Does the village owe my Uchiha Clan an explanation?

The fighting in the village had completely subsided, and reconstruction work began.

An emergency high-level meeting was convened at the Hokage Building.

Only four people attended the meeting!

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, the two Hokage advisors, along with Jiraiya and Kakashi, who had been urgently summoned.

Mitokado Homura adjusted his glasses: "The situation is temporarily stabilized, but after such a great disaster, the village is in a state of panic!"

"A village cannot be without a Hokage for even a day. The top priority is to immediately decide on the Fifth Hokage candidate to stabilize the overall situation!"

Mitokado Homura looked at Jiraiya, his meaning all too clear.

Utatane Koharu followed up: "Jiraiya, you are the Third Hokage's disciple, one of the Three Ninja. Whether in strength or reputation, you are more than enough to command respect!"

"Now is the time for you to step up and take charge. This is your responsibility."

Jiraiya crossed his arms and shook his head like a rattle-drum at her words:

"No way, no way. You two advisors, don't set me up."

"I'm a free-spirited guy who's used to doing as I please. I can't stand all those rules and mountains of paperwork. Become Hokage?"

"I'm not fit!"

"Really not fit!"

Utatane Koharu's face darkened, and she slammed her hand on the table: "Jiraiya! This is no joke!"

"Hiruzen died in battle, and the village has suffered such a heavy loss. As his disciple, both publicly and privately, can you justify shirking this responsibility now?"

Mitokado Homura also softened his tone and continued to persuade: "Jiraiya, we know your nature!"

"But these are extraordinary times that call for extraordinary people. Your ability and prestige make you the most suitable candidate right now!"

"Even for the sake of Hiruzen's dying wish, you should take this on."

Jiraiya remained as stubborn as ever: "I'm telling you, there's someone a hundred times more suitable than me!"

"Tsunade! She is the perfect candidate for the Fifth Hokage!"

"Her medical skills can quickly restore the village's vitality!"

"In terms of status, she is the First Hokage's granddaughter; in terms of leadership... hey, she's far more reliable than I am."

"Tsunade..."

The two advisors exchanged glances, clearly somewhat swayed.

Utatane Koharu mused: "In terms of status, she is indeed more suitable."

"But she left the village years ago, her whereabouts are unknown, and she may not... be interested in the position of Hokage."

Jiraiya thumped his chest: "As long as you agree to let her be the Fifth, leave the rest to me! I guarantee I'll bring her back!"

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura exchanged a few whispered opinions.

Finally, Utatane Koharu looked at Jiraiya: "As long as you can find Tsunade and convince her to succeed as the Fifth, you don't have to take on this burden."

"But let me be clear upfront: if you can't bring Tsunade back, you will have to succeed as the Fifth no matter what!"

"It's settled!"

Jiraiya breathed a sigh of relief. He was confident he could persuade Tsunade to return.

With the matter temporarily decided, Mitokado Homura rubbed his brow and waved his hand: "If there's nothing else, let's first..."

"Please wait a moment!"

Kakashi suddenly spoke up, looking at the two advisors and Jiraiya.

"Regarding Shimura Danzō!"

Kakashi's voice was not loud: "He openly attacked today and caused the Third Hokage's death. How does the village plan to handle this matter?"

The meeting room fell silent.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu's expressions shifted.

Regarding Danzō's matter, they both felt something was off deep down.

That Danzō would assassinate the Third was in character for him.

But conspiring with Orochimaru to attack the Third Hokage in broad daylight? That was clearly impossible!

That man Danzō had made becoming Hokage his obsession. How could he openly attack the Third Hokage?

Doing so would only brand him a traitor to the village and completely disqualify him.

Utatane Koharu steadied herself and looked at an Anbu standing by the door: "Go to the Root Base and invite Elder Danzō here for a face-to-face confrontation!"

The Anbu acknowledged and left.

Soon, that Anbu returned and knelt on one knee to report:

"Report! The Root Base... is completely empty!"

"All members are gone. Key internal facilities and research materials... have all been relocated!"

"What?!"

Mitokado Homura shot to his feet, his eyes widening behind his reading glasses.

Utatane Koharu's face also twisted in shock, her fingers trembling slightly.

"This... this..."

Mitokado Homura stammered, "It seems... Danzō took Root and... evacuated en masse? Could he really have... defected?"

"Impossible!"

Utatane Koharu cut him off with absolute certainty: "Danzō's methods are extreme, but his loyalty to Konoha is beyond doubt!"

"How could he defect from the village?! There must be some hidden truth we don't know, or he was set up by Orochimaru!"

"Impossible to defect?"

At that moment, a cold laugh cut in uninvited.

Bam!

The meeting room door was shoved open roughly from the outside.

Uchiha Yao, his face icy, strode in with Uchiha Sasuke, who wore an equally furious expression.

The four people in the room all turned to look.

Seeing it was just two brats, Utatane Koharu's embarrassment flared into anger. She slammed the table and barked:

"How dare you! This is the Hokage Building's high-level meeting room! Who allowed two genin to barge in uninvited?"

"Have you no discipline? Guards! Throw them out!"

The Anbu moved to comply.

"Hmph! Quite the display of authority, Advisor!"

Yao met Utatane Koharu's gaze without flinching, sneering:

"We two brothers had no intention of crashing a high-level meeting!"

"But—"

Yao's tone shifted, his gaze sharp as a blade, sweeping over Mitokado Homura before settling on Utatane Koharu's face:

"I, Uchiha Yao, as the current clan head of the Uchiha Clan, must demand an explanation from the village's highest authority today!"

"Shimura Danzō, during today's Chūnin Exams, ordered Root to kidnap my younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke!"

"Then used that as leverage to lure me into Root's base!"

"Afterward, he personally led Root's elites to ambush me!"

Yao stepped forward: "Shouldn't the village give the Uchiha Clan an explanation for this?"

The Uchiha Clan now consisted of only the two of them.

By status, Yao was unquestionably the current Uchiha clan head.

Before the two advisors could recover, Yao's voice rose again, carrying suppressed fury:

"And another thing!"

"Shimura Danzō had over ten Sharingan transplanted into his right arm! Everyone witnessed it!"

"Advisors, shouldn't the village... give the Uchiha Clan an account for that?!"

His words struck like thunderclaps in the silent meeting room.

Sasuke clenched his fists, his Sharingan already activated, his scarlet eyes brimming with grief and hatred as he stared fixedly at the two advisors.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were left speechless by the barrage of accusations, momentarily unable to retort.

Jiraiya's brow furrowed deeply, and the visible eye of Kakashi sharpened abruptly.

The air grew heavy.