Danzo, You Don't Understand At All

"Next item on the agenda."

The Third Hokage raised his eyes, looking towards Meitoku's seat.

The latter immediately stood up to speak, "Regarding the rights and wrongs of the Uchiha and Hyuga Clan incident, let's not delve into that for now. However, the cause of the incident was rumors spread by certain individuals within the village..."

"I think no one should object to that, right?"

"You call them rumors, yet you still believed them?" Chiken was the first to retort, "Calling you an old fossil wasn't wrong at all."

"Old man, you're not much better! If you didn't believe it, would this kind of thing have happened?"

"Tch..."

Meitoku's one question left Chiken speechless.

If he admitted to believing it, then the two of them were in the same boat.

If he denied it, then why did he clash with the Hyuga Clan?

Although the clan heads present knew it was a matter of face.

But saying it out loud would make them seem petty.

"Both clan heads, please calm down..." The Third Hokage interrupted the two at the right moment, "Regarding the issue of rumors, how should it be resolved?"

To this, Meitoku already had a plan, "I suggest establishing a monitoring department in the village to vigorously combat false rumors."

Chiken rolled his Byakugan.

Wasn't this targeting him?

The Uchiha's public relations work would be harder to do in the future.

"Good, then the monitoring department will be jointly managed by people from each clan. I assume no one has any objections?"

The Third Hokage couldn't possibly concentrate power in one family again.

The rift between the Uchiha and Konoha was a clear lesson from the past.

"Hiruzen...no, Hokage-sama..." Danzo, with a gloomy expression, stood up to express his opinion, "Shouldn't this matter be discussed with the Hokage advisors?"

He glanced at Chiken with one eye, hinting at something, "Such an important department cannot be casually handed over to a ninja clan that cannot be trusted."

Chiken recalled what the brat at home had said: Disgust Danzo whenever you get the chance.

Coupled with the other party's various reasons for targeting the Uchiha Clan just now.

He folded his arms and questioned the other party, "Clan Head Danzo, are you looking at this issue from the perspective of a clan head or an advisor?"

"Also, is the Uchiha Clan on your so-called list of ninja clans that cannot be trusted?"

Perfect, would Danzo dare to answer these two questions?

No matter how he answered, he would be caught in a loophole.

Clan head perspective: Then why are you saying all this?

Advisor perspective: This is a clan meeting, are you trying to be above all the clans?

Uchiha Clan on the list: Why are you targeting the Uchiha Clan everywhere?

Uchiha Clan not on the list: Then why were you targeting them just now?

The atmosphere immediately became strange.

Many other ninja clan heads were glaring at Danzo.

They seemed to want to question who exactly was the untrusted ninja clan.

The Third Hokage rubbed his forehead, pondering with a troubled expression how to break the deadlock.

He had been watching Chiken and Danzo's mutual targeting all along.

How should he put it, Senju Tobirama didn't specifically tell him, Sarutobi Hiruzen, to be careful of the Uchiha Clan before he died.

From the moment he took over as Hokage, his attitude towards the Uchiha had always been lukewarm.

Unless Danzo had been specifically instructed, or for some other reason, he would always dislike the Uchiha Clan.

"Kagami, during the last mission..."

He didn't dare to continue thinking when he got to this point.

The Third Hokage wasn't unaware that this speculation was very likely.

But he just didn't want to believe it was true.

If there was evidence, he would probably help to eliminate it, right?

With the stability of Konoha as the top priority, he would try his best to bury anything that could cause division in the village.

"As one of the four great clans of Konoha, the Uchiha Clan is absolutely trustworthy..."

The Third Hokage, acting like an ostrich, chose to cleverly defuse the strange atmosphere at this time, "Clan Head Chiken, please rest assured, the village has never doubted you."

Chiken didn't want this topic to be brushed over, "I have never doubted the village's attitude towards us, it's just that Clan Head Danzo has gone a bit too far today..."

"As a clan head, he's actually looking at other families with prejudice..." He narrowed his eyes, "I still want to ask Clan Head Danzo, has the Uchiha Clan offended you in any way?"

Danzo's face was alternating between green and purple with rage.

It was another one of those questions that would trap him no matter how he answered.

Meitoku inwardly exclaimed, What a guy.

Every word of that was carefully chosen, specifically targeting the other party's weaknesses.

Even he was beginning to suspect that there might have been some unknown conflict between the Uchiha and Danzo.

The other clan heads all had their own agendas.

The gazes they cast at Danzo became very interesting.

Suspicion, hostility, and jealousy were all present.

"Alright, Clan Head Chiken..." The Third Hokage was visibly annoyed. "Let's not continue down this road."

He didn't even know why he was angry.

"Understood, Hokage-sama." Chiken couldn't press the issue any further.

"And Danzo, you can't accuse the Uchiha Clan without any basis. You understand why the village exists, don't you?"

"But, the Uchiha have always..."

The Third Hokage raised his hand and slammed it on the conference table. "You don't understand at all!"

"If you target the Uchiha today, will you target the Senju tomorrow? And the Sarutobi Clan the day after?"

He said, enunciating each word, "Do you want to see Konoha fall apart?"

Everyone in the conference room was afraid to even breathe.

"I... I understand!" Danzo finally conceded.

But everyone present knew that he wouldn't let it go so easily.

"Interesting, it seems the Third Hokage may know something..." Chiken mused inwardly.

"I need to properly ask that brat when I get back, what exactly he said to the Third Hokage that day..."

He didn't think there was anything wrong with the Third Hokage protecting Danzo.

They were all adults, and everything came down to self-interest.

Meitoku appeared calm on the surface, but his heart was churning.

Danzo definitely had issues with the Uchiha.

But regardless of the various conflicts, the Third Hokage's actions had already shown that he was standing on the side of the Uchiha.

Danzo was incredibly angry at that moment.

He believed that he was the one who truly inherited the will of his teacher, the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.

Hiding in the shadows, silently resolving all threats to Konoha.

The Uchiha Clan, such an unstable element, needed to be suppressed and targeted.

The Third Hokage's anger quickly dissipated.

He returned to his usual calm demeanor. "Let's continue the meeting."

"Does anyone have anything to add regarding the Hyuga Clan matter?"

The clan heads all shook their heads, indicating that there were no issues.

"The punishment for the Hyuga Clan is to transfer those involved in the incident to assist the construction department with their work..."

"This will include the reconstruction of the Uchiha Commercial Street. Clan Head Meitoku, do you have any objections?"

"No, I accept this punishment on behalf of the Hyuga Clan." Meitoku didn't dare to refuse.

Seeing him agree, the Third Hokage announced the final item on the agenda. "Everyone, I hope that all ninja clans can coexist peacefully. I don't want to see similar incidents happen again."

"Yes, Third Hokage-sama." The clan heads present all agreed.

"Meeting adjourned."

After a long while, the Third Hokage stared at the empty conference room and leaned heavily against his chair.

He was still thinking about the events of the day.

"Chiken must know something, that's why he was so sharp..."

"Then, what Shin said to me... was it deliberately revealed to me?"

The Uchiha wanted to divide the higher-ups of Konoha; that was the first explanation that came to his mind.

"No, the Uchiha have never stooped to playing such schemes..."

That's right, the Uchiha, who valued strength, would never resort to such petty tricks.

"Danzo, are you the one who killed Kagami..."

Until the sun set.

The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi remained in that position, unmoving.