Hiruzen Sarutobi was furious because the information on the interrogation report was utter nonsense. ♚♞ 🐻💝
Attacking fellow villagers, peeping on people bathing, sneaking into widows' homes at night, and desecrating graves.
You could say that every despicable deed imaginable had been pinned on Shin'nosuke Sarutobi.
However you looked at it, this was clearly a frame-up, a deliberate attempt to smear him.
But that was exactly what Byakuya wanted.
In the past, Byakuya wouldn't have dared provoke Hiruzen Sarutobi so easily.
But things were different now. Byakuya had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, and his strength had increased.
His newfound power had given Byakuya confidence.
What Byakuya wanted was to infuriate Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Only then could he gain Negative Energy and increase his strength.
"How could he not have!? Hiruzen Sarutobi admitted it himself..."
"Everyone in the Security Force can testify..."
As Byakuya spoke, Uchiha En and the other Uchiha Clan ninja chimed in one after another.
"Lord Byakuya is right... Shin'nosuke Sarutobi admitted it himself..."
"I can't believe the Hokage's son would do something like this!..."
"Yeah! How does Lord Hokage raise his son?..."
"I also heard that the Hokage himself likes to peep..."
"Oh no, does that mean the Hokage saw us when we were bathing?..."
"..."
The Uchiha Clan ninja began whispering among themselves.
Hearing them, Hiruzen Sarutobi grew even angrier.
[Ping! Hiruzen Sarutobi's anger detected: +600 Negative Energy, Genjutsu +10...]
[Ping! Hiruzen Sarutobi's anger detected: +700 Negative Energy, Ninjutsu +7...]
[...]
"Nicely done..."
Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's face contorted with rage, Byakuya made no attempt to hide his approval. He nodded at Uchiha En from across the way.
"Enough! What exactly is your Uchiha Clan trying to do?..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi shouted, cutting off the Uchiha Clan's discussion.
He was afraid that if they kept talking, they would pin every shameless deed imaginable on him.
"What are we trying to do!? Our Uchiha Clan serves as Konoha's Security Force..."
"Our duty is to protect Konoha and safeguard the Will of Fire..."
"Shin'nosuke Sarutobi betrayed Konoha and must be punished..."
"I should be asking you, Lord Hokage—why have you brought your people to the Uchiha Clan?..."
"Are you planning to betray Konoha?..."
Looking down at Hiruzen Sarutobi, Byakuya berated him loudly as he drew the Ninja Sword from his back and pointed it at him.
Uchiha En and the others followed suit, drawing their Ninja Swords and activating their Sharingan.
Pairs of scarlet Sharingan stared at Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Anbu behind him.
"Lord Hokage, be careful..."
Faced with so many Uchiha ninja with their Sharingan activated, the Anbu grew wary and gripped their weapons tightly.
Facing so many Sharingan at once put the Anbu under immense pressure.
The two sides were now at each other's throats. The slightest misstep could spark a battle.
"Enough... all of you, lower your weapons..."
"What are you doing!? Don't forget, this is Konoha..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath and suppressed his anger.
He barked at the Anbu, ordering them to lower their weapons.
Though Hiruzen Sarutobi was furious, he knew this was no time for a battle.
Konoha still needed the Uchiha Clan.
Losing them now would be a major blow to the entire village.
"Uchiha Byakuya... your Uchiha Clan has done very well..."
"The Security Force should be protecting Konoha..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi praised Byakuya with a smile.
He was a master of hypocrisy, making everything seem peaceful and harmonious.
"This is all for Konoha, and for the Will of Fire..."
Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Byakuya replied with a humble smile.
At Byakuya's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi's mouth twitched.
For the village, for the Will of Fire.
Wasn't that his usual line!? Byakuya had stolen his words—what was he supposed to say now?
"Um... Shin'nosuke Sarutobi does seem to be suspected of betraying the village..."
"If possible, I hope Captain Byakuya will hand him over to the Anbu..."
"Our Anbu have the most professional interrogation methods. We can extract more useful information..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Byakuya.
No matter what, Shin'nosuke Sarutobi was his son.
He had to save him.
As long as his son was in the Anbu's hands, everything would be easy.
The Anbu were all his people.
"Lord Hokage is right..."
"Handing the traitor Shin'nosuke Sarutobi over to the Anbu would indeed be the best choice..."
"However, our Uchiha Clan is short on funds..."
"Lord Hokage, what do you think we should do?..."
Byakuya looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
After all the beatings, the Negative Energy from Shin'nosuke Sarutobi had been drained.
Shin'nosuke Sarutobi was no longer useful to Byakuya.
Still, Byakuya intended to get some use out of him.
He would use Shin'nosuke Sarutobi to blackmail Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage.
"Uh..."
Hearing Byakuya, Hiruzen Sarutobi cursed inwardly.
What did handing Shin'nosuke Sarutobi over to the Anbu have to do with the Uchiha Clan being short on money?
Wasn't Byakuya obviously taking the opportunity to extort him!?
Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to explode with rage and attack Byakuya on the spot.
But he knew he couldn't do that.
He could be a Ninja Hero, enduring what others could not.
He would have plenty of chances to deal with the Uchiha Clan later.
For now, he had to save his son.
"The Uchiha Clan is doing all this for Konoha..."
"If the Uchiha are in trouble, Konoha can't just stand by..."
"How much funding does the Uchiha Clan need?..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help asking.
"Hmm... let's start with a hundred million..."
Byakuya considered it, then replied.
"How much!? A hundred million!?..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi was stunned by Byakuya's outrageous demand.
He had expected Byakuya to ask for a fortune, but he hadn't expected him to be this greedy.
A hundred million was no small sum.
An S-rank mission paid at most a few million. Only the most dangerous missions paid more.
And now Byakuya wanted a hundred million. Wasn't that an outrageous demand?
"What's wrong!? You don't want to pay?..."
"This is all for Konoha, for the Will of Fire..."
Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's reluctance, Byakuya invoked the Will of Fire again.
"You..."
Hearing Byakuya bring up the Will of Fire yet again, Hiruzen Sarutobi grew furious all over again.
Was that what the Will of Fire was for!?
This was an insult to the Will of Fire he had founded.
He was trampling on his Will of Fire.
[Ping! Hiruzen Sarutobi's anger detected: +100 Negative Energy, Taijutsu +9...]
[Ping! Hiruzen Sarutobi's anger detected: +200 Negative Energy, Chakra +8...]
[Ping! Hiruzen Sarutobi's anger detected: +300 Negative Energy, Genjutsu +10...]
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