Orochimaru showed no special reaction, simply nodding to acknowledge the information.
In the evening, Uchiha En and Orochimaru left the laboratory together and headed toward the Hokage Building.
Since Uchiha En was the one who executed this mission, it was natural for him to attend this high-level meeting.
Orochimaru arrived just in time; when the two of them entered, everyone else was already present.
Once everyone was assembled, the meeting officially began.
This was Uchiha En's first time attending a Konoha high-level meeting. Initially, Uchiha En was somewhat excited, but after listening for a while, he started yawning.
The content of the meeting was truly boring. They started by discussing various tedious minor affairs of Konoha, and this went on for over half an hour.
Just as Uchiha En was about to fall asleep, Minato Namikaze finally shifted the topic to the Land of Rain.
Upon hearing the Land of Rain mentioned, Danzo's face grew increasingly ugly. Before coming to the meeting, he had realized that today's meeting might be targeting him, and now it seemed that was indeed the case.
Minato Namikaze recounted some of the events that occurred in the Land of Rain to the Konoha high-ranking officials, explicitly pointing out that someone had colluded with Hanzou of the Land of Rain and interfered with its internal politics.
"Minato-sama, may I ask who exactly this person is?" Uchiha Fugaku took the lead in asking.
Following Uchiha Fugaku's lead, others also began asking who the person colluding with Hanzou was.
Hearing this, Danzo's face became as black as the bottom of a pot. It seemed Minato Namikaze intended to push him to a dead end.
The Third Hokage, sitting not far from Danzo, saw Danzo's gloomy expression and realized that this matter was likely inseparable from him.
The Third Hokage sighed. As Danzo's old comrade-in-arms, the Third Hokage decided he still needed to help Danzo out.
"Minato, after saying all this, I wonder if you have any evidence?" Having served as Hokage for so many years, the Third Hokage was truly cunning and immediately hit Minato Namikaze's weak spot with a single question.
The formerly noisy atmosphere in the conference room instantly quieted down upon hearing the Third Hokage's question. Everyone's eyes turned toward Minato Namikaze, waiting for his evidence.
Where would Minato Namikaze have gotten evidence? All of this had been verbally recounted to him by Uchiha En.
Minato Namikaze had convened this meeting only hoping that he and Uchiha En could pressure Danzo into exposing himself. Just as they were about to succeed, the Third Hokage unexpectedly spoke up in Danzo's defense.
"The evidence is right here!" Uchiha En pulled out a sealing scroll.
"Sandaime-sama, I was the one who executed the mission to the Land of Rain. I encountered some unexpected situations during the mission, which is why I investigated and collected these items." Saying this, Uchiha En was about to open the scroll.
The Third Hokage's expression changed, and he quickly intervened: "En, wait a moment! I think it's necessary to verify this matter further. It wouldn't be good for this evidence to be exposed too early."
"Third Hokage-sama, you were the one who asked to see the evidence. Why are you refusing now?" Uchiha En asked with a half-smile.
The other high-ranking officials in the conference room also noticed the Third Hokage's abnormality. Who among those seated here was foolish? They all understood that the Third Hokage was protecting the person who colluded with Hanzou.
"Heh heh, En, you misunderstood. I only asked if there was evidence; I didn't say I wanted to see it. Please put it away quickly," the Third Hokage said, chuckling.
"Is that so? But isn't evidence meant to be shown to people? There's no harm in exposing it early, especially since we already—"
"En, that's enough! Sit down!" Uchiha Fugaku suddenly interjected from the side.
Uchiha En frowned upon hearing this and wanted to say more, but Minato Namikaze also stopped him: "En, sit down first! The Sandaime has a point."
Uchiha En snorted coldly and put away the sealing scroll. Both the Third Hokage and Danzo breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this.
At this point, the meeting was essentially over. Everyone knew that someone among Konoha's high-ranking officials had indeed colluded with Hanzou, and the Sandaime most likely knew who this person was; otherwise, he wouldn't be protecting them.
There were only a few people the Third Hokage would openly protect.
Thus, everyone simultaneously turned their attention toward Danzo and the two Advisors.
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