"What? Old man, are you thinking of making a move here and now to root out this so-called cancer of Konoha?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep breath and glanced at the countless villagers surrounding them. In the end, reason overcame his impulse.
"Fighting here would endanger the innocent. As the Hokage, I will never allow such a thing to happen."
"But don't get too full of yourself, Uchiha Rukawa. It won't be long before you pay the price for everything you've done today."
"Ha! Is that so? I'll be waiting."
Rukawa flicked his hair back nonchalantly, even a faint hint of expectation in his eyes.
"By the way, you might as well go ahead and hang that guy up now," he said, pointing at the battered and clothed Hyuga Makino.
"Don't make me do it myself later."
Hyuga Makino's eyes burned with hatred as he stared at Rukawa. He was still trembling with humiliation and rage.
"Hmph! Don't even think about it. I will never raise my hand against a fellow Konoha shinobi!"
Sarutobi coldly rebuffed him.
But in his heart, he was already excluding the Uchiha from that category. As far as he was concerned, the Uchiha clan had already lost the right to be called Konoha shinobi.
Rukawa didn't argue. He simply stuffed his hands into his pockets and leisurely walked off toward home. The crowd instinctively made way for him.
Everyone's eyes were tinged with fear.
"So young, yet so violent… Uchiha really are synonymous with evil..."
That was the common thought among the gathered villagers and shinobi.
As Rukawa strolled away with his usual arrogant ease, Hiruzen's face darkened further.
The Uchiha extermination plan must be accelerated.
This Rukawa brat had completely shattered the "let two survive" clause in the original plan. Hiruzen now wanted the entire Uchiha erased—no survivors.
And even Itachi, the loyal son and future executioner, would be eliminated after his use expired.
"Hokage-sama, could we find a quiet place? There's something important I must discuss with you."
Hyuga Hiashi stepped forward, face cold, his eyes filled with hatred.
Hiruzen nodded knowingly. "Come with me."
On the way back to the Uchiha compound, Fugaku finally broke the silence.
"Although the Third has always targeted the Uchiha, he's still the Hokage—the village leader.
You showed him no respect today in front of everyone… this will only worsen our clan's situation."
Fugaku kept his tone carefully soft and diplomatic, having learned from past clashes with Rukawa.
Rukawa turned to glance sideways at him and sneered:
"You think that if I hadn't done what I did today, that old bastard would have spared the Uchiha?"
"Don't be so naive. The plan to wipe us out has been in place for a long time—what happened today only sped things up."
Fugaku remained silent. He clearly still didn't believe him.
In his mind, the extermination plan—if real—had to be a reaction to Rukawa's reckless behavior.
"Tch. Ignorant as always."
Rukawa stopped and looked at the sky.
"I wouldn't be surprised if the Uchiha Massacre begins tonight."
"What?!"
The crowd of Uchiha behind him erupted.
"He's attacking tonight?!"
"There's no way the Hokage would go that far..."
"No, I've always felt that snake was waiting for the right moment. Tonight might really be it!"
Amid the panic, Rukawa turned to Fugaku and said:
"There's still time. Get your people ready—or you'll end up nothing more than meat on Sarutobi's chopping block."
"Isn't this... a bit exaggerated?"
Fugaku still had doubts.
"I've told you: this was always going to happen. I just moved up the timeline."
Rukawa waved him off.
"Believe me or don't, I don't care. I'm not the clan head—you are. But if you wait and do nothing, the civilians in our clan will be the first to die."
He walked away, hands still in his pockets, completely indifferent.
Fugaku stood still, frowning in deep internal conflict.
Should he trust this unruly, overbearing, foul-mouthed brat?
What if he was right? What if Hiruzen really did strike tonight?
But mobilizing the whole clan for a false alarm... how would he explain that?
After a long silence, Fugaku finally made up his mind.
"Yakumi!"
A serious-looking Uchiha appeared. "Clan leader, your orders?"
"Gather every ninja in the clan. I have something crucial to announce—something that concerns our very survival."
"Yes, sir!"
Yakumi disappeared in a blur.
Someone in the crowd hesitated, then asked, "Clan head, are you really going to believe what Rukawa said?"
Fugaku didn't answer directly. He said instead:
"Whether it's true or not, we'd rather be prepared than caught off guard."
Even if he didn't believe Rukawa completely, he had to take precautions. He'd gather the clan's shinobi—and if anything happened, at least someone could protect the civilians.