame Fugaku either. The Uchiha's misunderstanding of Konoha is too deep, and it will take time to resolve this misunderstanding."
Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke with deep sincerity.
His aged face was full of exhaustion, and his eyes were filled with the complexity of being misunderstood, yet he still braced himself to persuade Shisui.
Shisui was thoroughly moved: "Hokage-sama, you have worked hard."
"It's my duty." Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a smile: "You are a good child."
"Let's work hard together."
He continued to talk to Shisui about the Will of Fire at length, and then called for the Anbu after Shisui left.
"Hokage-sama!"
"Notify Danzo to strictly monitor the Uchiha clan grounds. Also, deploy the Third Battalion of Anbu to help. All actions are under Danzo's full command."
Sarutobi Hiruzen gave the order directly.
At this moment, his old face was full of coldness. Only after the Anbu left did he let out a cold snort.
Restrain Danzo?
What a joke!
Now Danzo could no longer suppress the Hashirama cells in his body and urgently needed Three-Tomoe Sharingan to balance them. In this situation, even if he gave the order, it would have no effect.
He couldn't just watch Danzo die, right?
For the sake of the Uchiha? Don't be ridiculous!
As for Uchiha Jin's open conspiracy, it was indeed difficult to crack, but the problem was that he, Sarutobi Hiruzen, didn't need to crack it. After all, this was all internal factional struggle within the Uchiha. He was eager for more Uchiha clansmen to die.
Even if Uchiha Jin took power, it didn't matter to him!
How much of a wave could a weakened Uchiha make, even if Uchiha Jin was strong?
He just needed to make sure that the internal fighting and struggle of the Uchiha didn't affect the village. For other things, he chose to let things take their own course.
...
Time passed slowly, and in the blink of an eye, ten days had passed.
Fugaku was anxious inside but had no solution. Sarutobi Hiruzen chose to let things slide, the Radical Faction closed their doors to live their own lives, and Danzo continued to frantically hunt Three-Tomoe Uchiha to suppress the violent Hashirama cells in his body.
For a time.
The entire Uchiha clan was in a state of panic. Some people who saw the reality clearly eventually chose to defect to the Radical Faction, but the vast majority remained loyal to their factions and were still unwilling to defect to the Radical Faction.
After some discussion, these people prepared to learn from the Radical Faction and organize a collective defense.
But, unfortunately.
Their actions had just begun when they were directly stopped by Shisui.
"Everyone must trust Hokage-sama; he will definitely solve this problem!"
"This is absolutely not Danzo-sama's doing; that is all Uchiha Jin's slander. These must be spies from other ninja villages, and Hokage-sama is already thinking of a solution."
"Clansmen, wait a little longer!"
"Believe in the village, believe in Hokage-sama!"
The naive Shisui truly believed in Sarutobi Hiruzen, and this was the belief he lived by all his life.
The Uchiha were an extreme clan!
Shisui, being an Uchiha, naturally inherited this trait. Especially since he could awaken the Mangekyou, he was even more stubborn, obstinate, and single-minded than the average clansman.
But, unfortunately.
Unaware that he had been sold out and was still counting money for Sarutobi Hiruzen, he still couldn't change the harsh environment within the clan and could only sit and watch as clansmen were killed day by day.
Even if he didn't sleep at night and patrolled the whole clan, it was useless because he alone couldn't guard the entire clan grounds.
And it was precisely because of this.
Another group of clansmen chose to join the Radical Faction. The remaining die-hard loyalists of the Moderate and Neutral factions finally chose to let Fugaku take the lead in organizing the defense.
However, hehe!
Fugaku was a guy who was good at planning but indecisive, ambitious but lacking wisdom, and weak inside. Although he could clearly perceive the problems in the clan grounds, he just couldn't make up his mind to fall out with the village, not even daring to counterattack or actively defend.
Because he was afraid the situation would get worse!
Just like in the original story, facing Itachi's genocidal actions, even though he didn't agree in his heart, he still chose to stretch out his neck for the slaughter.
Now, it was the same!
Even though clansmen died tragically one after another, even though the Moderate and Neutral factions pressured him, he kept thinking, wondering if delaying would bring about a new opportunity for survival.
In the end.
Amidst Fugaku's delay and contemplation, more and more Uchiha joined the Radical Faction, until Fugaku completely became a commander without soldiers. Now, he could only lead the higher-ups of the Moderate and Neutral factions, plus some core elites of the two factions.
In total, less than fifteen people!