The Konoha F4's Covetous Eyes

"Which of these things must be taken with us?"

Uchiha Mei suddenly asked.

Aside from some bloodstains, her palm showed no signs of injury whatsoever.

"The plants and the books!"

Tang Ping instantly understood what she meant.

She intended to take everything away as quickly as possible—and destroy whatever could not be taken.

The most valuable things were in his head.

As for the plants, he had spent quite some time cultivating them.

They were not irreplaceable, but if they were gone, he would have to spend considerable effort and time growing them again. He could not leave them behind.

The books had been borrowed, so naturally, they could not be damaged.

As for everything else?

They were all things he had earned from work or saved up over time, nothing worth mentioning.

Uchiha Mei lightly clapped her hands.

Whoosh!

Two Uchiha clansmen appeared at the doorway.

"Lady Mei!" *2

What a joke.

Uchiha Mei was, after all, the young lady of the Main Branch. How could she possibly be without protection?

Especially within the village.

Danzo had never concealed his hostility toward the Uchiha, so they truly could not afford to let their guard down.

"Take all these plants and books back. Dispose of everything else!"

After saying that, Uchiha Mei quickly left with Tang Ping.

They had to move fast. The longer they delayed, the more passive they would become.

Hokage Office!

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been handling official duties, suddenly looked up.

A document had appeared on his desk.

After reading its contents, his expression turned grave. He summoned an Anbu and gave an order.

"Go invite Danzo and the two elders here!"

"Yes, Hokage!"

The Anbu swiftly vanished.

Not long after.

Tap, tap!

The sound of a cane striking wooden floorboards rang out, followed by the wooden door being pushed open.

"Hiruzen, what did you call me here for?"

Danzo bluntly asked without a shred of courtesy, showing no regard whatsoever for Hiruzen Sarutobi's position as Hokage.

In truth, that was how he saw it.

He considered himself Konoha's Root, naturally placing himself on the same level as the Hokage.

"Call me Hokage!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi irritably snapped at him.

Danzo's constant disrespect made it difficult for him to maintain his authority. If he did not keep him in check from time to time, Danzo would disrespect him today—and who knew what he might dare to do tomorrow?

Danzo naturally had no intention of yielding.

Just then, two figures entered from outside.

"Sarutobi, you called us..." Mitokado Homura hurried into the office and saw the two men facing off. With a headache, he changed the subject. "Did something happen?"

He could not even be bothered asking about the reason for their usual clashes anymore.

"Danzo, shouldn't you give me an explanation?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly fixed his gaze on Danzo.

"What do you mean?"

Danzo asked in return as if he knew nothing.

His acting was superb!

Outsiders might actually have been fooled.

But everyone in the office had grown up alongside him. How could they fail to see that he was hiding something?

"You know exactly what I mean. The Healing Potion is not something Root should be coveting!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi laid everything bare, then handed the document to the two elders.

"Hiruzen, you actually had me watched!"

Danzo flew into a rage.

I did so much for you, Sarutobi, and you had me watched? Are you trying to break with me?

At this moment, he had completely forgotten about planting informants in the Anbu.

To him, that was not surveillance. It was protecting the Hokage.

"Danzo, this must be controlled by the Medical Department!"

After reading the document, Utatane Koharu immediately spoke.

If what the document said was true, its implications were far too significant.

A medicine capable of making up for the scarcity of Medical Ninjas would undoubtedly give Konoha a substantial advantage on the battlefield.

As for the original owner of the Healing Potion?

Sorry, to Advisor Elders like them, he was merely someone they could manipulate however they pleased.

After an internal discussion, the Konoha F4 finally finished dividing the spoils among themselves.

Next came the actual execution.

"Hiruzen, leave it to Root. I guarantee I'll bring it back!"

Greed flashed in Danzo's eyes.

The value of someone who could develop such a thing as Uchiha Tang Ping went without saying.

Although the village also had Orochimaru, a research genius, Danzo had no way to control him. Now that someone else had finally emerged, how could he possibly let him go?

Thus, Danzo had never intended to merely control the Healing Potion from the start—he wanted everything.

"No!" Hiruzen Sarutobi flatly refused. "Koharu will negotiate with him. Root is not permitted to interfere!"

As a companion who had grown up with him, Hiruzen knew exactly what Danzo was thinking. Naturally, he could not allow him to succeed.

Such talent was Konoha's wealth. It absolutely could not become Root's private property.

Of course, the prerequisite for receiving his protection was that Tang Ping greatly admired the "Will of Fire." Otherwise, Hiruzen would not have been so resolute.

Danzo was naturally unwilling to accept that and immediately began arguing.

In the end, he alone could not possibly out-argue the other three working together, and Hiruzen shattered his defenses with a single sentence.

"Danzo, I am the Hokage!"

Yes, the Hokage could do whatever he wanted. No matter how unwilling you were, you still had to comply.

"Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"

Bang!

Danzo slammed the door and left.

With the Hokage protecting Tang Ping, Root truly could not act openly against him.

But it did not matter. If another opportunity arose, he could still make a move. After all, what he valued was not the Healing Potion, but the person himself.

"Hiruzen, you should be careful of Danzo!"

Mitokado Homura adjusted his glasses and offered a reminder. Danzo had become increasingly extreme lately.

"Don't worry!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not take it to heart.

As long as he was the Hokage, there was nothing to fear.

It was precisely this confidence that made him never restrain Root, allowing its authority to grow greater and greater.

In his eyes, the stronger Root became, the more it could handle matters he could not bear to take on himself. It was entirely beneficial and without harm.

Elsewhere!

The Uchiha Elder House Lineage was also holding a meeting.

Note that this was a small meeting of a single branch, not a full Uchiha Clan assembly, so there was naturally no need to gather at Naka Shrine.

The meeting was held in the courtyard shaded by two intertwined hibiscus trees.

The Uchiha Clan had more than a thousand members in total, internally divided into four branches.

The Main Branch was a staunch Hawkish Faction. Madara Uchiha had also come from this branch, and its current Branch Head was Uchiha Mei.

The Second Branch belonged to the Dove Faction. The not-yet-born Uchiha Shisui belonged to this branch.

The Third Branch belonged to the current clan head's faction and was considered neutral. Uchiha Fugaku was from this branch.

The Fourth Branch sat on the fence. Since Uchiha Mikoto, the Branch Head's legitimate daughter, had married Uchiha Fugaku, they supported the Third Branch in securing the position of clan head.

It could only be said that the background never introduced in the anime was incomparably complex in the real world.

Although Uchiha Mei, as the Branch Head of the Uchiha Elder House Lineage, had not formally taken office yet, there was naturally no problem with convening an internal meeting of her branch.

The key was that everyone lived nearby!

All the clansmen lived in the same area, so holding a meeting was indeed easy.

Yet once everyone had arrived, one truly understood what the foundation of a noble clan meant.

More than a handful of jonin had come.

What did that mean?

There were only around a hundred jonin in all of Konoha, while the Uchiha alone accounted for more than twenty of them.

With such a high proportion, it was no wonder they were ostracized by the other clans.

You people are so strong. If we did not band together for warmth, would we not lack even the qualifications to play with you?

Fortunately, the Uchiha only possessed formidable high-end combat power, not top-tier power. They did not even have a supreme expert comparable to the Three Sannin. Otherwise, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage, might not have been able to sleep peacefully.

Rustle!

As the door opened, the six Uchiha Elder House Members seated in formal kneeling posture—only jonin were qualified to attend the meeting—all looked toward the two people entering through the doorway.