The angry Konoha villagers surrounded the Hokage Building.
The thank-you letter written by the Hidden Cloud Village ninjas helped them understand the process of the battle between Hidden Cloud Village and the Allied Shinobi Forces.
This made them even more dissatisfied with Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others.
The Third Raikage led his village's Kage-level powerhouses to forcefully charge against an army of ten thousand Allied Shinobi, willing to die to protect the ninjas of his village, while their Third Hokage had always stayed in the village and never been to the battlefield.
Nearly all four thousand ninjas sent out had died, and even Orochimaru had an arm severed, but Danzo Shimura, the commander-in-chief, returned to the village unharmed.
They constantly spouted slogans like "Where the leaves dance, the fire burns bright. The firelight will continue to illuminate the village and make new leaves sprout," but the reality was that the new generation was constantly perishing, while the older generation of ninjas lived comfortably.
Who was protecting whom, exactly?
Watching the angry villagers, Hiruzen Sarutobi could only go to the top of the Hokage Building.
Having been in power for so many years, he understood the power of public opinion too well.
If he didn't quell the anger of the crowd today, and public opinion fermented, his position as Hokage would be in jeopardy.
"Everyone, please calm down first. You can tell me any demands you have. As Hokage, I will never shirk responsibility."
Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice, the previously noisy crowd briefly quieted down.
Immediately after, someone shouted loudly: "Third Hokage, did Kakashi Hatake betray the village because he was dissatisfied that you pushed him out as a scapegoat?"
"And the Uchiha clan, have you and the three advisors been embezzling their assets all this time?"
"Why don't you go to the battlefield and kill enemies? Aren't you the strongest Hokage?"
Hearing the villagers' questions, Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his hands and pressed them down.
Once the crowd quieted down, he spoke in a deep voice: "I am also very saddened by Sakumo's matter, but the Uchiha clan's defection had long been foreshadowed. It was because he, as the ANBU commander, did not report any information to me that the village had no inkling at all."
"In the recent war with the Hidden Cloud, Kakashi Hatake showed no mercy when killing his comrades in the village. He must have been colluding with the Uchiha clan for a long time. Not defecting with them at the time was probably just to stay behind and transmit information for the Uchiha clan."
"This matter is indeed my fault. If I had detected Kakashi Hatake's ambition earlier, I would never have let him go!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi placed himself on a moral high ground, pointing fingers at Kakashi Hatake and directly accusing him of betraying the village and defecting to the enemy.
Immediately after, Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke again: "And the Uchiha clan..."
"They have always been unruly and acted as they pleased. They enjoyed the privilege of not having to go out on dangerous missions, yet they lorded over the village... I believe everyone has experienced this, right?"
"Moreover, the so-called embezzlement of the Uchiha clan's assets is sheer nonsense. This is merely a tactic by the Hidden Cloud Village to divide us from within."
After speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed: "As for the defeat in the war, I am even more heartbroken than all of you."
"Those who died were all children I watched grow up!"
"To give everyone an explanation..." Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand, and Danzo Shimura was brought to the front by two ANBU members, "This is my old teammate of many years, and also a Hokage advisor for the village."
"Today, he is willing to atone for his sins with his death!"
Hearing this, Danzo Shimura looked up at Hiruzen Sarutobi in a daze.
"Not cool, buddy, don't add extra scenes on your own. When you asked me to take the blame just now, you didn't say I had to die too!"
But before he could speak, the ANBU directly raised their long blade and chopped off Danzo Shimura's head.
After all this was done, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately said: "Advisors Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado also just said that they will take money and food from their clans to compensate everyone for their losses."
"The village will also step in to help everyone overcome this difficulty."
"I guarantee everyone here that you will absolutely not live worse than you did before the Uchiha clan defected from the village!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was full of confidence.
After killing the Daimyo, the entire Land of Fire was now completely under his control.
It wouldn't be particularly difficult to use the nation's resources to allow the people of Konoha Village to live the comfortable life they once had.
As for everyone else outside of Konoha Village, they would just have to endure hardship for now.
Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's guarantee, the faces of the previously angry Konoha villagers immediately showed joy.
They no longer clamored for the Uchiha clan to return to the village, nor did they demand Hiruzen Sarutobi's resignation.
With money and food, everything was negotiable.
Once the crowd dispersed, Hiruzen Sarutobi quietly let out a sigh of relief.
He had finally passed this hurdle.
Although he had to give up some benefits, it was all worth it to preserve his reputation and the power in his hands.
Danzo Shimura emerged from the shadows and gave Hiruzen Sarutobi a resentful look: "Hiruzen, you just publicly beheaded me. How can I run for Hokage now?"
"I'll just give you a new identity later; anyway, hardly anyone knows you."
After Hiruzen Sarutobi finished speaking, a murderous glint appeared in his eyes: "Yuzuru Uchiha, there will be a day when you lose your sight, I'm waiting!"
— — — —
— — — —
In the distance, Yuzuru Uchiha stood on Tobirama Senju's Hokage Rock, raising his hands and stretching.
This outcome was within his expectations.
However, haste makes waste, and the real show was just beginning.
He would make these ungrateful Konoha villagers repent for their actions in despair, and he would make Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, and others suffer betrayal and disgrace.
He wanted to reclaim everything that originally belonged to the Uchiha, and have the Sarutobi clan, Shimura clan, Mitokado clan, and Utatane clan slaughtered, just like the Uchiha clan in the original story.
That day would not be far off.
Yuzuru Uchiha snorted coldly and instantly used Kamui to disappear from the spot.
— — — —
— — — —
Hidden Cloud Village.
As soon as Yuzuru Uchiha returned, he was pulled by Ay to the Raikage's office.
Inside the office were the Third Raikage, Kakashi Hatake, Fugaku Uchiha, Mabui, and Dodai.
Seeing Yuzuru Uchiha, they curiously asked: "Yuzuru, how was the effect of the thank-you letter? What expressions did those Konoha bastards have when they saw it?"
Seeing their expectant expressions, Yuzuru Uchiha recounted everything about the Konoha villagers' shame, anger, and impotent rage.
After listening, the Third Raikage and the others burst into laughter.
"That's truly interesting. Against such scoundrels, this is exactly the method to use."
"Seeing them suffer and regret, living worse and worse, is even more satisfying than killing them."
"I wonder if Hiruzen Sarutobi will go to the battlefield next time. I've been wanting to fight the strongest Hokage for a long time."
Listening to their laughter, Yuzuru Uchiha waved his hand: "Alright, Third Hokage, you didn't just call Ay to bring me here to listen to gossip, did you?"
The Third Raikage nodded and said with a smile: "Yuzuru, I have good news to tell you."
"The Hidden Sand Village has agreed to your request. They have already sent a Kekkei Genkai ninja to our Hidden Cloud Village."