"Danzo, by doing this, are you trying to pin the Nine-Tails incident on the Uchiha?"
The instant Orochimaru said this, everyone in the room stiffened, no longer able to keep a calm face.
Fugaku, who had just sat down, felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head. His mind jolted, and he turned to glare at Danzo in anger.
Only now did he realize that he had underestimated the consequences of moving the clan compound.
Feeling Fugaku's hateful stare, Danzo's heart sank. His face turned cold, and he snapped at Orochimaru, "Orochimaru, what nonsense are you spouting? The Nine-Tails attack hasn't been settled yet. When did I ever frame the Uchiha?"
"I once heard a saying: people's eyes are sharp."
With a smile, Orochimaru slowly looked around at the clan heads and village leaders.
"In the Nine-Tails incident, the Uchiha clan is indeed under suspicion. The tomoe in the Nine-Tails' eyes couldn't have been faked. Everyone here saw it clearly."
Fugaku's anger froze on his face. He turned toward Orochimaru, his expression complicated, unsure if Orochimaru was helping or harming the Uchiha.
The other clan heads also couldn't keep pretending nothing was happening. They exchanged glances with uneasy looks.
"But Danzo-sama, do you have proof that the Uchiha are guilty?"
Orochimaru chuckled. "I think not. Otherwise, you wouldn't be using methods like this."
Danzo's face was stone cold, but he said nothing.
"Moving the Police Force to the edge of the village, stripping away its emergency duties—what is that, if not punishment?"
Ignoring Jiraiya's warning look from the side, Orochimaru went on. "If they did nothing wrong, why punish them? Danzo, aren't you just confirming the rumors in the village—treating the Uchiha as outcasts?"
The room fell silent as soon as Orochimaru finished speaking.
No one here is a fool.
Take Nara Shikaku, for example, the man said to have an IQ over 200, sitting across from Orochimaru. He had probably figured out Danzo's intention long ago.
But he wouldn't say it out loud.
Danzo indeed couldn't prove the Uchiha clan's guilt, but at the same time, the Uchiha couldn't clear themselves either. Otherwise, they would have stepped forward right away to set the record straight.
Since it couldn't be proven false or true, the only thing that mattered was who held more power and had more tricks to use.
After all, the Nine-Tails incident killed so many people, even the Fourth Hokage died. Could it really be brushed off with just "still under discussion"?
That would only show how useless the village leaders were, doing nothing at all.
So, whether directly or indirectly, the village leaders had to give the villagers an answer.
Someone had to take the blame, someone had to carry the burden.
Of course, the Third Hokage and the advisers wouldn't go too far. They wouldn't point straight at the Uchiha and say, "It's all your fault."
Because right now, they weren't ready, nor did they want to get into a head-on clash with the Uchiha.
But now things had changed. Orochimaru had ripped off the ceiling—ripped off the toilet ceiling, to be exact.
Before, there was at least a cover. Even if you knew someone was standing right above your head, you could pretend not to see.
Even if you could tell from the sound of the flushing that the person above was doing their business, you could still choose to ignore it.
But now, one side was dumping, the other side had to take it—nothing was hidden anymore, the filth was right in your face.
"Hehehe…"
In the silence, Orochimaru laughed, very pleased with himself. Only when the Third Hokage opened his eyes and glared at him did he finally pull it back a little.
He wasn't as skilled as Shikaku when it came to careful planning, but when it came to stirring things up and fishing in troubled waters, Orochimaru had plenty of skill.
The meeting went on, but the topic of relocating the Uchiha was set aside.
Uchiha Fugaku could never agree to that. If he stopped representing the clan and sided with the village, letting his people take the blame, then the very next day, some radical Uchiha would call for a new clan head.
The village leaders also didn't want to push too hard. Both sides silently chose to skip the subject.
Of course, this was only temporary. The clash would only be delayed, not resolved. The Uchiha clan and the village were bound to face off sooner or later.
Aside from the Uchiha issue, the rest of the meeting went smoothly.
After all, Orochimaru didn't stir up every pile of mess.
When the meeting ended, Uchiha Fugaku went straight to Orochimaru, inviting him for a private talk.
Partly to thank him for what he did at the meeting, and partly to discuss how to deal with the Uchiha's troubles.
Orochimaru didn't refuse, though he set the meeting for another day.
Once all the clan leaders had left, only the Third, the three advisers, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru remained in the room.
Danzo barked angrily, "Orochimaru, what the hell are you doing?"
"I was just about to ask the same of you. What exactly are you doing?"
Orochimaru grinned, completely ignoring Danzo's anger. The final payment had already been settled the other day, so to him, Danzo was nothing more than a broke stranger.
He knew perfectly well what Danzo wanted: slowly wipe out the Uchiha to collect Sharingan, combine them with the First Hokage's cells, and then claim both Madara's and Hashirama's power.
Orochimaru also coveted the Sharingan, but he couldn't agree with Danzo's way. Draining the pond to catch fish—it was nothing but a waste of the Uchiha's bloodline treasure.
Utatane Koharu frowned. "For no reason, why are you helping the Uchiha?"
"Helping the Uchiha? I'm doing this for the village."
"You really think such crude tricks will fool them? What you're doing is clearly pushing them into rebellion."
Orochimaru gave a dark smile and snapped, "Idiots."
"You!" Utatane Koharu slammed the table and stood up, furious. Ever since becoming an adviser, she had never been insulted so directly.
"Orochimaru, enough," Jiraiya suddenly raised his voice, then quickly turned to Koharu. "Elder, please forgive him, that's just his personality."
The air froze again. Koharu snorted coldly, then left with Danzo and Mitokado Homura.
They had stayed behind to probe Orochimaru's stance, but clearly, he wasn't cooperating at all.
If they stayed any longer, it would only be humiliating for themselves.
Orochimaru suddenly spoke up for the Uchiha, making the Hokage's side lose face in the meeting. That problem was left for Hiruzen to worry about.
After all, Orochimaru was his student.
The meeting room doors closed again, leaving only master and two students inside.
Sarutobi Hiruzen narrowed his eyes and said slowly, "Orochimaru, what is your real goal? Speak directly."
After being his teacher for so many years, he knew Orochimaru well. Orochimaru was cold toward the world, and everything he did had a purpose. He wouldn't speak up for no reason.
Orochimaru pulled a scroll from his robe. "This is the information I got yesterday. Read it first, then we'll talk."
Sarutobi Hiruzen took a document from the scroll. After reading for a moment, his face darkened. "Is all this information true?"
Orochimaru grinned. "Without a doubt."
Beside him, Jiraiya took the file from the Third Hokage. He only glanced at it before his expression changed. "The Kumogakure… they're actually planning to move against Konohagakure now."