pertwk Page 154
Page 154
..
Konoha Village.
Hokage's office.
The Third Hokage, Danzo Shimura, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane all gathered together.
Because the Third Hokage received many official documents.
These letters came from other ninja villages, since the Uchiha were nominally affiliated with Konoha.
Therefore, the guests invited to the Uchiha clan chief's inauguration ceremony all replied with two letters.
One notice was sent to Konoha to facilitate their reception, and the other was to avoid any misunderstandings.
The other reply was to the Uchiha, informing them that the invitation had been received and inquiring whether they would attend.
"have a look."
The Third Hokage threw the official document on the table.
Danzo was instructed to consult the document.
Danzo and the other two browsed through it in turn.
Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure all indicated they would send 15 seats, while Kirigakure had no word and probably wouldn't come.
"These people don't have pure motives."
Mitomon was somewhat worried.
The Third Hokage tapped another document lightly with his pipe; it was also an official letter.
"This is the newly established Sound Village, and their 'Sound Shadows' will also be present."
Danzo scoffed, "The head of a small village dares to call himself a Kage?"
His disdain was not without reason; nowadays, apart from the five major powers, there are many other small countries and villages.
However, most of them are not strong enough, and the strongest are only at the level of elite Jonin.
Moreover, their numbers are few and far between, and they won't amount to much.
If you don't have real skills, you can't just casually call yourself a shadow.
Aside from being able to show off in his own village, he would immediately become a laughing stock as soon as he stepped outside.
The Third Hokage shook his head: "This Sound Shadow just finished his inauguration ceremony, and we don't know much about him yet."
"But Shisui and those hundred-plus Uchiha clan members are indeed all staying in Otogakure."
"Humph."
Danzo momentarily forgot that the Uchiha clan had more than a hundred capable members who had escaped.
"The Uchiha clan, huh."
"I suspect that this voice and image is a puppet supported by the Uchiha clan."
The Third Hokage shook his head: "Uchiha Kawasaki's move is clearly meant to put pressure on us."
“Our relationship with the Uchiha clan wasn’t good to begin with, and now this huge group of people from other villages has come, openly trying to find out our background.”
"If Konoha doesn't take some measures soon, Kawasaki might have to publicly announce his defection from Konoha."
The Third Hokage's words make sense, since Kawasaki had previously suggested that Konoha announce the Uchiha clan's plans for the Nine-Tails' night.
However, out of consideration for their image, the Konoha leadership has been dragging their feet on giving a clear answer.
Kawasaki took advantage of becoming the clan leader to invite so many people from other ninja villages to attend the ceremony.
This is clearly adding pressure on Konoha's shoulders.
Moreover, judging from their strength, Itachi has returned to the Uchiha clan, and Shisui has also returned.
With the addition of Kawasaki and Fugaku, the Uchiha now have four pairs of Mangekyou Sharingan.
If we include the more than one hundred Uchiha elites who returned and the clansmen who stayed behind, the Uchiha are now almost capable of starting a revolution.
In particular, these hundred-plus Uchiha elites are all formidable; if they really cause trouble, they could turn the world upside down.
But you can't stop them from going home, since it was the Third Hokage who signed the document saying they had run away from home.
Since it's a departure, and such a major event as the change of clan leader is a big deal, wouldn't it be reasonable for him to return to the village?
Kawasaki's move made the Third Hokage feel that a storm was brewing.
.....
In Konoha Village,
In the Hokage's office.
The Third Hokage tapped the table.
"The whole village is buzzing about it now, there's no point in dragging it out any longer."
The group had all heard about the rumors circulating in the village recently.
That means that on the night of the Nine-Tails' attack, the Uchiha clan was acting on instructions from the Konoha leadership to protect non-combat personnel.
That's completely different from not participating in the battle.
In the old days, no one would have believed such rumors.
After all, the Uchiha clan is responsible for maintaining order, and they offend people every day, so why would anyone speak up for them?
But the Uchiha clan is not what it used to be. Now, you can hardly see any Uchiha clan members wandering around Konoha Village.
The current Uchiha clan members are no longer part of the security forces, nor do they rely on Konoha for missions; instead, they run a thriving restaurant business.
Now that this rumor has surfaced, many people are starting to fill in the blanks with their own imaginations.
Was it because the Uchiha clan suffered these humiliations that they broke apart from Konoha?
"The Hyuga clan really does sway whichever way the wind blows!"
Danzo said angrily that after what happened last time, the Hyuga should have completely broken with the Uchiha and sided with Konoha.
However, after the Hyuga clan obtained the position of honorary elder, they did not have a direct conflict with the Uchiha clan.
Danzo is quite dissatisfied that Danzo is now clearly working for the Uchiha clan again.
The rumors spread so quickly that the Anbu (secret branch) found the source to be the Hyuga clan.
Unfortunately, the group really couldn't do anything about the Hyuga clan. Konoha was already in a difficult situation, so they dared not provoke the Hyuga.
They can only turn a blind eye to such things.
Of course, compared to these matters concerning the Hyuga clan,
What they were more worried about was that the Uchiha clan would use this opportunity of the clan leader's succession to cause trouble.
"Hiruzen, I suspect the Uchiha are planning something this time!"
Danzo suddenly blurted out this sentence.
This time, the Third Hokage did not blame Danzo as he had before, because he shared the same concerns.
Koharu, who was turning over a new room, suggested, "Why don't we make the plans from back then public?"
Mitokado nodded in agreement: "Let's see if we can calm Kawasaki down."
The third generation took a drag of his cigarette, but couldn't think of a good solution for the time being.
Now it seems that this is the only way.
The three of them turned to look at Danzo, after all, it was Danzo who had strongly opposed the Uchiha's involvement back then.
The subsequent manipulation of public opinion was also orchestrated by Danzo. Now that problems have arisen...
It seems only Danzo can take the blame for this.
Danzo noticed the three men's gazes and looked displeased: "Hiruzen, do you think this will be the end of it?"
"The Uchiha are treacherous and ambitious. Even if they admit what happened back then, they will still rebel!"
The Third Hokage pondered how many members of the Anbu could fill the void if the Uchiha clan were to stage a revolution, and how much fighting strength the Root organization would have left.
Danzo has always kept the Root organization hidden. If Danzo's Root organization remains inactive this time, and the Uchiha rebels, Konoha will likely suffer a major blow.
Given Danzo's personality, he might very well sit idly by and wait until Konoha and the Uchiha clan are both severely weakened before intervening and reaping the benefits.
Unless we can secure a victory, Danzo is a big problem.
It seems that the only option now is to mobilize the major ninja clans. But if the Uchiha really cause trouble, how many people will be able to help?
The key issue is that those few pairs of Mangekyou Sharingan are not easy to deal with.
The slightest misstep could lead to utter chaos.
For a moment, everyone fell silent.
"Dong dong dong..."
The knocking interrupted the Third Hokage's thoughts.
Knocking at this time usually means there's something important to report.
The third generation said, "Come in."
A member of the secret service came in and reported:
"Lord Third Hokage, Lord Jiraiya has returned."
The third generation's spirits lifted: "Jiraiya's back? Where is he?"
Speaking of Jiraiya, he should be able to hold his own.
Jiraiya wasn't particularly strong when he was young; he was considered the least intelligent of his three disciples.
But it was only after his unexpected return from Mount Myōboku that Jiraiya found his own path.
His strength has improved by leaps and bounds. If he weren't so lazy, he would be more than qualified to be Hokage.
The ANBU members felt their scalps tingle under the Third Hokage's burning gaze:
"Lord Jiraiya is not far from Konoha, he should arrive in about ten minutes."