Chapter 17

Hiruzen Sarutobi began his performance.

He was, of course, well aware of the plight of the subordinates under Kagami Uchiha.

But he did not intervene.

A group of people with no utility, and Uchiha at that—he naturally had no interest in lending a helping hand.

But now, things were different!

Shisui was a good chess piece; he naturally could not bear to give him up.

To be honest.

His performance was quite crude; if Uchiha Jin were present, he could easily point out many flaws.

However, it was a pity.

Standing before him was Shisui, and a thoroughly brainwashed Shisui at that.

His face was filled with gratitude; he immediately interrupted Hiruzen Sarutobi's words and said with ironclad certainty.

"No, don't blame the Hokage-sama!"

"You are busy with ten thousand things every day; how could you have time to deal with such trivial matters?"

"The ones who should truly be blamed are those radicals within the clan; they are just too detestable!"

"Rest assured, Hokage-sama, as long as I, Shisui, am here, I will never allow that group of radicals to commit evil!"

Shisui said these words with absolute conviction.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was quite satisfied with this.

After chatting briefly, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and spoke.

"Shisui, you should go back."

"I feel that relying on Fugaku alone is not enough to suppress those radicals."

"Those victims were your grandfather's subordinates back in the day; you have an obligation to help Fugaku handle this matter."

"Furthermore, the village also bears a certain responsibility in this affair."

"I declare in the name of the Hokage: if the Uchiha clan is unwilling to support the descendants of those who served under Kagami, then the village can take full responsibility."

"It is I, the Hokage, who has failed!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was full of heartache.

Shisui was so moved that he was almost in tears.

What a wonderful Hokage!

How could those bastards in his own clan still complain that the Hokage was unfair?

He did not realize that Hiruzen Sarutobi was merely being generous with his words.

In reality, it was all nonsense!

That group of people who followed Kagami Uchiha had long since been purged and were all dead.

As for their descendants?

How many were left?

Even if the village covered everything, how much money could it possibly cost?

Not to mention someone like Uchiha Jin, who had already become a ninja—would you really have the nerve to ask for compensation from the village?

This was Hiruzen Sarutobi!

He didn't spend a single cent, yet he earned a wave of good reputation.

And with this arrangement, he could continue to divide the Uchiha.

Let the moderates and the radicals fight it out!

He would be happy even if one of them was killed.

But, it was a pity.

Uchiha Shisui did not understand these things.

Instead, he said gratefully: "On behalf of Jin and those innocent people, I thank the Hokage-sama for your generosity."

"Jin?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, puzzled.

Hearing the Hokage's confusion, Shisui immediately explained.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slightly upon hearing this.

Since he had obtained the information he wanted, he had no interest in bickering with Shisui.

"Alright, you may go back."

"But Hokage-sama, my mission..."

"That is fine; I will have others do it. You just focus on resolving the Uchiha matter."

"This, thank you, Hokage-sama!"

Shisui left with a look of gratitude.

And after he left, Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke coldly.

"Someone, come in!"

In an instant.

A masked Anbu appeared, kneeling on one knee and saying respectfully.

"Hokage-sama!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke.

"Get me the file on Uchiha Jin!"

The masked Anbu bowed upon hearing this and then left the office.

Five minutes later.

The Anbu appeared again and placed a file on the desk.

He bowed again, and without waiting for Hiruzen Sarutobi to speak, he vanished in a puff of smoke with a 'pop'.

Clearly.

This was a Shadow Clone.

Hiruzen Sarutobi paid no attention to the Anbu, only focusing on reviewing Uchiha Jin's file.

But the more he read, the more he frowned.

It was terrible!

If Uchiha Shisui was a genius, then Uchiha Jin was an absolute fool.

He was already 12 years old; Kakashi was already a Jonin, and Shisui was at the peak of Chunin, ready to be promoted to Jonin as soon as he performed a few more meritorious deeds.

And look at Uchiha Jin?

It was hard to put into words.

He was already in the fifth grade, and he could barely use the Three Body Technique; his chakra was also pitifully low.

This was an Uchiha?

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the file with a 'subway old man' expression.

It was too pathetic!

Even a commoner would be about the same, right?

He never considered that Uchiha Jin might be hiding his strength, because that was not something an Uchiha would do.

If an Uchiha really had that kind of brain, the Third Hokage would have been an Uchiha.

Sigh!

Looking at this file, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a massive headache.

Originally, he had wanted to call Uchiha Jin over, preach the Will of Fire to him, and trick him into helping Shisui deal with the Uchiha radicals.

But now, he had no such inclination.

Such a cannon-fodder-like character wasn't even worth his time.

Creak.

Just at this moment, the office door was opened.

An elderly man wrapped in bandages walked straight in, leaning on a cane.

Yes. ===== CHAPTER 18 =====