Dissatisfaction at the Hokage's Office Building

Paper could not contain fire, much less the big mouths of the Uchiha Clan.

Especially since this Uchiha Clan Meeting had caused such a stir, gathering nearly one-fifth of Konoha Ninja Village's Jonin corps. Their clan grounds were heavily guarded, and Anbu agents who approached to observe had been beaten to the ground and thrown into the Konoha Military Police Force's jail... No one could figure out what this bunch of Uchiha lunatics was trying to do.

This left everyone watching the Uchiha deeply anxious, especially Konoha F4 in the Hokage's Office Building.

As Konoha's current ruling group, inheriting the Second Hokage's will, they were led by Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, assisted by Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu. Together, they formed the core of the Third Hokage's rule. In contrast, Kagami Uchiha and Torifu Akimichi, who had once been in Tobirama's Hokage class alongside them, had died and retired respectively, leaving them with no claim to the Ninja Village's power.

The atmosphere in the Hokage's Office was grave. Every member of Konoha F4 wore a grim expression. The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, kept puffing thick clouds of smoke from his pipe, while the other three had no mind to spare for it. They simply waited quietly for news from the Anbu scouts.

The Third Hokage's rule was far from secure.

At its root, his only basis for becoming Hokage had been the Second Hokage's will, and no third-party force had witnessed it. Not only did the Uchiha Clan refuse to accept it, but even the Senju remnants were dissatisfied, as were the various ninja clans. Still, under his command, the First Great Ninja War had ended. Riding on the momentum of victory, aside from the hardheaded Uchiha Clan, the opposition could not openly say much. They merely plotted in secret. Faced with this situation, the Third Hokage had taken several key measures.

First, he strengthened the importance of the Konoha Ninja Academy and expanded enrollment to train Civilian Ninja as a counterbalance to the Ninja Clan Powers.

Second, he expanded the Anbu, strengthening the manpower and equipment of the Hokage's direct departments. They served as the Hokage's trump card and direct military force, placed above all other Konoha departments. However, this also drew fierce dissatisfaction from the old-guard ninja who controlled those departments, especially the Uchiha Clan, which controlled the Konoha Military Police Force.

With both measures in place, the Hokage faction's power was strengthened, while the old factions, particularly the former Senju forces, were restrained. At least, no publicly visible opposition remained.

With a bang, a cloud of smoke rose in the Hokage's Office, and an Anbu appeared before Konoha F4 on one knee.

"Lord Hokage, this subordinate has completed the investigation and returned to report."

"Present it at once!" The Third Hokage did not waste words. He had been waiting impatiently and directly ordered the Anbu to submit the intelligence.

As he read the contents of the intelligence scroll, the Third Hokage's expression shifted unpredictably, making the other three increasingly uneasy.

What the hell were those crazy red-eyed Uchiha up to now?

The three of them had no idea either.

The Third Hokage read the intelligence several times. Its contents made his chest tighten with anger. He slumped back into his chair and let out a long sigh.

The other three grew even more uneasy.

Seeing their expressions, the Third Hokage casually tossed the intelligence scroll to Shimura Danzō.

"Take a look." After saying that, he closed his eyes to rest. Yet he puffed on his pipe faster and faster, making it clear that he was nowhere near as calm as he appeared.

Shimura Danzō hurriedly scanned the contents of the report and was immediately shocked. He then handed the scroll to Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu before turning to the Third Hokage.

"Hiruzen! What do you think?"

The Third Hokage continued resting with his eyes closed, ignoring him.

"What about you two? What do you think should be done?"

Seeing that the Third Hokage ignored him, Shimura Danzō turned to Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.

"The Uchiha are trying to betray the village! They must be severely punished! Otherwise, every ninja clan will start rebelling!" The more Danzo spoke, the angrier he became. He turned back and shouted at the Third Hokage, "Hiruzen, this is the time to crush the Uchiha's delusions with an iron fist! The village cannot let them act so recklessly any longer!"

