Soon, on the horizon of the road, a figure appeared wearing a blue hat and a beige veil, dressed in a white robe with a blue ninja uniform underneath, his gaze as fierce as Gaara's. He arrived aggressively, looking as if he had come for a fight.
Behind the Kazekage followed over a dozen Jonin wearing Sunagakure headbands, their eyes filled with anger and looking very unfriendly.
As the Sunagakure group approached, a tense atmosphere faintly emerged between the two sides. Many ninjas' hands quietly reached for their weapons.
"It's been a long and tiring journey, thank you for your hard work." Hiruzen said.
"Not at all. Since Konoha cannot manage the Uchiha, we can only come in person." Rasa said, his expression unreadable.
These words made the village's Jonin unable to help but look at Hiruzen.
Hiruzen acted as if he didn't notice, smiling kindly as he stepped aside to make way.
"Rest well for today."
Rasa nodded and walked forward. Hiruzen walked side by side with him, entering Konoha.
...
Although he told the Kazekage to rest well, in order to go to the Uchiha Clan Compound tomorrow, Hiruzen still communicated some details with Rasa.
For example, what to do if the Uchiha were unwilling to hand over Gaara, if they were willing, how to compensate Sunagakure for their losses, and so on.
Today was exceptionally busy but time felt shorter than usual. Amidst the villagers' heated discussions and condemnations of the Uchiha, the sun went down.
...
Night.
Sarutobi Clan Compound.
Hiruzen, Koharu, and Homura were gathered together.
"Hiruzen, I'm afraid the Uchiha won't hand over that Jinchuriki." Homura said.
"As I thought, we should have cooperated with Danzo back then to forcibly exterminate the Uchiha clan." Koharu felt great regret.
Hiruzen glanced at her.
What's the use of regretting it now?
Besides, cooperate with Danzo? With what? With our lives?
If we had fought the Uchiha back then, Kumogakure and Iwagakure would have charged in excitedly long ago. If that had really happened, Konoha would have been destroyed long ago.
"Now, the important thing is that the Uchiha must hand over Sunagakure's Jinchuriki. Calming Sunagakure's anger is one aspect. On the other hand, Kumogakure and Iwagakure have already formed an alliance and are eyeing Konoha restlessly."
Hiruzen sighed and said, "If the Uchiha clan is unwilling to hand over the person and persists in their ways, once we use force, it will cause casualties. At that time, Kumogakure and Iwagakure will definitely choose to start a war."
"Konoha... would be in critical danger."
Koharu and Homura could also see this, but they didn't have any good solutions.
Koharu hesitated. "How about giving them more authority?"
Hiruzen said, "The Uchiha clan is now under Hiromi's absolute control. If he doesn't agree, authority is useless."
Homura said, "Then promise them to help the Uchiha clan gain the villagers' trust? The conflict between the Uchiha clan and the villagers has become intense again. If the Uchiha were the Police Force now, I'm afraid they would stage another Coup détat. This should be their greatest concern."
Hiruzen shook his head and rejected this proposal. He knew very well that the current Uchiha simply didn't care what the villagers said.
The three gathered together, yet they couldn't even come up with a suitable method.
For a moment, the room fell silent.
But a single voice rang out in their hearts with annoyance—The Uchiha clan is too oblivious to the big picture.
—
Land of Lightning, border.
Thousands of ninjas gathered.
Patrolling, cooking, setting traps, sharpening blades...
They each did their own thing, but would look up from time to time towards the Land of Fire.
Inside the central tent, A sat there like a wall. His large hand held a message sent from Iwagakure. It described Hiromi's formidable strength. The most obvious was Hiromi's resistance against Dust Release.
Ōnoki was old and would only get weaker but Hiromi was still young and far from reaching his peak. Such a figure was destined not to be left alive.
But what A focused on most was that it mentioned Hiromi's Flame Emperor Form. Ōnoki deduced that this form far surpassed his Lightning Release Chakra Mode. This made him very much want to personally test Hiromi.
However...
He looked at the information sent from Sunagakure on the other side
—Sunagakure will release the Tailed Beast in the center of Konoha to carry out the Konoha Crush Plan.
Although he wondered what benefit this would have for Sunagakure, Kumogakure and Iwagakure already wanted to attack Konoha. If it were true, it would be a good thing instead—who cares about any conspiracy?
All schemes and intrigues appear weak and powerless in the face of absolute strength.
Most importantly, Sunagakure was too weak.
—
The next day.
As the sun rose, the quiet Konoha gradually became lively.
Hiruzen accompanied Rasa, leading over a hundred Konoha Jonin and over a dozen Sunagakure Jonin toward the Uchiha clan. Along the way, villagers and ninjas watched.
"The Uchiha are really something."
"How can the Uchiha be like this?"
"Damn Uchiha."
Soon, the Hokage, Kazekage, and their group arrived at the Uchiha Clan Compound.
The Uchiha Clan Members saw them, their gazes cold, and didn't say a word.
Shisui, the Uchiha Clan Head, was all smiles, but he didn't call out "Hokage-sama" either.
Only Fugaku, standing to the side, stepped forward, sighed, and said, "I'm truly sorry, Hokage-sama, Kazekage-sama. I didn't expect Hiromi to do such a thing, and the clan members... sigh."
Seeing this, Hiruzen's eyes brightened. It seemed Fugaku was the only one in the Uchiha who understood the big picture, he was on their side.
But...
The Uchiha Clan Members turned their heads. "Hmph!"
Shisui was staring at a bird on a utility pole, daydreaming. Then he looked at Fugaku's face full of apology.
Hiruzen hesitated. 'He shouldn't be playing me, right?'