Third? No, Gambling Monster!

The Nine-Tails Incident came to an end when the Fourth Hokage rejected Kushina's plan to die together with the Nine-Tails, ultimately sacrificing himself to seal the Nine-Tails away.

The Fourth Hokage and his wife both perished, while the Nine-Tails was sealed inside their son, Naruto Uzumaki, making him Konoha's new jinchuriki.

It had to be said that Minato Namikaze's assessment of the bigger picture had been fairly accurate. The Konoha of today needed not so much a Hokage, or a Fourth Hokage, as it needed a Nine-Tails jinchuriki.

As long as it possessed a tailed beast, Konoha would always retain its deterrent power over the other ninja villages.

The Uchiha Clan was still at the height of its strength, the Hyuga Clan was a major pillar of the village, the Third was still vigorous despite his age, and the baby boom among the younger generation was explosively replenishing Konoha's manpower.

Though it could not be said to rival Konoha during the First and Second Shinobi World Wars, compared to the period of the Third Shinobi World War, its future was certainly promising.

The Nine-Tails was the big joker, the Uchiha Clan the little joker, and even at their worst, the Hyuga could count as four twos. The remaining ninja could still make up a straight.

With a hand like that, how could Konoha lose?

The old Third looked over the hand Minato Namikaze had left behind, slapped his forehead, and, with Danzo fanning the flames—

He led with the little joker.

"Uchiha Clan Head, please give me an explanation."

At Konoha's high-level meeting, Danzo stared grimly at Fugaku Uchiha, the current Uchiha Clan Head, whose expression remained calm.

Fugaku Uchiha merely looked at him indifferently, his tone icy. "Lord Danzo, are you still suspecting that this matter has something to do with the Uchiha Clan?"

The Third also sat solemnly in the seat of honor, a pipe clenched between his teeth. Yet it was not the Uchiha Clan's actions that weighed most heavily on him at that moment—it was the Fourth's death.

Once the other ninja villages heard this news, would they really be able to hold back and remain still?

At the thought of war possibly descending upon Konoha once again, the wrinkles on the Third's aged face seemed to deepen.

"You know perfectly well what this is about. The Sharingan that could drive the Nine-Tails berserk was no ordinary Sharingan!"

Danzo was like an enraged lion. He slammed a hand on the table and glared at Fugaku Uchiha. "Are you telling me you know nothing about it?!"

"Are all Sharingan in the hands of the Uchiha Clan?" Fugaku Uchiha laughed in anger, looking at Danzo with mocking eyes. "Even the Hyuga, who treasure their eyes most dearly, have had a pair of eyes fall into outsiders' hands, haven't they?"

Hyuga Hiashi, who had been sitting quietly to one side, darkened with anger. But they were all old foxes—who did not know that Fugaku Uchiha was not merely venting his frustrations?

He was forcing the Hyuga Clan to take a side—come on, stop staying silent. Say something.

Hyuga Hiashi had no choice but to speak. "Based on our observations, the ocular power on the Nine-Tails was extraordinarily terrifying. I do not believe it was the work of the current Uchiha Clan."

The implication was clear: if the Uchiha Clan truly possessed such power, there would be no need for them to still be sitting here now.

He had both offered the Uchiha Clan a word of explanation and lightly belittled them at the same time, striking back at Fugaku Uchiha's earlier remark.

Fugaku Uchiha gave a cold laugh. "If the Uchiha Clan had truly done this, would we have stopped after accomplishing only this much?"

The representatives of the other ninja clans were startled, yet they found themselves rather agreeing with him—if all this had been orchestrated by the Uchiha Clan, how could it have ended so anticlimactically?

There had been no better opportunity than the Nine-Tails' rampage for the Uchiha Clan to launch a coup.

Danzo merely stared at him coldly. You really dare to think that, huh?

The Third remained firmly in control. In truth, everyone was familiar with this sort of situation: Danzo bit at people wildly like a mad dog, and then the Third stepped in to mediate—or rather, to bring up the real issue.

It fit quite well with something a great writer once said: if you demanded to open a window, they would refuse; but if you first shouted that you wanted to tear off the roof, they would find opening a window negotiable.

"Danzo, I trust Clan Head Fugaku." The Third knocked out his pipe.

Fugaku Uchiha could be considered the leader of the Uchiha Clan's dove faction. If the hawkish, pro-war faction within the clan had not been gaining momentum in recent years, Fugaku Uchiha's relationship with the village likely would not have deteriorated to this extent.

As clan head, he had been put in a difficult position. He neither wanted to follow the hawks and flip the table, shouting that if Konoha refused to give the Uchiha face today, then no one would get to eat, nor did he dare openly appear weak, lest he provoke dissatisfaction from those below him.

"Next, let us discuss the reconstruction work to come." The Third's clouded eyes gazed calmly at Fugaku Uchiha.

Fugaku Uchiha's expression was indifferent. He did not wish to speak.

"No matter what, many ninja died in yesterday's battle." The Third did not take the bait and simply continued as if discussing matters objectively. "Konoha's buildings have also largely been damaged. Since this has happened, let us redraw the territories of the various clans."

He raised his head slightly, and Danzo stood up arrogantly, spreading a map before everyone.

