Chapter 100: The Uchiha Counterattack, The Konoha F4's Severe Headache

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke in a faint, somber tone.

He glanced indifferently at the three present, then immediately took up his pipe again and began puffing out clouds of smoke.

As for these three Konoha Elders, they had all fallen silent.

Yes.

They were all stunned.

Only after Hiruzen Sarutobi's reminder did they realize that Uchiha Jin had already withdrawn from the ninja roster.

The Hidden Leaf Village.

Did not follow a centralized path, but resembled more of a federal alliance system.

After all, the founding of the Hidden Leaf Village was based primarily on the Senju and the Uchiha.

Then the Ino-Shika-Cho, Sarutobi, Hyuga, and other clans responded to the call, joined by countless smaller clans, gradually forming the village.

Under these circumstances, the village leadership was akin to the Zhou Emperor.

While the major clans under its jurisdiction were not subordinates of the village, but more like various feudal states.

According to the agreement reached by all clans when the Hidden Leaf Village was founded.

Clan elders and other high-ranking members held autonomy and could refuse summons from the village.

They could even retain certain elites who did not join the ninja roster and served only their families.

The authority of the village leadership was limited to administrative departments such as the Ninja Academy and the hospital, as well as public areas for civilians; even during wartime, they only had the right to command those on the ninja roster.

The major clans governed themselves internally.

The village had no right to interfere!

Under these circumstances, since Uchiha Jin had withdrawn from the ninja roster, the village could not force him.

They could only negotiate and call upon him.

But whether he was willing to accept was not up to the village.

Even if he responded to the call and was willing to fight, once on the battlefield, Itachi could not command him.

Regarding orders, he could refuse!

The reason Hatake Sakumo was driven to suicide by the village leadership due to a mission failure was that when he accepted the mission, he did so not as the head of the Hatake clan, but as the captain of the Anbu Black Ops.

The village could not control the Hatake clan head, but it could control the Anbu captain!

But this tactic had no effect whatsoever on Uchiha Jin.

Although he held the title of Police Force Chief, the Police Force was only responsible for village security and had no duties such as external assassinations or intelligence gathering.

As an Uchiha elder, he had automatically withdrawn from the ninja roster.

Even if he truly fought, it would be considered assistance from the clan.

This was the reason why these three Konoha Elders were now completely stunned.

Trying to control Uchiha Jin was truly, truly difficult!

Silence.

In the entire Hokage's office, the three elders frowned slightly, all lost in thought.

About ten minutes later.

After finishing a pipe of tobacco and extinguishing the embers, Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke faintly.

"Enough, stop thinking about it."

"Trying to kill Uchiha Jin in the short term now seems unrealistic."

"Especially since Uchiha Jin's personality is completely different from other Uchiha; he feels more like a Nara."

"Such a person is hard to deal with!"

"So, all of us must prepare for a long-term struggle!"

"Putting aside the plan to kill Uchiha Jin for now, Uchiha Jin has presented me with a major problem."

"Itachi all should help me think about how to handle this matter."

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not hide anything.

The few people present were those he trusted absolutely.

Therefore.

He recounted in full detail his probing of Uchiha Jin today and the counterattack Uchiha Jin had prepared.

Kohona Utatane: "..."

Homura Mitokado: "..."

Danzo Shimura: "..."

The three exchanged glances, all stunned.

Their minds went blank as they looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi in shock.

Yes.

They could not believe this was a rotten idea the Uchiha could come up with.

"This... is impossible, right?" Kohona Utatane, her face full of shock, asked, "Could this group of Uchiha really think of such a rotten idea?"

Homura Mitokado took a deep breath and said gravely, "We must stop this. If it spreads, it will cause extremely serious damage to Hiruzen's authority."

Danzo fell silent as well.

Although he did not speak, his mind began to race.

Yes.

Despite his constant struggle with Hiruzen Sarutobi, that was limited to their internal affairs.

When facing external enemies, especially the Uchiha, he could still distinguish priorities.

After a long while.

He finally spoke through gritted teeth.

"That damn group of Uchiha!"

"It's all because Itachi, Hiruzen, are too soft-hearted. When the Senju were wiped out, our authority in the village was at its peak."

"We should have wiped out the Uchiha in one go back then."

"But Itachi wouldn't listen to me, hmph!"

Yes.

Long ago, when the Senju announced their retirement and fully integrated into the village, he had proposed wiping out the Uchiha immediately.

· ········· Requesting flowers ······ ······

But, unfortunately.

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not listen to him, which naturally made him angry.

However, regarding this.

Hiruzen Sarutobi could only remain silent, too lazy to even bother with Danzo.

"Enough, Danzo," Homura Mitokado said directly. "When the Senju fell, every clan in the village was in fear."

"If we had forcibly attacked the Uchiha then, it would only have made all the clans wary and suspicious of us."

"The strategy of boiling a frog in warm water is what we all agreed upon."

Kohona Utatane nodded slightly.

In this regard, it truly could not be called Hiruzen Sarutobi's fault.

After pondering for a moment, she spoke coldly.

"I agree with Homura's statement; Danzo, Itachi are going too far."

"What matters most now is to quickly find a way to expose the Uchiha's conspiracy."

"I think we should spread rumors."

"Just like we did with Sakumo Hatake. As long as we make all the clans hostile toward the Uchiha, no matter what the Uchiha do, no one will trust them!"

However.

Regarding Kohona Utatane's plan, Homura Mitokado shook his head directly.

"Impossible. It won't work."

Hearing this, Danzo also scoffed, saying with disdain, "This trick works on others, but not on the Uchiha."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slowly.

He largely agreed with Danzo's statement.

After pondering for a long time, he spoke helplessly.

"With our push, the Uchiha's reputation is already bad enough."

"Even if we blacken them further, what more can we do?"

"The Uchiha's reputation is already rotten everywhere; even if we blacken them more, no one will feel anything."

"The Uchiha have already given up and are shamelessly pretending not to hear it."

"What can Itachi do?"

"Unless the Uchiha revolt directly now, mere rumors will be useless."

Everyone fell silent.

At this moment, they truly felt a headache.

The Uchiha were indeed difficult to deal with.

Just like the entertainment industry in his past life, if an actor with a stellar public image suddenly had scandals erupt and his persona collapse, it would naturally attract everyone's attention and condemnation.

But what if they switched to a "black-fame" strategy?

If they were already thoroughly blackened, what difference would more blackening make?

On the contrary, it would only send them more traffic!

If those with black fame heard this, they would only sigh that such a good thing existed?

Thanks, old buddy, 666! Door.