Naruto: The Rise Of Uchiha

After handing over the thirteen Anbu ninjas to the Third Hokage, Uchiha Fugaku accompanied the Hokage back to the Hokage Building.

Not long after, he sealed the thirty-five pairs of Sharingan into a scroll and left the Hokage Building.

Unless the Third Hokage had hidden some Sharingan elsewhere, these should be all of them in his possession.

This time, there was no doubt he had won.

The Third Hokage's attempt to frame him had failed. Instead, Fugaku turned the situation around and used the opportunity to recover the Uchiha clan's stolen Sharingan.

Moreover, if the Third Hokage thought this matter was over, he was gravely mistaken.

Thinking of this, Fugaku smirked slightly and quickly returned to the Konoha Military Police Force headquarters.

As he arrived, Uchiha Yakumi approached him.

"Captain, those Anbu clearly acted on the Hokage's orders to spread rumors and frame you. Are we just going to let it go?" Uchiha Yakumi asked.

Even though it was true the clan leader had killed Shimura Danzō, the Hokage had no proof. Without evidence, it was nothing more than a rumor.

"Of course not," Fugaku said, shaking his head with a calm smile.

"Then what's the plan, Clan Leader?" Yakumi asked, slightly puzzled.

Since the clan leader had no intention of letting this go, why hand over the thirteen Anbu?

"It's time for the second step of the plan. I intend to use this incident to launch it," Fugaku said with a smile.

"The second step…" Yakumi's eyes lit up.

Given Fugaku's current reputation, the first step had clearly succeeded. It was indeed the right time to proceed with the second phase.

The second step was to expose the disgraceful actions of the Third Hokage and ruin his reputation, ultimately forcing him to step down.

The clan leader likely intended to use this incident to expose the Third Hokage's true nature and weaken his authority.

Then Yakumi frowned.

"But we already handed over those thirteen Anbu. We don't have any proof—"

"We don't need that," Fugaku said, cutting him off.

"As long as it's confirmed they were Anbu, that's enough."

"Just confirming they were Anbu is enough?" Yakumi thought about it and then understood Fugaku's point.

"I see. Since the Anbu are directly under the Hokage, anyone with common sense can deduce that the order must have come from him."

"Exactly. We'll have members of the Police Force casually talk about this while on patrol," Fugaku instructed.

"But don't ever say directly that the Hokage gave the order. We can't repeat the mistake he made."

They would only state that the people caught were Anbu members and were spreading slander, but they would not directly accuse the Hokage of ordering it.

Even if the Hokage learned of this and wanted to retaliate, he couldn't take action—because what the officers were saying was true, not slander.

And even those subtle truths would be enough to make people infer that the Hokage was behind it. His reputation would undoubtedly suffer.

"Understood. I'll issue the order now."

Yakumi bowed and quickly departed. Soon after, many members of the Police Force began patrolling the village.

They chatted amongst themselves, subtly mentioning that Fugaku had been framed, and that the perpetrators were from the Anbu.

Naturally, the Anbu noticed, and the monkey-masked Anbu soon reported to the Hokage.

"You still won't give up after getting the Sharingan?" the Third Hokage said angrily.

He had assumed that Fugaku would be satisfied after retrieving the Sharingan, but clearly, Fugaku had no intention of letting the matter drop.

"Arrest all those Police Force members spreading rumors!" he ordered the monkey-masked Anbu.

"But what they're saying is true, not rumors—and they didn't say it was your order. We don't have sufficient cause to arrest them," the masked man replied helplessly.

"Damn it!"

The Hokage's face flushed with frustration and rage.

...

Thanks to the Police Force, the story about spies disguised as Anbu who tried to frame Uchiha Fugaku quickly spread across Konoha.

Some people were shocked to learn there were spies among the Anbu, while others understood the true meaning behind the news.

"I can't believe there were spies in the Anbu. It's a good thing they were caught, or the consequences would've been disastrous," said Yamashiro Kei, a tall Genin with a forehead protector.

Beside him were two other Genin: Moonlight Kisu, a shorter boy from the Moonlight clan, and Shiranui Shika, a ponytailed girl from the Shiranui clan.

"Idiot," Kisu said immediately. "The Anbu is Konoha's most secure unit. How could spies from other villages get in?"

"But the news said there were spies in the Anbu?" Yamashiro Kei replied, puzzled.

"You believe everything you hear? You're hopeless," Kisu said, sighing. "Those weren't enemy spies. They were actual Anbu."

"Then why would actual Anbu spread lies about Clan Leader Fugaku?" Kei asked, even more confused.

"Because they were ordered to," Shika replied quietly.

"Ordered? By who?" Kei asked, eyes widening.

"Who else in Konoha can mobilize the Anbu?" Kisu said bluntly, exasperated.

"You mean…"

Kei finally understood, and his face turned pale.

Only the Third Hokage had authority over the Anbu. That meant it was his order.

The Hokage who had once seemed kind and wise—the same man who welcomed him on his first day at the Academy—had tried to frame a fellow Konoha ninja?

His entire worldview was shaken.

Kisu and Shika watched him quietly, both sighing. They, too, were shaken. They never expected the Hokage to have such a dark side.

(End of this chapter)