"The Hokage wants to see Youhu?"
Before Youhu could speak, Tiehuo, nominally Youhu's superior, frowned and said, "You people in the Anbu just want to arrest someone, don't you? Are you deliberately trying to stir up conflict between the Uchiha and the Hokage?"
The Anbu ninja was used to Tiehuo's accusations. "I'm just notifying you. Why the Hokage wants to see Uchiha Youhu is beyond my knowledge."
"Uchiha Youhu, you'd better not keep the Hokage waiting."
After leaving him with those words, the Anbu ninja left the Police Station. He had no desire to linger around the Guard Division.
Like the Anbu, the Guard Division was a department under the Hokage Building. But unlike the Anbu, which was directly under the Hokage, the Guard Division belonged to the Uchiha.
On top of that, relations between the Guard Division and the Hokage Building had grown increasingly tense. He was worried the Uchiha Security Force might detain him.
After the Anbu ninja left, Tiehuo said with concern, "Youhu, could the Third Hokage be summoning you because of what happened last night?"
Youhu nodded. "It's definitely because of last night. There's a spy for the Third Hokage among the clan."
"Was it Uchiha Itachi or Uchiha Shisui? I'll go settle the score with them right now. Those ungrateful bastards—how dare they betray their own people when they're Uchiha themselves?"
Tiehuo cursed as he named Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi.
The two were actually spies the Uchiha Clan had planted in the Anbu and Root Ninja, hoping they'd bring the clan intelligence from those groups. But for some reason, they'd gradually sided with the Third Hokage Faction and kept refusing to hand over information.
Youhu shook his head lightly. "Tiehuo, don't bother with them."
"Seeing where Shisui and Itachi stand because of this is already a big win for the clan. It also proves our rumors are working so well that the Third Hokage has come after me in person."
Youhu wasn't surprised that the Third Hokage knew he was spreading the rumors.
With those two traitors, Shisui and Itachi, the Uchiha Clan had never had any secrets. Still, he hadn't expected the Hokage to summon him so quickly—it was only the next morning.
The move was undoubtedly a taunt aimed at the Uchiha.
You set up a barrier to block our surveillance? Well, I'm telling you now that you have a traitor among you.
It also showed no consideration for Shisui or Itachi. Wasn't this just putting them on the spot? As soon as Youhu met with the Hokage, everyone in the clan would know they'd betrayed it.
Brushing aside the thoughts in his mind, Youhu smiled faintly and said:
"If the Third Hokage wants to see me, then I'll go. I want to meet him, too."
"Tiehuo, if the Third Hokage imprisons me when I get to the Hokage Building, don't come rescue me. Keep our cause going. Carry on Lord Izuna's legacy and make the clan great again."
With that, Youhu left the Security Building, carrying the iced tea he'd made himself.
After Youhu left, Tiehuo's gaze grew resolute. He turned to Bayi and Danna beside him and said, "You heard him. We have to carry on Lord Izuna's and Lord Youhu's legacies. We must never forget our cause."
Bayi and Danna had no idea why the mood had suddenly turned so solemn, but they shouted along with it anyway. "Captain Tiehuo, we'll never forget our cause!"
"Um... could we take a look at that parchment? We'd like to advance our Sharingan, too."
Tiehuo glared at them, clearly displeased. "That parchment is a precious treasure Lord Izuna and Lord Youhu left to the Uchiha. You two haven't done anything for the clan, and you expect to get your hands on it just like that?"
Bayi said quietly, "But Lord Youhu said we could look whenever we wanted."
Tiehuo sighed and explained:
"Lord Youhu said you could look whenever you wanted, so you just do it? Let me ask you this: if other clan members join our faction later, should we hand out good stuff to them just as casually?"
"Lord Youhu wants to become Hokage and conquer the entire Ninja World. All he needs to do is improve his strength."
"We, his subordinates, have to pay attention to the little things and help Lord Youhu build a complete Logistics Organization, so we can support him."
As he spoke, Tiehuo's tone softened. He lowered his voice and added:
"If you really want to see it, I don't mind showing you a little tonight. But no one else will get the same treatment."
"Yes, Captain Tiehuo."
When Tiehuo relented, Uchiha Bayi and Uchiha Danna were delighted. They'd been very curious about the contents of Izuna's Inheritance, and now they finally had a chance to examine it.
After settling his subordinates, Tiehuo looked toward the Hokage Building in the distance, his face still clouded with worry.
Lord Youhu had told him not to bring anyone to rescue him, but how could Tiehuo possibly feel at ease? If something really happened to Lord Youhu, the clan's future would be left without a shred of hope.
He had to do something.
Led by the Anbu ninja, Youhu arrived at the base of the Hokage Building.
As a Uchiha who'd become a Genin right after arriving in this world, Youhu hadn't visited the Hokage Building much, let alone had a chance to meet the Third Hokage up close.
This would be his chance to meet the leader of the village.
Come to think of it, he'd once been a fanatical admirer of the Third Hokage. Even a hater was a kind of fan, after all.
As he walked down the corridor toward the office, Youhu started thinking about why the Third Hokage wanted to see him and whether the two of them might end up fighting.
Deliberately spreading rumors about the Hokage was both a big deal and a small one.
At its most serious, it undermined the Hokage's prestige and threatened the foundation of the village's rule. On the other hand, every High Official in the village had Scandalous Information. Rumors were just rumors.
As long as the people involved didn't get so angry they gave themselves away, most people would just take it as a joke.
No one would seriously doubt the Hokage's Sexual Orientation.
And even if there were something odd about the Hokage's Sexual Orientation, that wouldn't change the fact that the Third Hokage was the Sun of Konoha, shining over the entire village. It was all just personal conduct in his private life.
Summoning Youhu like this was what might make people with ulterior motives start to wonder.
Still, with the strength of a Chunin on paper, Youhu figured the Third Hokage wouldn't make things difficult for him. He certainly wouldn't have a hundred Anbu assassins waiting in the Hokage Building, ready to attack at the signal of a dropped cup.
After all, who could imagine that a Chunin had a Mangekyō Sharingan?
Youhu even thought he could try using his Mangekyō on the Third Hokage. There was precedent in the Ninja World for controlling the Five Kage with Illusion Technique.
The neighboring Kirigakure had been controlled by Obito for years.
Aside from the Bloody Mist Village, not much had gone wrong. It had even resolved Kirigakure's Aging Crisis, giving members of the younger generation like Chojuro the chance to become a Hokage guard.
Of course, as long as the Third Hokage didn't make the first move, Youhu wouldn't actually use his Mangekyō.
After all, unlike Kirigakure, in a village like Konohagakure, which had two major Kekkei Genkai Families, the traces left by Illusion Technique were too obvious. And the Third Hokage wasn't the kind of ninja anyone could push around.
Until he used the Reaper Death Seal, the Third Hokage had been the strongest ninja in Konoha under normal circumstances.
When he reached the Hokage Office, Youhu pushed aside his thoughts. He knocked on the door and said in an uneasy tone, "Hokage, I'm Uchiha Youhu. What did you want to see me about?"
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