Inside the Hokage's office, smoke billowed.
Like the villagers of Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi had not slept a wink all night.
On his desk lay nearly a hundred thank-you letters written by Cloud Hidden Village ninjas.
The content of each letter sent shivers down his spine.
Especially the one written to him in Uchiha Yuzuru's own hand, which was simply heart-wrenchwrenching; the first time he saw it, Hiruzen Sarutobi nearly died of anger.
"Dear Third Hokage, I hope you've been well recently."
"Many things have happened since I left Konoha, and I've finally realized that our Uchiha clan should be most grateful to you."
"To make us determined to leave the village, you relentlessly pressured and ostracized our Uchiha clan with your ugly face, truly going to great lengths."
"Later, when the Nine-Tails rampaged and Konoha Village suffered heavy losses, you still decisively gathered ten billion ryo for compensation to ensure our prosperity outside, which almost brought tears to my eyes."
"Not long after, for my safety, you used public opinion to force Hatake Sakumo away, providing me with a powerful bodyguard like White Fang."
"Later, seeing our Land of Lightning's large-scale infrastructure projects lacking funds, you again, under the Daimyo's orders, actively sent people to their deaths, once again generously contributing ten billion ryo..."
"When we lived in Konoha, our Uchiha clan was very dissatisfied with you, Danzo Shimura, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane, but now that we've left the village, we've only just discovered your merits."
"You must take care of yourselves and keep Konoha firmly in your hands. If anyone tries to overthrow your rule, please remember... I, Uchiha Yuzuru, will always be your strongest backing."
"Rogue Ninja Uchiha Yuzuru — Loyalty!"
The strong sense of mockery made Hiruzen Sarutobi's face turn as red as a monkey's bottom.
He now deeply regretted it.
If he had known things would turn out this way, he would have rather risked Konoha being occupied by other ninja villages than let the Uchiha clan completely disappear from this world!
Just then, the office door was violently pushed open with a loud "bang."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up and saw Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, and Danzo Shimura standing before him.
Hiruzen Sarutobi said somewhat unhappily, "Danzo, didn't I put you under house arrest?"
Danzo Shimura angrily retorted, "House arrest? What's the point of house arrest now? Everyone outside is going crazy, saying I'm the only idiot who led a ninja allied army of four great ninja villages and still suffered a crushing defeat!"
"They're all clamoring for me to apologize with my death!"
He had hoped to gain prestige through the ninja allied army incident, using it as political capital for his Hokage candidacy.
Now he had indeed gained prestige, but it was notoriety!
With his reputation ruined, how could he become Hokage in the future?
Koharu Utatane echoed, "And me! These letters claim I've been embezzling public funds and infringing on the Uchiha clan's assets, which is simply nonsense..."
Koharu Utatane paused, then continued, "...It's simply alarmist!"
Homura Mitokado also said, "Hiruzen, all these letters must be collected; they absolutely cannot be allowed to circulate in the village any longer."
Hearing the complaints from Danzo Shimura and the other two, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, "It's too late to say anything now. These letters are everywhere in Konoha; the villagers saw them immediately. Even forcibly collecting them won't do much good."
Upon hearing this, Danzo Shimura said coldly, "Then what do you propose we do!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Danzo Shimura and the other two, and said in a deep voice, "Someone must step forward now and take responsibility."
"Danzo, since your reputation is already ruined, you can be the bad guy."
Danzo Shimura immediately became displeased when he heard that the blame was being shifted to him: "Hiruzen, can you please stop making me take the fall for you every time something like this happens?"
"The village is in this state, and you, as Hokage, bear the greatest responsibility."
"If you ask me, you might as well abdicate and let a worthy successor take over."
Hiruzen Sarutobi said earnestly, "Danzo, I'm doing this for your sake."
"Think about it, with your current reputation, even if I step down, would anyone choose you as Hokage?"
Danzo Shimura was stunned for a moment, his voice softening slightly: "Even if you don't step down, you can't make me take the blame."
"Then you'll have to pay," Hiruzen Sarutobi said indifferently. "The villagers complain and are dissatisfied, but ultimately, it's because they have no money in their pockets and no food in their bowls."
"As long as you put out enough money, you won't have to take the blame."
"That won't do," Danzo Shimura immediately refused.
He needed his money to recruit soldiers, buy horses, and fund various experiments; how could he give it to those Konoha villagers?
That would be an enormous amount of money!
"Then you'll take the blame."
Danzo Shimura pouted but didn't protest further.
One of the children in his Root now possessed the power of Wood Release, and success was imminent; his money absolutely could not be wasted.
Let his reputation be bad; as long as he had enough power, the Hokage's position would eventually be his.
Seeing Danzo Shimura's silence, Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his gaze to Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado: "I'll take some money from your clans for emergencies, and you can also salvage some of your reputations."
"Where there's life, there's hope. Money can always be earned; let's appease the people first."
After hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's arrangements, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane could only reluctantly agree, tears in their eyes.
To satisfy everyone, they would likely have to make a huge sacrifice this time.
It was all the Uchiha's fault, those inherently evil guys who only caused them trouble.
It was also their fault for not being ruthless enough back then, which led to today's disaster.
When they had the chance in the future, they would absolutely not make the same mistake again; they would ensure the Uchiha name completely vanished like the Senju clan!
As Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others were discussing, an Anbu appeared in the office.
"Hokage-sama, the villagers outside have gathered and will probably surround the Hokage building soon. Should the esteemed elders perhaps hide for a bit?"
Hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others looked out the window.
Not far from the Hokage building, many Konoha villagers had already gathered and were marching majestically towards the Hokage building.
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"Third Hokage, in two wars, why was the Third Raikage always able to lead the charge, fighting on the front lines, while you always hid in the village?"
"Two wars took so many young lives, yet you all remained unscathed. We want the Hokage-sama to personally explain to everyone what the 'Will of Fire' truly means!"
"And... was the Uchiha clan really driven to leave the village because you suppressed them so much?"
"What exactly happened with Hatake Sakumo? Why do those scoundrels from the Cloud Hidden Village say that you manipulated public opinion and made Hatake Sakumo a scapegoat?"