Playing Peacemaker (Please Bookmark! Please Invest! Please Vote!)

Eight pairs of Three Tomoe Sharingan. Within the Uchiha Clan, possessing a Three Tomoe Sharingan was practically synonymous with being a Jonin. Even the weakest Uchiha Jonin could take on two opponents alone, let alone standouts like Sōken and Shisui, who could fight five, ten, or even more by themselves...

In other words, Counting Sōken and Shisui, the eight Uchiha here could not possibly be matched without twenty or thirty Jonin joining forces.

Unless there were several more experts like the Third, which would reduce the number of Jonin required. Unfortunately, Konoha was now severely lacking in talent. The village leadership was nothing but a bunch of old men and women. Honestly, the Hokage Building might as well have been renamed the "Old Folks' Club"!

The Fourth's sacrifice had not merely cost Konoha an outstanding Hokage.

A group of old people held the village's power in their hands, filling it with an air of decay. Orochimaru's defection had caused the Sannin to fall apart, while the worsening conflict with the Uchiha Clan had cast a shadow of internal strife over the village. If the Uchiha were excluded, there were barely any young and exceptional talents left in Konoha.

No matter how he counted, Kakashi was the only one who could measure up.

"Shisui, don't get so worked up. It truly is inappropriate to place the responsibility for this incident on Sōken," the Third said, breaking the frigid standoff that had left everyone feeling as though a winter cold spell had frozen their limbs. "No one could have expected the Mist Ninja to be so brazen as to ambush Sōken. At the end of the day, the Anbu were far too lax, allowing Mist Ninja spies to run wild in the village."

"Homura, Koharu, you were too harsh. Be more tolerant and patient with young people. They need time to grow as well."

After hesitating for quite a while, the Third finally came out with this conclusion.

He soothed Sōken, shielded the two Elders, and quietly dissolved the tense, sword-drawn atmosphere. His skill at smoothing things over had truly reached perfection.

Sōken knew perfectly well that this was not because the Third old man was particularly open-minded. He simply did not want to tear off all pretenses with the Uchiha at this time. What these old men and women wanted was to eliminate the disobedient Uchiha at the smallest possible cost, not fight the Uchiha until both sides were ruined.

Especially Sōken and Shisui. As the two most renowned members of the Uchiha Clan at present, they could be said to be the Uchiha's brightest banners.

Making a move against the two of them

would be no different from directly declaring war on the Uchiha.

Coupled with Arashiyama and the others' resolute support, the Third had chosen this outcome.

"Hmph!"

Utatane Koharu said nothing more, merely keeping a stern face and refusing to show Sōken and the others any warmth. Mitokado Homura appeared as composed as ever, though nothing could be read from that poker face of his.

At that moment, one of the Medical Ninja caring for Naruto hurried over, delight written across his face. "Hokage, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is fine now. The mental shock was not severe. As long as he gets a good night's sleep, he'll make a full recovery tomorrow."

The corner of Sōken's mouth twitched.

What the hell?

That was not what they had said earlier. According to the first person, Naruto's condition could worsen at any moment, and he might not even make it until dawn. Yet the moment the Third made his stance clear, Naruto was suddenly completely fine. All he needed was one night of sleep, and he would be back on his feet the next day...

Truly—

A mouth could say anything, depending on which way it turned.

Black and white, good and bad—it had all been said.

"That's good, that's good! As long as he's fine!!"

The worry on the Third's face immediately faded, replaced by the gentle, kindly smile the Professor of Ninjutsu often wore when facing children at the Ninja Academy. He turned to Sōken and asked with a chuckle, "By the way, Sōken, if I remember correctly, you don't currently hold a fixed post, do you?"

"Would you like to serve in the Anbu? You protected Naruto this time, which counts as a considerable achievement. Joining the Anbu would give you a bigger stage to demonstrate your abilities..."

"Hokage, thank you for your kind offer, but please forgive me for being unable to accept. I am very satisfied with my current life. Compared to joining the Anbu, I would rather stay home and help care for my sister. To be honest, my combat habits aren't suited to the Anbu either. Causing such a huge commotion doesn't fit the Anbu's style at all."

Before the Third could finish his spellcasting, Sōken decisively interrupted the old man's chanting.

He could not be bothered to listen to the Third preach about the Will of Fire.

Besides, he would never agree to serve in the Anbu. That place was the Third's domain. Once he joined the Anbu, would he not be at their mercy? They would not even need to resort to petty tricks—simply send him to Kumogakure, Iwagakure, or some other place as a spy, and he would be guaranteed a one-way trip.

"Is that so? Then there's nothing to be done. What a pity! I think very highly of your abilities, Sōken... What a shame!"

The Third sighed repeatedly, deeply regretful.

"Hokage, if there is nothing else, please allow us to take our leave."

With matters having reached this point, Sōken had already achieved what he wanted.

There was no need to remain here and listen to the Third old man ramble. Rather than waste his time and life here, he might as well return home and discuss the next stage of their plan with his companions. Shisui had made his position clear; the plan could more or less be put into action.

"Leave the matters here to the Anbu. You may go back!"

The Third nodded, his peripheral vision sweeping over Shisui, but he said nothing.

"Then we'll be going."

Sōken left as soon as he spoke, immediately sprinting toward the clan grounds. Shisui hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not stop. He followed Arashiyama and the others in pursuit of Sōken, vanishing into the deep night. In the blink of an eye, they were nowhere to be seen.

Within the burned-out forest, the Third stood silently where he was, motionless as a clay statue. After roughly two or three minutes, he suddenly said, "Danzō, you came too late."

"It would have made no difference if I had come earlier."

An elderly man with a gloomy face, dressed entirely in black and exuding a cold aura that kept strangers away, slowly emerged from the darkness. This old man, whose chin bore an X-shaped scar, was none other than Shimura Danzō, known as the Ninja of Darkness—the current Hokage Assistant and supreme leader of Root.

"Uchiha Sōken and Uchiha Shisui are two different kinds of people. Your methods could never work on that brat. Even if I had arrived earlier, I would only have wasted words here with you. Rather than that, I might as well take my time getting here."

The Third frowned.

However, this time, rather than rebuking his old friend's recklessness, he agreed with Danzō. "You're right. Uchiha Sōken... There is no village in his heart, and even Shisui has been influenced... Danzō, I'll leave him to you."

"You should have done this long ago."

"In any case, deal with it quickly. Don't drag it out for too long. I'm worried Shisui will be influenced too deeply. If necessary, it doesn't matter if your methods are a little excessive."

"So long as you don't ruin my plans, there won't be any problem."

With that, Danzō left without looking back, his figure blending into the forest's darkness and disappearing.

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