The fighting in the village completely subsided, and reconstruction work began.
A high-level emergency meeting was convened in the Hokage building.
Only four people attended the meeting!
The two Hokage advisors, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, along with Jiraiya and Kakashi, who had been urgently summoned.
Mitokado Homura pushed up his glasses: "The situation is temporarily stabilized, but after such a disaster, the people are panicked!"
"The village cannot be without a Kage for a day. The urgent task is to immediately determine the candidate for the Fifth Hokage to stabilize the overall situation!"
Homura looked at Jiraiya, his meaning obvious.
Utatane Koharu followed up immediately: "Jiraiya, you are the Third's disciple, one of the Sannin. Whether in strength or prestige, you are sufficient to convince the masses!"
"We need you to step up and take charge now; this is your responsibility."
Jiraiya crossed his arms, shaking his head like a rattle upon hearing this:
"No, no, Advisors, don't harm me."
"I'm used to being free and undisciplined. I can't stand those rules and mountains of paperwork. Me, Hokage?"
"I'm not suitable!"
"Really not suitable!"
Utatane Koharu's face darkened, and she slammed her hand on the table: "Jiraiya! This is not child's play!"
"Hiruzen died in battle, and the village has suffered such heavy losses. As his disciple, both publicly and privately, is it justifiable to shirk responsibility at this time?"
Mitokado Homura also softened his tone, continuing to persuade: "Jiraiya, we know your nature!"
"But extraordinary times call for extraordinary people. Your ability and prestige make you the most suitable candidate right now!"
"Even for Hiruzen's dying wish, you should shoulder this."
Jiraiya remained stubborn: "I'm serious, there's someone a hundred times more suitable than me!"
"Tsunade! She is the perfect candidate for the Fifth Hokage!"
"Her medical abilities can quickly restore the village's vitality!"
"In terms of status, she is the First Hokage's granddaughter; in terms of leadership... heh, she's much more reliable than me."
"Tsunade..."
The two advisors exchanged glances, clearly somewhat moved.
Utatane Koharu mused: "In terms of status, she is indeed more suitable."
"However, she has been away from the village for many years, her whereabouts are uncertain, and she may not be interested... in the position of Hokage."
Jiraiya patted his chest: "As long as you agree to let her be the Fifth, leave everything else to me! I guarantee I'll bring her back!"
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura exchanged a few words in hushed tones.
Finally, Utatane Koharu looked at Jiraiya: "As long as you can find Tsunade and persuade her to succeed as the Fifth, you don't have to take this burden."
"But let me make this clear first, if you can't bring Tsunade back, you must succeed as the Fifth no matter what!"
"It's settled!"
Jiraiya breathed a sigh of relief; he was confident he could persuade Tsunade to return.
With the matter temporarily settled, Mitokado Homura rubbed his brow and waved his hand: "If there's nothing else, let's just..."
"Please wait a moment!"
Kakashi suddenly spoke up, looking at the two advisors and Jiraiya.
"Regarding Shimura Danzo!"
Kakashi's voice wasn't loud. "Today he openly attacked and caused the sacrifice of the Third Hokage. How does the village intend to deal with this matter?"
The meeting room instantly fell silent.
The expressions of Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu both changed.
They felt something was amiss about the Danzo matter.
Danzo assassinating the Third—that fit his style.
But conspiring with Orochimaru to attack the Third Hokage in public—that was obviously impossible!
For a person like Danzo, becoming Hokage had become an obsession. How could he attack the Third Hokage in public?
Doing so would only betray the village and completely disqualify him.
Utatane Koharu collected herself and looked at an Anbu standing by the door: "Go to the Root base and invite Elder Danzo over for a confrontation!"
The Anbu took the order and left.
Soon, that Anbu returned, kneeling on one knee to report:
"Report! The Root base... is completely empty!"
"All members are missing, and internal important facilities, research data... have all been transferred!"
"What?!!"
Mitokado Homura stood up abruptly, his eyes widening behind his reading glasses.
Utatane Koharu's expression also changed drastically, her fingers trembling slightly.
"This... this..."
Mitokado Homura stammered somewhat incoherently: "It seems... Danzo took Root... and evacuated collectively? Could he really... have defected?"
"Impossible!"
Utatane Koharu denied it resolutely: "Danzo acts radically, but his loyalty to Konoha is beyond doubt!"
"How could he defect from the village?! There must be some hidden circumstances we don't know about, or he was set up by Orochimaru!"
"Impossible to defect?"
At this moment, a cold sneer abruptly cut in.
Bang!
The door to the meeting room was pushed open somewhat rudely from the outside.
Uchiha Yao, with a cold expression, strode in, bringing along Uchiha Sasuke, who looked equally angry.
The four people in the meeting room looked over in unison.
Seeing two brats come in, Utatane Koharu became somewhat angry out of embarrassment, slamming the table and scolding sternly:
"Impudent! This is the high-level meeting room of the Hokage building! Who allowed you two Genin to trespass?"
"Are there no rules? Guards, throw them out!"
The Anbu moved upon hearing the order.
"Hmph! Advisor, what a great display of authority!"
Yao met Utatane Koharu's gaze fearlessly and sneered:
"We brothers had no intention of trespassing into the high-level meeting!"
"But—"
Yao changed the subject, his gaze sharp as a knife, sweeping over Mitokado Homura and finally fixing on Utatane Koharu's face:
"I, Uchiha Yao, in my capacity as the current patriarch of the Uchiha clan, must demand an explanation from the village's highest level today!"
"Shimura Danzo, during the Chunin Exams today, instructed Root to kidnap my brother Uchiha Sasuke!"
"And used this threat to lure me to the Root base stronghold!"
"Subsequently, he personally led Root elites to besiege me!"
Yao took a step forward: "Shouldn't the village give my Uchiha clan an explanation for this matter?"
Currently, the Uchiha clan consisted only of the two brothers.
According to status, Yao was undoubtedly the current Uchiha patriarch.
Before the two advisors could recover, Yao's voice rose again, questioning with suppressed anger:
"Also!"
"Shimura Danzo transplanted over ten Sharingan onto his right arm! Everyone witnessed this with their own eyes!"
"Advisors, shouldn't the village... give our Uchiha clan an explanation even more regarding this?!!"
His words exploded like thunder in the silent meeting room.
Sasuke clenched his fists tightly, his Sharingan activated at some point. His scarlet eyes were filled with grief and hatred, staring fixedly at the two advisors.
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were rendered speechless by this barrage of questions, unsure how to refute for a moment.
Jiraiya's brows furrowed tightly, and the exposed eye of Kakashi suddenly became sharp.
The air seemed to solidify!