"Half and half, I guess."
Taking a puff of smoke, the Third Hokage calmly continued, "At that time, the Uchiha clan was already becoming restless. With Uchiha Shisui in the past and Uchiha Itachi rising, the appearance of two great geniuses only fueled the radical faction. At the same time, I really admired Itachi. To calm and suppress the Uchiha, I had to do this."
Let's think from another perspective.
The Fifth Hokage, Jiraiya, thought that if he were in the Third Hokage's shoes, he probably would have done the same.
There are two benefits to this approach.
The first benefit is that it calms the Uchiha.
When the Third Hokage praised Itachi as having the mindset of a Hokage, does this mean that Itachi had the chance to become Hokage?
No matter what others thought, within the Uchiha clan, this idea would definitely be present.
Since Itachi had the qualifications to become Hokage, why would they rebel?
Would they rebel against their own clan?
That would be ridiculous.
It can be said that as long as there was no clear next Hokage, the Uchiha would likely not rebel in order to see Itachi become Hokage.
This bought the Third Hokage a lot of time to manage the Uchiha clan.
The second benefit is that it further placed the Uchiha in opposition to the other clans.
The Uchiha clan was already on bad terms with the other clans in Konoha. Now, with the possibility of a Uchiha becoming Hokage, wouldn't the other clans be furious?
For the sake of their clans' interests, these clans would definitely do everything they could to prevent Itachi from becoming Hokage, fearing that once he took office, he would settle scores with them.
This move, like shifting the conflict, turned the village's conflict with the Uchiha into a conflict between the Uchiha and the other clans.
The Third Hokage played this move quite well.
It's just a pity that this plan was ruined by the fool Danzo.
Otherwise, maybe the Uchiha wouldn't have been wiped out.
Just like Kagami of Tobirama's time, once the radicals were dealt with, the remaining Uchiha would have posed no threat.
After all, most Uchiha were content with life in Konoha.
"Danzo, that fool, I don't know why you put up with him for so many years."
The Third Hokage gave the Fifth Hokage Jiraiya a glance but said nothing.
Jiraiya clicked his tongue but didn't ask any further questions.
[Itachi witnessed the death of his teammates at the age of eight, successfully awakening the Sharingan.]
[At ten, he passed the Chūnin Exams alone.]
[At eleven, he joined the Anbu.]
[Influenced by Shisui, Itachi, as a ninja, has always worked tirelessly for the village since he was young.]
[After joining the Anbu, his talent was recognized by his captain, Hatake Kakashi, and he was also influenced by Kakashi's positive outlook.]
[Due to the different promotion routes and systems in the Anbu compared to regular ninjas, in the world of Naruto, the youngest Jōnin is still our chakra measurement unit: Hatake Kakashi.]
"What do you mean? When did I become a chakra measurement unit?"
Under the light screen, Kakashi listened to what Hayashi was saying, feeling very confused.
"Haha, it's probably because you, Kakashi, are too 'empty,' which means your chakra supply isn't enough, so they used you as the unit to measure chakra," Asuma teased.
Kakashi glanced at Asuma, a little displeased. "Sounds like you think your chakra is a lot more than mine."
"Hehe, even if it's just a little more, that's still more," Asuma replied happily.
He realized that he finally had something he was better at than Kakashi.
That thing was, his chakra amount was definitely more than Kakashi's.
It wasn't easy, though.
Since childhood, he had always lived in Kakashi's shadow.
In fights, he couldn't beat him.
In exams, he couldn't beat him.
Even in looks, he was outshone.
For the second son of the Sarutobi clan's leader, this was really tough.
Now, though, he had something Kakashi couldn't match.
No, actually, it was two things.
With that thought, Asuma threw his arm around Kurenai's shoulders and looked at Kakashi, proudly lifting his chin.
The message was clear.
Asuma: "I have a girlfriend, do you?"
Kakashi instinctively looked toward Rin.
Rin: "Kakashi, is something wrong?"
Kakashi: "No, nothing. Keep watching the light screen."
"Oh."
Kakashi found it a bit amusing.
When did he become so childish, comparing himself to Asuma over something like this?
But if Asuma doesn't let him relax, then he won't have it easy either.
"You're not having it easy either."
Kakashi deliberately stared at Asuma for two seconds, then sighed and patted his shoulder.
This act left Asuma stunned.
"What are you talking about? What's hard for me? Hey, don't turn away, what do you mean? Tell me clearly!"
The more Asuma panicked, the more Kakashi kept silent.
He even walked away from Asuma and moved to the middle, between Sasuke and Naruto.
"Damn, Kakashi is definitely doing this on purpose."
"Alright, stop acting like a kid and sulking. Watch the light screen."
"Okay, I'll listen to my wife."
"Who's your wife? Don't say things like that."
"Hehe, whoever is next to me is my wife."
"Ugh, annoying."
Rin felt completely numb.
She had originally been standing next to Kakashi.
But now Kakashi walked over to Sasuke and Naruto, leaving her alone to eat a mouthful of dog food.
Without making a sound, Rin quietly moved back and stood beside Kakashi again.
[After Itachi joined the Anbu, due to his outstanding abilities, he was "seconded" to the Anbu under Danzo Shimura, also known as the Root.]
[At this time, he served as the bridge for communication between the Uchiha clan and the village, playing a dual role as a spy for both Konoha and the Uchiha.]
[Konoha had long used the excuse of forming a police force to isolate the Uchiha clan.]
[Dissatisfied with this policy, the Uchiha clan decided to stage a coup, attempting to involve Uchiha Itachi's father, Uchiha Fugaku, hoping to seize the clan's position in the village under his leadership.]
[After the Nine-Tails Incident in the village, the higher-ups in Konoha, especially Danzo, suspected that this disturbance was caused by the clan with colored contact lenses.]
[So, under Danzo's strong suggestion, the area where the Uchiha lived was put under 24-hour surveillance.]
[Side note: The staff handling the surveillance were probably cursing Danzo in their hearts, because it was a tough and dangerous job. A single mistake could lead to death.]
[Back to the main point: Before the coup broke out, Uchiha Shisui visited the Third Hokage, planning to observe Uchiha Fugaku's stance at the Uchiha clan meeting.]
[If the coup couldn't be stopped, he would use the strongest genjutsu, Kotoamatsukami, to control Fugaku and prevent the rebellion.]
"I think Shisui's plan might actually work."
"Indeed, if he controls the clan leader and uses Fugaku's position, along with Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan as a deterrent, it could potentially stop the coup."
"But then, why were the Uchiha still wiped out in the end?"
In Tobirama's office, everyone was discussing the feasibility of Shisui's plan.
As they spoke, the group fell silent, then, in perfect sync, they all looked toward Danzo.
Danzo: ???
*********
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