Rebuilding Uchiha By Removing Fugaku

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"What did you just say!?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the ANBU in astonishment.

The ANBU member awkwardly repeated himself and then recounted the incident in detail.

Sarutobi Hiruzen took a hard puff from his smoking pipe and coughed loudly.

"That ungrateful rebel!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen gritted his teeth and cursed, "What about the others?!"

"He was arrested by the captain, but as he left, he kept shouting that he was the Third Hokage's son and that his father would come to rescue him."

A series of veins bulged on Sarutobi Hiruzen's forehead.

The reason he dared to let the ANBU take charge of certain questionable operations was that they always kept their identities secret while wearing masks.

The civilians had no idea who these masked individuals were or which clan they belonged to. That way, they had no one to blame, no way to file complaints, and nowhere to direct their grievances.

They only knew that, because Sarutobi had failed to secure the Hokage position, they were being extorted.

But now Asuma was shouting his identity in front of so many people. If Sarutobi didn't intervene, his former prestige as Hokage would likely be ruined. The carefully crafted plans he had been promoting would collapse entirely.

Sarutobi's decision to exchange resources with the Uchiha Clan was to ensure that even without military funds, he could still gather enough resources to train his subordinates.

But Asuma's reckless actions had disrupted everything. The "urban management brigade" would now lose its ability to generate off-the-books income.

With only the fixed salaries, it might be enough to feed the regular ANBU operatives, but there was no way to pay the lower-ranking members who relied on additional income.

"This is a disaster!!"

Sarutobi gritted his teeth and paced back and forth. But after thinking for a long time, he realized he had no choice but to endure this loss.

"Tell Shinnosuke to release him, but keep him under secret confinement afterward!"

For now, the priority was still dealing with Uchiha Toki. There was no time to focus on this idiot son of his.

...

So, shortly after, Asuma walked out of the "urban management brigade" headquarters amidst the cheers of the crowd.

Seeing the civilians' support, he once again felt the power of the masses and the influence of the Will of Fire.

And then…

…he was secretly arrested again.

---

Meanwhile, Uchiha Setsuna was staring at the report handed to him by his clan members, his face full of disbelief.

"This guy has something wrong with his head! Is he really this stupid?"

When Uchiha Setsuna first heard the news from Toki, he had been skeptical. After all, he didn't think anyone would be foolish enough to sacrifice their own clan to help others.

But Asuma had done exactly that.

Uchiha Setsuna couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

"Deliver this news to Lord Toki immediately and ask him for the next steps. The person we're dealing with is so stupid it's impossible to gather any useful intelligence from him."

"Yes!"

When the news reached the frontline, Uchiha Yatsushiro and Uchiha Inabo laughed heartily.

"Lord Toki truly has great tactics. Sarutobi Hiruzen suffered such a huge loss so easily."

"Ha! It's hilarious! That old man sold out his own people and now got betrayed by his son. He must be fuming!"

Toki, however, waved his hand disinterestedly. "Sigh… I thought he might be smarter. At least Itachi was far more competent at his age."

Yatsushiro and Inabo exchanged confused glances.

Who was this "Itachi," and what did he have to do with Asuma?

Toki simply rubbed his chin, lost in thought.

"It's time to return to the village. I initially thought he might put up a better fight, but I didn't expect him to be so utterly incompetent."

The two Uchiha stared blankly at Toki, still unable to grasp what he was talking about.

Toki, of course, couldn't explain his knowledge of future events. After all, many things had already changed due to his actions, and there was no guarantee Sarutobi Hiruzen would be able to manipulate Itachi as before.

Toki was confident that in a few years, mainstream public opinion in Konoha would be entirely under his control.

By then, Uchiha would be Konoha. Opposing the Uchiha would be seen as opposing Konoha itself—a direct act of treason!

Following Sarutobi Hiruzen's methods, but better, Toki planned to leave him with no options and no escape. In Toki's view, Hiruzen's shallow political maneuvers were laughable.

In high spirits, Toki issued new orders to Yatsushiro and Inabo:

"Now that the frontline force has grown to nearly 2,000 troops, relying on harassment tactics alone is no longer viable. Prepare for potential retaliation from Kumogakure. Deploy traps and barriers, and focus on improving teamwork among the units. Minimize casualties to maintain morale for the next wave of recruitment."

"Additionally, send reconnaissance teams to Sunagakure. When Pakura is sent to Kirigakure to negotiate peace, make sure we get the news immediately."

After giving his orders, Toki turned his attention to the [Bloodline Research & Development Center] in his system's building menu.

Activating the center had cost a staggering 10,000 family prestige points, but its most basic function was incredible:

It could assist ninjas in fusing their chakra to create new Kekkei Genkai abilities!