Danzo, if you don't want this mission, I'll give it to someone else

"Isn't the frequency of Hiruzen calling high-level meetings a bit too high lately?"

"How is the village constantly on the brink of life and death?"

"Hiruzen is still too impulsive. He isn't as calm as we are. Konoha still needs old folks like us who contribute silently."

Standing outside the meeting room, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura looked at each other, these thoughts surfacing in their minds.

It wasn't surprising that Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura felt this way.

They had only attended a high-level meeting yesterday afternoon, where Hiruzen claimed that the Anbu had discovered traces of the Masked Man and that another Nine-Tails' Rampage could be triggered at any moment.

Their conclusion at the time was to remain still, as the village currently lacked the ability to deal with the Masked Man.

Less than a day had passed, and the Third Hokage had already called another high-level meeting.

Just then, Danzo arrived in front of the meeting room leaning on his cane. His expression was extremely grim, and he was carrying a cold breakfast in his hand.

"Why did Danzo bring breakfast?"

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura looked at each other in confusion; they remembered that Danzo didn't have the habit of bringing breakfast for others.

Noticing the movement outside the meeting room, the Third Hokage pushed the door open. Upon seeing the breakfast in Danzo's hand, he snatched it away immediately.

"Danzo, how did you know I hadn't eaten yet?"

Without waiting for Danzo to speak, the Third Hokage began to eat the cold breakfast.

"..."

Danzo's expression froze, and he stood there, bewildered and at a loss for what to do.

The breakfast in his hand had been given to him by Youhu. He had kept it until now to use as evidence to sow discord between Youhu and the Third Hokage, to let Youhu see the consequences of angering the Assistant to the Hokage.

As it turned out, before he could even begin to sow discord, the evidence in his hand had been eaten by the Third Hokage.

After quickly finishing the breakfast, the Third Hokage let out a satisfied burp. He invited Danzo and the others, who were standing outside, into the meeting room and got straight to the point:

"I called everyone here today because of a major event that occurred last night."

"Last night, the Masked Man attempted to attack Naruto but was discovered by the Kakashi Squad. After a difficult battle, the Kakashi Squad repelled the Masked Man."

"At the same time, they discovered the Masked Man's true identity."

"The Masked Man is a ninja who once sacrificed his life for the village, and he was also Minato's disciple. He is Uchiha Obito."

"Obito has been resurrected, and carrying the will of Madara, he intends to completely destroy Konoha."

After listening to the Third Hokage, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were visibly shocked. It took a while for them to recover, their expressions gradually turning solemn.

The information density of these words was far too high.

The Masked Man attacked the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

The Kakashi Squad defeated the Masked Man.

The Masked Man's true identity is Obito.

Obito is the successor of Uchiha Madara.

Each piece of intelligence mentioned above was explosive. Under normal circumstances, each would require a high-level meeting to discuss. It was no wonder the Third Hokage said this meeting concerned the life and death of the village.

After digesting all the intelligence, Danzo spoke first, pointing his finger at the Third:

"Hiruzen, I told you before that the Uchiha were the culprits behind the Nine-Tails Night, but you were unwilling to believe it."

"Now the truth is revealed. The attack on the village wasn't just by the Uchiha, but by the Uchiha within the village."

"I believe we must take action against the Uchiha now. We should mobilize the strength of all major ninja clans to fully suppress them. Only then can we completely pacify the influence brought by the Masked Man."

"Danzo, you are being too radical..."

Before the Third Hokage could refute him, Mitokado Homura spoke up to stop Danzo's train of thought. "The village currently needs to guard against the Masked Man; we don't have the spare strength to suppress the Uchiha."

"Furthermore, I believe Obito likely doesn't have much to do with the Uchiha in the village."

"If Obito were truly coordinating with the Uchiha in the village from the inside and outside, they would have started a rebellion long ago."

Utatane Koharu nodded in agreement, adding, "It isn't certain that the Masked Man is Obito. Besides, I remember there are Uchiha in the Kakashi Squad as well. This is enough to prove that the Uchiha inside and outside the village are not of the same group."

"Koharu is right."

"The ninja who attacked Naruto was an Uchiha, but the ones who repelled the Masked Man were Kakashi and Youhu."

"Youhu and Itachi are both good children who hold the Will of Fire in their hearts. If it weren't for them, the village would likely already be in the midst of the Nine-Tails' Rampage."

The Third Hokage's words became the final straw that crushed Danzo's opinion.

With the decision-making level generally opposing his suggestion, Danzo could only back down, conceding, "I didn't ask to deal with the Uchiha immediately, but necessary precautions must not be lacking."

"Hiruzen, you just said that Kakashi and the others repelled the Masked Man. How did they manage to do that?"

"Youhu used poison gas to severely injure Obito, and Kakashi used the Mangekyo Sharingan to force Obito away from Konoha..." The Third Hokage briefly explained the situation at the time, including the intelligence that Kakashi possessed a Mangekyo Sharingan.

If I had known, I would have dealt with Kakashi directly back then.

Upon hearing that Kakashi had a Mangekyo Sharingan, Danzo gritted his teeth in regret. He had once sent Yamato to assassinate Kakashi for his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, but unfortunately, Hiruzen had interfered and ruined it.

If he had known Kakashi possessed the Mangekyo, he would have spared no cost to eliminate him.

Danzo knew Hiruzen would not agree to his terms, but he demanded nonetheless: "Hiruzen, hand the Kakashi Squad over to me. I will lead them to kill Obito and end this grave danger to the village."

"I will have them pursue Obito, but it is impossible for me to hand them over to you."

The Third Hokage knew Danzo had ill intentions. He frowned and rejected Danzo's request, then added pointedly: "However, if I let Kakashi and his team pursue Obito, who should protect Naruto?"

"Why not entrust the mission of pursuing Obito to Danzo?"

"Danzo, as long as you capture Obito, his Sharingan will be yours. This time, I will absolutely not interfere with the operation to hunt him down."

"..."

Danzo's expression shifted. He suspected the Third was intentionally mocking him.

It was true that he wanted the Mangekyo Sharingan; a Mangekyo with space-time abilities was something he dreamed of. If he could obtain Obito's Mangekyo, he could simultaneously possess the power of the First Lord, Teacher Tobirama, and Uchiha Madara.

At that point, even if he were to face that group of traitors within the Rain Country who stood against the Demigod, he would be able to crush them.

But the problem was, what did he have to hunt down Obito? Even his strongest subordinate was only an elite jonin. Would they really have any room to resist when facing Obito?

The Third Hokage saw Danzo's dilemma and, disregarding his unsightly expression, made his decision:

"Since Assistant Danzo is unwilling to serve the village, I will not force the issue."

"The mission to capture Obito will continue. I will have Kakashi and his team track Obito's movements, striving to wipe out both Obito and the forces backing him in one fell swoop."

"As for the task of protecting Naruto, I intend to recall Jiraiya and Tsunade."

"The village needs their strength now."

"That is all. Meeting adjourned."