Chapter 30: Uchiha Fugaku's Challenge
After Danzo gave Uchiha Fugaku a deep, lingering look, he said to the Root members, "Withdraw!"
Uchiha Fugaku also stared at Danzo for a long while before saying, "You all go back as well! I'm going to the Hokage Building for a meeting."
Both sides knew very well that they could not afford to fight.
Danzo was wary of the Uchiha Clan's combat power; he was very clear about the Uchiha's strength, otherwise he wouldn't have coveted the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan.
As for why Uchiha Fugaku was unwilling to fight, it was because he believed in his heart that the Uchiha could integrate into Konoha Village. Moreover, since he had revealed his Susanoo today to protect the Village and become a hero, he assumed the villagers would soon change their view of the Uchiha.
On the other side, when Naruto's treatment was mostly complete, Hiruzen Sarutobi had Kakashisend Naruto back to the Wooden Hut by the river, and arranged for the Sealing Team to be nearby as well.
Kakashi stared at the unconscious Naruto, his mind filled with uncertainty as he murmured to himself, "What exactly are you thinking? Do you really want to destroy Konoha Village?"
Naruto naturally heard Kakashi's muttering and really wanted to open his eyes right then and tell Kakashi, 'I originally intended to use Danzo's attempt to capture me as an excuse to deal a heavy blow to Konoha and see how Hiruzen Sarutobihandles Danzo.'
In fact, Naruto's thinking was simple: regardless of whether Danzo was punished by Hiruzen Sarutobithis time, Danzo would not dare to easily cause him trouble again, let alone covet him so openly, especially now that the Nine-Tailed was completely unsealed and could go berserk at any moment.
Inside the Hokage Building, the heads of the various families and the Civilian Jonin were all seated in the conference room.
At the head of the conference room sat Hiruzen Sarutobi, Utatane Koharu, Danzo Shimura, and Homura Mitokado.
The atmosphere in the room was extremely heavy; no one was willing to speak first, waiting for Hiruzen Sarutobi to break the silence.
After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi had long ago issued an order forbidding anyone from any family to approach the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
But today, on the opening day of the Ninja Academy, the young clan heads of the Great Clanshad contact with the Jinchuriki, and the Nine-Tailedwent berserk.
Hiruzen Sarutobi would certainly use this as a pretext to challenge them.
Just as the silence was becoming unsettlingly tense, Kakashi opened the door to the conference room and walked in.
"Hokage-sama, the three Advisors, Clan Heads, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is no longer in danger. The Nine-Tailed is also calm. However, the Nine-Tailedis currently completely unsealed, and the Jinchurikiis still unconscious. It's unclear exactly when he will wake up, though the Medical Ninja expect it should be by tomorrow morning."
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded upon hearing this and said, "Understood. Kakashi, take a seat as well."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
After Kakashi sat down, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the Great Clans and said, "Speak up, everyone! What should be done now?"
After Hiruzen Sarutobi finished his question, everyone remained silent.
Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was about to speak again, Uchiha Fugaku spoke up. After all, the Uchiha still controlled the Konoha Military Police Force, so their information was quite well-informed. He had some general intelligence regarding why the Nine-Tailed had gone berserk.
"Before discussing what to do, I would like to ask why the Nine-Tailed went berserk. It couldn't have gone berserk just because he had a meal and a gathering with the young clan heads of the Great Clans, could it?"
Uchiha Fugaku's words made the heads of the Great Clans frown slightly, as they all thought he was trying to shift the responsibility onto them.
But Uchiha Fugaku was no fool and wouldn't dig his own grave. He continued, "As far as I know, the Jinchuriki was having a quite pleasant time with the young clan heads. Afterward, he even escorted the little princess of the Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Hinata, back to their compound. Clan Head Hyugashould know something about what happened after that, right? Perhaps Clan Head Hyuga would like to say a few words?"
Hiashi Hyuga also understood what Uchiha Fugaku meant; he was going to challenge Danzo Shimura.
However, Hiashi Hyuga was naturally quite timid and didn't dare to offend Danzo Shimura. But since Uchiha Fugaku had already pushed the conversation to this point, if he didn't tell the truth, Hiruzen Sarutobi would surely shift the blame onto him.
So, Hiashi looked at Uchiha Fugaku and said, "Clan Head Uchiha, those words are quite unreasonable. As far as I know, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki escorted the young clan head of every family back to the vicinity of their respective compounds. The Hyuga Clan compound is the furthest from where Narutolives, which is why he escorted my daughter home last. Are you suggesting there's a problem with that?"
"Clan Head Hyuga, those words are a bit much. I only hope that Clan Head Hyuga can tell the truth about what happened after the Jinchuriki escorted your daughter back; I wasn't questioning what happened on the way."
"What is there to say! After I received Hinata, I let the Jinchuriki leave. Was I supposed to keep him overnight at the Hyuga compound? Besides... if you want to know what exactly happened to the Jinchuriki, you'd be better off asking the Anbu! After all, the Anbu are protecting the Jinchurikiaround the clock."
Hiashi spoke quite tactfully, describing the surveillance as protection, which also saved some face for Hiruzen Sarutobi by not being too blunt.
Uchiha Fugaku was waiting for exactly this sentence from Hiashi.
"Oh!? So the Jinchuriki has always been under protection? Our Uchiha Clan really didn't know about this. I apologize to Clan Head Hyuga; I misunderstood you. After all, our Uchiha Clan has always been marginalized from the Village's core, so there are many things we don't understand."
Uchiha Fugaku was now signaling his intent to challenge Hiruzen Sarutobi. The Village higher-ups had always marginalized the Uchiha Clan, yet it was the Uchiha Clan who had saved the Village. If the Village didn't provide an explanation today, then whether the Uchiha Clan would accept the Village's management in the future would be a different story entirely.
With Uchiha Fugaku having spoken to this extent, the other heads of the Great Clans also began to secretly weigh the situation.
The Great Clans actually already knew the reason why the Nine-Tailed went berserk today; they just hadn't stated it openly.
Now, Uchiha Fugaku was just short of naming Danzo Shimura. If the matter wasn't resolved today, it was inevitable that Hiruzen Sarutobiwould use this as a pretext to make things difficult for the Great Clans in the future.
After all, the young clan heads of the Great Clanshad all had contact with the Jinchuriki today!
The heads of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans glanced at each other. Nara Shikaku knew what had to be done, but they absolutely could not be the first ones to speak. So, he secretly signaled Inoichi Yamanaka and Akimichi Choza to remain calm.
The heads of the other Great Clans were not fools either; none were willing to be the first to stick their necks out.
However, sitting in the conference room were not only the heads of the Great Clans but also several representatives of the Civilian Jonin, who didn't understand the political intricacies at play.