Lightning flashed outside the window, followed by a sudden thunderclap.
Inside the room, Fugaku's words struck like another kind of thunderbolt—shocking and terrifying to everyone present!
"... Anbu harming villagers! People who don't know better would think it's the Hokage himself attacking his own people. Anbu betraying the village! People who aren't informed might think it's the Hokage himself who betrayed us!"
After hearing Fugaku's words, all the clan representatives and elite ninja in attendance couldn't help but regard him with new respect.
What Fugaku had said was practically accusing the Third Hokage directly—it was essentially declaring war against the entire Hokage faction!
Although many in the room harbored some complaints toward the Third, the Hokage faction had ruled Konoha for decades. Aside from the Uchiha, perhaps no one else dared speak so brazenly against the Third.
Homura Mitokado spoke coldly, "Fugaku Uchiha, watch your words. After the Second's passing, it was only because the Third Hokage took command at a critical moment that Konoha managed to survive two Great Ninja World Wars amid countless threats. His contributions and honor must not be disrespected."
Fugaku hesitated—he was never much of a speaker.
But he wasn't worried. He had brought along a silver-tongued Uchiha to this meeting.
Aozora rose to his feet and said, "And Council Elder Homura, please watch *your* words too."
As Homura frowned, Aozora bowed deeply to everyone around before continuing, "Konoha's survival and victory in The Great Ninja World War weren't due solely to the leadership safely within the village. More importantly, they relied on the brave ancestors and fellow ninja who fearlessly spilled their blood and sacrificed themselves on the front lines."
Every ninja in attendance—whether representing a clan or an ordinary civilian ninja—felt their hearts tremble at these words. No matter who they were, after years of war, each had lost several loved ones or close friends on the battlefield.
They understood that what Aozora said might just be rhetoric, perhaps meant purely to counter Homura's previous statement.
But compared to Homura's remarks, Aozora's words—and especially that bow—showed the utmost respect for the fallen.
Koharu Utatane observed the shift in the room's atmosphere and explained, "We will never forget the honor of those who sacrificed their lives for the village. But the Third has served long and hard—his achievements and reputation must not be disrespected."
Aozora asked doubtfully, "Then tell me, where exactly did our clan head slander the Hokage's reputation? He simply urged the Hokage to clean up the corruption within the Anbu ranks!"
He then offered an analogy, saying, "May I ask everyone here—a knife cuts you. Do you blame the blade itself, or do you hold accountable the person wielding the knife?"
His earlier visits had clearly paid off—voices rose in agreement.
"Obviously the one holding the knife!"
"Duh, it's definitely the one with the blade!"
...
Aozora nodded and continued, "Anbu wear masks, wear standard uniforms, refer to each other only by code names while on missions, and all other mission details remain confidential. Unless they have very obvious distinguishing features, tell me—can anyone in this room truly identify an Anbu member?"
Most shook their heads slowly, unsure what to say.
"When they put on those Anbu masks and hide their identities, every single Anbu agent shares only one identity—they are but extensions of the Hokage's will."
Aozora paused briefly before turning his gaze to Hiruzen Sarutobi at the front of the meeting room, calmly stating, "And when there's a problem with the blade, naturally it falls on the person wielding it."
Aozora had a deep understanding of the art of persuasion. He didn't spout high-minded principles or lecture everyone, but instead continuously interacted with the present ninja, prompting them to think and arrive at the same conclusion as him.
And he succeeded brilliantly. Without yelling or delivering a passionate speech, his words left the Konoha leadership unable to counter, and earned inner approval from the ninja present.
The clan representatives and elite ninja seated below began exchanging glances and whispers.
Though they kept their voices low, all their eyes remained fixed on the Konoha leadership at the front of the room.
The Konoha leadership was caught off guard—they had assumed the Uchiha would latch onto Danzo's defection like a dog with a bone and force the Third to resign. In preparation, they had made many contingency plans.
Yet what they hadn't anticipated was for the Uchiha to approach this from the angle of the Anbu, leaving them momentarily unsure how to respond.
After a moment of contemplation, Hiruzen let out a deep sigh and sincerely apologized, "You're right. As the leader, I indeed bear responsibility for poor oversight regarding the Anbu. From now on, I will enforce strict discipline to ensure such tragedies never happen again."
Hiruzen believed his sincere apology would earn forgiveness from everyone, and even the Uchiha, having already embarrassed him, might back off for now.
But he miscalculated.
You can't pull the sympathy card twice!
Three days ago in this very room, he had already played that emotional angle once, and reusing the same move today proved far less effective.
As for Aozora and his two allies, they had zero respect for Konoha's leadership—why on earth should they show any deference?
"We naturally trust the Hokage's integrity."
Aozora remained cautious; Hiruzen's apology still won sympathy and support from many attendees.
"However..."
Aozora's 'however' caused Hiruzen's facial muscles to twitch slightly, and drew focused attention from many ninja in the room.
Three days prior, Aozora's single word "but" flipped the situation entirely—or rather, suddenly worsened it.
Right now, Hiruzen wished desperately for someone to interrupt Aozora.
Unfortunately, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane had not attended the meeting three days ago, and were thus unaware of the power Aozora's 'but' could wield.
Under Hiruzen's increasingly darkening expression, Aozora continued, "Earlier, the Hokage rightly said, 'Anbu are human too. All humans change over time.' Hearts are unpredictable, let alone when dealing with dozens or hundreds of people… Of course, I don't know exactly how large the Anbu really is. Perhaps even more than people realize—as every year so many elite ninja vanish into its ranks, nobody even knows if they're still breathing or not…"
Enough!" Hiruzen coldly interrupted. "Just tell me directly what the Uchiha want!"
After Danzo turned traitor and fled, Hiruzen carefully reconsidered everything, realizing Aozora had never presented solid evidence. Aozora had merely leveraged the influence of various shinobi clans to pressure Danzo and the Anbu into self-defense.
Today, seeing Aozora attempting the same trick again, he chose to cut Aozora short immediately. At this point, he would rather face open rebellion from the Uchiha than endure Aozora's words any longer.
Because he noticed that the more Aozora spoke, the more suspicion from the ninjas in the room shifted toward him.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was now seriously considering resigning immediately.
He had a bad feeling—if he continued to stay in office, whether his power could be maintained was uncertain, but his reputation would likely keep worsening.
Aozora sighed with considerable regret—there were still plenty of dirtier secrets he could have thrown into the mix at this moment.
However, he did not forget his mission. He lightly coughed twice, then boomed, "With so many members inside Anbu, it's very likely for a rogue ninja to emerge. If the Anbu betray us, it would be devastating for Konoha; therefore, the Police Force recommends…"
"Dissolve the Anbu!"
Coincidentally, lightning flashed outside the window at that exact moment, briefly illuminating everyone's shocked expressions.
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