Not long after, Danzo and the Third Hokage stepped into the grand chamber of the conference hall, taking their seats at the head of the room.
Danzo cast a cold glance toward the crowd—his eyes locking onto Fugaku Uchiha and the young man standing beside him.
That youth… he must be Uchiha Ryosuke, the newly risen prodigy of the clan.
So young, yet already this powerful?
Another cursed Uchiha brat.
A dangerous threat to his ambitions, one that must be eliminated—sooner rather than later.
But those thoughts would have to wait. For now, the priority was clear: suppress the Uchiha Clan, strip them of their Police Force authority, and reclaim the Two-Tails Jinchuriki under their control.
Fugaku, for his part, naturally noticed Danzo's arrival.
The very man who had been engineering moves against their clan for years.
It was Danzo who conspired with other clans to force the Uchiha to relocate their compound to the edge of the village.
It was Danzo who surrounded them with ANBU surveillance.
Such humiliation was intolerable—no noble clan should be treated this way.
Ryosuke had also taken note of Danzo at first sight.
The man's expression was every bit as cruel and scheming as he had imagined.
If Danzo was attending this high-level clan meeting, then something sinister was definitely afoot.
No matter. Let him make his move—Ryosuke was ready to counter with overwhelming force and humiliate him on the spot.
Once seated, Hiruzen Sarutobi scanned the room.
Everyone had arrived: the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the Inuzuka Clan, the Hyuga Clan, the Uchiha, and several smaller houses.
The Hokage gave a warm, grandfatherly smile and spoke first.
"I'm sure all of you are aware of the valor shown by the Uchiha and Hyuga Clans, who together defeated the invading forces of Kumogakure. Their contribution to the village was enormous. I have no doubt the Cloud will think twice before trying such aggression at the Fire Country's borders again."
"Let's give them a round of applause."
He took the lead and clapped.
Even the clan heads who resented the Uchiha—whether in secret or not—had no choice but to join in.
To not applaud now would be seen as a direct challenge to the Hokage—and none of them were prepared to risk that.
Danzo glanced sideways at Hiruzen, clapping as well, though with obvious contempt in his heart.
"Hypocrite." he thought.
Meanwhile, Fugaku and Ryosuke observed all of this in silence.
They didn't trust this sudden praise.
A clan heads' meeting wasn't called just to hand out thanks.
No one in Konoha leadership was that generous.
There had to be another agenda.
On the Hyuga side, the two clan representatives remained composed.
Hiashi had already informed Hizashi about the traitor suspected among the village leadership, instructing him not to speak of it.
So Hizashi wasn't particularly thrilled by the praise—his mind was on who among the high command might be working to sabotage their clans.
Danzo. Hiruzen. The two village advisors.
They all held real power.
Suspicion fell most heavily on them.
After about half a minute, Hiruzen stopped clapping, and the room followed suit.
He cleared his throat and addressed the assembly.
"Are there any clan matters or proposals anyone would like to bring to the table?"
The room fell silent.
The meeting had been called suddenly. Most clans hadn't come with any pressing issues—only those who'd been privately approached by Danzo knew what was coming and had been instructed to support it.
But none of them wanted to be the first to speak up.
Not even those who disliked the Uchiha.
Why?
Because the Uchiha still held power.
And if Danzo failed to strip them of it, anyone who raised their voice first might find themselves in the clan's crosshairs.
Most preferred to let Danzo play the lead aggressor and only chime in once things were moving safely in his direction.
Danzo, hearing Hiruzen's "open floor" invitation, cursed inwardly:
"Old fox. Making me be the first to speak again."
Fine. He would play the "hero" who acted in defense of the village.
From a bag at his side, Danzo pulled out a thick stack of documents and placed them squarely on the table.
Then, he stood.
"I have something to say."
Hiruzen nodded.
"Go ahead."
Those who were in on the plan perked up.
Here it came: Danzo's assault on the Uchiha.
Danzo began calmly.
"I do want to express my gratitude to the Uchiha Clan for their valiant efforts in repelling Kumogakure's forces. It was, indeed, an impressive achievement."
Even as he spoke the words, his inner frustration showed—the Uchiha were too strong now, too popular. He couldn't come out swinging directly.
So he shifted gears.
"However, Root has received a significant number of complaints regarding the Uchiha Police Force.
Given the scale of these allegations, I propose that we revoke the Uchiha Clan's exclusive control of the Police Department and reassign those duties to a more diverse body.
What do the other clan heads think of this idea?"
The room went dead silent.
Fugaku's expression darkened instantly.
As expected, Danzo was making his move again.
He rose from his seat and slammed his hand on the table.
"This is slander! The Uchiha Police Force enforces the law impartially, and yes—we've made enemies in doing so. But these are just personal vendettas disguised as complaints!
We will not accept this attempt to strip us of our rightful duties!"
Ryosuke, in contrast, remained calm and composed.
He had already deduced years ago the true intent behind the Uchiha being given control of the police: a ploy by Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage.
On one hand, it was a move to pacify the Uchiha.
On the other, it was a political trap—designed to alienate them from the rest of the village.
Assigning them the role of internal enforcers meant constant tension with civilians and other clans—regardless of whether they acted justly or not.
A brilliant scheme to ensure they'd never earn the people's trust—or a shot at the Hokage seat.
Part of Ryosuke actually considered whether giving up the Police Force might relieve the clan of this burden.
But power… was power.
And with it came legitimacy—and leverage.
Without it, how could they have, for example, legally detained the Hokage's own son?
Without official authority, justice becomes rebellion.
So no, they could not afford to relinquish their post.
Konoha was no place for a clan without power.
And if they handed over that power willingly, they'd have no defense when the next attack came.
Danzo sneered.
"Perhaps some complaints are petty revenge. But this—" he tapped the thick stack of papers—"is not just a few disgruntled voices. This is a flood of accusations. It proves that the Uchiha Police have deep issues in how they operate.
Ask the other clan heads yourself."
And that was the signal.
Now that Danzo had broken the ice, a few small-clan leaders piped up, playing their part:
"The Uchiha's methods are far too harsh. I support Danzo-sama's proposal."
"For the sake of peace in the village, I also agree."
"I second that opinion."
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