Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that his train of thought had been thrown into disorder.
For a moment, he did not even know whom to suspect.
"Someone who can make the handwriting identical to Hyuga Hizashi's, and who also understands ANBU extremely well…"
"Right. Hokage-sama, there is another piece of news."
The ANBU shinobi said, "A branch family member of the Hyuga clan recently disappeared. He is Hyuga Hizashi's son, Hyuga Neji. He vanished suddenly, and no one knows where he went."
"There is also no record of him leaving the village."
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned again.
"Hyuga Neji disappeared?"
The matter of Hyuga Hizashi's suicide note had yet to be investigated clearly, and now another disappearance had appeared. Hiruzen Sarutobi only felt his head ache.
If there were clues, if he could continue investigating, that would still be manageable.
But there were no clues at all.
This left Hiruzen Sarutobi with only one thing he could confirm.
"Someone in the village is deliberately opposing this old man!"
"There aren't many people who would oppose me and also be capable of doing such things."
"Could it be Danzo again?"
"He has already been confined, yet he still refuses to behave?"
"But Root has already been abolished. The only people Danzo can mobilize now are members of the Shimura clan. In other words, many people within the Shimura clan are participating in actions against me?"
"Does Danzo intend to lead the entire Shimura clan in rebellion?"
"Just like the Uchiha back then?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face darkened.
After that—
A card was delivered before Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Rasa!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi violently tore the card in his hand apart, shredding it into pieces.
"Attack! Send orders to Orochimaru. Have him launch an even more ferocious offensive against Sunagakure's army!"
After the ANBU shinobi left, Hiruzen Sarutobi could no longer hold back.
"Rasa, you brat! I will kill you!"
"To disgust this old man in such a manner!"
"You want to forcibly slander this old man as someone who betrayed Jiraiya?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was utterly furious.
The reason for his fury was that Hiruzen Sarutobi knew just how popular Ninja Kill was in the ninja world. No—not only in the ninja world, but even among ordinary people, Ninja Kill was extremely popular.
As long as Ninja Kill continued to exist, a card like Jiraiya (Disabled Version) would continue to exist.
And as long as it existed, people's discussions about him betraying Jiraiya would also continue.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had already deeply experienced the influence Minato Namikaze's card had brought upon him.
Moreover, the two ninjutsu on Minato Namikaze's card had not even targeted him that directly.
But the two ninjutsu on the Jiraiya (Disabled Version) card were practically pointing at his nose and cursing him.
Right now, he was still alive, and he could still use methods to clarify things.
But what about later?
After he died, Ninja Kill might still exist for a very long time.
At that time, no one would help him clarify anything. The slander inside Ninja Kill would turn into fact.
It would not only affect his future reputation, but also the Sarutobi clan.
"Sunagakure is not weak. For Orochimaru alone to defeat Sunagakure's army will not be easy. But who else can the current Konoha still use?"
"Whose strength is enough?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not want to use Danzo again.
He no longer trusted Danzo. Giving Danzo an opportunity was giving himself risk.
In addition, letting Danzo and Orochimaru be together would also be giving both of them an opportunity.
Names flashed one after another through Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind.
Suddenly, Hiruzen Sarutobi thought of someone.
"Uchiha Fugaku…"
Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Uchiha Yamakaku was killed by Uchiha Yashiro. Uchiha Fugaku absolutely cannot possibly side with Uchiha Yashiro. And Uchiha Fugaku's wife is still in the village."
"His second son, Uchiha Sasuke, was not born very long ago."
"Even if Uchiha Fugaku were given the opportunity to leave the village, he probably would not leave."
"Outside, he has nowhere to go."
"Inside the village, there are things he cannot bear to abandon."
"And Uchiha Fugaku's strength is real. He has awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan and is proficient in genjutsu, Fire Release, and the manipulation of various ninja tools. He does not make many moves, but his strength is not weak."
"Even Minato once acknowledged Uchiha Fugaku's strength."
"There are not many people who can receive Minato's recognition."
Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned an ANBU shinobi.
"Go to the Uchiha clan compound. Have Uchiha Fugaku come here."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
Very soon, Uchiha Fugaku arrived before Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Hokage-sama."
Uchiha Fugaku's expression looked as still as an ancient well, as if he had already grown numb to everything.
"Fugaku, it has been a long time. Sit."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama."
Uchiha Fugaku sat in the position Hiruzen Sarutobi indicated.
"Hokage-sama called me over. Is there something you need?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "Regarding the Uchiha matter, I have thought about it a great deal. The village's handling of you was indeed somewhat harsh. Even though you are all Uchiha, there are still differences between you."
"When Uchiha Yashiro and the others rebelled, not only did you not support them, you did not even stand by and watch. Instead, you pursued them together with the other Konoha shinobi."
"Uchiha Gen… what a pity."
"But at the time, the situation made public sentiment difficult to resist. Everyone in the village feared the Uchiha and was wary of them… As Hokage, I could only prioritize calming their emotions."
"But now, a great deal of time has passed."
"Everyone should also have realized that the Uchiha in Konoha are not the same as the Uchiha outside."
"Therefore, Fugaku, I will give you an opportunity."
"In this war against Sunagakure, you may go to the front line. You may bring three Uchiha members and form a squad to head to the battlefield. You must grasp this opportunity properly."
"As long as you earn merit, the village's impression of you will change."
"I will also reward you according to your merits, just like everyone else."
"Do not disappoint me."
Uchiha Fugaku froze for a moment.
He had not expected that he would one day regain his freedom.
But after thinking about it, Uchiha Fugaku felt that this should not be because Hiruzen Sarutobi had developed tolerance toward the Uchiha clan. If he truly had been tolerant, he would have acted long ago. Why wait until now?
Uchiha Fugaku guessed that the front-line situation was likely unfavorable, and his strength was needed.
However, if things had reached the point where even his strength as an Uchiha had to be used, just how bad had the situation on the front line become?
Even so, Uchiha Fugaku still pretended to reveal joy.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama!"
"I will definitely do everything in my power to fight for the village!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded.
"Go prepare."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Watching Uchiha Fugaku leave, Hiruzen Sarutobi asked the ANBU shinobi beside him.
"Right. What is Uchiha Fugaku's second son called?"
"Reporting to Hokage-sama, he is called Uchiha Sasuke."
Hiruzen Sarutobi repeated the name.
"Uchiha Sasuke… hm? Sasuke?"
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