The eyes of all four men sharpened instantly.
Uchiha…
Konoha's current situation had all been brought about by the Uchiha. Whatever the root cause might be, it was the Uchiha who had truly ignited this internal conflict.
"Let him in."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Not long after, the door opened and Uchiha Fugaku stepped inside.
"Hokage-sama, I'm sorry. This is all the fault of our Uchiha clan. My father, as clan head, failed to properly restrain and manage the clansmen beneath him, and that is what caused this great disaster."
The moment he entered, Uchiha Fugaku lowered his stance as far as it could go.
Even though, in truth, he had not fully agreed with Uchiha Yamakaku's decisions or methods.
But at this point, Fugaku no longer had any other choice.
The first thing the rebel Uchiha under Uchiha Yashiro had done was not anything else.
It had been to kill Uchiha Yamakaku.
And Yamakaku was Fugaku's father.
That meant even if Fugaku had wanted to join the rebel Uchiha, they would never have accepted him.
"We killed your father, and you still want to join us? What kind of person would that make you? It has to be a trap!"
So Fugaku had no choice.
He could only lead the remaining Uchiha and throw himself completely toward Konoha—to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Only then would there be any chance for them to survive.
Danzo glared at Fugaku.
"Uchiha Fugaku, what exactly is your clan plotting? Was this rebellion planned long in advance? What other schemes do you have?"
Hiruzen cut him off.
"That's enough, Danzo."
"Fugaku's father was the very first one they killed. Fugaku and those remaining Uchiha are not with them. There's no need for you to vent your anger on Fugaku. He's a victim too."
Danzo trembled with rage again.
The Uchiha were victims now?
He let out a cold snort and turned to leave at once.
"Fugaku, what is the Uchiha's situation now?"
Hiruzen looked at him and asked.
Fugaku answered, "Hokage-sama, the rebel faction's actions were too sudden. We were completely caught off guard. Many are dead or wounded. At this point, the entire Uchiha clan has only a few dozen people left."
After a pause, he continued, "Hokage-sama, the Uchiha rebels caused tremendous harm to the village. I am willing to cooperate with the village in confiscating the assets of those Uchiha rebels."
"To compensate the villagers who suffered losses because of this."
Hiruzen nodded.
He was satisfied with Fugaku's attitude.
And with Uchiha Yamakaku's death right there before him, accepting Fugaku's submission became much easier.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
Hiruzen said, "Fugaku, don't worry. I will truthfully explain this matter to the people of the village and make it clear that you are different from those rebel Uchiha."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama."
Fugaku quietly let out a breath of relief.
The reason he had lowered himself so much, even offering up part of the Uchiha clan's wealth, was precisely to obtain Hiruzen's promise.
Only then would the remaining Uchiha have any foothold left in Konoha.
Hiruzen waved a hand.
"You may go."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
After Fugaku left, only Hiruzen, Koharu, and Homura remained in the office.
Homura hesitated for a moment.
"Hiruzen, earlier you said you were going to take Root away from Danzo?"
"That's right."
Hiruzen said, "Over the years, Danzo has used Root to do a number of reckless things. I know of quite a few. And that's only the ones I know about."
"Not to mention this time. It was too extreme."
"At such a critical moment for the village, he still insisted on intensifying the contradiction with the Uchiha. Even I, the person directly involved in the rumor, endured it. I truly don't know what he was thinking when he did something like that."
Homura nodded.
"Danzo really did go too far."
"Hiruzen, how about letting me manage Root from here on out? I'd definitely handle things with more restraint than Danzo. You know that."
Hiruzen looked at him.
"You?"
The look—and the tone—made Homura distinctly uncomfortable.
As though Hiruzen thought he was unfit to lead Root.
Yet he was one of Konoha's elders, one of the Hokage's advisers, and a direct disciple of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.
If Danzo could do it, why couldn't he?
Hiruzen hesitated for a moment.
"Fine. Then I'll trouble you with it, Homura."
Only then did Homura smile.
"Hiruzen, don't worry. I'll definitely do better than Danzo."
The first thing Uchiha Fugaku did after returning to the clan compound was gather all the remaining Uchiha together.
Inside the once-spacious meeting hall, it now felt almost empty.
Only a few dozen figures remained.
And among those few dozen, more than half were ordinary civilians.
Everyone looked tense.
They had not chosen to go with the rebel Uchiha. Between clan and village, they had chosen the village.
But now, they feared that the very village they had chosen might still vent its anger on them because of what the rebels had done.
"Just now, I met with Hokage-sama," Fugaku said. "He agreed to distinguish us from the Uchiha rebels, and to make that distinction public."
"We are still part of Konoha. We are Konoha's Uchiha."
Immediately, the crowd relaxed.
"That's wonderful!"
"Hokage-sama really is fair. He didn't lump us together with those rebel Uchiha."
Fugaku continued,
"But we must cooperate with the village. The assets of the rebel Uchiha must be inventoried and handed over as compensation for the villagers harmed by them."
At those words, some people's expressions changed.
"Fugaku-sama… but that's Uchiha property."
Fugaku cast him a glance.
"If you can't bear to part with it, then go speak to Hokage-sama yourself."
The man instantly shrank back and said nothing more.
Fugaku looked slowly around the room and shook his head.
In his eyes, the Uchiha could no longer even be considered a true ninja clan.
There were hardly any ninja left among them at all.
And among those who remained, the number with the talent to restore the Uchiha's former strength was even smaller.
A trace of confusion rose in Fugaku's eyes.
"What kind of future does the Uchiha clan even have left?"
…
…
Near nightfall.
Sunagakure.
Rasa looked at the system panel before him, and his eyes lit up.
"It's finally over a thousand."
"I can draw again."
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