Danzo became more and more agitated, and his words gradually grew unrestrained.

"Or give me command of the Anbu. I'll personally lead people to kill those old Uchiha bastards. As long as we break the backs of those lunatics, they won't dare keep acting so arrogantly!"

"Shut up!"

The Third Hokage suddenly opened his eyes and roared at Danzo like an enraged lion.

"...Danzo, I am the Hokage!"

"Should we bring that old man Setsuna in for questioning?" Utatane Koharu suggested.

"Are you going to arrest him, or who is?"

The Third Hokage glared at Utatane Koharu. The Great Elder of the Radical Faction was not someone they could easily handle.

"Then what about this child? Uchiha Nakagen's son." Utatane Koharu refused to let it go, pointing to the name of the supposed proposer in the intelligence report—Uchiha Tokimitsu.

"A six-year-old child? Who knows whether he's just a Smoke Bomb the Uchiha released?" Mitokado Homura also found the situation absurd and could not help speaking up.

"Besides, those red-eyed lunatics may have already set a trap and be waiting for us." Danzo said darkly from the side. After all, he had plotted against so many people that he naturally assumed everyone else was always plotting against him.

"But this must be nipped in the bud! The Uchiha absolutely cannot establish a Ninja Academy on their own. This is splitting the village apart! It is naked rebellion!"

After discussing it for a long time, they still could not find a good solution. Using force was truly not an option. The Hokage's Main Line forces, along with the families of Konoha F4, held a slight advantage in top-tier combat power, but they still could not take on that many Uchiha jonin. As for political pressure, the Uchiha claimed they were opening a "Police Force Preparatory Training Academy," not a proper Ninja Academy. In name, it was merely a training institution for police personnel. Even its recruits were supposedly police reserve trainees. In theory, it was the same type of institution as the Anbu Training Division—namely, the Root led by Danzo. Furthermore, the Konoha Military Police Force was the Uchiha Clan's traditional sphere of influence. From top to bottom, it was entirely composed of Uchiha clan members. Even the Hokage found it difficult to influence its operations. Once they considered it all, the Hokage had very few means of balancing them.

"We absolutely cannot stand by and watch the Uchiha's Ninja Academy be established." Danzo gritted his teeth.

"Hiruzen, what exactly are you planning? Or do you have any good ideas?" Seeing that they could not reach any conclusion, Mitokado Homura directly asked the Third Hokage for his opinion.

The Third Hokage slowly straightened up, took a pouch of tobacco from a drawer, carefully packed it into his pipe, and put the pipe back in his mouth. He rubbed two fingers of his right hand together, creating a small flame that lit the tobacco, then took a deep draw.

"Whew..."

The Third Hokage exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.

"Are you finished?" the smoke-puffing Third Hokage asked. "Since none of you have any solution, listen to me."

The three of them immediately sat upright and listened.

"Arrange a meeting with the Uchiha Clan Head. Tell him that the Anbu will provide positions to the Uchiha Clan and ask him to select clan members to join. The number of positions... let us set it at three for now. At the same time, if the Konoha Military Police Force has training needs, the Anbu can handle them as well, so there is no need to waste public funds."

The moment Danzo heard this, he seemed ready to leap up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, about to voice his objection.

"As for the Uchiha child identified in the intelligence as the proposer... Hmm, his name is Uchiha Tokimitsu, correct? I will take him as my disciple."

After saying that, the Third Hokage slumped back into his chair and waved his hand. "Go handle it!"

"Yes!"

A response came from a corner of the Hokage's Office. Then a shadow flashed out through the window.

"Hiruzen... you will regret this!"

Danzo, who wanted to object but had no alternative solution, spoke through gritted teeth before slamming the door behind him as he left.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu exchanged a glance, then found excuses to leave as well.

Inside the office, the Third Hokage silently continued smoking his pipe.

Cloud after cloud of thick smoke poured out, leaving the enormous office shrouded in haze.

I was away on a business trip for the past few days and returned today. Normal updates will resume from now on.