To be honest, for Danzo, being able to decide the fate of every clan with a single sentence felt utterly fantastic!

Without showing it, he maintained a steady expression and pointed at the map.

"The Aburame Clan will move here. Your clan previously requested land adjacent to the forest, and this location was chosen with that in mind."

The current Aburame Clan Head nodded silently in agreement.

"The Nara Clan's residence was unaffected, so it will remain where it is."

The Nara Clan naturally had no objections.

Then Danzo's finger slid slightly, pointing toward a corner of the map. It was a marginal area with nothing there.

"The destroyed Konoha Police Force headquarters will be rebuilt here."

"At the same time, the Uchiha Clan will also—"

Fugaku Uchiha could not believe it. He abruptly rose to his feet, the anger and confusion in his eyes nearly bursting forth. "Lord Danzo!"

"The Uchiha Clan is the police force responsible for maintaining Konoha's public order. If we move to such a remote corner, it will be difficult to respond to emergency missions!"

Fugaku Uchiha stared fixedly at Danzo, giving him one final chance to change this decision.

But Danzo merely said coldly, "In an emergency, the ANBU will be deployed."

Fugaku Uchiha was so furious his Sharingan nearly popped out of his head.

Only then did the Third slowly say in a deep voice, "The police force often travels back and forth to the training grounds, correct? This place happens to be very close to them."

"You can use the training grounds as an exclusive training area for the Uchiha Clan."

Fugaku Uchiha could not even be bothered to say anything more. His heart chilled as he looked at the expressions of everyone else in the meeting room—some were silent, some hostile, but not one person was willing to extend him a hand at this moment.

He was a smart man, and a clan head who understood the situation. Faced with this scene, as coldness gradually rose in his heart, he also realized a cruel fact in an instant.

If he did not want to tear apart all pretenses with Konoha right now, lead his clansmen in defecting from Konoha, or directly launch a coup, then he had no choice but to swallow this bitter pill today.

But if he failed to secure a satisfactory result and returned to the Uchiha Clan empty-handed today, Fugaku Uchiha did not need to think hard to know what would happen. Other than making the hawks even more hardline and driving more Uchiha Clan members into their ranks, there would be no other outcome.

And if more members of the Uchiha Clan believed that the current state of affairs had to change, that the Uchiha had to become more forceful, then the Uchiha Clan would become even more disliked among Konoha's upper ranks.

Well then, it had become a vicious cycle.

At that moment, Hizashi Hyuga, who sat quietly beside Hyuga Hiashi and had always merely served as a figurehead, suddenly spoke. "I don't think that is necessary."

"Cough." Hyuga Hiashi suddenly coughed, trying to interrupt him, but Hizashi Hyuga simply continued in a soft voice as if he had not heard. "Yesterday, the Hyuga Clan was only responsible for doing our utmost to save the villagers. We did not—"

"Hizashi!" Hyuga Hiashi had no choice but to cut him off. He could not understand what madness had gotten into him.

Hyuga Hiashi stared coldly at his younger brother. What angered him more than the things Hizashi had suddenly said was that he had not informed him beforehand.

Hizashi Hyuga looked at his older brother and calmly delivered the argument he had prepared long ago. "The current situation cannot be ignored. Compared to the mistakes committed by the Uchiha Clan, I believe what matters more right now is observing the movements of the other ninja villages."

"After the Nine-Tails Incident, the spies of the other ninja villages must have begun working long ago. Is it not most important now for us to stand united against external threats?"

Hizashi's words gave the Third something to consider, but Danzo merely gave a sinister smile. "Could it be that the Uchiha Clan cannot even obey orders and change their office location and place of residence?"

The Third exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Hizashi, the village has already considered this matter."

"The Uchiha Clan is powerful. Konoha is now beset by storms from all sides. Having the Uchiha Clan stand guard against enemies on the outskirts of the village is also a great service to the village."

The Third made the final decision.

Fugaku Uchiha merely slumped helplessly in his chair.

Hizashi Hyuga fell silent. By speaking those words just now, he had already achieved his purpose for the day.

Moreover, even if the day truly came when a decision had to be made, the Uchiha Clan, stationed far from the village center, could more discreetly make plans and take action—whether to leave Konoha or overthrow it.

At that moment, Fugaku Uchiha was mentally exhausted. He was completely disappointed in Konoha and Danzo. He merely gave Hizashi Hyuga a slight nod and said nothing more.

No matter what, Hizashi Hyuga's decision to speak had steadied his heart somewhat—the village was not entirely filled with fools. That gave him at least a little hope. Of course, it would have been even better if the one who had spoken had been Hyuga Hiashi, the Main House's clan head, rather than Hizashi Hyuga.

Thinking of this, he could not help recalling the gift from Yuzuru Hyuga that had been opened before him on Itachi Uchiha's birthday.

Yuzuru Hyuga should be Hizashi's son, right? Perhaps that gift had been arranged by Hizashi Hyuga?

Could it be... Fugaku Uchiha fell into deep thought.

PS: A missing person notice.

Name: Unknown.

Physical characteristics: Extremely handsome.

Behavioral characteristics: Likes collecting, following updates, and voting with recommendation tickets.