When Shimura Danzō heard Ren's words, his expression instantly darkened. His suspicions were now fully confirmed.
Seeing this, Uchiha Ren spoke again.
"It seems Elder Shimura already knows who those unfamiliar faces are?"
Those strangers had indeed been discovered accidentally by members of the Konoha Military Police Force during patrols. Ren himself had some guesses about their identities, but he hadn't been able to confirm them completely.
"What else could they be?" Danzō snorted coldly.
"They're shinobi secretly cultivated by Hiruzen Sarutobi and his faction, using village resources to strengthen their own clans."
After a brief pause, he glanced at Ren and said coldly,
"I don't mind telling you this: even though the Uchiha clan currently boasts nearly a thousand shinobi and is called the most powerful clan in Konoha—perhaps even the strongest clan in the entire shinobi world—"
"After all these years of development, the Sarutobi clan actually has even more shinobi than the Uchiha. The only difference is that their overall quality is somewhat inferior."
"As for the Utatane clan and Mitokado clan, they didn't focus primarily on cultivating ninja strength, but if you combine the two clans together, they can rival the Hyūga clan in scale."
"They've simply hidden most of their clan's shinobi in various minor village posts over the years to avoid attracting attention."
Hearing this, Ren couldn't help clicking his tongue.
His understanding of the greed of Hiruzen Sarutobi, Koharu Utatane , and Homura Mitokado had just reached an entirely new level.
Back when Konoha was first founded, the Sarutobi, Utatane, and Mitokado clans had only been mid-sized clans—each with fewer than a thousand members and barely a hundred shinobi.
Yet in just a few decades, the number of shinobi in the Sarutobi clan alone had nearly reached the total population their clan originally had.
Exactly how many village resources had these three siphoned away for their own families?
Ren had once assumed that the joke about the "Three Thousand Sarutobi Army" during the Fourth Shinobi War was just internet sarcasm.
But rumors rarely arise from nothing.
If Hiruzen had continued ruling for another decade or two, then by the time of the Fourth Shinobi War, the Sarutobi clan might truly have produced two thousand Sarutobi shinobi—even if not three thousand.
Just think about the original story:
When the Allied Shinobi Forces attacked the Ten-Tails, the battle units shouted:
"Sunagakure shinobi!" for Wind Release squads"Iwagakure shinobi!" for Earth Release squads"Kumogakure shinobi!" for Lightning Release squads"Kirigakure shinobi!" for Water Release squads
But when it came to the Fire Release squad, those Konoha shinobi shouted:
"Sarutobi clan!"
The contrast spoke volumes.
Shaking away these stray thoughts, Ren looked back at Danzō and continued calmly.
"Elder Shimura, the Sarutobi, Utatane, and Mitokado clans already have over one hundred Jōnin on the surface."
"With these additional hundred hidden Jōnin, their total surpasses two hundred—which means they're almost equal to the combined Jōnin strength of the Uchiha clan and the Hyūga clan."
"You control Root, but the ANBU are still under Hiruzen's influence."
"Among the medium-sized clans, the Ino–Shika–Chō alliance and other major clans will definitely support Hiruzen's side."
"As for the civilian shinobi…"
"Although Orochimaru supports us and can bring some votes, Hiruzen's faction also has Jiraiya, another of the Legendary Sannin."
"And Hiruzen himself enjoys greater prestige in the village than you do. His overall support is naturally higher."
"I've even heard that he's managed to win over the Shimura clan—your own clan."
"With all that considered…"
"Hiruzen's faction clearly holds the advantage."
As Ren analyzed the situation point by point, Danzō's face darkened further with each sentence.
By the time Ren finished speaking, his expression was as black as the bottom of a pot.
Judging from his reaction, Danzō had already anticipated much of this—which was exactly why he had been so desperate to confirm the Uchiha clan's stance.
Danzō narrowed his lone eye and said through clenched teeth,
"The outcome is not yet decided. No one can say who will win."
"I came here today not only to confirm whether the Uchiha clan has cooperated with Hiruzen…"
"…but also because I want to buy some insurance for tomorrow."
A few days earlier, Danzō had indeed traveled secretly among the village clans and gained considerable support.
But that had been before Hiruzen personally entered the political arena.
Once Hiruzen began campaigning, several clans that had already promised Danzō their support suddenly became ambiguous again.
That shift planted a seed of unease in Danzō's heart.
So today he had come mainly to prepare a contingency plan—of course, only after confirming that the Uchiha clan had not defected to Hiruzen.
From their conversation just now, Danzō had concluded that although Uchiha Ren held no fondness for him, his attitude toward Hiruzen's faction wasn't any better.
At that point, it simply came down to who could offer the Uchiha greater benefits.
And in that regard, Danzō wasn't worried.
Given Hiruzen's hesitant personality, how much could he possibly offer?
By contrast, the terms Danzō had promised the Uchiha were already as generous as they could get.
So in Danzō's view, the Uchiha were still reliable—and thus he finally revealed his contingency plan.
Ren's heart stirred slightly as he probed,
"What exactly are you planning to do, Elder Shimura?"
Danzō's gaze turned fierce.
"The former ANBU Commander, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, is dead. And Hiruzen can no longer exercise Hokage authority."
"The ANBU are currently leaderless."
"Tomorrow, in my capacity as a Konoha Elder, I will assign Root shinobi to take over the covert security of the election venue."
"And the public security of the venue is already under the Konoha Military Police Force, which your Uchiha clan controls."
"That means inside and outside the venue…"
"…will all be our people."
"If I win tomorrow's election, then everything proceeds normally."
"But if I lose…"
A murderous intent surged in Danzō's single eye as his voice turned icy.
"Then we'll settle it once and for all."
"Kill Hiruzen."
"Imprison Minato."
"Execute Utatane and Mitokado."
Ren was stunned.
He hadn't expected Danzō to be this insane.
"You're talking about launching a coup!"
Ren felt his scalp go numb as he inhaled sharply.
Danzō replied coldly,
"It's only rebellion if you fail."
"If you succeed…"
"…then it's revolution."
"As long as Hiruzen and his allies are dead, I will have more than enough evidence to prove that they were criminals who deserved execution."
"Minato cannot be killed. You only need to help me hold him off."
"Then Orochimaru can stall Jiraiya."
"As for the rest…"
"…leave them to me."
Danzō's voice carried absolute certainty.
"The position of Fourth Hokage will be mine."
"Even if the Sage of Six Paths himself descended today…"
"…he would still have to step aside."
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